Old Clothes and Stale Coffee

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - I Could Live Here

I woke up with my back aching. It seems I have fallen asleep in the laboratory. I look at the notes I had written and was about to stand up when I heard the door slam open.

“Ba’t nandito ka pa?!” Prof. Antonio shouted.

”Are you feeling better, Prof. Antonio?” I asked him, “You were feverish last night, so I gave the dinner I bought to the guards and ordered some porridge for you instead.”

“Sa `yo galing `yung lugaw?” he glared at me.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t put anything in your food. Why would I poison someone I look up to?”

“M-manahimik ka nga! Sabihin mo kung ba’t nandito ka sa lab ko!” he looked at the broken pieces of equipment on the floor and at the new set of test tubes I placed on the rack. “P-pinakeelaman mo ang trabaho ko?!”

“I simply organized it for you.”

“Anong `organized’?! Pa’no mo maaayos ang – “

I handed him my notes.

He looked at them, suspiciously at first, then with shock and disbelieve.

“Saan mo nakuha `to?! Ito ba ang nanakaw mo’ng info mula sa `kin?!”

“Have you given me access to such information?” I asked him.

He looked at me furiously.

“All I did was write down what I found in your smashed experiment.”

Prof. Antonio turned pale.

“So... spy ka nga...” he edges towards the door.

“If I were a spy, would I still be here, telling you what I found?”

That made him stop and think.

“Also, I think you would be interested in the findings I concluded on the last page.”

He frowned as he turned the pages of the notes I gave him.

“How did you come up with this?” he asked, looking at me in a different light. “Matagal ko nang pinag-aaralan ang genome na ito, paano mo...”

“It’s because this genome is closely related to that of a very unique species, and that is – “

He suddenly rushes towards me and covered my mouth.

This was a surprise since he hates touching people, even if he, himself, is a filthy slob.

“Not here,” he whispered. “Hindi maganda ang pakiramdam ko. P’wede mo ba `ko ihatid pauwi? May kotse ka, `di ba?”

“Yes, give me your address and I will take you there.”

About an hour later, we stop in front of a detached, 2 storey house in a private subdivision, surrounded by high concrete walls. He opened the gates, looked around, and signaled me to park my car inside.

“You have a nice house,” I told him as I stepped out of my car. “Do you live here alone?”

The professor went to the back seat and carefully takes out a container where his samples were tightly sealed.

“Ba’t mo natanong?” he asked, looking paranoid, “May balak ka ba’ng patayin ako sa sarili ko’ng pamamahay?”

”No one opened the door for you,” I answered. “Also, the place looks deserted.”

“Hmph. Basta’t sumunod ka na lang sa `kin.”

I did as I was told. The house was huge and mostly empty. Except for a room on the second floor where he led me. It was fully furnished with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.

“I could live here,” I found myself saying out loud.

“Ano, para lalo mo pang manakaw ang mga pinag-aaralan ko?”

“If you don’t trust me, why did you bring me here?”

“Dahil hindi safe ang lab.”

He went to a corner and turned something on. It was a signal jammer. I then noticed that the walls were padded and the ceiling was made of metal. Probably aluminum. He carefully took his samples out one by one and placed them on one of the long tables in the room.

I was about to help him, when he sent me away.

“Bawal kapit! D’yan ka lang sa isang tabi, at `pag `di ka sumunod...” he paused.

”What?” I asked. ”We are the only people in your house, alone in a sealed room, what could you possibly do to me, who is obviously stronger than you?”

“B-basta! `Pag `di ka sumunod.. sisisantihin kita!”

I chose not to reply. I am interested in his work, after all, I have no intention of getting fired, even if I am not actually working for him.

“So... saan ka ba talaga galing?” he asked after setting up his materials. “Sino ka ba talaga?”

“I already told you when we first met, Prof. Antonio. I am Dr. Aahmes Abdel. I am 22 years old, with a PhD in Molecular Biology, Neurophysiology, Neurology, and Psychiatry, and I want to study under your guidance.”

“At ano pa ba ang balak mo’ng matutunan sa `kin? Eto nga at na-summarize mo overnight ang bagay na isa’t-kalahating taon ko nang pinag-aaralan!”

”That is only because you have already paved the way, I merely followed it.”

