"Miss Kesia."
Napatingin naman ako kaagad sa tumawag sa akin. It's Eurika. She's the one who assists me on everything. Dahil sa sobrang busy ng lugar na pinuntahan ko ay siya lamang ang nagbigay ng oras sa akin para tulungan ako.
It's been three weeks since I've been here and I don't see some of the doctor scientists that they're talking about. Sabi nila ni-lock daw nila ang sarili nila sa pagre-research at tanging ang mga assistant lang nila ang maaring pumasok sa laboratory nila.
"Did you get permission to meet them?" I asked.
Noong isang linggo pa kasi ako nanghingi ng permission para makausap ang mga doctor scientist at hanggang ngayon ay wala pa rin silang response. Hindi ko alam kung iniiwasan ba nila ako, or kung ayaw nila ako makita or baka may tinatago sila.
Eurika shook her head. "I still haven't gotten the permission yet," she said disappointedly. "Hindi ko na talaga alam ang trip ng mga 'yun," inis na dagdag ni Eurika at naupo sa upuan sa harap ko. "If they don't want to meet you, they should decline your offer for help. Hindi 'yung pinapahintay ka nang ganito," she added.
I smiled at her. "You know how proud other people are, especially those who have achieved something."
"But you don't like them." She crossed her arms. "You're still you. You're still humble, and you always keep your feet on the ground. You're not like them at all."
I chuckled, putting my hand on the test tube in front of me. "Iba iba ang pag-handle ng mga tao sa mga achievements na nahawakan nila." I stood straight and looked outside the window. "May mga tao talagang ganiyan wala tayong magagawa," I added.
"But how could they do this to you?!" she angrily shouted. "They should decline or reject you rather than keep you waiting for this!"
I just smiled at her. Of course, I'm a little disappointed, but what could I do? For them, my friend and I's achievements are different from theirs. Their experience and knowledge are different from ours. Hindi talaga magiging madali para sa kanila ang pagtanggap sa amin.
We're four to five decades younger than them; of course, it would make them feel a little off.
I told her, "Let's just wait for their reply," and walked towards my research. "Hindi madali para sa kanila ito," I added.
Nakinig na lang ako sa mga rant ni Eurika dahil wala rin naman akong balak na magkumento pa. I just want to be careful. Hindi ko pa alam ang reason nila kaya hindi nila ako nire-replyan but I hope they have a valid reason.
"Oh, by the way." I turned around and looked at Eurika. "There's something I wanted to ask," she added.
"That is?"
She then leaned forward a little. "I heard that you're going to graduate earlier than usual. Is that true?"
I smiled. "Not just me."
Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's your whole team that will graduate early?" she asked, shocked.
"It was the government's wish." I told her, "They wanted me and my friends to be in the field as soon as possible. Hindi pa namin totally alam kung anong trip nila and since they wanted to use us for good things, there's no harm in it, right?"
Hindi naman kaagad nakasagot o nakagalaw si Eurika sa harapan ko. Right, it's really quite shocking for normal people.
"Wow," she murmured, her eyes bright. "I have no regrets stanning you guys!"
This time, it was me whose eyes widened. "What?"
She grinned. "Well, you see, I'm a fan of those who studied at Mint Academy. I considered applying there. I failed the exam, so I stopped." She then smiled sadly.
