"Just grab the nurse to fix up that head wound. Blood's like, flowing everywhere!", Ms Manlapaz exclaimed.
"We didn't take you to the clinic 'cause your victims are there. You know, the ones you showered with dirt."
"You're awake and all. But if you feel dizzy or sleepy, holler at me," the guidance counselor kept talking.
"We're taking you to the municipal hospital. But we gotta sort out this mess ASAP. You made quite the mess, but I ain't blaming you entirely. There's gotta be a heavy reason for you to do this. In my years here, I've never seen a student this distressed. You're just one of them," she said as she left her desk and went into another room.
"Ma'am, Magnolia's here," a student said, peeking through the door.
"Alright, let her in," the guidance counselor said as she entered her room.
"C-Chris..." Magnolia sat beside me.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't get hurt much."
"Our classmates ganged up on you... but damn, you were scary! I told you to let it go. Ignore Cons."
Magnolia and I chatted on the comfy sofa in the office. We didn't even realize there were some CAT officers, both guys and gals, and two male teachers around. But then we heard some giggling and "Aayyyyiiiiiee!!" from outside. Everyone was peeking through the big window. The office was in an old building with elevated ground outside, so people were squatting and peeking in.
I noticed the female CAT officers covering their mouths, blushing and giggling. The guys were avoiding my gaze, grinning. The teachers just nodded at me. One of Auntie's friends gave me an "okay?" signal. I nodded back.
Turns out, Magnolia had her face buried in my right shoulder, hugging my upper arm. She smelled so good. I couldn't help but gently touch her face. She was crying, so I let her stay like that. Then the office door opened, and Auntie walked in, making my heart race. Jennifer followed, eyes red from crying. She avoided my gaze when we locked eyes, staring at the floor instead. Then the guidance counselor's room door opened.
"Good morning, Ms. Manlapaz. That's my nephew, Christopher," Auntie said. The male teacher offered Auntie a seat. They moved to a sofa about four arm's lengths away from us. Jennifer sat beside Auntie. Our sofa was near Ms. Manlapaz's desk. The CAT officers gathered at the dining table; the two female officers sat while the three males stood behind them. The windows had no curtains since they were washed yesterday, so the male officers kept signaling the outside crowd to be quiet.
"Good morning, Ma'am Donaldo. Uh, who's with you?"
"Jennifer, she's with Constancio when all this happened. They got me from my class 'cause there was trouble," Auntie said.
Magnolia lifted her head when she heard people talking.
"Who's that with you, Tom-Tom? You two are pretty close," Auntie asked, making Magnolia slightly pull away from me.
"She's my classmate, Auntie. She's Magnolia."
"Classmate or girlfriend?" Auntie teased, not sure if she was kidding or embarrassing us.
"We're just close. We were together before the chaos," Magnolia said.
"Ah, okay... So, now that we're all here, we can start getting everyone's side of the story. It'd be good to transcribe or write down everyone's statements. Mr. Nunez and Mr. Romulo, can you transcribe what Christopher and Magnolia say? And one of you take Jennifer's statement. But this doesn't mean Christopher, Magnolia, and Jennifer are being represented. They're minors, so their legal guardians will discuss resolving this issue. But the school has jurisdiction over the recommendations for Christopher's rehabilitation. Because, for sure, this is traumatizing. We don't want you thinking it's okay to hurt your classmates without serious consequences," Ms. Manlapaz clarified.