daggers

daggers #7

JUSTIN'S P.O.V

*knock knock*

"sir stell, excuse me po." our conversation was interrupted when a student knocked by the entrance of sir stell's work cubicle.

"yes, shaine? come in." sir stell said and the girl carefully came in. i stood up from my seat and stayed beside the table to give space for her. judging by her uniform, she's a first year architecture student. i didn't know sir stell also had subjects in the architecture department. but i guess he only teaches for the first years.

"may ipa-pass lang pong activities. ako na po nag-collect for my blockmates." she said. her voice is so timid. sir stell nodded and took the papers from shaine before thanking her. she thanked him back and turned around to leave but before she did, she took a quick glance at me which i responded with a small smile. luckily, she smiled back.

when she got out of the cubicle, my eyes went back to my professor and to my surprise, he was staring at me. i didn't utter any word and just went back to my seat earlier.

sir stell breathed deep and stood up, walking slowly as he spoke.
"since you're so persistent na makabawi sa'kin, even though i told you na okay naman na, i'm asking you to be my student assistant. for 5 months."

he stopped beside the chair infront of me as he leans on it with his left arm for support and his right hand inside his pocket. bakit ba kasi hindi aware 'tong taong 'to kung gaano siya ka-intimidating? feeling ko maiihi ako sa inuupuan ko e. T__T

"any questions?"

"uhm... ano po bang gagawin ko?" i'm pretty much aware of what a student assistant does but for some reason, i want to hear him explain it to me.

"well, basically, you go where i tell you to go and do things that i'll tell you to do. i can ask you to take files from some departments and bring them to me, print some documents if i need them, or research something for me. you just have to assist me sa mga ginagawa ko. assistant nga e." he chuckled after stating that last sentence. sorry na, sir.

'yun lang pala e. i nodded and smiled cheerfully. "okay po, i'll accept it."

his eyebrows rose up, seemingly surprised that i already have an answer.

"really? i was about to give you days to think about it pa naman. seems like you're really eager na makabawi ah." he stated and i felt my heart leap for some damn reason.

"now, i need to have your schedule, para naman alam ko kung kelan lang kita pwedeng guluhin to do something for me or para hindi maging super hassle sa'yo 'tong work na 'to." sir stell sat on the chair infront of me as he explains. i quickly took out a copy of my class schedule and handed it to him.

"maaga pala usually ang uwian mo. until 2-3 pm lang then one day ka lang may classes until 8 pm."

"uhm, nagpa-revise po kasi ako ng sched since may part time job po ako."

sir stell looked at me as i said that. "really? baka naman mapagod ka pa masyado kung gagawin mo pa 'to?"

i quickly shook my head. "hindi po, sir. promise po!" i raised my left hand and he giggled as looked at it. nakakaraming beses na 'ko na napapangiti at tawa si sir stell today ha. coach pau, kabahan ka na. ems.

"anyways, uhm.. pwede ko bang malaman kung bakit ka nagpapart time job?" he carefully asked and i put down my hand, my facial expression changing in an instant but i still gave sir stell a small smile for him not to worry too much.

"hey, it's okay kung ayaw mong sabihin. i apologize for even asking about that."

"o-okay lang po... uhm.. nung third year highschool po kasi ako, i lost both of my parents in a car crash. wala naman po akong kapatid kaya ako nalang po mag-isa after non. tinulungan naman po ako nung tita ko nung 4th year na po ako and also nung first year college but nung tumagal, i decided na i want to live by myself na po. buti nalang nga po nakasali ako sa salinggawi since nung first year until now, kaya buong college years ko po, may full scholarship ako. kaso i still had to look for a part time job para naman po sa other academic needs plus, nagdodorm po kasi ako somewhere outside UST. ang mahal po kasi ng dorms dito sa loob hehe."

sir stell was just intently listening to me while i told him my story. so this is how it feels like to open up to someone other than my friends.

"i'm sorry to hear that, justin. but just so you know, i'm sure your parents are proud of you. you're an excellent and hard working student so i'm sure you'll make them even more proud in the future." he said and smiled at me. a soft and genuine one. smiling really looks good on him.

i don't know how long we stared at each other before sir stell looked away and cleared his throat. i shifted on my seat and fixed my backpack on my lap.

"so uhm... since being a student assistant requires more effort from you, i've decided na sswelduhan kita." my eyes widened at what sir stell said. i'm also aware that some student assistants get paid but i didn't expect that sir stell will really do it since i'm the one who told him that i want to do something for him.

"nako, sir, kahit 'wag na p-"

"i insist, justin." he chuckled. "sabi na tatanggihan mo 'ko e. but, i still insist. i'm gonna pay you for being my student assistant. you see, tutulungan mo 'ko with my works and at the same time, matutulungan din kita financially kapag sswelduhan kita. it's a give and take, win-win situation, jah."
he called me jah, shit, tumalon nanaman yung puso ko ano ba 'yan.

he crossed his legs, the tip of his leather shoe lightly brushing against my leg. bakit naman kasi shorts ang uniform namin e. T____T

"so, would you take my offer?" he asked and i bit the inside of my cheeks. i really need this.

"yes po, sir stell. i'll take it." i said with a smile.

"that's great." he stood up, and so did i, then he offered his hand infront of me. i looked at it for while before taking it and he shook our hands together. "welcome to your new job as my student assistant, mr. de dios." he giggled at his action of fake formality. god, he's so cute... wHAT- SHUT UP, JAH!

"thank you as well, mr. ajero." i giggled too.

we talked for a bit more about my "job" before i left the faculty. when i closed the door behind me, i covered my face with my hands and let out a silent squeal. i punched the air a few times and stomped my feet on the floor in a fast motion.

"eherm." i cleared my throat, fixed my uniform, and walked away like nothing happened. but as i walked, i couldn't help but smile, remembering everything that happened and everything that we talked about in that cubicle of his.