To Love the Dawn

30

"Palagi nalang late 'yang babae na 'yan. Pero ang cute niya. Ano kayang grade niya?" I glanced at the girl they were talking about. "VP David, baka alam mo."

"I don't. I bet she's not the popular type." I shrugged at them. Andrew laughed at that and continued admiring the girl. "Seriously? You're interested in someone who's always late?"

"She's cute kaya! And we don't know, dude, baka may valid reasons siya kaya palaging late."

"You better stop, Drew. I'm guessing that she's a 10th grader." Andrew showed me his middle finger which made me laugh.

I was a bit surprised when one time I saw Andrew's crush in the faculty. I walked past her, pretending that she didn't exist to me.

"Mabuti at nandito ka na, David. Hindi ka talaga mala-late, 'no? Sabi ni Mr. Lafuente, sa 'yo ko muna raw ibilin itong late slip."

"Sir, i-excuse mo naman po ako sa klase. Baka wala nanaman ako nitong grade kay Ma'am Santa Ana." Because the last time, she gave me a low mark in one of the activities.

"Ako bahala, David. Alam mo naman siguro ang gagawin mo, 'di ba? Maglilibot ka lang, mag-aabang sa mga late. Solana, hindi ba't kaya ka narito dahil na-late ka sa klase mo? Sumabay ka na kay David, nasa kaniya ang hinahanap mo." As expected, she's here for a late slip.

I left the helpless girl there. I felt her following me as I walked away. One of my pet peeves is people being late. As someone who values each second, I hate it when people arrive or do things late. And I hate it more when they repeat the same mistake like it's a routine or something.

I stopped in front of a random classroom. I faced Andrew's crush. She immediately opened her bag to look for a pen. I got my pen out of my pocket and handed it to her. I peeked at her slip. My forehead creased when I read her reason. I can't believe my friend has a crush on this girl.

"Traffic?" I laughed. "Not a valid reason-"

"Kaya nga ako nasa tabi mo ngayon, 'di ba?" Sarkastiko niya akong nginitian.

"Pilosopo," I whispered in the air.

"I need to copy whatever you wrote. For the record." I showed her a folder. "Solana Eos De Cardenas?" What a beautiful name. Hindi bagay sa kaniya. Or maybe I just hate how she behaves.

After some time, we started arguing with each other. I wanted to annoy her more. Hindi ko alam kung bakit.

"Hoy, alam ko naman na inutusan ka lang ni Mr. Lafuente. You're acting all mighty. Feeling mo masyado!" I scoffed and poked my tongue against the inside of my cheek.

"I'm the Vice President of the Supreme Student Government, David Maverick Ponce de Leon. I am delighted to meet you, Ms. Dawn." As far as I remember, Eos is the Goddess of Dawn. And Eos means dawn.

"It's Solana Eos, Mr. Feeling High!"

I left the other SSG officers when I saw Ms. Dawn studying alone. Baka wala siyang mga kaibigan. Puwede ring gusto niya lang mapag-isa. O baka may hinihintay.

"Being the good student that you should be, huh?" I purposely sat on the vacant seat in front of her. I scanned her notes. "Ms. Dawn, try highlighting the important words first before you read your notes."

"Bakit ka nakaupo riyan? Magagalit bebe ko kapag nakita ka. Seloso iyon!"

"May boyfriend ka?" I smiled. Wala talagang pag-asa utol ko.