She shrugged her shoulders and grinned again at me. What's with that grin? And why was she staring at me like I've grown another head?
She then shook her head. "No. What I mean is the math teacher."Just when I thought that, I've successfully shooed that teacher away in my mind. I rarely smiled at her. "What's with him??"I see that you are close to him."Me? Close to that teacher?I chuckled at what she had said. "We're not close. You saw it wrongly.""No. I saw you two talking under the tree in the middle of the field. You are close to him."My heart skipped a beat at her words. "What do you mean by that?""Are you his girlfriend?"My cheeks burned red in embarrassment. "What? Of course not!" I yelled.She laughed like crazy. She even had the guts to harshly tapped my shoulder. I shoo her hands away and held my shoulder. "Why are you laughing?""You blushed!" she exclaimed.I held my cheeks. "What are you saying?"But she looked around the room and yelled. "Classmates, look at the commoner! She's blushing!"My heartbeat raced when some of my classmates turned around to look in my direction. Most of the boys grinned at me, and some girls rolled their eyes at me."A blushing commoner?" Rogie, the boy around my age, stood up and walked towards me. "That's new," he said and chuckled.I did not know him. I saw him reciting in class, but I only know his name, Rogie Camero. Nothing more.According to them, he was the class most handsome boy. But for me, he was not. I did not believe it because he had this prideful look that made him ugly to my eyes.I believe that prideful people only looks unto themselves as higher than anyone else. That's the biggest turn off. That was also one of the reasons why I did not want to hang out or be friends with my classmates. Most of them were prideful, and I hate that attitude.Because my Mom was once a prideful woman before Dad was put into the prison. I always endure her hateful look every time I had done something that humiliated her.I faintly smiled when I remembered a distant memory. Not only that, but I was clumsy back then, so I always put my Mom in rage whenever I broke something. And every time our relatives visited in the house, I was always in my own room waiting for my Mom's approval to go out.I did not have a good childhood, and now I've grown indifference towards prideful people. I was afraid that they would be like Mom."Hey, commoner!"I sat straight and looked up to Rogie who was standing in my front. His two eyebrows met, and his lips formed a straight line. He was in rage."I'm talking to you!" he shouted."I-I'm sorry," I whispered and looked down."You! Bit ---""What's happening?"The room fell silent when the Physics teacher entered in. Rogie threw a hateful and warning look at me before walking back to his own chair.Phew. That was close. I did not know that I spaced out when Rogie was talking in front of me. I even did not get his words. Furthermore, I didn't know what it was he talked about earlier."You made the prince mad," my seatmate whispered.I gulped hard. I only wished that Rogie would not hold it as a grudge on me. He was a prideful boy, and I was sure that he would not let his pride be stepped down, especially with the commoner like me. I should go home earlier than usual.The physics class went like a normal class for me, but Rogie's hateful look reminded me that I should run home later after class.So when the Physics teacher exited, I immediately snatched my backpack and ran towards the exit door."Sydnee!" Rogie shouted, but I already exited the classroom.I held tightly my backpack as I ran past the seniors. They even followed me with weird looks."Sydnee Lurica!" a familiar voice shouted from the back. When I looked behind while running, I saw the face of Rogie in rage.Uh. I should run faster. I looked again in front, and I accelerated my pace."Move aside please!" I shouted as I was about to pass the varsity group that's walking leisurely in the hallway.But to my surprise, they did not bother to move aside, instead they blocked me while grinning widely. I must have known.I stopped before I could bump the boy in the middle. "Why are you running, huh?" he asked and looked behind me.I also looked behind, and my eyes grew big when I saw Rogie walking slowly towards me. He had his small grin in his lips and his hands were inside the pockets of his pants. It was as if he was walking in a commercial.That was when I realized that I was holding my breath for too long. I breathe deeply and tried to slow down my heartbeat. I did not remember that I ran this fast in my previous years. Not only that, but I even felt the sweat running down on my cheeks. Did I really run that fast?"You little brat," Rogie said. He brushed his hair with his fingers and grinned at me. "You tried to run away? Do you think you'll get away from me?""I-I did..." I breathe deep. "I didn't mean to offend you."Rogie wanted me to follow him. I did not want to, but he insisted. He even tried to take a hold of me, and I was thankful that a teacher approached us and asked what's happening. I got a chance to escape from his grip on me.The varsity team flew even before the teacher came close to us. Of course, they would not want to involve in any acts that will violate the school rules because doing so will blacklist them in school's varsity."That boy," I hissed and checked my wrist.It was reddish because of Rogie's tight grip. I sighed and walked hurriedly. I did not want to be caught again by Rogie, knowing that he was looking for me."Sydnee!"My breath hitched, but I immediately recognized the familiar voice. It was the Math Teacher, Anthony. I turned around to face him."Sir," I greeted.It was weird that I felt relieved upon seeing him. Just this morning, I did not want to see him again, but I was happy that it was he who found m
"No, I'm not." He looked around.I looked around, too. It was sunset again, and I was standing in front of my own teacher and talking to him as if I was not a student. It was really in trouble if anyone would hear how I respond to my teacher."But, Sir, I think that's not possible. I am still your student, and anyone would suspect that you're giving me a favor if you'll be my tutor.""That's why I ask you to be my assistant.""Even though, Sir." I looked at him again. "Being an assistant or being a tutor, that means a big trouble.""I will pay you."Pay me? Is he serious, when I should be the one paying him if he'll be my tutor? I just smiled and shook my head. "Please let me be, Sir. This quarter is almost done. I will study hard to prove that I could pass Math without a tutor.""I don't mean you'll be dependent on my service, I mean I'll help you in topics that you find difficult to understand. That's the teacher's job.""Then..." I blinked twice. "Why would you want me to be your as
