Renegade

Chapter 20

CLARISSE'S P.O.V.

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Practical started and my hand was slightly acting up like it always do. Nahirapan ako sa ilang stations katulad ng micropipetting at culture plating dahil sa panginginig ng kamay ko. The shaking of my hand became worse due to the tension. Timed kasi ang kada station- five minutes lang 'tapos after no'n, magmu-move to another station ka.

Due to my shaky hands, some stations were not done in satisfactory level. And I must admit- I was disappointed at myself. I actually hated myself too for being like this.

Pero nung na-reach ko na 'yung last station ng exam, kahit paano, nakahinga ako nang maluwag. At least, I was closed to finishing it. To be honest, this was what college like. Kung noong high school, you always always make sure to have a desirable outcome like high grades... Kapag college na, okay na 'yung pumasa; sapat na 'yung natapos mo 'yung exam. In college, your standards would get wreck and for sure when you exit the university, ikaw na ang wawasakin ng buhay.

High school was definitely a beginner stage- it was the easiest.

I sighed. Bagsak ang balikat na pumasok ako sa katabing room ng laboratory namin. This was where the eight station was placed. Hindi ko sigurado kung ano'ng gagawin sa last station para ilipat pa 'yon sa isa pang room. Kaya mas kinabahan ako; sobrang bilis ng tibok ng puso ko at hindi na makontrol ang panginginig ng mga kamay ko. I had to hide my hands inside the pockets of my lab gown as I entered the room for station 8.

Pero natigilan ako nang makita na nando'n si Sir Zaragosa. He was sitting on a chair and in front of him was a vacant chair.

"Please sit here, Miss Marquez." Itinuro niya ang upuan sa kaniyang harapan. He was holding a sheet of paper while on his other hand was a pen. "The last station is just to answer one final question. I will grade your answer."

Napatango ako. Kahit paano, kumalma ang mabilis na paghinga ko. At least, in this station, I didn't have to do anything but to answer a question.

Nang makaupo ako sa harapan ni Sir, hindi ko itatanggi ang awkwardness. Well, to be fair, we did things that student and teacher should not do and that made me uncomfortable right now. Hindi ko magawang hindi pansinin ang tension na nararamdaman ko dahil kaming dalawa lang ang nandito sa room.

I had to look away.

"For your question, what optimizations will you do if you didn't get any PCR product after running a PCR analysis?"

Unlike practicals, I was better in doing written and oral exams. So, the station eight did not scare me at all.

I didn't rattle when I answered, "One optimization to do is to check the PCR parameters that you set. It could be because of the annealing temperature or the number of cycles. Another optimization is to countercheck your primers. Absence of product could be due to failure of the primers to attach and replicate the DNA or there could be a problem on your actual primer design."

Tumango si Sir bago may isinulat sa isang papel na hawak niya. Then, he looked up at me and I could not look away because of the sudden change of expression in his heterochromic eyes.

He was looking at me intently. It was too intense that my thighs pressed to each other.

"Today is my last day as your substitute professor, Miss Marquez." His jaw clenched as his gaze roamed from my eyes down to my slightly parted lips because of my fast breathing. "Is it still a yes, Miss Marquez?"

Medyo nag-loading ako kung tungkol saan ang tinatanong ni Sir. Pero nang ilagay niya ang isang kamay sa hita ko matapos bahagyang inilapit ang mukha sa akin, doon ko naintindihan.