Kabanata 01

MC.

"Good morning‚ friend. It's such a nice weather‚ right‚ friend? Let's study later for the contest‚ see you‚ friend."

Napapikit ako habang binabasa ni Aspen ang sticky note na nadatnan namin sa desk ko. Bakit naman ang daming friend?

"Ay‚ 'te? Sino 'to?" Aspen asked. I just took the note from her at saka binasa iyon. I was expecting that what she just read wasn't true, but to my dismay, kung ano'ng sinabi niya ay iyon ang nakasulat sa note.

Napakapit ako ng maigi rito. I wasn't that ignorant to not know who it came from. Sino ba naman kasing nagsabing maging magkaibigan kami kahapon?

And knowing how much of a fan Sienna is of him, paniguradong mang-uulan ng pang-aasar 'to.

Sienna looked at the note over my shoulder‚ maya-maya ay nanlaki ang mga mata niya at inagaw mula sa 'kin ang sticky note.

"Gago‚ saan galing 'to?!" She gasped.

Her eyes widened once again when she examined the paper. Para bang nakakita lang naman siya ng bagay na hindi siya makapaniwalang makikita niya.

"Bakit‚ gaga 'to‚ nagulat ako do'n." Aspen ranted, she was holding her chest, probably got shocked because of how Sienna reacted and shouted. "Ano bang mero d'yan?"

Nanlalaki ang matang tumingin si Sienna sa akin. "Don't tell me. . ."

"A-ano?" Parang tanga naman 'to‚ nakakakaba slight. Wala naman akong ginawa.

"Kasama mo si Azi sa contest?" She asked as if it was the most horrifying thing to know.

Tumango nalang ako. That wasn't a big deal. Later on‚ they'll receive an announcement tungkol dito. The contest was way bigger than I expected. Kailangan daw ito ng moral support ng mga students. Maya-maya ay ia-announce lang din kung sino-sino ang sasali rito.

"Gago?!" They both shouted at me. I covered my ears.

"You mean Azi? As in Azi? Aziel Marcus Galvez?" Sienna blurted.

Hinawakan niya pa ang magkabilang balikat ko at sapilitang hinarap sa kanya.

I can't help but to bit my lower lip as I nodded at her.

Her jaw dropped. Baliw nga pala talaga siya kay Azi. Ultimate bias niya daw iyon among all basketball players. Hindi na nakakapagtaka ang naging reaksyon niya.

"Palit tayo ng buhay‚ please?" She was giving me her puppy eyes with pouty lips.

I cringed. Sinapak din siya ni Aspen‚ "Tigil mo 'yan. Nakakasuka tingnan."

Sienna hissed. "Eh‚ kasi naman! Ang unfair talaga ng mundo‚ sana pinutok nalang ako sa kumot‚ 'no?"

Hindi ko napigilan ang matawa. Kahit kailan ay walang filter ang bibig ni Sienna. Kahit anong pinagsasasabi. Kaya siya sinisuway ng mga teachers at librarian e.

Bumalik ang tingin ko sa sticky note na nasa kamay niya at kinuha iyon. Napangiwi ako when I saw how he emphasized the word friend. Kailangan talaga ng emphasis iyon?

"Paano mo nalaman na galing kay Azi?" I asked her.

Kung hindi lang dahil sa friend na iyan ay hindi ko naman mahuhulaan kung kanina galing. It was a bit cool that she immediately recognized where the note came from. Grabe, fangirl things.

She was still sulking. "Kabisado ko lang ang handwriting niya. Ang pogi kaya."

May pogi bang handwriting?

Sabagay‚ the handwriting was neat. There were no sign of erasures. You can read the words perfectly and it was aesthetically pleasing. To mention that it was from a guy. Not invalidating, pero hindi ba't hindi naman ganito ka-ayos ang sulat kamay ng mga lalaki kung ikukumpara sa mga babae?

Napalabi tuloy ako sa sulat.