I could not understand Rogie sometimes. "Go in the middle!" he shouted. The volume of the music grew louder so he had to shout. "I don't want to," I refused. He smirked. "You don't want to?" My eyes widened as Rogie pulled me into the middle. The memory of last year's Christmas party flashed through my mind so I struggled from his hold. "I don't want to, Rogie. I don't want!" I refused again. He tightened his grip and pulled me further into the center of the classroom. I harshly pulled my wrist back that my juice in pack fell on the floor. "Rogie!" I rebuked him and pulled myself together. "You should be there in the middle, joining the crowd! I want you to dance in the middle!" he shouted. I thought my classmates nearby heard what Rogie had shouted so they looked at us while the others were busy dancing. They started clapping as they watched me still struggling under Rogie's tight grip. A cold feeling ran down my spine when I heard their applause. That’s also what I heard last
For years of living with her in that small nipa hut, I was used to being told what to do and being scolded for things I did wrong every day. Sometimes it's tiring so I prefer to go to school than stay at home. Now that Mama has a job all day, my day will be quiet as well. A few days passed and still, nothing changed in my life. After waking up in the morning... I will eat, wash clothes I and Mama had worn yesterday, will eat again, go to the neighbors to do laundry, go home, and wait for Mama when the afternoon comes. I have already collected enough amount of money but I still prefer to collect more because I know I will not be able to go to the neighbors when school day comes. When Christmas eve came, we only had soup and rice ready. We also did not bother to give each other presents, so after a few minutes after the clock struck midnight, Mama and I were asleep. It was the same set-up when the new year came. But before New Year's celebration, someone from our neighbor gave us five
I could not remember exactly what I had memorized during lunch. I tried to write a formula on paper and answered a math problem. Still, I could not get the right answer. I scratched my head and relearned the lesson I had memorized this afternoon. The next day, I did the same. I went to the library to study for the next lesson but sometimes, I would go back to the first lesson so I would not forget it. When the class was dismissed later that afternoon, I left the classroom and then hurried to the library. But I found out that I kind of forgot the lesson I memorized yesterday, as I had finished memorizing the next lesson that day. I wiped the sweat on my face. If this is how I do it -- forgetting the first lesson every time I memorize the next lesson --- I will forget all the lessons when the exam comes and all the time that I had spent in that library will be wasted. I breathed deeply in annoyance. "Sydnee," called a familiar voice in the back. I turned to look at the one who had
I walked closer to the teacher's table. He was sitting behind the wooden table and I stood in front of him. The sturdy table separated me from him. "I have signed all these documents," he said and shifted things on the table. He put them inside a folder and handed them to me. "I want you to give it to Rogie." I blinked at what he said. What? Rogie? I scratched my nose lightly. "Why it has to be Rogie, Sir?" I asked, disappointed. Teacher Anthony leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms on his chest. He then stared at me longer than usual. "You're blushing," he said in a matter of fact. I smiled wryly. I knew that my cheeks heated up when I heard Rogie's name. It was an odd reaction and I knew that, but I could not help blushing out of embarrassment and annoyance. I never forgot what he did last Christmas party and I never forgot how that boy stared at me the whole time during class hours. If not because of my seatmate whom I made as a shield from Rogie's stare, I would certai
I looked around. There were a lot of students inside the canteen. Most of them were paying for their tuitions because they looked arrogant and cheering for the girl. I then saw a handful of students silently eating their food. They did not raise their heads nor look at my way. I then knew that there were scholars like me because they would never interfere in situations like this. They were afraid that they might end up in the same situation if they would help me out. I understood them and I did not hold a grudge for them. I would be happy if they would not interfere. At least, their scholarships were safe. I spat. "I don't think highly of me," I said, disdain was in my voice. The girl looked down at me and then sneered again. "Scholars like you think highly of yourself. Because you excel in every subject, you think that you can trample us down. Well, I tell you, you can't trample us down!" "Excel in every subject?" I laughed bitterly. I crooked my brows as I looked up at her. A smi
I hissed and gritted my teeth. I thought that he was different from them! It turned out that he was also heartless. I entered the classroom in rage, but I did not expect that someone would slap me and pull my hair the moment I stepped a foot inside."Come on, girls. Slap her!" I gasped when someone pulled me and slapped me in both cheeks. My knees wobbled at the sudden attack and I was slammed on the floor. The impact made me a little bit dizzy. "Why did you do that, Maureen? Rogie said we can't hurt that commoner," a girl voiced out. Her voice was familiar but I could not name her. Maybe one of my classmates who always participated in class. "He wouldn't know. Besides, this girl seduces him. Who knows if she used tricks to tame the well-known Rogie Camero." Maureen scoffed. "Rogie is not someone who would step down for a commoner. He is well-known for being a playboy and a bully!" "Right. Rogie is not a good boy in class. Who would have thought that he would care for this commone