CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Nakailang buntong-hininga na ako mula pa kanina. Seeing this annoying jerk in front of me did not help either. Bakit nga ba siya nandito? Mukhang mas lalong masisira pa ang araw ko dahil sa presensiya niya. Nang tuluyan na siyang humarap sa akin ay parang gusto ko ng maglaho. Itinuon nito ang tingin sa akin ay hindi agad ako nakapagsalita.

His annoying smirk showed off and I rolled my eyes at him.

“Why are you here, Mister Mikael Valiente?” mataray kong tanong sa kanya.

He handed me a syllabus. Nagdalawang-isip pa nga ako kung tatanggapin ko iyon, pero sa huli ay kinuha ko pa rin. I heard him murmuring about something, but I shrugged it off. Nang suriin ko itong mabuti ay doon ko napansin na kapareho ito ng ibinigay sa akin ni Head Mistress. I squinted my eyes to the bottom part of the paper. Iyong bahagi lang naman ang hindi pamilyar sa akin.

Mikael Jarren Valiente

Mauveine Zelliana Arellano

Napaawang ang bibig ko nang mabasa ko iyon ng tuluyan. Isa lang naman ang ibig sabihin nito.

“Why the hell am I paired to you?!” I asked him right away. He again showed off his smirk.

“Not the best time to ask, Miss Arellano.” He answered me as he motioned his right hand to the students who were in front of us. Great! Just great! Now, I’m gonna tutor these students with this jerk!

Kung hindi lang sana ako nagpadala sa galit ay wala sana ako rito. I just bought myself a one-way ticket to the guidance office, by having a cat fight with Anastasia. Sino ba naman ang hindi magagalit kung mapagbintangan at pasaringang ‘malandi’ ang bestfriend mo kahit wala naman talaga pruweba.

Kaya ‘yon, nasampal at nasabunutan ko siya. Pilit pa nga kaming inawat ng mga kaklase namin at nagtagumpay naman sila kahit papaano. We were both catching our breathes, when I took the opportunity to once again, to slap her.

But before I could even do that, someone stopped me. May humawak ng pulsuhan ko. Napakalamig ng kamay nito at agad ko siyang nilingon. Nagtagpo ang tingin naming dalawa at hindi agad ako agad nakapag-react.

“Don’t you dare hurt Anastasia.” He said with authority right in front of my face.

Siya pala ang boyfriend ni Anastasia? Or Anastasia is his flavor of the week?

It’s the one and only Mikael Jarren Valiente. He’s undeniably handsome. At ang tangkad pala talaga niya. He’s indeed a material prince from a fairytale but with a pair of horns from a devil. Because he’s the school’s most notorious playboy, he rejects girls in the worst way possible, making him a first-class jerk.   

Binawi ko ang kamay ko mula sa pagkakahawak niya at nagpaubaya naman ito. Nilapitan niya agad si Anastasia, na agad na umakap sa kanya. Napangiwi ako dahil do’n. I rolled my eyes at them. Tila napansin ata ni Anastasia ang ginawa ko kaya sinabunutan na naman niya ako kaya sinabunutan ko rin siya.

Malas lang namin at naabutan kami ni Head Mistress Marthana. My jaw dropped open, and my heart pounded fast as if I’m being chased. The Head Mistress was never good to students, she had always been seen as strict and hard as a rock.

“Head Mistress, si Anastasia po sinabunutan si Shaia at saka si Mauveine!” pahayag ng kung sino sa loob ng classroom namin. Lumapit naman sa amin si Head Mistress at agad na sinuri ang mga nameplate na nakakabit sa bandang itaas ng blazer ng uniform namin. Halos hindi na ako huminga dahil sa lumiliit na distansya naming dalawa. I even averted her gaze towards me, just to somehow ease my anxiety.

“Ms. Anastasia Pascual, I don’t tolerate this kind of behavior. Come with me in the disciplinary office, now!” the Head Mistress madly declared.

Tinalikuran niya kaming lahat at agad na naglakad papalabas ng room namin. Ngunit bago pa man siya tuluyang makalabas ay bigla na lamang nagsalita’ tong si Mikael.

“Head Mistress, Ms. Mauveine Arellano should also come to the disciplinary office, too.” He said with determination in his voice then the Head Mistress faced him.

