Covenant in the Wilderness

Chapter 18: Lamentable

"Baliw! Ba't mo ginawa 'yon. Nako!" Nakita ko ang pagkayamot sa mukha ni Aiden, parang nai-stress pa sa ginawa ko.

Sumimangot lang ako. "You've been nagging about it for two weeks already. Aiden, two weeks had passed, he forgot about it. I'm not scared of that man you're looking up to."

Bahagya kong hininaan ang aking boses dahil naunang naglalakad ang tatlo sa harap naming dalawa. Mas nanahimik ako nang lingunin kami ni Yandiel, saglit niya lang kaming tinitigan at nag-iwas na rin ng tingin at sumabay kay Donielle at Ravi.

Why did I even slapped him that time? I didn't hit him hard, yet it's still a slap. I shouldn't have relied on my heavy feelings again.

"That's a fraternity, Deborah. You should respect the ones that are older than you, lalo na si Ryker. May sama na nga ng loob sa'yo yung tao, pati ikaw magtatanim ng sama ng loob," seryosong sermon niya sa akin. "Wala sa akin kung ano man ang balak mong gawin o kung ano ang reklamo mo sa kalakaran niya. Kailangan mong magbigay ng respeto sa nakakatanda sa'yo."

Natahimik ako at unti-unting ngumiti, tumango ako. "Alright, I'll respect him from now on. Pasensya na."

He scoffed and just shook his head. "What's wrong with you?"

Hindi ko na siya pinansin, humabol siya sa lakad ng tatlo at umakbay kay Yandiel na tahimik na naglalakad. I can't believe I had to stick with my cousin who hang out with this irrational guys. Suplado ang pinsan ko, pang-asar si Ravi at makulit na parang stress si Aiden. Si Yandiel naman ay hindi ko matanto, ewan ko ba d'yan!

Tahimik akong umupo sa aking pwesto sa computer laboratory. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin napapalitan ang nasunog na pinto, pati ang kalahati ng white board dahil hindi naman ito ginagamit sa ngayon. We use computers when our professor wants to present something.

Ilang araw din na hininto ang operation ng lahat ng computer laboratories sa university. Sa kalagitnaan ng pagdi-discuss ng professor namin ay nakuha ng aking atensyon ang naipit na papel sa aking notebook. Oo nga pala, bukas na ang simula ng seminar na hinanda ko.

They want me to start with the members who are there for months, not with the new members like me. It's training, I should do well with this. I chose the topic about not creating distance toward each other, not far from fraternities' perspective.

Dumating ang araw ng sabado at hinahanda ko na ang aking sasabihin para mamaya. They didn't gave me the instruction about the presentation and I didn't create any visual aids. Just a speech or discussion.

Mabilis na gumana ang aking utak. Noong una ay ipinagtataka ko pa kung bakit may speaker na ganyan, eh wala naman gano'n sa mga fraternity, o baka meron. Pero ikinatuwa ko na rin, mas magkakaroon ako ng lakas ng loob na magsalita. Balak kong unti-untiin sila, mahirap iyong gawin sa lugar na puno ng pananakit at ka-brutalan ng mga kabataan.

Naging maayos naman ang flow ng discussion ko. Nagugulat nga ako dahil hindi ko na masyadong binabasa ang manuscript at tuloy-tuloy nalang ako sa pagsasalita. I want to inspire them. That's what God wants, to let people trust and rely in each other.

"Ano nga ba ang purpose na nag-join tayo dito, to create devotions, hindi ba? It was said in the best selling book, Bible that 'One who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend'. We should keep in ourselves to be kind in every way and we will meet devoted people. We are here in this fraternity, to keep our devotion," I discussed.

"We're here as brothers and sisters like what we call each other, 'di ba? Proverbs 17:17, 'My word is this: A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity'. I hope this message inspires us to continue everything as a group, although I'm just new here, creating bonds and friendship make our lives here worth living."