Hiraya (HEST #1)

Kabanata 31

Antagonist's Tale XXXI: Reputation

Be the perfect girl.

Pumasok ako sa silid aralin.

Halos andito na lahat ng mga estudyante. I timed it perfectly. Kasama palagi ako sa mga pinaka maagang dumarating, ngunit sinakto ko ang oras ngayon. I want a dramatic entrance for my first day.

Madaming mga mata ang napa-baling sa aking direksyon. Tila hindi napagilan. Halos hindi na inisip at awtomatikong nilapat ang mga tingin sa akin.

Show time, Hiraya.

I stood straightly and tilted my head sophisticatedly. I hooded my eyes as I scanned the room inches inside the doorway. I flipped my hair gently, just enough to show confidence and superiority. Ngunit sinabayan ko iyon ng matamis na ngiti upang makita nilang maari nila akong kaibiganin.

Napaawang ang kanilang mga bibig sa pagka-mangha.

Pinilit kong panatilihin ang multo ng ngiti sa aking mga labi habang ako ay naglalakad. I even let my eyes twinkle in reflection of excitement.

Kailangan mo 'to Hira. Kailangan mo nang maraming koneksyon.

My reputation tainted badly because of the Hacienda Amor incident. I don't mind if I get ruined. But that honestly wouldn't help me.

Fear is a great way to oppress people. Ngunit masyadong delikado iyon sapagkat mas madaming may magtatanim ng hinanakit sa iyo na maghihintay ng oportunidad upang ikaw ay atakihin.

All this time, I had just been angry. At hindi ko tinatago sa mga tao iyon.

But that's just plain carelessness. I can't do that here. Instead, I should make a friend out of these people.

They can be tools that I can use later.

Books and codals were momentarily forgotten as they all just stared at me in awe. I was wearing a white Lanvin fashion pencil skirt, a tight white Yves Saint Laurent blazer coat and a pearl Marie Marot turtle neck inside. Sa aming unibersidad ay kailangan naka-pormal kaming mga law students.

"Hiraya Amor. . ."

"Si Hira. Hoy, kaklase natin si Hira!" gigil na bulong ng isa.

"O my god."

"Shit, ba't ang ganda niya kahit sa personal?"

Almost everyone is wearing their black coats and pants, just as I expected. I'm the only one sporting an all white attire. Kaya naman mas kapansin-pansin ako.

My diamond earrings, my three rings, my pearl necklace and my two silver bracelets certainly didn't help at trying not to be the center of attention. Especially since they're all Cartier custom made.

I pouted my red stained lips a little. Tila nag-iisip kung saan uupo kahit na alam ko naman na kung saan ko binabalak pumwesto.

A boy near me almost died eyeing my lips. Sumulyap ako sa kaniya at agad itong pumutla. Halatang kilala ako at mukhang nakatatak sa kaniyang isip na hindi ako namamansin ng mga tao.

Kaya naman noong matamis akong ngumiti sa kaniya ay halos lumuwa ang kaniyang mata pati ang nasa paligid na nakakita.

"S-she. . ."

"Holy fuck, ngumiti!"

I pretended not to see their stupid reactions. As if I'm a guillable and innocent girl who doesn't know she's enticing everyone around.

Everyone looked at me like I am Apollo in his shining chariot. Like the world stopped shifting, stopped spinning for everyone, and there's me at the center of it all. Like the all the moons of Jupiter, the ring of Saturn and the sun all shone behind me. Like I stole gravity and I'm the only one keeping their feet here on Earth.