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Chapter twenty-two

COURAGE

"Bakit ba puro brownout? Pangalawa na 'to ah! Ugh!" Nagdabog si Barbie sa loob ng kuwarto ko pagkabalik ng ilaw.

Napapikit ako sa kahihiyan, hindi sa kahihiyan ko kundi para sa kaniya. Kasi ba naman, sa gulat niya na nawalan ng ilaw, napahawak siya sa akin— at dahil nga walang ilaw hindi niya alam kung ano 'yong nahawakan niya! Gosh, pinisil-pisil pa niya 'yon na parang stressball! Muntik ko na siyang bigwasan no'n! Buti nalang hindi siya aware na boobs ko na 'yong nahahawakan niya!

I checked the time. Exactly nine PM after the blackout. As far as I remember, the previous blackout was atleast an hour ago. Could it be a pattern? If it was then estimatedly, the next blackout will be at ten in the evening. Could there be someone sabotaging the electronics inside? Or could it be just MC's little dirty tricks to keep us anxious?

"Baka ako 'yun." I blurted out of the blue. Tinignan ako ni Barbie na may pag-aalala. She also seems to think the same way.

"You know I can't let that happen! You are the first stranger I've ever talked to in this place, and, you're the person I trust the most!" she said in enthuasiasm.

"Really?" I looked into her eyes to see if she was being truthful. If what you were saying were true, then why were you giving me a doubtful look earlier? Kung tatanongin ako sa naramdaman ko kanina ay para akong sinaksak ng matulis na toothpick no'ng nakita ko 'yong mga mukha nilang lahat. But of course, it's not their fault because evidence was provided.

"Yeah! But you know... I'm curious... what totally happened when you were gone? Which part of the rumors were true?"

Rumors? Heck, I have no idea what the rumors are except for the (non) fact na ako raw 'yong spy. Baka mamaya isa sa rumor ay buntis ako o hindi kaya anak ako ni MC kaya ako 'yong pinaghihinalaan nilang spy!

Kinuwento ko sa kaniya ang totoong nangyari. Nakikinig naman siya nang mabuti at nagtatanong kapag may hindi siya naiintindihan. Nag-iba ang timpla ng mukha niya na para bang natatakot siya para sa akin. Ngayon ko lang ata siyang narinig na bumuntong-hininga.

"What's wrong?" I worriedly asked.

"The truth must prevail! We can't stay in this position anymore, they must know... they need to know what exactly happened."

"How? That fabricated evidence was already provided. There's no use of defending myself. The second I spout nonsense, isa-isa silang aalis para takpan ang kanilang mga tenga. I don't want that to happen."

"How about doing the same dirty thing MC did? Tell everyone you're not the spy but someone else is and you know them! Or just tell the video is fake, who knows, they might believe it!"

Might. May biglang pumasok sa isip ko nang sinabi niya 'yon. It's not what she said but technically I'll be doing the same thing. However, the difference is it's based on facts. If I tell everyone I knew something about the spy during my stay at the hospital, they might believe me. If I tell them about the secret place of MC and that darn spy, they will believe me.

But how do I make them listen to me? Hear me out? We, Barbie and I are currently in a grave thought on how to make this plan work. We don't have schedule for the night so this will be a great oppurtunity to defend myself once again. I can bear enemies, but what I can't bear is created enemies based on fake news.

It took us almost 30 minutes planning our agenda. I am motivated to do it right now. Tumayo na ako at sumunod na rin si Barbie; my father was a police because he protects and serves, as a daughter, it is bound that I shall follow his footsteps honouring his brave and courage until his last breath. He died trying to save others, I must live for his sake and do the same.