When The Sun Sets

"Royo, Reineste Liana M.," I mentally cursed at myself when I heard Ma’am Grijalba’s voice, our adviser, going through the attendance. Maingat akong humahakbang nang mabilis para makaabot. Muntikan pa akong madapa kanina sa may gate at kitang-kita ko kung paano pinigilan ng guard ang kaniyang tawa! Dalawang kaklase ko pa ang natawag bago ako nakarating sa back door. Huminga muna ako nang malalim bago ko dahan-dahang binuksan ang pinto. I motioned my classmates to keep their silence when they saw me sneaking in. I tiptoed my way, making sure that I wouldn't get

I am secretly a strong shipper of romance… in novels. In reality, I have a faint belief with it. Maybe because the love that I witnessed is from my parents. Ang pag-ibig na maraming kapintasan sa simula pa lang. Simula noong masaksihan ko kung paanong lumabas si Papa sa pinto ng bahay namin, dala ang kaniyang mga bagahe at gamit, naging mababaw sa akin ang sinasabi nilang pagmamahal. To me, it’s the call for chaos. That’s why I swore to myself to never engage myself to the flaw of life. Romantic love, particularly, isn’t part of my comfort zone. But something happened in our 9th grade that caused a ruckus in my heart. All because of that stupid play.

"Ayoko nang mag-aral!" Napangiwi ako sa reklamo ni Rein na padabog pang isinara ang librong binabasa. "Gusto ko na lang bumalik ulit sa pagiging grade 9!""Kung kailan grade 10 na tayo…” Mavros drawled."Just… look at these!" Rein gestured the pile of books and papers that are scattered on our table with an offended face. "Hindi pa tayo senior high, puro research na agad ang ipinapagawa sa atin! May pa 'Save Mother Nature' pa silang theme last month. Hindi ba nila alam kung saan gawa ang mga papel!?" I sighed and glided my eyes back to what I was reading. Kasalukuyan kaming nasa kiosk kung saan malapit sa Eco Garden. Halos pinuno naming magka-kaklase ang lahat ng pwesto para sa ginagawa sa English 11. We’ve been stuck here for almost one and a half hour as we gather our data to comply with the activity."Ayaw mo pa lang mag-aral, bakit ka pa nag-enroll?" patuya ni Mavros.Rein pouted. "Excuse me, may pangarap din nama

Inimis ko muna ang mga gamit pang eskwela ko bago ako dumiretso sa banyo para maglinis ng katawan at mag toothbrush. I went straight to my bed after. I was constantly shifting my position on my bed as I try to fall asleep. But something is still bothering me. I looked at my wall clock and saw that it’s been an hour since I laid on the bed. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin ako nakakatulog. I groaned and decided to grab my phone under my pillow to check up on him. I bit my lower lip as I open our inbox, walang reply. Kahit return ng calls ay wala. 10 pm pa lang. Alam kong gising pa siya dahil madalas siyang maglaro muna ng computer games bago matulog, minsan ay inaabot pa siya ng madaling araw kapag masyadong nawiwili. I don’t know if today’s an exemption though. Since it’s his birthday. Isang tawag lang, kapag hindi pa rin siya sumasagot ay bahala na siya sa buhay niya. I dialed his number as I tensely bit my fingernails, silently hoping for him to answ

“I’m sorry I’m late, Sir,” saad ko sa guro naming nasa loob na ng classroom. Tumango lang ito sa akin at itinuro na ang upuan ko bilang pagpayag na pumasok na ako. Nanatiling nakatungo ang aking ulo sa takot na may makasalubong ang aking paningin. Sa takot na matulala at mag-isip ng kung ano, pinili ko na lang na maging aktibo sa klase. To distract myself from overthinking too much, I’d rather focus myself on something more relevant. “There is no set of qualifiers for labelling an act as a sexual assault other than lack of consent and approval. Victims are not required to explain or share what they were wearing at that time or if they were drunk. Rape happens because a rapist took advantage of it. It is against the law of humanity and an abuse of physical and emotional power to take over,” seryoso kong pagpapaliwanag. “It is not because of the tight jeans or short skimpy skirts, the alcohol consumptions or in a drunken state, and the lack of power to fight an