Ang unfair nga ng mundo‚ mas maganda pa ang sulat-kamay niya kaysa sa akin.

I have a nice handwriting‚ though! Pero ibibigay ko na sa kanya 'to.

"Meriah, may naghahanap sa 'yo!" A classmate shouted. Uwian na no'ng mga oras na iyon kaya madami silang nagtatambay sa labas, lalo na malapit sa department ng STEM students.

Laman kasi ng chismis na madami daw talagang guwapo sa department nila. Kaya ayon.

Minsan nga, pati mga TVL students na sobrang layo mula rito ay bumibisita sa department nila para lang masilayan ang mga crush kuno nila.

Nang sumilip ako sa labas ay nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makitang ando'n si Aziel. Rinig ko ang tili ni Sienna at ang pagbubulong ni Aspen.

"Ay, wow. Sinusundo ka n'yan?" She asked.

Nagkibit-balikat ako. Malay ko ba? Pagkatapos ng usapan namin kahapon ay hindi naman na kami nagkausap pa kaya malay ko ba kung ako ang pinunta n'yan dito?

Lumakas ang tili ng mga kaklase ko nang pumasok siya sa room namin. Aspen's question was immediately answered the moment he walked towards me.

He flashed a smile at kung hindi lang talaga ako observant, halos mahimatay na ang mga kaklase ko sa ngiting iyon. No joke.

Tinanggal ko rin ang kamay ni Sienna na palihim akong kinurot sa gilid ng bewang ko. Alam kong kinikilig siya gaya ng iba, malamang, nasa harapan na niya ang crush niya?

"Mag-aral na daw tayo." He said in a baritone voice at kulang nalang ay sapakin ko si Sienna dahil sa pangungurot niya sa gilid ko.

I nodded at him and even though how awkward the situation was because of my classmates, I still managed to get out of the room full of tension alive.

Agad akong nagpaumanhin kay Aziel. He probably noticed the awkwardness inside. "Pasensya na sa mga kaklase ko, minsan lang iyon nakakita ng guwapo."

I immediately regretted saying that. Hindi naman ako tanga para hindi mapagtanto na sinabihan ko siyang guwapo indirectly.

He hummed, amusement filled his dark brown eyes. "That's fine. Sanay na ako sa gano'n."

Tumango nalang ako. Dumiretso kami sa room ni Miss Hattie upang kunin ang reviewers, na siyang sinabihan din kaming dalawa na puwede naming gamitin ang room niya para doon mag-aral. We thanked her for that.

Since then, gano'n ang naging routine namin. Kada tapos ng last class ay hihintayin niya ako sa classroom namin at sabay kaming mag-aaral. O di kaya'y mauuna na akong pumunta sa room ni Miss Hattie habang hinihintay siya.

We've been studying non-stop because we knew how high the expectations of our teachers were. We can't let them down.

Though‚ parang ako lang naman ang nag-aaral. He was the one who teaches me even. Mukhang alam na niya ang mga lessons‚ o sadyang mabilis lang talaga siya mag-aral at makaintindi?

"Oh‚ ayan na pala si friend."

Napatingin ako sa tinuro na direksyon ni Sienna at totoo ngang paparating si Azi, he was smiling widely at the crowd around him. Muntik ko nang makalimutan na sikat nga pala 'to, the girls' giggles were very loud. May iba pang sumisigaw ng kung ano-ano, Azi responded to it with a bright smile.

He was like a sun who brightens up your day.

"Hey, good morning." He greeted. Ngumiti ako na agad ding napalitan ng ngiwi nang kinurot ni Sienna ang tagiliran ko. Itong gagang 'to! Naging hobby na talaga ang pagkurot sa bewang ko sa tuwing and'yan si Aziel!

When I turned to her, she was looking dreamily at Azi. Napailing nalang ako.

"You don't have classes?" Tanong ko dahil maaga pa naman.  

Umiling siya, "Binigyan lang ako ng reviewer for our quiz, you too?" 

