QED CLUB: the go-to place of students and teachers in Clark High whenever they have mind-boggling mysteries they want solved. For months, club president Loki Mendez has been managing it alone, but circumstances will force him to open its doors to ne...
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JAMIE
I THOUGHT never na ulit akong pupunta sa auditorium unless manonood ako ng stage play. Wala na rin kasi akong business sa Repertory Club. But it turned out that I was wrong! Umakyat kami ni Lorelei sa fifth floor para makipag-meet sa avid fan and director ng production na inurungan ko—si Stein Alberts.
"Jamie! Have you decided to return to the production?" bati niya sa amin nang may malawak na ngiti. Sorry, but that smile wouldn't convince me to rejoin. "The theater misses you."
Alam ko namang mami-miss ako ng teatro lalo na't laki ako roon—not literally though. Kaso masyado na akong na-attach kaya lalayo muna ako at magpapa-miss pa nang kaunti. "Sorry talaga, Stein, pero gusto ko munang mag-break sa acting."
"So why did you call me out here?" Nakapamulsa si Stein, ibinaling ang tingin sa kasama ko. "And why are you with a QED Club member? Oh, yeah! You're one of them now. Are you investigating something? Am I suspect again?"
"Hi!" Pilit na ngumiti at kumaway sa kanya si Lorelei. "Sinabi mo noong last tayong nagkita na kung kailangan namin ang tulong mo na may connection sa numbers, pwede ka naming puntahan, 'di ba?"
"As a way of expressing my gratitude, yes. How can I help you?"
Sumenyas sa akin si Lorelei. Hindi na niya ako kailangang sabihin pa dahil alam ko na ang gagawin. I wasn't that dumb. Inilabas ko ang aking phone at in-input sa screen ang numbers doon sa riddle. I showed it to bespectacled boy who squinted his eyes at it. Sa salamin pa lang niya, alam ko nang smart itong si Stein kaya malamang alam niya kung ano ang meaning nito. At tama nga ako! May ngiting tagumpay na puminta sa mga labi niya.
"Do you know Polybius?" biglang tanong niya. Saglit kaming nagpalitan ng tingin ni Lorelei bago umiling. Student o teacher ba 'yon sa Clark High? Kung oo, bakit sobrang unique at weird ng name niya? "He was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period. Aside from his work, The Histories, that described the rise of the Roman Republic, he's also responsible for developing a tool for cryptography."
Oh, I see! Akala ko kung sino na. Historical figure pala. Never ko pang na-encounter ang name na 'yon sa history books na binasa ko. Kung nabasa ko na before, e 'di sana na-recall ko na agad?
Pumunit ng kapirasong papel si Stein mula sa small notebook na inilabas niya mula sa kanyang chest pocket. Lumapit ako sa kanya para makita kung ano'ng gagawin niya. May i-d-in-rawing siyang grid doon. "It's known as the Polybius square. Letters of the alphabet are arranged left to right and top to bottom in a five by five square. To fit all twenty-six letters, I and J are combined in one cell. Five numbers are then aligned on top of the square and another five on the left. We arrange the numbers from one to five."
Pakunot nang pakunot ang noo ko habang nakikinig sa kanya. Parang ine-explain niya ang isang math lesson sa akin 'tapos hindi ko pa rin na-gets. Si Lorelei naman, patango-tango na parang gets niya talaga ang ipinapaliwanag ni Stein.