May kung anong galit ang namumuo sa loob ko nang dahil sa sinabi niyang iyon. At bakit naman kaya niya ako isasama sa disciplinary office?! Eh, si Anastasia naman talaga ang nagsimula ng lahat!

“Mr. Valiente?” pagkukumpirma nito sa kanya.

“Ms. Arellano, follow me to the disciplinary office for further instructions.” 

Sa sinabing iyon ni Head Mistress ay parang gumuho ang mundo ko. Alam ko na batas ang lumalabas sa bibig ni Head Mistress kaya wala na talaga akong magagawa. When I directed my gaze on Mikael, he was smirking! Oh, should I say ‘thank you’ to this devil made jerk for urging the Head Mistress for me to go to the disciplinary office too?!

Halos hindi na ako makapaniwala sa susunod na nangyari. The Head Mistress settled to give our punishment.

She assigned Anastasia to clean the school gym daily for the rest of the school year. And as I expected, Anastasia overreacted. Maging ako naman nagulat roon. The gym is almost a hectare or more! Paano niya iyon malilinis ng mag isa? Well, that’s her problem.

The Head Mistress’s stare is like a dagger piercing my soul. Nakakakaba at nakakatakot. It’s too much but it’s the truth.

“Ms. Arellano. As a punishment, you need to tutor the students who had failed in some subjects for at least 7 days.  The tutorial lesson will be on Saturday, that would mean that you’ll be spending at least 7 Saturdays for this.”

“What?!” Napatakip na lamang ako ng bibig. I almost didn’t notice that I already shouted at the Head Mistress.

“Do as I say, Ms. Mauveine Arellano and I could assure you that this won’t be heard by your parents.” Maotoridad na saad ni Head Mistress Marthana sa akin.

Agad akong napatango sa sinabi niyang iyon. Patuloy paring nanginginig ang aking mga kamay dulot ng sinabi niya. Ito ang unang pagkakataon na nakaapak ako sa loob ng disciplinary office. This is my first time. As a consistent top honor student of the class and being an Arellano, I’m expected to be prim and proper, yet I’m here.

I couldn’t even imagine the look of my parents when they’d know about this. Knowing that their unica hija messed up, they would be very disappointed. Because never in my life I’ve made a trouble that would put our name into shame, not until this time.

I sighed once more to gain a sense of consciousness.

Nasa harapan ko si Mikael. Ewan ko ba kung parang wala lang sa kanya ang nangyari kahapon. Dahil kung ako ang tatanungin, galit ako sa kanya. If not for him, not only that I wouldn’t be invited by the Head Mistress to her office but also, I wouldn’t be punished. Bakit pa kasi niya kinumbinsi si Head Mistress? Is this a way to get back at me for what I did to her so-called-girlfriend? Well, he really did a great job to piss me off.

Nabanggit rin sa akin ni Head Mistress na mayroon daw akong makakasama para sa tutoring sessions na magaganap. Hindi ko inakala na si Mikael pala ang tinutukoy niya! Dahil kung nalaman ko pa nang mas maaga ay sana hiniling ko na lang na ako nalang ‘yong maglilinis ng school gym. But since it is impossible to disagree with the school head, I don’t really think it would be possible. So, I must suffer from the punishment that was given to me.

Hindi na ako nag aksaya pa ng oras at sinumulan ko na ang pagtuturo sa mga estdyanteng kaharap ko ngayonng lessons sa General Biology 1. I was thankful that they were so cooperative and nice and because of that the lecture went smoothly. Matapos ang discussion ko ay sumunod naman si Mikael. Chemistry naman ang subject na ituturo niya, gaya nang napag-usapan namin kanina lamang.

Gustuhin ko mang umalis na nang hindi ko na makita pa ‘tong nakakairitang mukha ng lalaking ‘to ay hindi ko magawa. Baka isumbong na naman ako nito kay Head Mistress at dagdagan pa ‘tong parusa ko.

I was amazed of how he tutored these students right in front of us.

Ang buong akala ko pa naman ay puro pambabae lang ang alam niya lalo’t kilala siya sa school dahil sa pinaggagawa niya sa mga babae. If he won’t make a girl his fling, he’d probably reject it with the worst way possible. He’s a first-class jerk, after all. But I was wrong, aside from excelling from those ‘indecent’ things, he also does well in academics of which I almost forgot. Magkaiba kasi kami ng strand I’m on STEM and he’s on ABM pero batchmates kami, pareho kasi kaming Grade 12 students.

