[3] Under Her Scars

27

"Hi, Six." A man entered the room where I was working. Kakaalis lang ni Jane na mukhang marami ring ginagawa dahil hindi man lang ako kinausap.

"Hi," I greeted, not paying attention to the guy. If I lose my focus on reading these nonsense papers, I would literally lose my patience to continue this new job.

Naramdaman ko na tumabi siya sa akin pero hindi pa rin ako nagsasalita.

Sabay kaming umalis ni Arius ng bahay ng 9 o'clock dahil pareho kaming may schedule sa trabaho. Sinabi nitong uuwi raw siya ng 6 o'clock, kung kaya naman kailangan ko ring makakuha ng maraming impormasyon rito para sabay kaming pupunta kila Phoexe. Although wala namang silang binigay na working hours, kailangan ko pa ring gawin 'to dahil hindi lang pera ang hinahanap ko rito, pati ang mga sagot.

And it just frustrating that they were supplying me informations about their organization. They said that I should do it for assurance that I could trust them, they highlighted that this is a part of the contract.

But hell, I hate reading.

"Basahin mo rin daw 'to," Napatingin naman ako sa lalaki at agad siyang tinaasan ng kilay nang makita ko ang isang makapal na folder.

Wala na akong pake kung inirapan ko siya, ang alam ko lang ay walang imik ko iyong binuksan. Puro personal informations nanaman. It's making me sick to read these stuffs. I mean, was it not prohibited?

"Ano nanamang meron dito?" Mataray na sagot ko dahil nawala na talaga ang pokus ko sa pagbabasa.

Nakita kong ngumiwi ang lalaki. "Those are the informations about our current members. As you can see, it was their assessment of their peculiarities. Everyone in this organization are your allies even though you haven't seen them. It's important for you to know their peculiarities, in case you need reinforcement."

Napahinga naman ako ng malalim at sinubukan na lang ulit magbasa.

Hanggang ngayon nasa isip ko pa rin ang mukha ni Arius sa napanaginipan ko. It's making me uneasy. Wala pa akong napanaginipan na nagpakaba sa akin, 'yon lang talaga. I'm still trying to convince myself to believe that it wouldn't come true and that it was just a product of my illusion.

Hindi naman siguro mangyayari.

Pero kung sakali man, natatakot na tuloy akong magbuntis. The thought ridicules me so I raised my head only catching the man staring at me.

"Were you staring at me?" I said in sharp voice.

Saglit siyang nag-isip, "Not really, just watching you frown while reading."

I hate how he's giving me an unwanted attention. "Wala ka bang trabaho?"

Umiling siya at sumandal sa kinauupuan nito, "Wala pa."

"Then go away," inis na sabi ko.

Nakita ko na nagulat siya sa reaksyon ko at tumingin sa akin na tila ba'y namamangha. "You have some guts."

Sino ba ang lalaking 'to?

Hindi ko siya sinagot at kahit na hindi ko kapain ang noo ko, alam kong magkasalubong na ang aking kilay.

"Anyway," he sighed, "Tulungan na lang kitang basahin 'yung assessments ng members? One were actually gathering them for an orientation, so pwede mo silang makilala ngayon personally."

Nag-iwas ako ng tingin at nag-isip. Siguro wala namang masama kung sasama na lang ako sa kaniya, naiinis na rin ako sa mga binabasa ko. Pakiramdam ko kasi titigan lang ako ng lalaki sa pagbabasa kaya mas lalo lang akong maiinis.