Once upon a time, when I was studying in English class, suddenly something strange happened. An English teacher came out to find out what had happened. I and my friends felt so scared in the class. After 10 minutes, the English teacher didn’t come back. What was wrong? We didn’t know. While we were frightened and kept silent, suddenly an unknown person came in with left eye patch like a pirate and a half mask covered his left cheek. With a careful step, he closed door.
UP (Unknown Person): “Sorry to annoy you, (he looked at the students face then…) or sorry to make you afraid. I just wanna tell you that someone has just been kidnapped. She is a student from another class.”
G (Gricela) : “A girl?”
UP : “Yes, she is.”
G : “what’s her name?”
UP : “Mm… I don’t know, but I heard the kidnapper called her ‘Reyna’.”
G : “My God.” (Speak Slowly)
UP : “Do you know her?”
G : “I get to know her but not too close.”
Yoyo : “By the way, where is our teacher?”
UP : “There’re a lot of teachers down there. I saw them in the teacher’s room. They are being kept by the kidnappers.”
Riz (Rizel) : “How many kidnappers down there?”
UP : “Mm… Maybe there are about 5 kidnappers. I don’t know if there’re still other kidnappers out there.
Ok! Stop asking me! I’ll tell you an important thing from one of them.”
Rid (Ridi) : “Are you their friend? How can we trust you?”
UP : “Calm down! I’m just pretending to be their friends.”
G : “You’re playing with fire.”
UP : “I wanna talk…”
Riz : “Please, go ahead”
UP : “Which one is Gricela?”
Everyone looked at me with scared eye.
G : “Me, what’s up?”
UP : “You have to negotiate with the kidnapper if you want her to stay alive.”
G : “Do you have any idea what I have to negotiate?”
UP : “I don’t know. I’m just doing what he said.”
G : “Ok.” (I stood up and walked to the door and was followed by the UP)
Riz : “Wait!”
Spontaneously, I and the UP stopped walking.
G : “What’s up, Riz?”
Riz : “Why does she have to do it, man?”
UP : “I’ve told you, I don’t know anything. I’m just doing what he said.”
G : “Oya, Ridi! Do you bring your laptop?”
Rid : “Of course.”
G : “Use it to call the police and arrange everything.
Mm… The others just help him or do something useful! Maybe I would come back alive or not.”
Riz : “No!”
Everybody kept silent. I, the UP, and Rizel came out.
G : “Sorry, you can wait for me downstairs.”
UP : “Won’t be long! Ok?”
G : “Ok!”
After he went away, Rizel talked to me hysterically.
Riz : “You shouldn’t do this, Cel!”
G : “Why? I’ve to help everybody, right?”
Riz : “But…”
G : “What’s a matter?”
Riz : “But… you still need me to help you in the negotiation.”
G : “They only need me, Riz! Not you!! I don’t want you to be involved just because of me. If something happened to you I would have had to shoulder the responsibility, and I don’t want that to happen.
I left and went downstairs. But he grabbed my hand when I was at half the stairs.
Riz : “Wait!”
G : “What’s up Riz?”
Riz : “Why don’t you make me your representative?
G : “It won’t work, Riz!
Actually, what’s in your mind?”
Riz : “I’m thinking of your safety.”
G : “I don’t think so.”
Riz : “Yes, I do!”
G : “No, you don’t! I think, you’re thinking of Reyna’s safety.”
Riz : “Yah… of course, but…”
G : “Yah! Of course! Because you like her.”
He kept silent for a while.
Riz : “Please… Let me help you!”
G : “Do you think a girl like me is weaker than you?”
Riz : “No, I don’t.”
G : “I just have to negotiate, Riz. Not to fight physically. I can handle that. Ok?
Riz : “But, Cel…”
G : “Shut up! Go back to the class! I’m in hurry, you know that.”
So, I went downstairs again, but suddenly I heard him say…
Riz : “You did it for me, right? Because you like me. You can’t lie to me. I appreciate what you’ve done. Hey, remember? I wanna do anything for you and this is the time for me to prove what’ I’ve said.”
G : “I’m sorry Riz.” (I said without facing him)
At downstairs, I met the UP. He turned back to pretend as a cruel guy. He grabbed my hands tightly and brought me to the… kidnapper’s negotiator (??) The UP pushed me down. I was in the principal’s room with the kidnapper’s negotiator (?). The door was closed.
