Mistakes We Can't Laugh About (Loser #2)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The following months were just as horrible. My impression of Leon was tarnished. Kung puwede lang magpalipat sa ibang section para hindi ko na siya makita ay ginawa ko na. Every word that comes out of his mouth annoys the hell out of me! Sa tuwing nagtatama ang tingin namin ay halos mahilo ako kakairap sa kanya.

I swore to myself not to talk to him ever again. Kahit ang sampung pisong utang ko sa kanya ay hindi ko na pinagkaabalahang bayaran. He doesn't want it, right? Edi, 'wag. Salamat sa ten pesos, kung gano'n. Sinisigurado ko rin na hindi na ako magpapatalo sa kanya. I studied twice as hard. Para kay Dad, para sa 'kin, at para sa pagpapabagsak sa posteng nakasalamin na 'yon.

"Galingan mo, Amari!" Narinig kong pag-chi-cheer ni Meg. "Isama mo kami sa Davao kapag nanalo ka!" pahabol niya pa.

I smiled at her. Katabi niya si Shaira na malawak ang ngisi sa akin. I have no idea what she's thinking, and I don't care. Simula noong personal kong kinausap si Leon, na nakita niya pala, ay hindi na niya ako tinigilan sa pang-aasar. Kesyo pakipot lang daw ako at defense mechanism ko lang ang pag-iinarte.

Huh! As if I had shown any interest in that asshole!

"We only have seven participants left," Ms. Lubrica said as she counted our heads. "Gaya ng nasabi namin noon, tatlo lang ang matitira. Best of luck!"

I held onto my whiteboard and marker. Out of 115 participants from three different sections of our program, kami lang ni Leon ang natira sa BS Psychology 1-A.

Lahat ng psychology major ay kasali sa quiz bee at ang tatlong mananalo ay ilalaban sa nasabing Freshmen Affiliation — a convention for first-year psychology students nationwide. If I get lucky, I'll have the chance to attend workshops and seminars for four days. Magandang ilagay iyon sa credentials dahil ang pinakamahuhusay na estudyante lang ang nakakadalo sa programang 'yon.

Alam kong makakapasok si Leon. Ngayon nga ay siya na ang may pinakamataas na score. Sumunod ay si Zoey na dalawang puntos ang lamang sa amin ni Paolo. Those two are from 1-B, and I had never met them before.

My father was aware of the convention and compelled me to go. Gabi-gabi niya akong itine-text para paalalahanan akong mag-aral. I can't imagine what will happen if I don't make it.

"For five points in the first question under the hard category, what do you call it when someone can read and understand spoken language but struggles to speak and write?"

I immediately wrote down Broca's aphasia.

"Raise your boards."

Lumipad agad ang mata ko sa sagot ni Leon at napahinga ako nang malalim nang makitang parehas kami ng sagot. I caught him looking over my answer, as he had been doing since the quiz bee began. Bumaba ang tingin niya sa akin kaya pinanlisikan ko siya ng mata.

I grunted. Kanina pa siya! Talagang sa sagot ko lang siya tumitingin! At kahit walang reaksyon ang mukha niya, alam kong tuwang-tuwa siya kapag nagkakamali ako! Ganoon siya ka-gago!

"Ano?!" I murmured when his eyes lingered on me longer than they should have.

Tahimik lang siyang humarap sa unahan, hindi pinansin ang panggagalaiti ko.

"Okay, everyone got the correct answer," sabi ni Ma'am. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin kay Leon. "Next question, what is the lobe that interprets vision?"

I answered occipital lobe, and just like earlier, it was correct. Narinig ko ang pagsigaw nina Meg at Shaira para sa akin, pero agad din silang pinagalitan ng facilitators. I still have the same score as Paolo, so I need to beat at least him if I want to attend the convention.