Episode 1 - Rebound

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P-roes Spin-Off

Pisay Garnet 2013

Ordinary People. Extraordinary Abilities.

Real People. Unreal Adventure.

Episode 1 – Rebound

Written and directed by Bianca Publico

Co-directed by Marianne Cadiz and Andrei Jimenez

________________________

“Are all the invitations in order?” His swivel chair turned slightly toward Issa, though not enough for her to see him.
“Yes, sir. All 100 envelopes have been signed and sealed. They’re just waiting for the OK to be sent.” She sighed internally. He had a way of making everything sound mysterious. They were just invitations.
“Thank you. Tell the boys to send them immediately.”
“Right away… Mr. Ybiernas.”
“And, Issa?”
“Sir?”
“Screw formalities, you can call me Rham.”
Issa smiled. “If you say so.”
“Come on!” He swung his chair around, and addressed her in a high-pitched, strangely accented voice, looking entirely like a girl if not for his hair. “Sister, what’s the point of being high school girlfriends?”
Issa laughed, as she couldn’t prevent, even way back then. The whole class always did, no matter how often Rham pulled it off. “Ew, Rham, seriously, until now?”

-xxxxx-

Gene was doubled over, both hands on his knees. He breathed deeply, savoring the air in his lungs, trying to cool himself down… slow down his heart. The crowd was roaring, but he did not hear.
“Gene… come on.” That voice sounded so far away…
He looked up. A boy in glasses with a slightly nasally voice had grasped his shoulder. “The free throw’s on.”
It came back to him—he could now fully recognize the crowd’s racket. It pressed into his ears, cheering the opponent on.
It was hot. The gym was too small for the absurdly large number of people in it for the game, and combined with the fact that he was playing the last few, fierce minutes, it was certainly a heated game—in more ways than one.
“I’m coming… Emman.”
He walked over to the edge of the key area, and watched the ball go in. Of course.
Gene had fouled the key player of the opposing team—one that Gene had not bothered to take the name of—while he was scoring, and the ‘basketball genius’ , as dubbed by the media, still managed to score three points. He’d scored five in one go—the three points, and the two free throws. It pushed up their lead to twenty points, and Gene’s team was losing hope fast.
Emman and Gene were the strongest pairing in the district. The game should have been in the bag. But when one failed, the other did too. Gene was usually at the top of his game, but today he was inexplicably tired. He cursed mentally, wondering why…
He was wrong about one thing, though. The second free throw failed. He gained momentum from his legs and leapt up instinctively for the rebound.
He snatched it from the heads of the other players, and landed firmly on his feet. He quickly passed to Emman, as the clock ticked down. The supporters of their team, silent before, yelled in approval, cheering Emman on.
Then he fell on his face. He didn’t know what had happened, or how. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the pressure of winning the game. Maybe… he was just tired.
The heat was all he could feel. I wish it was just a bit colder… if I’m going out of the game… that, at least.
And cold he got. It started in his palm, an icy breeze… he closed his hand and willed it to stay. He exhaled against the warm, varnished wood, and was subconsciously surprised at how chilly his breath was… until finally, he faded out of consciousness.

-xxxxx-

DJ Daway wandered into the gym, balancing a heavy, hard-bound book in one hand, wondering what all the fuss was about.
Oh, riiight. A basketball game. How boring…
He looked around, slightly annoyed. He hadn’t finished his exam in law school because of this din, and started to criticize the scheduling of events in this school mentally, until something peculiar caught his eye.
Leaning against the doorframe to the gym was a young person dressed in khaki shorts and an oversized black jacket. DJ wasn’t sure of the gender, but it was almost certainly a boy, from the way he held himself, and the swagger he had. The hood was pulled over his eyes and his hands were in his jacket pockets, as though the temperature was low rather than high.
He watched the game with amused eyes, though not seeming to cheer for either team. He just stood quietly, unmoving. It wasn’t too strange, in a college dotted with weirdos.
DJ had never seen him before. He internally debated about asking, but decided against it.
When Gene Gansit fell, the boy smiled and headed for the clinic.

-xxxxx-

Andrei had been sleeping quietly in bed when he started awake for no apparent reason. He shut his eyes hard and opened them once more, cursing the sun in his eyes. He really had to buy some curtains soon.
He glanced around his apartment. It was barely in order—only enough for him to get around and find stuff he needed, when he needed.
Of course, he knew his apartment well enough to recognize that something was off-place. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe after some coffee… hey, what is this?
He bent down and grabbed a flashy pink envelope from the floor next to the door. He never received mail, save the occasional random stuff he threw away after seeing the sender. This one, though, he could not simply throw away.
From: Rham Ybiernas
Ybiernas Industries
Andrei kept a deadpan face on.
Who was this guy again? He rang a few rusty bells…
Ybiernas Industries, huh?
He tore open the envelope, and pulled out an equally pink card. Whoever made these cards was surely not thinking that neon colors make it hard to read. He squinted, and deciphered that it was an invitation to a formal dance, scheduled two weeks from today. Dates were not required, but encouraged… there will be a banquet… please wear formal clothing, which should not (he skipped that part, he knew that already)… your attendance will be much appreciated… yours truly, Rham Ybiernas, CEO.
And it clicked. Rham was an old college acquaintance. Not one he’d like to remember, to be honest.
He looked up from the letter. A dance, huh? More like a grown-up prom. Tch.
I wonder if he’d like a little present from me…
He dug up several black, metallic spheres the size of snowglobes and clutched them tight. Great, I still have these. I’ve been saving them for a special occasion…

