["PLAY THE KING" IS ACT TWO OF THE "PLAY" SERIES. PLEASE READ "PLAY THE QUEEN" FIRST.]
It's been four months since Priam Torres, the once unpopular president of the Elysian University Student Council, assumed office. Thanks to his chief-of-staff Cas...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
REYNARD
FINALLY, THE fun was about to start!
It had been a week since the start of the first semester. Walang masyadong ganap no'ng unang linggo dahil mostly ay distribution at discussion ng course syllabus. Wala ring masyadong ganap sa 'kin sa Herald dahil 'di pa nagre-resume no'n ang LEXECOM sessions. The only stuff that kept me interested was the question on whether or not Alaric Esteban was somewhat involved in Priam Torres' assassination.
On one hand, it sounded so absurd that I was so tempted to dismiss the thought right away. It might be too presumptous for me to judge him, but he didn't seem to be the type of person who would go that far for the sake of campus politics. Besides, he was enjoying a high percentage of likeability and he was controling the majority in the committee. Walang dahilan para gumawa siya ng napaka-drastic action na posibleng maglagay sa kaniya sa isang malalang controversy. If he was in any way involved in the assassination, that would be the end for him.
On the other hand, it would be unfair to not consider that angle. Journalism was all about seeking every side of an issue and figuring out which was the truth. Parang pagiging detective o police din 'yan. We needed to look at every angle and at every motive to see which one perfectly fit in the puzzle to reveal the full picture. If he was too confident that he could literally get away with almost anything, then he might have thought of testing how far he could go. But that would be crazy, especially for someone with his stature!
I only got an idea from my best bud Michelangelo. It wasn't exactly a lead, but it might be worth pursuing soon.
Later in the afternoon, after dropping by in the editorial office to say hi to my colleagues, I went straight to the LEXECOM office for their first official session this semester. No show pa rin si Castiel sa USC office at class niya. Him temporarily assuming the presidency even raised an important question: Who would preside over the committee meetings if the vice president—also the presiding officer—was now the acting president?
Well, the answer presented itself instantly.
"Good afternoon," greeted Alaric Esteban, the majority leader. Umupo siya sa puwesto ng presiding officer at hinawakan ang gavel. "In accordance with the established rules of this committee, I as the chair pro tempore will oversee our session due to the vacancy in the presiding officer's chair. I will now call the roll. Kindly say present if you're here. I will start with Avrille Mae Padilla of the College of Allied Medical Professions . . ."
Each person sitting around the decagonal table said "present" once they were recognized. New semester, but same faces except for one—the representative from the College of Computer Studies. Dahil sa scandal na kinaharap ni Chevy Serrano, ang protest na humarang sa promotion ni Orlando Taneda, at ang 'di pag-enroll ni Mason Urbina ngayong semester, may bago na namang representative ang CCS sa LEXECOM. Her name is Palmira Delgado, a junior IT student and the lone independent in their college student council.