Tumango ako. Madalas ay hindi na kami nakakaattend ng classes at tanging sa reviewers lamang nakasalalay ang mga isasagot namin sa exam. 

Pagkatapos kong magpaalam sa mga kaibigan kong ang tanging binigay sa akin ay mga mata at ngiting nang-aasar ay dumiretso kami ni Azi sa room ni Miss Hattie na nakasanayan na naming tambayan tuwing nagre-review.

"Multiply 36/49 and 21/63. What type of number is the result? How are you solving this?" Napatingin ako sa kanya kaya't ibinaling niya ang tingin sa akin. 

"That's easy," he took a piece of paper and started writing scribbles on it. "It's letter D."

Napakunot ang aking noo, "How come?"

"The answer is a fraction." Ipinakita niya sa akin kung paano niya iyon nai-solve. Tumango-tango ako as I finally understood how he did it. "Thus, it is a rational number."

Bumalik muli kami sa pag-aaral matapos kong maintindihan iyon.

"That one was actuallly very easy." Sabi niya, maya-maya ay bumalik ang tingin niya sa'kin. "Are you fine?"

I nodded, afterwards, heaved a sigh. "Stress lang siguro, I've been overthinking whether I can win this contest and at the same time maintain my grades." I opened up to him.

This thought was really bugging me. It was the last semester and if I fail, I might go back to zero again. I just think that's too much for me to handle if ever. Hindi ko man ipinakita sa mga taong nasa paligid ko pero labis ang kaba ko para sa quiz bee na ito.

It wasn't even my first time! But I was still worried.

"You know, you are such a grade conscious, please take that as a compliment." Before I can even talk, he shushed me and continued. 

"Worrying about your grades is important and that's something people shouldn't invalidate, but worrying about it to the point you tend to space out and forget about other things, that's not healthy. Don't overthink about it that much, believe on yourself, I believe on you as well."

Nanatiling nakaawang ang aking labi habang nakatitig sa kanya. That was just so. . . comforting. Except from my friends and family's encouraging words, I have never found such words comforting.

"A-ah. . ." he probably notived how I started staring at him. I realized that too, both of us had this pinkish tint in our cheeks as we proceeded studying, awkwardly and silently.

"A-ano. . ." After I finished studying, I turned to him to talk but to my avail, walang lumalabas sa bibig ko. Gosh, what happened earlier was awkward!

"Yeah?" Tanong niya habang nagso-solve.

"Sa tingin mo. . . mananalo tayo?" I asked. Hindi naman talaga iyon ang itatanong ko sana pero iyon ang lumabas sa bibig ko.

Hindi pa rin siya tumitingin sa 'kin. "If you believe so, I do."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Bakit naman na sa 'kin ang pagde-desisyon na 'yan?"

"Well, for instance, you are the one who lacks confidence. You think you can't win so you don't fight well because it's already planted in your mind that you will lose."

Napatigil ako at nag-isip. Tama naman siya, ako lang yata ang sumasali sa isang quiz bee na walang confident. Well, it's not like I wanted not to have it, pero napuno lang talaga ng insecurities at what-ifs ang isip ko.

Nakapangalumbaba ako. We were sitting across each other. Sa ginawa kong iyon tuloy ay parang mas lumapit ang mukha ko sa kanya. He stiffened for a second ngunit agad ding bumalik sa pagso-solve.

"You can be scared or worried. But you just can't let those dominate you to the point where it leads you to your loss." Sabi niya pa, dahilan para paningkitan ko tuloy siya.

"Ano kayang price, 'no?" I asked instead.

Masyado na kasing maraming point ang mga sinasabi niya kaya nagsimula na tuloy akong mainis. Bakit ang dami niyang masasabi sa mga negative thoughts ko?

Sa pagkakataong ito, umangat ang tingin niya sa 'kin. "I'm pretty sure that we'll get plus points here."

He stopped for a while to. . . I don't know. . . to look at me closingly?

"But I'm also pretty sure that it's not the only price I would get."