KN : “Just the two of us, girl!”
G : “Who are you?”
I was sitting on the floor and he was standing in front of me, he acted like… I don’t know… Not scary at all. Just his face was like the UP. I thought all kidnappers wore those things.
KN : “Hey! Don’t be in a hurry. Why don’t you stand up then sit down here?” (He pointed to the chair beside him)
I stood up and suddenly he grabbed my hand tightly and uncouthly. He pushed me to the chair next to him, he sat on the corner of the desk.
G : “Ok! I’m sitting now. What do you want from me?”
KN : “First, I just want you to know me. You don’t know me yet, right?”
G : “So, who are you?”
KN : “Hey! Don’t talk until I ask you to or everyone will die!
Ok! Actually, I’m Rizel’s friend. Not just me, but we all are.
Second, we know that you like Rizel.
Third, you have to keep away from Rizel, not make communication in sms or chitchat.
Fourth, it’s your turn!”
G : “Looser!”
KN : “Oya? (he took a knife from his pocket and pointed it into my face).
You dare me?
G : “I just wanna talk. You will let me do that, right?”
KN : “Ok! Please, go ahead!”
G : “You just want me to keep away from him and that’s a simple thing. But why are you kidnapping Reyna? Not me?
KN : “Good question. I just wanna dare you to save her for him. You know that he likes her.”
G : “That’s all?”
KN : “Not really… Because I like you, I don’t want you to keep close to another man, especially Rizel.”
G : “Crazy!”
KN : “Yes, I am.”
G : “But, why are the teachers also being involved?”
KN : “Oo… It’s just to tighten the condition. Ha..ha..ha..”
G : “Ok! I will keep away from him and not make anymore communication with him. Deal! And now, set us free!”
KN : “Easier to be said than done, huh?”
G : “Oo, please… We’ve already made a deal.”
KN : “O yeah! But, I haven’t told you the consequences yet. I’ll give you a punishment if you contravene that deal.”
G : “What’s that?”
KN : “First, if you talk to him or make such communication with him and I don’t know, it’s lucky for you, but…
Second, if you do that and I know it, I’ll take you to somewhere strange and nobody’s there. And I’ll do what I wanna do. Hahaha…”
G : “What if I told Rizel about you?”
KN : “You don’t even know my name?”
G : “Indeed, I don’t know your name, but who else would know about his personality and secret except his best friend? Huh?
KN : “How clever you are!”
G : “You can say that again. What kind of best friend are you?”
KN : “Hey… I’m just doing all of this for you, honey… Not for him…”
G : “But you also don’t think about impact on him although you do this for me!”
KN : “O yeah?” (Apparently, his face looked like shock). How could I?
G : “Ask him! You’re his best friend, right?”
I don’t know whether he felt guilty or not.
G : “Ok! You’ve said the core of the problem and talked about this unimportant thing. Your job now is to set us free, please…”
KN : “Ok! Right!”
Then he ordered his friends to go out one by one after setting the hostages free. I was waiting for the police but nothing happened. I went upstairs and came in to the class. Everybody was still there.
G : “Where are the police, Rid?”
Rid : “I’m sorry Cel! I don’t know what happened; suddenly this thing couldn’t connect to the police. I’ve tried it.
By the way, is everything ok, now?”
G : “Of course! I’m still alive.
Go home now friends! The kidnappers have gone. Good bye!”
I went out, suddenly…
Riz : “Cel! Wait! Is everybody ok?”
I was still in my position, not facing him.
G : “Don’t look at me, Riz! Or, I’ll die…”
Riz : “What?”
G : “O yeah… You changed the word ‘Reyna’ with ‘everybody’, right?
I think, she’s ok because I just saw her at a glance.
You have to be happy because ‘everybody’ is ok. Good bye!”
Riz : “Please, Cel! Don’t say Reyna, Reyna, and Reyna again. Because the one that I like is…
G : “Reyna… Don’t lie to your heart! You have a spirit to be close to her.
By the way, don’t disturb me again. I have had been enough occasion and I won’t come back.”
After that, I really went away. I don’t know what happened to him next. I heard Yoyo calmed him down. Everything’s back to the normal. Everyone felt free and had a little smile. I just came out from that place by foot. Went nowhere! The first that I thought was Puntang Mountain. But I don’t know the way to that place. So… I just walked away in the rain.
about 2006-2007