Stars Aligned That Night (TO BE SELF-PUBLISHED SOON)

CHAPTER SIX

Chapter Six

PAYBACK'S A BITCH

Penelope

"SORRY na lang, Ice, pero dahil binitin mo ako kahapon ay mamuti sana ang mga mata mo sa kakahintay sa akin. Tse!" I muttered and sent a second text stating I would see him in class later.

Kinakausap ko na naman ang sarili ko habang nagmamaneho papunta sa Ace University. Panay text ni Erin sa akin kung papasok ako at nagconfirm ako. Late na nga ako kasi after lunch na akong sinipag na umalis ng bahay.

Naisipan ko munang dumaan sa may restroom malapit sa cafeteria. Nang pumasok ako sa isang cubicle ay narinig kong may dalawang nag-uusap na babae.

"Bitin ako kahapon kay, Ismael," aniya at napalapit ako sa pinto para makinig.

Bitin? Ismael? There was only one Ismael that I knew at si Ice iyon!

"Grabe ka, friend, ha? Talagang pinuntahan mo siya sa condo niya," sagot naman ng isa.

Tumawa nang marahan ang isa. "Oo naman pero 'di 'ata maganda araw niya kasi pinauwi ako agad pero later dadaan ako doon ulit."

So, si Miss De Leon nga. That slut!

"Naku! Akitin mo na siya habang wala pang jowa," sulsol naman ng isa na ikinagalit ko.

"Excited na akong maging Mrs. Pelaez!" ani ni Miss De Leon na tila papatulan siya ni Ice.

So, aakitin mo si Ice? Humanda ka sa akin. Nabitin at nagutom ako kahapon kaya makakatikim ka ng galit ko. Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned!

Lumabas ako ng cubicle ko at nagulat sila na may tao pala. I pretended to ignore them and washed my hands. Nasa gitna ako nila na naghuhugas ng baunan nila. When Miss De Leon passed by, I placed my leg on her path so she fell down.

"Aray!" Napasigaw siya at tiningnan ako ng masakit habang nasa sahig siya ng restroom.

"My bad," I said and left the restroom while flipping my hair.

"Hoy, bata ka. Bastos ka, ha!" narinig kong sigaw ng co-teacher niya pero hindi ko na sila pinansin pa. Deresto lang ang lakad ko as if wala akong ginawa. I was sure masakit ang paa niya kaya hindi na siya makakapunta mamaya sa condo ni Ice.

Gusto ko sanang kalmutin ang face niya pero I hate to ruin my newly manicured nails. Habang naglalakad ako papunta sa classroom ng unang afternoon subject ko ay nakita kong papunta na rin si Ice. Seeing his grim expression ay alam kong badtrip siya.

Binilisan ko ang lakad kahit na naka-heels ako. Nagmadali akong buksan ang pintuan at nagtago. Mula sa glass window, nakita kong dumaan si Ice at 'di ako nakita.

"Thank God!" I said out loud.

"Miss?" I heard some ask so I turned my head and saw there was a different class inside. The teacher and students were confused as to why I was hiding.

"Ay, wrong classroom. Sorry!" I said embarrassingly.

Lumabas ako at buti na lang wala na si Ice. Sa kabilang classroom pa pala ako kaya pumasok na ako at wala pa ang professor namin.

"Hoy, Penelope Trias! Saan ka galing kagabi?" Hinila ako ni Erin patungo sa assigned seats namin.

"My lips are sealed," I smiled mischievously.

"Ah, ganoon? Sige ka, sa next na alis mo, I will tell Tita the truth," banta ni Erin.

Lumabi ako. "Please, Erin naman, oh! Not now okay? Soon. Puhleeese?" I gave her puppy eyes and she sighed in exasperation.

"Hay naku, Penny! Tigilan mo nga ako. Tell me who you are hooking up with?"

"Eh kasi..." Naudlot ang pag-uusap namin nang dumating ang professor namin. I sighed in relief, then Erin glared at me.

