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“Whoa!” “Cool!” “Ang ganda grabe!” Those were the reactions of my fellow transferees. There were more or less fifty students who still couldn’t take their eyes off the extraordinary spectacle. We walked toward the main gate, which seemed to grow larger as we made our way to it. Huminto naman ang mga sumundo sa amin kaya napahinto rin kami sa harapan ng gate. “Admission slips?” the guy with the brownish hair asked. Halos lahat kami ay dali-daling nilabas ang kanya-kanya naming admission slip. Pinapila kami ng isa pang lalaki at saka niya isa-isang tiningnan at kinuha ang slips namin. He inserted it into a device embedded on the center bars of the gate. I was quite far from the front line but I think it was a card or paper slot equipment. Hinintay ko kung ano ang mangyayari at napanganga ako nang makita kong kinuha ng sundo namin ang lumabas sa likod ng device. The slip had been transformed into an ID. “Cool,” I murmured after seeing that. “Anong cool?” Napatingin naman ako sa babae sa harapan ko. “Uhm, ‘yong slip kasi natin, nagiging ID. Ayun o,” sabay turo ko sa device na nasa gitna pero kumunot lang ang noo niya. “Huh? Wala akong makita.” “Ah, medyo maliit kasi.” She raised her brow at me so I immediately stopped talking. Sabi ko nga, mukhang malabo ang mga mata niya at hindi niya makita ‘yon. Hindi ko na lang siya pinansin at gano’n din naman ang ginawa niya. I waited for my turn and maybe about ten minutes had passed before I got in front. “Rainie Lazaro?” one of the guides called. Lumapit naman ako sa kanya at binigay ang slip ko. He put that inside the device and after a few seconds, he gave me my ID. Kahit na ilang beses ko na ‘yong nakita kanina habang hinihintay kong mapunta ako sa unahan ay napanganga pa rin ako. It was innovative and cool. Tiningnan ko ang ID ko pero wala pa itong picture. Itatanong ko na sana sa guide pero naunahan niya ako. “Just follow them,” sabay turo niya sa mga estudyanteng nauna sa akin. “Your photos will be taken there,” sabi niya habang nakangiti at tumango naman ako. Nagsimula akong maglakad habang bitbit ang malaking kong maleta. Pumasok ako ro’n sa main gate at sinundan ko ang babae sa harapan ko na nagtanong kung ano ang nakita ko kanina pero napahinto ako nang makapasok na ako sa loob. I suddenly felt insignificant. Right after the main gate, a Japanese-style garden came into view. A lush carpet of green covered the ground which were set against groves of trees with various leaf colors. Stones of different sizes were also lined and stacked at the sides while some were made as stepping stones. Beyond that was a short and curved stone bridge, surrounded by flowering trees and plants, which connected the entrance to a building that looked like a traditional temple. Dahil iyon lang ang daan papunta sa loob ay pumasok kami ro’n. We were greeted by several staffs who were dressed differently from our guides. Instead of formal attire, they were wearing a certain kind of uniform—white polo shirt with a badge bearing the symbol of a gear. “Please follow them,” one of the women said while gesturing at the students who were exiting the temple. “Whoa, Intelligence department staffs,” rinig kong sabi ng nasa likuran ko. “Sabi ng Mom ko, sila ang pinakamagagaling na Senshins dito.” Intelligence department? Senshins? Ano naman ang mga ‘yon? Natigil ang pakikinig ko nang makalabas kami mula sa building na iyon dahil bumungad sa akin ang campus. “Wow,” I blurted as I saw several buildings that girdled the campus. But what surprised me the most was the ginormous structure standing a hundred meters away from me. Sinundan ko na lang ulit ang babaeng kasunod ko at naglakad kami papunta sa building sa kanan ng temple. Pagpasok namin ay bumungad ang malaking lobby kung saan may information desk. Isa-isa kaming lumapit doon at pinaiwan ang mga dala naming gamit. “Bago ka pala pumunta sa ID Room, magpalit ka muna ng uniform mo. Nasa right side ang CR,” sabi sa akin ng receptionist kaya tumango ako. Agad akong pumunta sa CR at binilisan