"AAAH!"
"Anak! Oh bakit?"
"Bad dream, pa. I'm okay," sabi ko.
"O sige, balik na ko dun." Tumango lang ako.
Ugh. Same dream again. Yung babaeng mapula ang mata. Sinusuklayan ako at tinatawag akong anak. Pero di ko sya kilala.
Ampon ako ni dad, but I'm not mad. Sinabi niya kasi yun in a way I'd understand.
Bumaba ako sa kusina para uminom ng tubig.
Woah.
"D-dad?"
Bumagsak sa sahig ang 3 bote. Nabasag.
"Oh anak. B-bat nandito ka?" He looked surprised as well.
I know what I saw. Alam kong bartender si papa dati, pero I'm pretty sure he's not holding the bottles. It's floating! At yung kamay niya, parang naka alalay lang.
Maybe I'm just day dreaming.
Kinusot ko ang mata ko at nagtuloy sa ref. "Inom lang po ako." Binuksan ko ang ref.
Narinig ko ang malalim na paghinga ni papa. Kumuha ako ng baso at nilagyan ng tubig hanggang kalahati nito.
"Missing bartending?" I teased as I take the last drop of water.
"Hmm," sabi niya lang habang pinupulot ang mga bubog sa sahig.
"Akyat na po ako ha? Goodnight," I said as I stood up from the stool.
"Teka lang Dani," sabi niya.
"Po?" sagot ko.
"Uhmm, i... inilipat kita ng school for this year. P-para di na kayo magkita ng Miguel na yun."
"WHAT? How.. how dare you? You know I barely make friends. Marami na kong kaibigan dun! Tapos ililipat mo pa ko?" I run my fingers through my hair out of irritation.
"Kailangan mong mahiwalay sa Miguel na yun! Hindi ka ba nawiwirduhan dun? Palaging naka shades! Tinatago siguro yung mata kasi drug addict. Mukhang sabog," paliwanag ni papa.
"Dad naman! Hindi siya addict! Ugh, nice," I said as I darted my way to my room.
I slammed the door shut. Tumulo bigla ang mainit na luha.
"Ayoko ayoko ayo-ko!" I shouted.
Dumungaw ako sa bintana. Umuulan.
I pretended to control the raindrops. Ginalaw ko ang kamay ko papuntang kaliwa, the drops go left. Vice versa. The raindrops seems to play with me, too.
"Kainis. Kung di 'ko lang siya mahal e, nilayasan ko na siya," bulong ko.
---
"Dito ka sa school na 'to mag aaral. Young Elite High School," sabi ni papa habang binibigay yung brochure ng school sakin.
I rolled my eyes as I scratch the birthmark on my elbow. Hugis bow ang archer siya e. Ang cute.
As usual, pag kinakamot ko yung balat, pinapalo ni papa yung kamay ko, "Tsk. Kulit ni baby Dani!"
"Tsk. Dad, no. I don't like it here!"
"Then you'll have to. Step out. I'll see you later."
Just walking down the hall, I can already see I don't belong here. Like, srsly. This is a school. Bakit lahat sila naka shades? Well, not all but, most of them.
Naalala ko tuloy si Miguel. Ugh. Pano na pag nalaman nya?
"Transferee Dani Cortez?" sabi ng isang lalaking hindi naka shades.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Come this way."
Nagpunta kami sa principal's office at doon binigay ang schedule ko at ang mga rules.
"I'm Rico. Student Officers' President. Nice to meet you, Cortez." Iniwan nya na ko pagkatapos nun.
Well. Let's see the rules.
1. Wear proper uniform.
2. Smoking is not allowed inside the campus.
3. Walk lightly on corridors.
4. When a club chooses you, you are expected to join each and every activities of the club. (What kind of rule is this?)
5. Cutting classes is permitted when needed. (What?)
6. You will be kicked out if you have broken any rule.
Okay? Where's my classroom?
Nakakita ako ng isang estudyanteng hindi rin naka shades pero naka.. gloves.
"Uhh, pwede magtanong?" Sabi ko.
"Yes? Oh! The transferee! You're gonna ask where's the classroom noh?" masaya nyang sabi. Tumango nalang ako at ngumiti.
"Good thing, magkaklase tayo eh! C'mon!" Hindi nako nakapalag when she dragged me away effortlessly while holdingy arms. She's kinda strong.
"I'm Zeena. You are?" Sabi niya habang tumatakbo kami.
"Da.. dani," hinihingal kong sagot.
She stopped, then pushed the door open.
"Sorry we're late, ma'am! Eto yung transferee oh!" Pinatayo nya ko sa harap.
The room is filled with students either wearing shades, only a few wear gloves. What is wrong with these people? May mga cancer ba sila?
Nakakita ako ng hindi nakashades nor gloves. It's Rico, the president. He just smiled at me.
Yung katabi ni Rico, may kamukha. Si Tao ng EXO? I don't know. But he looks weirder than everyone else. He wears gloves.
"Introduce yourself," sabi nung teacher.
"Hi my name is Dani Cortez nice to meet you all." Dire diretso kong sabi.
"I hope you make friends easily here, Dani," sabi ulit nung teacher as she lead me to a seat near the window.
I hope so, too.
Yung naging katabi ko ay si Zeena. At ang daldal nya! Technically, sya lang ang naririnig ko sa buong first day ko dito.
Nung lunch break na, kasama ko kumain si Zeena. At hindi ko na napigilan magtanong.
"Zeena, why is everyone, I mean most of you, wear either shades or gloves?"
Sinagot nya ko na parang hindi nagulat. "Well, yung iba nakikiuso lang. But we? We're part of the club." Kinindatan nya ko at sumubo ng kanin. "Now eat. Class resumes at 1 p.m."
