Chapter One
Palaisipan sa akin si Atlas Greene. I wonder how can a person have so much energy to be active in everything. Greene is the life of all party. Kilala siya ng lahat. Walang kahit sino sa aming bayan ang hindi alam kung sino siya kasi nga kilala siya ng lahat. He's a hardworker and the tales of his kindness is known all over town. Mahilig siyang tumulong sa mga matatandang ka-baryo. Marami rin siyang sidelines. He's also a good athlete, he plays baseball and he's a chess grandmaster back in elementary. And to top all of that, he's an achiever. Siya ang top 1 ng aming batch.
No one could ever match his level of perfection. He has it all but something stirs in the depths of his eyes. It's like he's hiding something inside him and it seems... undesirable.
"Nakatingin ka naman dyan kay Atlas. I know you're inlove with him but could you please stop?" Fidel looked at me with disgust.
He hates Greene while I am hopelessly inlove with that guy.
"Shut up, Fidel! Baka marinig nila!" I hushed him dahil nasa malapit lang din si Marina, ang babaeng nalilink kay Greene ngayong taon.
Hindi rin nakakagulat na marami ang humahanga kay Greene. Marami ang nalilink sa kanya ngunit sa tingin ko ay wala naman siyang interes sa mga iyon. I heard he had girlfriends pero taga-ibang school o taga-kabilang bayan daw. He never dates someone from here because he knows how the gossips work. Pero ngayon ay pinag-uusapan sila ni Marina dahil hinatid niya daw ito sa bahay nila noong nakaraang buwan.
"Don't be too full of yourself, Adi. Hindi ka nga yata kilala ni Marina, e."
I hate this guy but he's the only one I have here. Nobody really talks to me. Everyone treats me like I'm invisible and I'm loving every bit of it. I'm the polar opposite of Greene. Kung siya ay kilala ng lahat, ako naman ang nakakakilala lang sa akin ay si Fidel at ang pamilya ko. I was never this introverted back in elementary but when I reached seventh grade, nakita ko kung paano nagbago ang mga kaklase ko. Not just in their physical appearance but also in every aspects of their personality. Bigla naman akong nanliit sa aking sarili. I mean, hindi naman ako nakukulangan sa sarili ko, in fact I love myself. But seeing all of them flaunting their newly developed assets, I pitied myself kasi wala ako noon. My kuyas told me that maybe I am a late bloomer like kuya Adler. They said that it's in our family gene. Nakikita ko naman ang unti-unting pagbabago ng aking pisikal na kaanyuan ngayon pero hindi na nanumbalik pa ang kumpiyansa ko sa aking sarili. Little by little, I'm becoming more anti-social and I guess I'm fine with that.
Natigilan si Fidel nang mapatingin si Marina sa amin. Maybe she heard her name. She raised her brows at pareho kaming napaayos ni Fidel. When she saw that we're not moving, she resumed laughing with her girl friends.
I saw how Fidel's eyes flickered like there's something beneath them but it disappeared in an instant. Napatingin akong muli kay Greene who is busy talking in front of his large crowd. It must be nice to belong in a merry little circle but the thought of it made me feel breathless, like drowning in the sea without any hope of ever returning to the surface.
Dinig na dinig sa buong classroom ang ingay nila at wala namang may problema doon, maliban na lang kay Fidel na wala rin namang magagawa. Bigla namang napaangat ng tingin si Greene at sandaling nagtama ang aming paningin. I stopped breathing during those seconds. His eyes are glued to mine, hindi ko alam kung anong meron sa aking mukha na parang naiinsulto siyang umiwas ng tingin. He is so beautiful. I think kapag nagtagal pa ang aming titigan ay mawawalan na rin ako ng hangin.
"Tch. Oa," said Fidel then left me alone for the rest of the day.
Nang maghapon na ay ganoon pa rin. Tahimik akong nakikinig sa aking upuan na malapit sa bintana. Good thing our classroom is on the third floor kaya kitang-kita ang field mula dito. I looked at the board and saw how complicated the equation got after minutes of zoning out. Damn it! Ang bilis talagang mag-explain ni Ma'am. I don't even know if nakahabol ba ang mga kaklase ko sa kanya. What's worse is she picks a random student to solve her equations orally. Nagpray talaga ako na hindi dapat ako ang mapili dahil wala nga akong kaalam-alam. Good thing my prayer is answered but I guess Fidel's prayer wasn't.
BINABASA MO ANG
Loving Greene
Подростковая литератураNikola Adelaida Millarez is the awkward girl of Santa Catalina. Her shyness has caused people to ignore her and treat her like an invisible ghost. Although she is part of a well-known family, she never liked attention. She prefers sitting comfortabl...
