Hindi ko na siya tiningnan pa ng bumalik ito sa kaniyang upuan. Pero dinig ko pa rin ang mabibigat na hakbang nito.
"Wait, sir! That was not all." I heard he say, "What's the name of that girl?"
I didn't know who he was talking about since I was not looking.
I crossed my fingers. Please, huwag ako, huwag ako.
"Oh, yeah. Right. She caught the class' attention a while ago, too." my eyes grew big, "That's Miss Artemio, Andrew."
"Artemio?" nagtatakang saad niya.
My eyes grew big. What the hell is his problem ba?
Umirap muna ako sa hangin before I turned to them, "Bakit po, Sir?"
"Hi, Miss! What's your full name? And... how are you related to the Artemios?" he sounded curious.
Inirapan ko siya. Sino ba siya?!
"Her name's Julyeight, Drew. As in July 8." said by the boy sitting in front of him.
Natawa naman ang lahat dahil do'n. Nalimutan ko na ang pangalan ng pangit na lalaking nagsalita. Pero sigurado akong mas pangit siya!
"Ah, yes. That's my name. I-I am an Artemio... and that's... h-how related I am to the Artemios." I said, then turned to my book again.
"Weh? If I am not mistaken, Artemios don't read books. They're syndicate."
I felt sad at what he said. I guess, he's one of the rich people around who judge and discriminate my parents.
Sinaway siya ng adviser namin at tinuloy na ang aming ginagawa.
I thought that will all end there, but for the whole duration of the first month of the class, my classmates were still teasing me about my name and me being always quiet and alone in the class.
Sa tingin ko ay iniiwasan nila ako dahil sa pag-aakalang sindikato nga ang mga magulang ko.
And that's all thanks to Andrew Ynarez, ang punyetang lalaking iyon!
I am on my way back to my unit. The driver and housekeeper that my parents promised was already here with me. They weren't staying in my unit, though. They have their own.
"Julyeight, dadaan ka pa ba ulit ng mall? Kailangan mo na raw kasing umuwi sabi ng Ate Minerva mo at may panauhin daw sa unit mo." Kuya Ralph, our driver, said.
"Sino raw po, Kuya? Eh, wala naman po akong inaasahang bisita." I was bit nervous about that.
"Wala naman siyang nabanggit, hija. Basta naroon na raw sa unit mo."
I called my parents immediately because of that, but their phones were unattended. Oo nga pala, nasa flight sila ngayon.
Who could that be?
Pagkababa ng sasakyan, agad kong tinakbo ang elevator. Hindi pa nagsasara iyon, matao sa loob.
Malapit nang magsara ito nang may kamay na humarang ngunit hindi pa rin nakaabot.
Sinilip ko ang siwang para tingnan kung sino iyong naiwan, I was stunned when I saw who it was.
Was it Andrew? O kamukha lang? Siguro, but I heard, there are a lot of rich kids residing in this building, too.
Natabunan ang isiping iyon ng kaba sa kung sinuman ang tao sa unit ko.
I don't have any close relatives except to my Lola who is now bedridden. Wala rin naman akong kaibigan. Baka naman kalaban ng mga magulang ko sa negosyo?
Oh my gosh! Nakuwento pa naman sa akin ni Nanay na alam na raw ng ibang kasosyo nila na mag-isa akong nag-aaral sa siyudad.
Napuno ako ng takot dahil do'n.
That was the longest elevator ride for me. As I was about to tap the key card on my door, I sighed deeply first.
Kita ko ang panginginig ng kamay ko nang itapat ko iyon sa pinto.
Awtomatikong bumukas ang mga ilaw pagbukas ko ng pinto. Kung may tao nga rito, dapat hindi nakapatay ang mga ito.
Nilingon ko ang buong paligid. Sarado ang lahat ng pinto. I went to the kitchen to look for a possible defense.
May narinig akong langitngit, kaya sinundan ko iyon.
The sound led me in front of the guest room's door. Wala namang gaanong gamit doon, kaya bakit dito pa? I rotated the doorknob, and opened the door a little.
But what I heard disgusted myself to bits.
"Ah! Julius!"
It was my parents doing worldly things!
I closed the door. "'Nay! 'Tay! Bakit dito pa?!" I shouted angrily.
Because of it, I hurriedly dropped my backpack somewhere in the living room, and ran out.
My feet took me to the staircase, so I did run through it. Nang nakalabas ng building, agad akong pumara ng taxi.
Bumaba ako sa mall. I look like I cut classes because I am still wearing our uniform. Sino ba makapag-aayos kung gano'n ang madadatnan mo sa bahay?
I decided to watch a movie, but the one I am interested in will be played later at eight o'clock. I don't wanna wait for three hours, 'no!
Instead, I shopped some clothes and some accessories. Nakita ko ang store na puro libro ang laman kaya pumasok din ako ro'n.
I did bought some, but only a few. Since ang mga librong naroon ay mayroon na akong kopya.
Dala nang pagod, pumunta ako sa isang coffee shop. Saka ko lang rin natantong oras na pala ng kainan.
In-off ko ang cell phone ko kanina dahil alam kong bubulabugin ako ng mga magulang ko.
Nang maka-order, natulala ako. Bumalik sa akin lahat ng nasaksihan ko kanina sa unit.
At a very young age, my parents were already active having an intercourse, as they said. They were high school when they had my brother, but he didn't survive. Nanay was twenty when they had me.
Nagkaroon ng komplikasyon si Nanay nang mawala ang kapatid ko kaya hirap silang bumuo ni Tatay. Anila, miracle baby raw ako. Ayon naman daw sa doktor, may maliit pa ring chance na makabuo pa rin sila.
And my parents held onto that. Kaya hanggang ngayon nagta-try pa rin sila.
But never in my life that I wished to witness them doing that!
I was still in deep thought nang may tumapik sa ulo ko mula sa likod. I was shocked and stunned by that.
"Kita mo nga naman! Oh, July, July, July. Poorita."
Gulat ako nang makitang ang hindi kaaya-ayang tao pala iyon!
"What's with your face? Para kang nakakita ng nagse-sex. Ganiyan din kasi ako noon." he even wiggled his brows.
What he said made my face heat up. Eyes wide open, nilagok ko nang minsanan ang kape ko.
"You did?!"
Nakaupo na siya ngayon sa upuan sa harapan ko. Ang paraan ng paninitig niya ay tila nag-uutos sa aking ikuwento ang nakita ko.
"Tangina, who was it? Your syndicate parents?"
"We're not in school, Andrew! Pwede ba, 'wag mo akong bwisitin?! Pati ba naman dito." I rolled my eyes at him.
"Okay, not here then." he smirked at me then grabbed the fork in my hand. He used it to take a bite from my cake! And while he was chewing, he went near to my ear and whispered, "But I know your little secret, you little sneaky cutie."
He left after that. At alam ko na ang kahihinatnan ko bukas sa klase.
