Chapter 1

"Alis na po ako," sabi ko habang tumakbo palabas ng bahay. I'm late!

Agad akong pumunta sa garahe para kunin ang kotse ko pero naiwan ko ang susi sa loob ng bahay. Tumakbo nalang ako palabas ng bahay at papunta sa school. I really can't waste time. Kapag kinuha ko ang susi alam ko rin namang hindi agad ito puwedeng paandarin papunta sa school. Kailangan ko munang painitin yung makina para hindi ito tumigil sa pag-andar.

"Cass!" rinig kong sigaw ng kaibigan kong si Seth

Napatigil ako at lumingon sa daan. He's riding in his motorcycle habang naka-park sa harap ng bahay namin.

"Sakay na!" he added

Hindi ko man gusto pero kailangan. Without hesitation, sumakay na ako at agad siyang humarorot papunta sa school namin, ang Springville University.

Ilang minuto lang ang nakalipas at nakarating kami kaagad. Bumaba kami at tumakbo papunta sa room. 

Right, classmates kami.

Pagbukas namin ng pinto, bumungad sa amin ang aming Math teacher na may kasamang dalawang estudyante. Isang lalaki na matangkad at tsaka isang babae na sobrang ganda.

"Late na naman?" reklamo ni Ms. Enriquez, "Pumasok kaagad kayo at umupo," she added

Agad kaming pumasok at umupo sa aming assigned seat. Nabaling ang tingin ko sa dalawang estudyante at napagtanto ko na hindi sila galing sa school namin. They're from other school. Based on their uniform na suot nila, they're from Academia Technologica- the only school na advanced ang mga gamit nila. Instead of using notebooks, they have this small accessory wherein they will put the files na na-discuss ng professors nila. People call their graduates as Innovators.

"Andito sila para obserbahan ang school natin, our school and the Academia Technologica will be having contract about merging, partnership, and stuff like that. I don't need to tell you the details because you'll know it naman when the right time comes." Ms. Enriquez instructed, "Please introduce yourselves," she added to the newcomers. 

"I'm Scarlet, the Vice President of the Student Council in Academia Technologica."

"I'm Apollo, the President of our Robotics Club."

Well, they do have intimidating vibes and they have the coolest names. As for there apperance, Apollo was hot. The way his hair moved along with the wind was attracting. Not to mention that his hazel nut eyes were mesmerizing. He's tall and he really look smart. Beside him was Scarlet, the her scarlet ribbon wnet along with her long black hair was the best view for me.

"Please sit at the back," Ms. Enriquez said

May bakanteng upuan ako sa gilid ko tapos isang space tapos bakante ulit. One of them will be sitting beside me.

Umupo si Apollo sa tabi ko habang si Scarlet ay nasa kabila.

Well, mabango siya. Not bad.

Lumabas muna si Ms. Enriquez at iniwan kaming lahat sa room. Nasa kabilang gilid ko kasi ang bintana kay napatingin ako sa labas. Ang aga-aga pero walang sinag ng araw. Napakasama ng panahon. I can't even feel the dry air. Summer season ngayon kaya ang weird. I guess, the climate change affected the seasons as well. Our planet is dying. Ironically, humans live here in Earth and Earth doesn't need humans to live— maybe one of this days, human race will come to an end.

Everybody was silent which is pretty unusual to me, it’s as if parang may kakaibang mangyayari. Honestly, this is the only time na parang kinakabahan ako.

Tumayo ako at akmang umalis pero pinigilan ako ni Seth. Yep, he has the right to stop me— he's our Class President after all.

"Pupunta lang ako sa Science Building," paalam ko at lumabas na talaga ng room

Bumaba ako sa main building at naglakad papunta sa Science Building. Nadadaanan ko ang mga dormitories, train station, canteen buildings, malls at iba pa. Take note, sa school lang namin yan— hindi sa buong bayan.

Nang makarating ako sa Science Building, andito rin yung ibang club members ng club ko. Well I'm the Science Club President of Springville University and this building belongs to me as well. Napansin ko ang pagbuhos ng ulan so maybe this is a sign to skip my first period. Maybe I should do something total hindi rin naman ako makakablik sa room for now.

Dumeritso ako sa Chemistry Room at kinuha ang mga apparatus na linagyan ko lang ng tubig para makuha ang mga natitirang dumi dahil sa experiment na ginawa namin kahapon. Hindi na ako papasok sa Math at napagdesisyonan ko na tataposin ko nalang ang paglinis.

Minutes have passed, napatigil ako at napatingin sa bintana na nasa harap ko. The rain stopped at ramdam ko na rin ang init. The sky turned pink at napakunot yung noo ko.

"Pink skies, warm sunlight, beautiful clouds formation," bulong ko

Seeing those things in front of me made me think that something unusual is gonna happen... Some people call it, the calm before the storm.

After cleaning the test tubes, inisa-isa ko silang nilagay sa drying area and I heard the bell rang. Umalis ako sa Science building at bumalik sa room. Second subject na kasi which is Science, my favorite subject.

Pagpasok ko sa room, napatingin agad ako kay Seth na galit na galit sakin kasi hindi ulit ako pumasok. I smiled at him raising my right hand with a peace sign.

"Gago," sabi pa nya at tumawa ako

I went to my chair and sat. I glanced at Apollo who has his air pods on his ears at nakatingin sa phone niya. I peeked on his phone and saw a headline news about genetic engineering stuff.

Well, yeah. Lately scientist have been editing the DNA of animals and humans.

Genetic engineering can literally wipe off genetic diseases. People say the can make a perfect human being-- I doubt about that. They may be able to get get rid of the genetic diseases but if not tested enough, they may put new kind of disease to someone.

I mean, it's not wrong to get rid of damaged genes but letting it act according to its nature is safer.

"Genetic Engineering huh..." I heard him whispered as he is scrolling down on his phone.

I peeked again and I saw a headline saying ‘We can extend our lives’.

How is that possible? 

Nabigla ako nang kinuha niya ang air pods niya at tumingin sakin.

"Can you mind your own business?" he said with a cold voice that left me speechless

Binalik niya ang airpods niya and this time, he kept his phone. He glanced at me and he stood up tsaka lumabas siya.

"Sorry about that," Scarlet said with a smile na mukhang napansin ang nangyari at ginawa ng kasama niya, 

Now, this girl is pretty.

OUR MORNING classes just ended. Bago ako pupunta sa cafeteria, I'm gonna go check the appratuses if dry na ba sila. If they are, then I'm gonna keep them inside the cabinet again.

I was about to enter the building but I saw Apollo watching me from the chemistry room. Dali-dali akong umakyat para puntahan siya. When I went in, the test tubes were already inside the cabinet.

Pumasok ako sa Chem room and I saw him beside the sink, watching me coldly.

"This room," he mumbled as he gazed his eyes around the room, "Sucks, The microscopes are old-fashioned. The test tube holders are okay but are ugly—its color even faded. What a shame," he added with a smirk

Agad akong lumapit sa kanya at hinawakan ang kwelyo niya.

"Bawiin mo yun!" I shouted

He gave me a smile—now, that made me angry. I was about to punch him but I stopped when I heard a loud bam. After that loud sound, the cabinets, windows, and roof cracked.

An earthquake then followed.

Napahawak ako sa mesa at isa-isang nahulog ang mga apparatus.

What the hell?

"What the hell is happ---" I stopped when he grabbed me

"What the—“ putol niyang sabi

And everything just went black.