-xxxxx-

“Now see here, I may look like a child—”
“Not now, Kirby.” There was a sure sign of boredom and sleepiness in his voice, even though they had just emerged from a heated argument.
Kirby’s cheeks puffed out, as they did when he was angry. “You never want to continue arguing when I’m winning.”
His companion tilted his chair farther back, yawning. His eyes were closed, ready to sleep, almost as though he weren’t in one of the most dangerous rooms in the entire building.
“Paul, get off that soldering iron!”
The tired-looking boy jumped forward, nursing a burn on his elbow. Before he could cuss quietly, Kirby said, “Not my fault. Go to the events coordinator, what’s-her-name—”
“Ms. Garcia?”
“Yeah, her. She has a first-aid kit in her office for emergencies… give the nurse a break for once.”
Paul stood lazily. “Which way is her office?”
“One of the reserves in the second floor, I think.”
As Paul slouched out, Kirby made sure no one else was around or inside their electronics lab.
Kirby Manuel was an electronics engineer for Ybiernas Industries, and had to work with scalding hot metals all the time. Being quite inattentive at times, he sometimes forgot to put on safety gloves in his haste to complete circuits.
A normal person would get a second degree burn from touching newly soldered lead, but the first time Kirby had unwittingly done so, he didn’t even notice he was touching it. When he did notice, he yelled, pulled his hand away curiously and examined the unharmed skin.
To make sure, he had secretly soldered some of the lead and touched it. It still wasn’t painful.
Yet, he hadn’t tried touching the soldering iron himself. It was a lot hotter than the lead, so he didn’t dare try. But his curiosity overcame him…

-xxxxx-

“…least he lasted long enough to pass you the ball.”
“True. Still, they won by a margin of 18.”
Gene recognized Emman’s voice. The other’s was a girl. But firstly… where were they?
He tried to raise his head.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Gene blinked. Emman and two other girls came into focus.
“Where—”
“In the clinic,” the shorter girl said. “You blacked out after passing Emman the ball. You were in a game, remember?”
“I scored two points, but time ran out soon after. I’m sorry, Gene.”
“No, the guilt is mine. I’m sorry I was so tired.”
“The game’s done. At least we’re still in the running for second place.”
“Yeah.” Wanting to cut the awkward silence, Gene said, “Monchai, I thought you said you weren’t coming?”
“We called it off,” the shorter girl, Monchai, replied. “Alyssa and I wouldn’t want to miss Emman’s big game, now would we?” she crooned. Emman adjusted his glasses sheepishly.
“You both did great, Gene. That opponent was just lucky,” Alyssa said in a dismissive voice.
Gene thought it was pointless to keep insisting that he was tired, so he said instead, “Hey, did you guys get a letter from Rham?”
Monchai and Alyssa laughed. “You mean that pink thing he calls a ‘formal letter’? He so hasn’t changed.”
“Well, are you going?”
“Of course! It’s Rham, after all. Don’t you want to know how he throws a party?”
The honest answer was ‘no’, but he didn’t want to give it.
“It’s also a good way to reconnect with old friends. I hear he’s inviting everyone he’s ever known from first year high school to college.”
“He is a fresh graduate. Actually impressive of him, having a company at an age like that.”
They chatted reminiscently a bit more, about the idiocies they did during the one class they all shared—The Life And Works Of Jose Rizal. Soon after, the nurse called his visitors out for being too noisy, then came in and took the pitcher of water he’d emptied.
Gene sighed as she left. He thought back to the match, and was thankful that they were still in the running. He closed his eyes, letting the game flood back to him.

Foul.
Free throw.
Miss.
Jump.
Rebound.
Pass.


And then he remembered. Collapsing, and that cold draft. He raised his hands and stared at them intently. Nothing seemed wrong. He tried blowing on them. Nada.
He thought back to the time when the chill appeared. He’d simply willed them to, because he was sweltering hot. Gene tried to imagine that again, and surprisingly, the sensation was clearer than ever.
Abruptly, the room temperature started dropping. Gene panicked, unsure if it was him or not. Almost as suddenly, it started going back up. He sighed in relief.
Someone knocked. He bade them to enter, glancing nervously at the temperature indicator again.
It was a small, hooded boy. Gene couldn’t see his eyes, but he could see his mouth. His smile looked friendly, but the black was contrasting it.
“I’m sorry to ask, but… who are you?”
“That’s a really good question.” He pulled down his hood.
Gene gasped. He was a girl.
“You’re surprised that I’m a girl, yes? Most people are. I guess it’s just the oversized jacket.” She plucked at it.
“Your eyes…”
“… also, always the second thing to be noted. Yes, I’m blind.” She grinned at him, looking pleased with herself. “Sorry, I like guessing stuff.”
“Okay, so…” Gene looked at the bizarre girl. “…um, do I know you?”
“Nope. But I know you. I know of your ability.”
He balled his hands into fists. “H-how—”
“Right now, that’s not really important. I’m here to help you, to help you control your power before it goes awry.”
“How exactly are you going to make me come with you?”
“Oh, that was taken care of already. The rehydration salts in your water earlier was spiked with sleeping powder.” Her bottom lip jutted out. “Trust me, I never wanted to do it. But I’m have to, so…”
Gene felt the first few traces of drowsiness. Man, the stuff they had was powerful. Waves of drowsiness swept over him; his eyes started drooping.
“Who… who are y-you working for?”
“We call ourselves The Company. But, hm. Maybe I don’t have the authority to say that. We’re what you would call a branch, really.”
- - - - -
The walls start breathing, my mind’s unweaving
Maybe it’s best you leave me alone
A weight is lifted on this evening
I give the final blow
- It Ends Tonight by All American Rejects

End of Episode 1.