“Sus. Utot mo!” he came slightly closer to me. “Isa ka rin, `di ba?” he asked, holding his hand up to whisper. ”Isang dominant omega?”

I smiled.

He shivered and stepped back.

“I see you know about our kind.”

“Padala ka ba ni Gagamba?!” he sneered.

“No,” I replied, “I have no idea who that person is. In fact, I am curious to know how many dominant omegas there are in your country.”

He seemed to be taken a-back by this.

“K-kung hindi ka pinadala... sino ka?”

I took a deep sigh.

“I already told you, I am Aahmes Abdel...”

“Oo, pero, sino ka ba talaga?!” he’s starting to panic again.

“Okay, listen carefully,” I tried to calm him down. “I am a member of the Egyptian royalty, and a scientist in my own right. I finished my doctorate in Oxford, you may check with them if you wish. I have written dozens of studies, particularly about secondary gender personality disorders, and I have read each and every one of yours. I am a fan, and am fascinated by how detailed all your research are, considering, you are not even an omega.”

He glared at me. I believe it is less hostile now.

“Wala pa rin ako’ng tiwala sa `yo! Ang huling nagpumilit lumapit sa `kin, ninakawan lang ako.”

“Yes, that was for the omega suppressant, was it not?” his eyebrow raised. “I recognized your style in that Chinese doctor’s dissertation. I was also following your study at that time, about the new omega suppressant that has fewer side effects than the current one. It was good that he didn’t get the whole formula. I believe It is only a matter of time until Universal Laboratories releases this new suppressant to the public?”

“Hmph. Dahil hindi ko ito binibigay kahit kanino!” he said proudly.

“Yes, you have everything in here.” I pointed at my temple.

“How did you know that?!” he asked, wide-eyed.

“You told me last night.”

“Oh...” he looked away, embarrassed. “Anyway, kanina pinapaliwanag mo sa `kin kung pano mo nakita ang genom na nadiskubre ko.”

“Yes, since that genome is very similar to those seen in a very unique species of omegas, of which I am a part of.”

“Tama ka, ito ang pheromone ng isang dominant omega.” he said. “At hindi ako makapaniwalang may nakilala pa ako’ng isang tulad n’yo...”

“And I am willing to let you study me, if you would agree to take me in as your disciple,” I said with a smile.

“What makes you think na kailangan kita?” he asked me, stepping back. “Ni `di mo alam kung ano ang binabalak ko’ng gawin!”

“You are looking for a way to tell a child’s secondary gender even before they reach puberty.”

The professor turns pale again, and I found teasing him quite satisfying.

“H-how did you guess?” he asked

“I did not. I simply studied your samples. The blood specimens in the test tubes you broke all came from children aged 4-8 years old. All of which are pre-adolescents.”

“You can tell that?”

“Yes, I have a very sensitive sense of smell, I can even tell their overall well-being at the time the samples were taken.” He seemed impressed by that. “But, what brought me to that conclusion, was the genome sequence you were mumbling while you were resting in the clinic.”

“I was mumbling?!” he looked surprised.

“Yes. You were mumbling different genome sequences of a newly awoken omega, one by one, as the genome mutates from male to omega.”

“Hindi `yun sapat para isipin mo na gender testing ang pakay ko!” he insisted.

“Then there is that catalyst gene you discovered.”

Professor Antonio’s eyes widened.

“And how did you know about that?” he asked.

“The combinations you were mumbling. There was one sequence I was not familiar with.”

He glared at me.

“I can not believe you actually discovered a new genome a decade after the discovery of the original ones. Truly, you are an outstanding scholar worthy of my admiration!”

“Psh. Nang-uuto ka nanaman!” he said with irritation.

“I am not simply flattering you. I tell you the truth, that is why I am offering myself to you.”

“A-and w-what makes you think that I want you?” he stammered.

“I am a dominant omega,” I answered back. “Like our alpha counterparts who can control their pheromones and are on top of the alpha hierarchy, we dominant omegas have control over our pheromones as well. And not just our pheromones, we can suppress our own estrus and that of others, we can even control dominant alphas if we choose to. We are the ones who are truly on top of the gender hierarchy, on top of the whole human race, even.”

