Beneath the Two | Academy Series #1

Chapter 17

"Punitin ang research papers!"

Pinangunahan ng sigaw ni Darwin ang pag-iingay ng klase. He's holding the photocopy of their research paper, ready to tear it. The whole class followed him by raising a piece of their group's paper.

"Darwin, ang kapal ng mukha mo. Pancit Canton lang naman pala ambag mo!" biro ni Idris.

"Tangina mo, dre. Parang taga-picture ka lang para sa documentation," singhal ng isa.

"Tama na yan! Ang mahalaga, tapos na ang research," sigaw ni Niko.

"Goodbye, Research!" they tore it together.

Needless to say, the researcg defense ended today. We're lucky that we made it, sa ibang section ay may magre-redefense. Iyon ang pinanakot sa akin ni Zach kaya napuwersa akong aralin ang paper namin. I'm selfish yes, but I don't want to redefense.

Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na after all those chapters, sa wakas ay tapos na kami. Kahit papaano ay may ambag pa rin ako. Hindi nga lang ako tumulong sa pag-i-interview dahil . . .

"Why do you prefer fast food over healthier options?" I read the question and laid my back boringly as I waited for her to answer.

"Because it's inexpensive, healthy food is now costlier than fast foods," sagot niya at malapad pa ang ngiti.

"Ah, so meaning you're cheap," I said, writing down her answer. "You're obviously poor, because you can't even afford vegetables for a healthy living. What's your parents' occupation by the way? Farmers? Housekeepers? That's so cruel—right or they probably died. So why—"

Nahinto ako sa pagsasalita nang makita ang babaeng umiiyak na at pinipigilan ang sariling gumawa ng tunog. "Hey, stop crying. Baka isipin nila ay pinaiyak pa kita."

I crossed my arms, waiting for her to stop. "I understand that you're poor, but can you please stop crying? You look ugly."

Pinagtitinginan na ako ng nga groupmates ko dahil lumalakas ang hikbi niya. At iyon na nga, tumayo si Zach at mukhang lalapit sa amin.

"Hey, I-I'm sorry, I was just joking. You can stop crying now." Inalog ko ang kamay niya.

"Is everything alright?" anang lalaki. "Bakit ka umiiyak, Miss?"

Sa halip na sumagot ang babae ay tumayo ito at tumakbo papalabas ng room. "Leigh, what did you do?" tanong ni Zach.

I pouted, shrugging my shoulders. "I became honest?"

Mariing pumikit si Zach at iniling ang ulo bago tumakbo palabas ng room para sundan ang babae. Naiwang nakatingin sa akin ang kagrupo namin."S-Sorry?" I uttered, unsure.

That was the main reason I remained the group's typewriter.

I reclined my body at the backrest of my chair as I watched my classmates go crazy. They're so noisy and it's irritating. Hindi pa naman dito natatapos ang lahat, may quantitative research pa kami next year. I can't get mad though, dahil kasama si Zach at Yelah sa mga nag-iingay.

Seeing them like this made me realize a lot of things. Grade eleven made me feel different kinds of emotions. From excitement and joy to abhorrence, annoyance because of Marie, stress over research, and feeling stupid for not understanding our majors. It wasn't a perfect experience but I got to meet Zach.

One of the reasons why I will happily look back on this time of my life is because of him. I will remember this, happily, even if it includes the girl I hate the most.

Zachary . . . he made me experience a lot of things, made me feel emotions I never knew existed. Funny how I hate him the first time we met because he made me question my judgment. Now I can't even imagine a day without seeing him.