CASSIEN
UNBELIEVABLE. SURREAL. That pair was the abstract of my reaction upon Ranpo's approval of my application. It was utterly unbelievable yet at the same time, very hilarious. Somehow, hindi matanggap ng utak ko na chocolates lang pala ang kayang magpatiklop sa lalaking 'yon. At first, I thought Conan was messing around not until I heard it from Ranpo himself. I was like: Seryoso? Gano'n-gano'n lang 'yun?
"Don't be so full of yourself, Cass," panimula ni Ranpo sa pag-uusap habang sabay kaming naglalakad patungo sa aming classroom. "I can kick you out anytime soon after I receive the chocolates. Aside from maidens, we don't permit dumbasses there."
Dumbasses?
I glanced up to him and squinted my eyes. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am."
"Yeah, you're dumber."
Aba! Sumosobra na 'tong lalaking 'to! Kung makapagsalita siya, feeling niya ay kilalang-kilala niya na ako. Uh, doesn't he? Pero mas nabigla ako nang huminto siya sa tapat ng isang classroom at saka pumasok do'n.
Whoa, have I been too dwelled in my thoughts not to notice our classroom right away? Kailangan ko na yata talagang magpa-check up. May direkta kayang cure para sa mga taong laging lutang?
I just watched Ranpo walked inwards confidently whilst our classmates ceased their current occupation. Is it just me or parang nakakapanibago sila? I was about to enter our classroom but a guy within spoke.
He was smiling down at Ranpo. "Oy, may bisita tayo, guys. Kulang ata sa tulog, o."
Eh?
I scanned the surrounding, each corner of the classroom and the sea of faces only to remind me that this wasn't our actual classroom. Buti nalang 'di pa ako tuluyang nakakapasok!
Ranpo froze at the aisle as I notice his cheeks and ears were burning red. Bahagyang nanlaki rin ang kanyang mga mata at pinilit na ngumiti. "S-Sorry."
When I looked up at the top of the doorway, I saw the template of class STEM 11-C. That means our real classroom was just around the corner!
Tinakpan ko ang aking bibig para mapigilan ang sarili na tumawa. Habang pinagmamasdan ko si Ranpo na dahan-dahang naglalakad paatras, I couldn't help wondering how could he keep up a tough attitude before me.
Moreover, I didn't foresee this coming — na mayroon din pala siyang shy-type side behaviour! If I hadn't talked to him yesterday and discovered their secret lair, I'd still betoken him as a typical classmate of mine.
Nang makalabas siya ro'n, mapang-asar akong ngumiti at sinabayan siya sa paglalakad patungo sa katabing room — which is our class. Medyo namumula pa rin ang mukha niya dahil sa kahihiyan. Huh, so the King has weird weak spots, too. First off, chocolates. And now, shy-type side? Pfft. I even have to slap myself to gain the confirmation of reality.
Bago kami makapasok sa classroom namin, Ranpo halted me by extending his arm to block my way.
"I've given Conan his assignment and as a new recruit, you ought to come with him. Investigate the Crocus street. Check the CCTV's from the each pavement from the nearest stores. The culprit must've gone under surveillance."
"You gave him? 'Di ba dapat trabaho 'yon ng president? Ni Newt?"
"I know much better than he does."
Ang hangin, a. He did have a superiority complex.
Then, something snapped in me. "Wait, you mean iisa-isahin namin ang lahat ng taong dumaan sa apat na corner ng pedestrian sa Crocus street? Ang dami no'n!"
"You don't need to use the process of elimination by inspecting every passerby," sahot niya at itinaas ang kanyang specs through its bridge. "Because I know for certain that you'll notice something very odd if you watch closely."
"Very odd?" nagtataka kong tanong. "What is it?"
"Figure it out yourself."
*
SINUNDO AKO ni Conan sa classroom ko nang matapos ang klase sa maghapon. I had a hard time informing Maisie that I wouldn't be able to walk to home with her. I dismissed telling her that I was now a member of an unofficial club — and the fact that I should keep this as as secret from her pricks my heart. Friends aren't supposed to be secretive to each other, are they?
Surprisingly, Maisie showed her confusion openly when she heard that I had a business with Conan. Of course, I, too, was shocked. I mean, it was a long time ago when I last saw her confused about me thus seeing her so felt like first time. When she asked the reason why, sinabi ni Conan na magpapatulong siya sa 'kin na hanapin ang kanyang aso. I noticed that she wasn't convinced though Conan's acting felt very genuine. Pero gaya ng kadalasan, hindi niya ako pinilit at hinayaan na lang.
