Reigning The Haywire Land

01

My dad used to tell me na selfless daw ang love, walang hinihintay na kapalit, kung 'di ka mahal, hahayaan mong sumaya sa iba.

Ang love daw mapang-unawa at mapagpatawad, 'yung tipong kahit ilang beses ng nagkamali sa'yo, tatanggapin mo pa rin.

Marunong din daw itong maghintay at sumugal kahit walang kasiguraduhan, in short, martyr.

But no matter how my dad reminds me almost everyday his perception about love, still, it's a no for me. Iba ang paniniwala ko.

'Di uso ang words na 'martyr' at 'tanga' sa'kin. Kung 'di ka mahal nung tao...of course hindi pwede 'yon! Anong palayain? Either pilitin mo or palitan mo. I prefer more the latter, though.

"Zeph" pabulong na tawag sa'kin ni Aimee habang ang mga mata ay nakatuon kay Mrs. del Mundo.

"What?" tanong ko pero hindi rin siya binalingan ng tingin.

Tinatamad akong makinig sa lecture ngayon pero wala akong magawa. Ayaw ko naman idamay pa si Jaslie na nag-aaral ng mabuti.

"Zack is outside" awtomatikong bumaling ang ulo ko sa pinto ng marinig iyon.

There, Zack is waving while mouthing 'garden'. Lumawak ang ngiti ko na parang bang he's a life saver. I gestured 'wait' at muling tumingin sa harap kung saan nagdi-discuss si Mrs. del Mundo.

I raised my right hand making my index finger and thumb into L, indicating that I need to go to the restroom. Ayaw kasi ng instructors na nai-interrupt 'pag nagsasalita kaya mas prefer nila ang ganito.

When Mrs. del Mundo noticed my hand, she just nodded without cutting whatever she's saying. I was about to stand ng hawakan ni Jaslie ang braso ko.

"I know where you're going. Mapapagalitan ka na naman. Dito ka lang"

I grinned and kissed her cheek. "I'll just see you at the café later, okay?"

May sinabi pa siya pero hindi ko na pinansin at tumayo na lang dala ang bag ko. Hindi naman 'yon pansin ni Mrs. del Mundo dahil abala na siya sa powerpoint.

I went out of the room at tinahak ang daan patungong garden na nasa likod ng SHS building. Zack is just stalking me, trying not to catch attention para 'di pagdudahan kung bakit magkasama kami gayong on going pa ang classes.

When we reached the garden, Zach immediately pinned me on a tree and crashed his lips against mine.

"Zach, we're in school premises" ani ko at pinatong ang kamay sa kanyang dibdib, making space between us.

"Come on Zeph, there's no one here" aniya at sibukan muling lumapit pero agad akong umiwas.

"Calm down, babe. You know my rule"

No physical intimacy kapag nasa school, that's one of my rules when it comes sa relationship.

I do cut my classes at pasaway ding estudyante but I don't wanna be tagged as 'ace student na nakikipag-momol sa school'  ano!

Realizing what I've said, he licked his lower lip and nodded. I smiled and sat on the nearest bench.

"So, what's your class?" pagbabago ko ng usapan.

"Research, walang ginagawa kaya pwede lumabas" he raised a brow. "How 'bout you? Puro numbers nakita ko sa board niyo ah"

"Physics" simple kong sagot.

"And you made it sound like a piece of cake, huh"

I just shrugged. Dalawa lang naman ang dahilan kung bakit umaalis ako sa klase, either I already know the lesson or kaya kong pag-aralan sa bahay.