Naka-upo ako ngayon sa may sulok dito sa harapan kaya kitang-kita ko kung paano siya magturo sa mga estudyante. I’m not gonna lie. He really did a great job. Ang galing niya palang mag-tutor! Sana pala ‘di nalang kami pinag-pair ni Head Mistress parang kaya na niyang mag-isa.

Nadinig ko na lamang ang bulong-bulungan ng mga iilang babaeng estudyante dito sa loob.

“OMG! Ang pogi niya bes!”

“Oo, nga. Sabi ko sa ‘yo eh!”

Iyan? Pogi? May tinitira ba ‘tong mga batang ‘to?

Well, I couldn’t really argue with that. As this jerk, Mikael Jarren changed his clothes to a formal one, a long white sleeve with collars and black slacks making his manly built to show off. Pero hindi pa rin niya inaayos ang buhok niyang magulo. Iyan na siguro ang trademark niya.

His aristocratic face suits him, yet his eyes seem to be an outcast. An outcast in a good way because it stands out. He had that pair of deep brown eyes of which compliments his entire appearance, and he looks somewhat dangerous in that way. His fair skin—oh wait! Why am I praising this jerk?!

It was too late to realize that I was staring over at him.

“Ms. Arellano? Mind sharing your thoughts about my body’s chemistry?” he asked me playfully with that annoying smirk of his.

Muli akong nainis! Pero bumalik agad ang kaba dulot ng kahihiyan ko nang magsitinginan ang lahat ng estudyante sa akin, may iilan ngang tumatawa na. Shit!

“I’m sorry for I will have to excuse myself from this class.” Pahayag ko sa lahat. Kinuha ko ang gamit ko at agad na lumabas ng room. Habang nagkukumahog akong makalabas ay ramdam na ramdam ko ang mga nakalapat sa akin na mga tingin.

Damn you, Mikael Jarren!

Nang tuluyan na akong nakalayo sa room ay hindi pa rin ako makahinga nang maluwag.

All he ever done to me was bad things! The first was he was the reason of why I’m being punished, secondly, he was on my tutoring session for today and lastly oh I bet it would be the recent because I know there will be more to come, him humiliating me in front of those freshmen!

I couldn’t simply stand him! His getting on my nerves! He has a hundred ways and more to make me pissed! I wonder how girls on our campus goes crazy-in-love with this jerk! They even want him to marry them! And if you would ask me? I would simply say NO.

I will not marry Mikael Jarren Valiente, a first-class jerk. Not even in a million lifetimes!

Hindi ko na nagawang bumalik pa sa classroom na iyon matapos akong ipahiya ni Mikael. It was just too much to bear! Saka hindi pa ako napahiya ng ganoon sa buong buhay ko. With that note, I hate him even more.

Nang makalabas ako ng campus ay agad akong nagpasundo sa driver kong si Manong Bert. Hindi na ako dumaan pa sa coffee shop tulad ng nakasanayan dahil dumeretso na ako ng uwi sa bahay.

Habang na sa byahe. Ipinikit ko na lamang ang aking mga mata at pilit na inaalis sa utak ko ang nangyari kanina. Hindi ko na nga namalayan na nakarating na kami sa bahay.

Napansin ko kaagad ang Black Audi ni dad sa garahe. I glanced at my wristwatch. It’s just 11 am. Hindi si dad umuuwi sa ganitong oras.

I felt that my stomach flipped.

Hindi kaya nalaman ni dad ang tungkol ginawa ko kaya ako naparusahan ni Head Mistress? Please, no. I don’t want to disappoint them.

Nagmadali akong pumasok sa loob. Bumungad sa akin ang tila pagtatalo ni mom at dad dito sa sala, at mas lalo akong kinabahan dahil roon. Masyadong seryoso yata ang usapan nila dahil hindi nila napansin ang pagdating ko.

I’ve made my way to snuck to my bedroom but right after I turned my back, dad called me. The way he said it to me, says it all. Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko at hindi ako makagalaw.

“Mauveine, I have a thing to discuss with you.”