Chapter 1

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Year 2017, 1st Year High School

▶️ :Paris in the Rain - Lauv
Comethru - Jeremy Zucker






"Jema!"

"Jema!"

"Hoy, Jessica Margarett!"

Jema tried to ignore her friend, Kyla Atienza. Wearing her high school uniform, she's walking fervently out of nervousness kasi naman, first day niya ngayon as a high school student.

"What?!" Lumingon si Jema sa likod at saglit na natawa dahil sa reaksyon ng kaibigan niya.

"Tse! What-what-in ko mukha mo eh! Kanina pa kita tinatawag bading. Ba't ka ba nagmamadali d'yan?" Inakbayan ni Kyla si Jema. Parang walang kakaba-kaba si Kyla kahit na pareho naman nilang first day ngayon. 

"'Di ka man lang ba kinakabahan? First day natin ngayon as high schoolers! Pa'no kapag pinag-recite agad tayo, ha?" Bakas sa tono ni Jema na talagang kinakabahan siya pero tinawanan lang siya ni Kyla. Ang gaga, hindi talaga kinakabahan.

"Or bigla na lang silang magpa-introduce yourself? Kyla, mamamatay talaga ako sa hiya!" Jema's overthinking. 

"Anong pinagkaiba neto no'ng elementary tayo, ha? Same lang naman! Grumaduate lang tayo, nakahawak ng diploma tapos boogsh!" pumalakpak pa siya, "iba na school natin! You will survive, ate!"

Pero hindi naman kasi siya do'n nag-aalala eh.

It's the pressure of being a scholar. Hindi lang kasi simpleng paaralan ang pinasukan niya— it's a known university in the Philippines. She has the opportunity to be part of it because she's an athlete. A great volleyball player.

She has been competing with Kyla outside the school premises for fun and maybe... maybe her coach saw her potential so one day, they visited her home and offered her a scholarship in exchange for being their student-athlete. The same thing happened to Kyla. And who are they to say no, right?

It was an opportunity for both of them, that's true. But for Jema, it's somehow a burden. She's very aware that she didn't come from a well-off family so her priority ever since was to graduate to help.

She didn't know her love for volleyball would help her join the university which ironically, she's walking towards now.

Tinapik ni Kyla ang balikat ni Jema nang makapasok na sila sa loob ng university. Kyla's clearly excited.

Malawak ang school. Maraming building. Marami ring pwedeng pagtambayan.

Pero napansin niya na... "ang daming mayayaman," Kyla voiced out her thoughts. 

Nanlamig siya. Mula kasi sa likod dinig niya na agad na may nage-english. Marunong naman siya mag-english, pero hindi naman kasi 'yon ang language na ginagamit nila sa bahay parati.

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