ko ang pagpapalit dahil baka hindi ko masundan ang nasa harapan ko kanina. Ang laki pa naman ng building na ‘to kaya paniguradong maliligaw ako kung hindi ko man siya maabutan. Sakto namang paglabas ko sa CR ay nakita ko siyang paakyat ng hagdan kaya agad ko siyang sinundan at ilang pagliko at pag-akyat pa ang ginawa namin hanggang sa huminto siya sa tapat ng isang room. Pareho kaming tumingin sa plaque na nasa pader at mukhang tama naman kami ng pinuntahan dahil ‘ID Room’ ang nakalagay. I followed her inside and I gasped when I saw the room’s interior. Nakaawang lang ang bibig ko habang nililibot ang paningin sa kwarto. I didn’t expect it to be as huge as an airport terminal. With careful steps, I approached the waiting area which was three times larger than our house. “Perez, Ariella?” tawag ng staff na nakapwesto sa gitna. Tumayo ang babaeng sinusundan ko at pumunta roon. Pinaharap naman siya ng babae sa may malaking salamin na naka-display sa gilid niya. “Smile Ms. Perez. Gusto mo bang nakasimangot ka sa ID Picture mo?” the woman said and Ms. Perez had no choice but to smile. I was confused with what she had said but all of a sudden, the mirror illuminated as if it was a gigantic camera. After a few seconds, the device beside it ejected the ID, now with a photo and a lace. Wow. That was too cool! “Lazaro, Rainie?” Napatayo agad ako at biglang kumabog nang malakas ang puso ko. Grabe naman, bakit ako kinakabahan? Pipicture-an ka lang, Rainie, huwag kang OA! I breathed deeply to calm my nerves and looked at the lady. I was waiting for her instuctions but my mouth fell open when I saw something . . . weird. “Ohh, sorry,” she said as her lips curled upward. That was definitely weird. I mean, her eye color suddenly turned green but after a second, it reverted to yellow. I didn’t even notice earlier that her eye color was yellow! Oh my God. Ibig bang sabihin ay hindi ako nagha-hallucinate noong nakita kong naging green ang mata ni Ma’am Castro? Napailing ako bigla at naramdaman ko ang pagtaas ng mga balahibo ko sa katawan. Ano ba ‘tong napasok ko? Anong klaseng ng mga tao ang nandito? Kaya nilang baguhin ang kulay ng mga mata nila. Anong magic ‘to? Nakakakilabot. Nakakatakot. “Ms. Lazaro, please look at the mirror,” she ordered. Huminga naman ako nang malalim at sinubukan kong kumalma. I looked at the mirror and saw my confused and terrified expression. Just like what happened earlier, a flash of light met my eyes which was, after a few seconds, translated into a complete ID. “Proceed to Midori Building, Ms. Lazaro.” Nag-bow ako sa nag-a-assist saka ako lumabas ng room. I claimed my things at the counter and pulled the map out of my wallet. Napabuntong-hininga naman ako nang maramdaman kong muli ang bigat ng mga gamit ko. Ang laki-laki pa rin naman ng campus at parang wala namang ibang choice dito kundi lumakad. Pagtingin ko sa mapa, iyong pinakamalaking building pala sa harapan ang Midori Building. Naglakad ako papunta ro’n at bigla akong napaisip kung bakit gano’n ang pangalan no’n. Was it named after a person? Or was it another Japanese term? Napahinto ako sa paglalakad nang makita ko kung ano ang naghihintay sa harapan ng Midori Building. Hundreds of students were waiting in front of the building. Some were around my age but what surprised me were those who looked like toddlers. Meron palang pre-school level dito. “Students,” said the guy in front, calling our attention. “Today marks the start of another school year, but before anything else, transferees and newly-admitted students, please step forward.” Bigla namang kumabog nang malakas ang dibdib ko pagkarinig ko no’n. Bakit pupunta sa harapan? Wait, don’t tell me we need to introduce ourselves in front of this crowd? Wala naman akong nagawa kundi pumunta sa harapan kasama ng iba pang transferees kahit na sobrang kinakabahan na ako. Doon ko lang din nalaman na ang tinutukoy niya palang newly-admitted students ay ‘yong mga bata na 4-5 years old. Nang nasa harapan na kaming lahat ay halos nagpapawis na ang kamay ko sa sobrang kaba. Paano ba naman