“And that is exactly the reason why DOME’s are a guarded secret!” the professor said.

DOME’s?

So, that’s what they call our kind in this country.

“Yes,” I continued, “in most countries, governments hide us as a natural treasure, while in others, we are hunted and killed like demons. That’s how powerful we are. That’s why we are treated like gods.”

“At ikaw?” he asked, “Bakit mo ko pinuntahan sa maliit na bansang ito kung isang diyos pala ang tingin mo sa sarili mo.”

”Because I like you,” I told him. “Your studies fascinate me, and I want to learn more from you.”

He looked at me skeptically.

“I already told you, I am part of the royal family. In our country, dominant omegas are a tightly guarded secret. We are treasures to them that must be hidden and well guarded. That is why I never told anybody the truth about myself.”

“Kung ganon... bakit mo sinabi sa `kin?”

“Because then, I can make a deal with you.”

“P-pano kung isumbong kita?” he blurted out, “Siguradong pipilitin ka’ng bumalik sa bansa n’yo `pag nalaman nilang nakawala ang isa nilang `treasure’! At p’wede rin kitang hulihin at ibigay sa defense secretary ng pinas para magamit ng bansa namin ang lakas mo!”

I laughed and watched him cringe.

“I know how close you are to omegas. You will never hand me over,” I deducted, “even though you’ve been suspecting me as a spy and tried hard to push me away, you still treated me and the other omegas in your team with more patience, compared to the betas and the few alphas in the laboratory. Also, I have never seen you raise your hand on anybody, no matter how foul-mouthed you are,” I continued. “In fact, I observed your reaction last night when you guessed what I am. You didn’t say `hindi na ako babalik’, you said `hindi na ako magpapagamit’, meaning you did not hate working with a dominant omega, which makes me wonder as to what happened in the past and about this other dominant omega you seem to know.”

The professor decided to keep silent.

Perhaps he realized that he had already said too much.

At least he isn’t cursing me anymore.

“By the way, professor,” I called his attention, “I am currently looking for a place to stay, and since we will be working together, may I ask permission to live here in your house?”

“Ha?” he frowned at me.

“I can pay for rent and help you in your research, even take part of it. You can use me any way you wish.”

“Teka, at ba’t naman kita patitirahin dito, eh, ni `di na nga ako umuuwi ng bahay?!”

“I shall also be your private chauffer.”

“Ha?”

“I doubt it would be ideal to conduct the experiments back at the labs, since you would be using a live `DOME’ as a test subject...”

“S-sinong nagsabing gagamitin kita?!”

“And I can also take care of you so you don’t pass out while you work.”

“Hindi naman ako nag-pass out, ha?”

“I also know how to cook.”

He didn’t seem to have a reply for that.

“Isang prinsipe? Marunong magluto at balak ako’ng alagaan?” he mocked me, ”Hindi kapani-paniwala!”

”I may be a prince, but I am also a man of science, first and foremost, and as such, I like to learn different skills and experience everything first hand.”

“Ugh... `wag mo’ng lahatin,” he mumbled as he finally loosens up and sits on a stool. “So... gusto mo’ng tumira rito? At handa ka’ng maging cook, driver at utusan ko?”

“Correction, I am already your utusan.”

Prof. Antonio laughed, and for the first time, I did not sense sarcasm in his laughter.

“Tama, alalay, utusan, at taga timpla na nga pala kita ng kape,” he said, smiling at me. “Tignan natin kung makakatagal ka.” He gave a sigh and stood up from the stool he was sitting on. “Ngayon, d’yan ka na muna...”

“You are leaving me alone with your experiment?” I asked him.

“Of course not,” he looked at me, his eyes, suddenly leaden, “kailangan ko lang humiga sandali...”

“Professor!”

It was good that I was near him. He simply fell where he stood and almost hit his head on the counter.

“Are you okay, professor?!”

I was answered by a soft snore.

It seems he was already at his limit.

He was very light and skinny. I guess he was so paranoid about my arrival that he completely forgot to take care of himself. Or perhaps he has always been like this?

I took him to one of the rooms opposite the laboratory and found one with a dusty bed inside it.

Well, that would have to change from now on. After all, I wouldn’t want him to die before I learn everything from him.

Now, all I need to do is to make him want to let me stay.