"Conan! Magandang hapon!"
Kasabay ng pagtunog ng bell ay narinig ko ang pagbati ng isang matandang babae sa counter nang makapasok kami sa coffee shop sa Crocus.
"Magandang hapon din po, lola Mering!" bati naman ni Conan nang tuluyan kaming makapasok.
I glanced over him and whispered, "Lola mo siya?"
"Hindi." He shook his head. "Gano'n lang daw ang itawag ko sa kanya, imbes na Ate o Aling."
"Maupo muna kayo, mukhang pagod pa kayo galing sa school. At saka may bago ka pang kaibigan, Conan!" She ushered us to the nearest table to the counter and stood next to us when we took our seat. "Kumusta si Newt?"
Hmm, so they frequent here, huh.
"Ay, oo nga po pala. Siya po si Cassien Agreste, schoolmate ko po. Ayos lang naman po si Newt. Pinapakumusta rin po niya kayo."
"Cassien?" pag-uulit ni Lola at lumingon sa 'kin. Nagulat na lang din ako nang hawakan niya ang mga pisngi ko. "Naku! Napakagandang lalaki naman nitong si Cassien. Baka habulin din 'to ng mga chicks."
Hehe, sabi na nga ba. Maganda lang ako kapag nagbihis lalaki. Crossdressing ain't that bad — it's actually fun!
"Haha! Marami din pong chicks 'yan!"
I unbelievably looked at Conan and slightly opened my mouth to say something pero inunahan ako ni Lola.
"Kayo talagang magkakabarkada, mga magagandang lalaki! Hindi talaga ako magugulat kung bukas ay may mabuntisnkayo," she told us that caused me to choke on my own saliva. Grave naman makapag-joke so Lola! "O, siya. Usual flavor ba, hijo?"
"Opo, 'yung usual," sagot ni Conan at sabay tingin sa 'kin. "Ikaw, Cassien. Ano'ng gusto mo? My treat."
The two lingered their gazes to me, patiently waiting for my response. Hindi naman ako mahilig sa mga kape kaya hindi rin ako makapili agad. I scanned the menu over the counter — pero actually wala akong nabasa dahil as panic. I felt bad letting them wait for me — hindi naman ako VIP — so I made my answer.
"Nescafe 3 in 1 nalang po."
Uka. Uka. Uka. Uka. Uka. Basta 'yung tunog ng mga uwak kapag sobrang tahimik ng paligid!
They had gone silent after hearing my response. The old lady chuckled awkwardly whilst Conan slapped his forehead, avoiding my gaze. Wait, ano'ng nangyari? Did I say something wrong?
Hold on a second! Baka iba ang brand ng kape nila dito?
"Uhm, G-Great Tatse White nalang po, mayroon po ba? Hehe."
Napatingin ang ibang customers sa 'kin. Ang ilan ay natatawa samantalang ang iba naman ay nagtataka. Eh?! Ano ba 'yon?!
Okay, I'm done.
I felt my cheeks burning in embarrassment as I quickly glance at Conan to ask for help, expecting he'd get my red signal. I couldn't take this awkwardness any longer. Where could my order possibly go wrong?
"Nag-jo-joke lang po siya," awkward na pagbasag ni Conan sa katahimikan. "Cappuccino po talaga ang ibig niyang sabihin."
Lola Mering informed the woman in the counter about our orders as the latter started brewing with a smug look on her face. Conan told Lola about about our genuine business in her shop — requesting to view their CCTV footages the day before yesterday to know whether "his lost dog" went in this way.
Without much hesitation, we were led to a room filled with various computer screen. Lola Mering asked if we wanted to see the footage of the whole day, however, Conan only aimed for the time when Ava got hit. Luckily, she didn't find such deed suspicious.
We sat for about thirty minutes, having our cup of coffee and watching the humdrum pavement where variety of people passed by. Yet we didn't find anything odd. Ano ba kasi 'yung sinasabi ni Ranpo na very odd?
We offered our wholehearted gratitude and went out of the shop. Wala rin kaming nakitang kakaiba sa footage, ni isa wala! But welp, that wasn't to be sullen about. Mayroon pa naman kaming tatlong CCTV na papanoorin. One down, three to go.