kasi, lahat ng natirang estudyante sa gitna ay nakatingin sa amin. The remaining students suddenly arranged themselves into six lines, though it was a bit weird since the leftmost line was made up of only five students. Anyway, the student at the front of each line held a cardboard with unfamiliar words written on it. May nakasulat na Hana, habang ang kasunod naman ay Mimi-- “Newly-admitted students and transferees, please take a look at your ID,” the guy ordered. “As you can see, your student number is alphanumeric. The first letter denotes the family where you belong.” Wait. Family? Para saan? “You are categorized according to your senses and these people will become your family,” sabay turo niya sa mga nakalinya sa likuran namin. “Those who have A on their student numbers, please join the Me family; B, Hana family; C, Mimi family; D, Kuchi family; and E, Hada family. These are the Japanese words for your sixth senses’ categories. Your respective families will explain it to you in details.” Tiningnan ko naman ang ID ko: MT203-F05647. Okay? Nasaan ang A-E rito? Bakit wala? Isa-isa namang nagsilapitan ang mga kasama ko sa mga pila habang ako ay nakatingin pa rin sa ID ko, nagdadasal na sana ay may lumabas na A-E pero walang nangyari. Ano ba ‘to? Bakit walang A, B, C, D, o E rito? Niloloko ba nila ako? Wala ba akong magiging family? Nagkaroon ba ng problema ang machine noong na-print ang ID ko? Dahil unti-unti nang nauubos ang mga nasa harapan at ayoko namang maiwang mag-isa roon, lumapit ako sa nagsasalita para magtanong. “Uhm, excuse me po, Sir.” The guy looked at me and flashed a smile. “Yes?” Napaatras ako dahil sa kulay ng mga mata niya. He has green eyes, just like some of the people here. “I-itatanong ko lang po sana kung . . . kung may mali po ba sa ID ko.” “Ha? Why?” Kumunot ang noo niya kaya naman dali-daling kong ibinigay ang ID ko. He looked at it and I saw the confusion in his expression. Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin niya sa akin at sa ID ko kaya bigla akong kinabahan. He gave it back to me and pulled the mic out of the stand. Hala, baka ipahiya niya ako. Baka hindi ko lang talaga nakita ‘yong A-E sa ID ko. “MT belongs to ‘Atama family’,” he added. Oh, ‘yon naman pala. Meron pa palang isa. Kasi naman, bakit hindi niya sinabi lahat? Tumalikod naman ako para sana hanapin ang family ko pero napahinto ako nang makita kong nakatingin silang lahat sa akin. Oh, god. Awkward. Please don’t look at me. “Go, Ms. Lazaro. Pumunta ka na sa family mo,” bulong sa akin ng lalaki na kinausap ko. I let out a sigh as I scanned the cardboard held by the student in each line but I halted when I saw the Atama family sign. It was the leftmost line with only five students and as I approached them, I felt something off, as if that group was some sort of trouble. Nang papalapit na ako ay nakatingin na sa akin ang limang estudyante—dalawang babae at tatlong lalaki. One of the girls seemed familiar but I couldn’t remember . . . wait . . . “I-ikaw si Rizelle Querino ‘di ba?” tanong ko agad nang makarating ako sa pila na ikinagulat ni Rizelle. Doon ko lang na-realize ang ginawa ko kaya napaatras ako sa hiya pero tumango naman siya. So it was really her! She was that second-year student who quit last school year. Hindi ko akalaing makikita ko siya rito kahit na sinabi ni Ma’am Castro sa akin na dito na siya nag-aaral. “Wow! You know each other? Cool!” My gaze shifted to the girl who stood out the most because of her red hair and elegant beauty. “Well, it’s really nice na may babae ulit dito. Exciting!” she giggled as she anchored her arms to me and Rizelle. Hindi naman ako nakagalaw dahil sa ginawa niya. “What’s your name?” one of the guys asked and his yellow eyes stared at me with curiosity. “R-Rainie Lazaro,” I nervously responded. “So, Rainie Lazaro, welcome to Meitantei, commonly known as Atama family, the best family in Tantei High,” the redhead said while tugging Rizelle and me. Wait. Did I hear it right? The best?
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Purpleyhan Stories