BREAK time namin kaya nandoon kami sa may gazebo malapit sa university field. Pinuntahan kami ni Alvin para kumustahin. As usual, he was there to give us the latest gossip in school.

"Alvin, ilang taon na ba si Atty. Pelaez?" I asked out of nowhere.

"Ay, betsung mo siya, 'no? Ako din, eh! Well, according to my resources, he's married."

"Ano?" Erin and I both exclaimed.

If he was married then it meant, I was his mistress?

"Talaga? Bakit walang singsing sa kamay niya?" Erin asked at napaisip din ako kung may nakita akong wedding photos o singsing sa kwarto niya pero wala.

"Oppss... was married pala! Deads na pala ang wifey niya. Saka twenty-nine pa lang siya. Too young to be a widower," sagot nito.

Nagulat ako sa edad ni Ice. Twenty-nine years old? So it meant nine years old pa lang ako ay binata na siya. "Pero he doesn't look old kahit late twenties na siya."

"Which makes him so papable! Pero wala pa namang napapabalitang umaaligid sa kanya except that Miss D," chika ni Alvin.

Pumintig ang tainga ko sa narinig. "Miss De Leon?" I asked vehemently.

Alvin nodded. "How did you know? Chismax ka, ha?"

"Uhmm... Narinig ko lang kanina sa restroom," pagsisinungaling ko.

Itinuloy ni Alvin ang chika niya. "Anyways, huwag ninyo ipagkalat, ha? She also went to his condo!"

"Talaga? Grabe talaga si Miss D," komento ni Erin at hindi ko maiwasang magalit muli dahil sa nangyari kagabi.

"Makiki-chismis pa sana ako ngunit masakit na raw paa niya kaya umuwi na," patuloy ni Alvin.

"Buti nga sa kanya. Malandi much, eh."

"Teka, teka... Nakakahalata na ako. You have the hots for him, ano?" usisa ni Erin pero nagkibit-balikat lang ako.

"Naku, Penny, dear. Crushing on your teacher is okay pero wit mong akitin, okay? Bawal 'yan dito sa school," paalala ni Alvin sa akin.

Sorry, bakla, too late na. Isinuko ko na ang Bataan ng ilang beses sa iba't ibang posisyon pa.

PAGKATAPOS ng break ay pumasok na kami sa Business Law subject namin. Nagdahilan ako kay Erin na dadaan sa restroom muna. I fixed my hair into a ponytail, applied my lipgloss and retouched my make up. I also sprayed my favorite Chanel perfume all over my body.

"Makapag-grand entrance nga," I murmured and walked towards the classroom only to realize that I was already ten minutes late for class.

Nang pumasok ako ay nakita kong sinundan ako ng tingin ni Ice. I could feel the heat creep into my cheeks. All of my classmates were staring at me and I was a bit puzzled when I sat down.

"Okay, now that Miss Trias has graced us with her presence, get a whole sheet of paper so we can start the quiz," he announced in a deadly tone.

Everyone was panicking and groaning while I was stunned. Hindi ako nakapagbasa ni isang letra sa book tapos may instant quiz?

"Pst... Erin, bakit siya may quiz? 'Di ba kakaumpisa lang ng klase?" tanong ko kay Erin habang kumukuha ng yellow pad sa bag.

"Mainit 'ata ulo tapos dinagdagan mo pa kasi late ka," anito.

Hinawakan ko ang braso niya. "Oh my gosh! I didn't study. Pa-copy naman."

"There will be no talking while taking the quiz and anyone caught cheating will have his or her test paper thrown out," Ice announced then gave me a menacing glare.

Oh no... he was really mad at me. I tried hard to answer his quiz, but my brain was empty. Zilch. Pinasa ko na lang papel ko at inexpect na bagsak ako. I knew this was payback for teasing him.

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A Night with Ice has now a different title and will now be called "Stars Aligned That Night." 

This story is mine and mine alone so I want a fresh look.