["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...
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FABIENNE
MASISIRAAN NA yata ako ng ulo. 'Di dahil sa mga personal na ganap sa buhay ko, pero sa mga pinaggagawa ni Castiel. That guy was totally unpredictable! Who would've thought na aaminin niya on a livestream na siya ang mastermind sa pag-blackmail kay Chevy? Tapos na ang issue na 'yon, so why did he have to bring it up again?
"What game is he playing at?" tanong ni Valeria habang palakad-lakad sa stage. Kasama namin ang tatlong suspended USC officer na sinusundan siya ng tingin.
Right after the Herald's interview with Castiel, nag-chat agad sa group chat namin si Valeria at nagtawag ng urgent meeting. Yup! Kahit 'di ako officially part ng USC, sinali nila ako sa Anti-Castiel Club. We thought of gathering at the benches in the campus quadrangle, kaso maraming tao ro'n. Baka dumugin kami lalo na si Valeria dahil nadawit ang pangalan niya. Alaric must be also being flooded with messages due to the expose—which he rightfully deserved, by the way.
So we decided to meet in the auditorium habang walang ibang class na gumagamit at 'di pa isinasara ng housekeeping personnel. This was probably one of the last places na paghihinalaang pinuntahan at pinagtataguan namin. We switched on only the dim lights para 'di masyadong halata mula sa labas na may tao rito.
"I was already at peace with it. Naibaon ko na nga sa limot 'tapos bigla niyang huhukayin ulit?" pailing-iling na dugtong ni Valeria. "I don't get that guy sometimes."
"I've been telling you that he's already out of his mind!" bulalas ni Lavinia, may kasama pang pagmuwestra. Nakasandal siya sa right stage panel at nakakrus ang mga braso. "If this goes on, imagine the damage that he will deal not only to the presidency, but to the USC. Baka sira na ang reputasyon ng council pagbalik natin do'n."
"What should we do?" tanong ko kahit 'di ako kasali sa council. Umangat ang aking tingin sa kanila, palipat-lipat sa bawat isa.
Mabilis na hinugot ni Valeria ang phone niya. Dinig ko ang pag-vibrate nito mula sa kaniyang bulsa hanggang sa kamay. "Reporters have been messaging me and calling me. This is getting annoying already." Pinress niya nang matagal ang power button bago muling ibinulsa 'yon.
"This presents us with a dilemma," sabi ni Rowan na nakaupo sa edge ng entablado. He dangled his feet and swung them alternately. "If you deny it, Castiel will look like a liar and you will still be known as the person who thought of blackmailing Chevy. If you corroborate, you will be vindicated. Matatanggal na ang mantsa sa reputasyon mo. In exchange . . ."
"Alaric and the majority bloc will have the perfect ammunition to impeach Castiel," tuloy ni Lavinia, may kasamang buntonghininga. "Thanks to his recent actions, Avrille and the other SALVo chairpersons are not inclined to help him out this time. Baka maging unanimous ang boto ng LEXECOM na i-impeach siya."
"Then Alaric becomes acting president," bulong ko sabay iling. The mere thought of it made me shudder.
"Masisikmura ba 'yon ng mga taga-SALVo?" tanong ni Valeria kay Lavinia. "Do they want to see an AEGIS officer take back power?"
