Dinamalayan

Chapter 2: Examinations

~Caizen~

A few days after those annoying events, I realized that we had a quiz today. 'Ugh, I don't feel like answering any today..' I thought to myself.

"Right, may quiz nga pala ngayon 'no?" I asked Tiara, just to make sure if it wasn't today. Tiara didn't hear me, ugh, she's busy on her phone. "Huy!" I said a little loud for her to hear me. "Ano?!" The freckled girl asks, annoyed. I sighed, repeating my question. "Ah, yeah, there's a quiz today." she confirms.

'Ugh, great. Luckily I reviewed yesterday and the day before. Came prepared even if I'm not up to it today' "Nag-review ka?" she adds, interrupting my thoughts. "Syempre hinde. Sino bang mag r-review?" I answered, sarcastically. The freckled girl scoffs. "Don't come crying to me when you fail, okay?" she says, rolling her eyes.

"Me? Failing? Have you ever seen this awesome guy fall down from his glory?"

"Yeah... Like when you fell down the stairs yesterday?"

"Hey! That's not counted!! And plus— in my defense, the floor was slippery!"

"Yeah.. Yeah.. You did give yourself such an entrance to school, though."

"Shut up, stupid Estrellia! Ugh!"

"Awhh.. using last names now, are we? Mr. Montero— Top student of the whole campus who fell down the stairs because of a not-so-slippery-floor?"

I gasped dramatically, "Well, for your information, I actually did— review for the exam. I just happened to not feel like answering any exams today, Tiara."

I said, in my defense. The freckled girl chuckles— "avoiding the topic eh?" she teases making my face turn red in annoyance. "heh, alright, let's see, 'Mr. Top of The Campus'. Oh, and just a simple reminder, if you fail, don't come crying to me like a little baby, okay?" she adds, smiling— acting innocent.

I was about to say something when the proctor came. "Please sit properly. On. Your. Own. Seat. Itago lahat ng cellphone, notebook, o kung ano ano pa yan. Remember, I have eyes behind my head. Now, please, pull out a piece of paper and a ballpen. Erasures are allowed but you are not allowed to change your paper. No writing in the test paper, understood?" the female proctor says, with an ice cold tone. 'geez, why'd we get a strict proctor ugh' i thought to myself. "Yes, ma'am!" Everyone in the class answered.

And with that— Everyone on our own specific papers, answered the quiz with silence. Reading and answering the questions seriously one by one.

As usual, I beat my best friend with time as I finished answering the quiz first before she did.

Ever since I met her in 8th grade, we've always been seen as academic rivals at class hours. But during free time or when there's no school— we'd be the best of friends.

We were inseparable— always doing this and that together. One time, I was in this Rubik's cube competition, and you don't even have to expect, because she was there the whole time— supporting me. She was the first to congratulate me with so much enthusiasm when I won first place. And vice versa! I was there to support her when she entered this singing competition a few months ago. She won the 'Grand Champion' award that day— How proud I was for her..

'Just like how an old friend and I were...' I thought to myself.

I checked my watch only to see there's still a lot of time left. "Huh, guess I'll just review my answers for the time being." I told myself. I tried reviewing— Keyword: "Tried". But I felt myself staring at my best friend more than I was reviewing.