Chapter 5: The Rooftop Incident

Kate had been to the new building’s rooftop only twice. The second and last time was during the incident with the nerd. Kate was talking to Dion Agustin about the prom posters when it happened.

In the Philippines, prom was usually scheduled on Valentine’s Day itself. CITS’ theme that year was “Timeless”; a product of Dion’s imaginative genius. The decorations were futuristic and involved giant papier-mache robots, gadgets and Dr. Who’s police box in the middle of the gym. They also planned to put up laser lights and special effect smoke. Kate thought the whole concept was original and that Dion had such good taste.  

Dion Agustin was the exact opposite of Josh Guerrero. He was the School Council president and all-around CITS golden boy. He always donned his trademark plastic-frame glasses and perfect Edward Cullen hairdo and was impeccably dressed. Although all guys were required to wear the same short-sleeved white button-down shirt and navy blue trousers (P.E. polo shirt and jogging pants on Thursdays), Dion’s shirts were crisp, wrinkle-free and spotless. He didn’t wear any cologne like Josh and only the basic-courtesy underarm deodorant, but his shirts always smelled of fragrant fabric conditioner. Most of the teachers noticed and complimented him without fail, praising his mother and even asking what brand fabric conditioner she used.   

Mrs. Agustin was a different story altogether. She was dubbed the school mom and was president of the Parent-Teacher Association. Kate guessed like mother, like son. Mrs. Agustin had her own freelance catering business called Agustin OG Treats, which was quite famous and profitable in Concepcion City. Kate’s ma said it was because Mrs. Agustin baked the most sumptuous waffles, macaroons, cassava cakes and brownies; the last was fudgey and melted in the mouth. Kate couldn’t help but agree. Agustin OG Treats prepared far tastier food than the swill they were served at the canteen; probably healthier, too.

Every time Dion celebrated his birthday or when he won an award for some competition (which happened a lot), Mrs. Agustin would throw in-school parties that were open to everybody. Those events were like marathon fiestas to fit the forty-minute lunch break. But all her efforts had paid off because Dion was graduating class valedictorian and was groomed to go to the University of the Philippines, the state and premier university. Kate had seen Mrs. Agustin only a couple of times but thought she resembled Vilma Santos, the Congresswoman of another district in their region.

 On the day of the rooftop incident, Dion was talking to Kate about renting a photo booth for prom when a couple other 11th-graders she barely knew came to tell her something urgent. The boys said that their classmate, the nerd, had been forcibly taken by Josh and his gang to the rooftop. Everyone in school knew who Kate was to Josh, but she didn’t know what they expected her to do. The boys looked very scared, however, so Kate wasted no time and ran to the new building.

“Kate, don’t go there!” Dion called after her. “It’s not safe.”

Kate didn’t have time to think about her own safety. She was worried that Josh would finally do something extreme and jeopardize his future. Her rough idea was to talk some sense into him.

The new school building had four floors. It was meant for the 7th, 10th and 12th-graders. Kate and her friends thought it was because newcomers needed to have a good first impression and the graduating class needed to have a good view that they could take away with them. It still didn’t explain the distance she had to cross though, to get to the building and then climb to the rooftop.

The door looked like most rooftop doors. It was small, dusty from lack of use and covered with graffiti. Kate remembered stepping through it only one other time when she was on 7th grade. Their TLE teacher had borrowed the key from the janitor, divided them into groups and let them figure out a practical problem involving a hard-boiled egg, a plastic bag, some Scotch tape and popsicle sticks. Long story short, Kate and all the other students had to pick up a lot of broken Humpty-Dumpty paratroopers off the concrete patio below.   

The open rooftop door looked ominous to Kate, simply because it was such a rare sight. As her breath came ragged and her heart pounded, she felt as though she was running up the exit of a dark tunnel. It felt slightly claustrophobic. But it was what greeted her along with the dazzling brightness that would be etched in her memory.

Josh and The Retaliators were standing around the 11th-grader. The nerd, for some crazy reason that made Kate very embarrassed, had been stripped down to his tighty-whities, socks and his Coke bottle eyeglasses (cracked). The Retaliators were jeering at him.  

Kate raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Then her eyes settled on Josh, who was at the head of the lynch mob and carrying something in his hand. It was a leftover from New Year’s: a local firecracker called Judas’ Belt, which was a string lined up with a hundred smaller triangle-shaped firecrackers and capped with one big firecracker at the end. Once lit, it created a series of noises similar to machine-gun fire.

Josh was holding a Zippo close to the fuse and saying: “Come on, kid. We just wanna check your dance skills. Prom’s coming and you gotta learn the moves, you know.”

The rest of The Retaliators guffawed.

“Maybe we should tie it around his waist,” said George, who was one of the meanest and scariest of Josh’s friends, because of his shaved head and a round cigarette burn-scar in his left check.

George had also given himself the alias Bullseye, based on Daredevil’s arch nemesis in the Webflix series, and because he was the proud owner of the most fearsome slingshot in the country. It was gun-accurate up to fifty meters and had victimized many a poor kid and even some adults.    

“Yeah, maybe he’d fly like a rocketeer,” agreed Luke, who was a chain smoker and had yellow teeth that even Josh was secretly disgusted by.

The fact that everyone was nodding and chuckling, including Josh, bothered Kate. It was so unnerving she called out Josh’s name in a tiny, frightened voice. Almost like a whimper.

Josh turned to her like a dog disturbed from a bone while retaining some of the mask-like vehemence on his face. His brows were knit and his eyes were wildly lit. The corners of his lips were pulled down into a scowl, or a snarl. In that instant, he looked several years older than he was. 

But as soon as Kate registered, surprise seeped into his face and began to soften it. He was quick to nip the transformation in the bud.