Chapter 6
A-student
"Bonjour!" bati ng teacher namin pagpasok na pagpasok niya sa room.
"Bonjour!" sagot naman ng lahat.
I smiled as I listen to her introduce her name. Nakakatuwa na first subject namin ay Foreign Language and she said she'll be teaching us French.
"Quelqu'un peut-il se présenter à moi?" she asked.
Natahimik ang lahat kaya kumunot ang noo ko. Sobrang dali lang naman magpakilala kaya bakit walang nasagot o nagvo-volunteer?
I raised my hand and everyone glanced at me with weird looks.
"Ah. The new student. Go ahead."
Tumayo ako at ngumiti sa kanilang lahat. "Allo! Je m'appelle Lia. Je viens de Costa Vira. J'ai hâte d'en apprendre plus sur la langue française. J'aime leur culture en particulier l'art et l'histoire sans fin des Parisiens."
Walang umimik kaya dahan-dahan na lang akong umupo.
"Did I say something wrong?" bulong ko kay Faye.
All I said is that my name is Lia, I'm from Costa Vira. I'm excited to learn more about the French language. I love their culture especially the endless art and history of Parisians. Wala naman akong nakikitang mali sa mga sinabi ko.
"Very good, Lia! How come you're very fluent at speaking French?" tanong ng prof namin.
Oh. I didn't think about that.
"Uhh... I... was... on an advance placement program," pagsisinungaling ko.
"That explains it." Ngumisi siya ngunit kita ko sa mukha niya na nagulat siya sa pagsagot ko kanina.
Faye giggled beside me and did her best not to laugh loudly.
"I should have seen that one coming," she whispered.
Hindi na ako sumagot pa sa buong isang oras na nag-discuss ang professor namin. Kahit na alam ko ang sagot sa mga tanong niya ay hindi na 'ko nagtaas pa ng kamay. I didn't want to capture anyone's attention again. Atleast not today.
"Nakakatawa, lahat kami nakanganga kanina nung nagsalita ka," Faye said the moment we're out of the room.
"That was so embarrassing!"
"Huh? Bakit ka naman mahihiya? Ang galing mo kaya! Kung ako rin fluent sa French, malamang sasagot ako."
"Still---"
"Lia, hindi naman mabubuko ng mga tao ang lihim mo just because you're good at speaking other languages. In fact, maganda nga 'yan e. May advantage ka sa subject na 'to. For sure mataas ang makukuha mong grades and your father will be happy once he sees your report card."
She has a point...
"Hey," Napalingon kaming dalawa nang lumapit sa amin si Dan.
"Uy! Ikaw pala 'yan! Wait, bakit galing ka sa loob? Classmate ka pala namin?" Natawa na lang ako sa dire-diretsong pananalita ni Faye.
"Yeah, nandoon ako sa bandang likuran niyo. Bukas, tabi na lang ako sa inyo." He smiled before he looked at me. "That was so cool, Lia."
"He he. Thanks."
"You make it sound as if it's so easy. I can't even remember any phrases besides Bonjour."
"Same same," Faye cackled.
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