Prologue
"Huh? Sulat?" nagtatakang tanong ni Faye.
"Ano naman kayang palabas 'to?"
Dali-dali niyang binuksan at binasa ang sulat na nakuha niya sa kaniyang school locker.
"Hi Faye,
Please meet me after final period, sa school garden, sa puno sa may tapat ng lumang library. I have to tell you something very important. Thank you! I'll be waiting."
"Hmm. Walang name kung kanino galing. Marami pa akong gagawin after ng last period. Kung ano mang trip 'to, bahala na. Malamang isa na naman siya sa mga lalakeng tulad nitong mga nakakaraan, na sobrang kulit. When will they ever learn?"
After class, pumunta si Faye sa nasabing lugar. There stands a guy from another class. May dala pa itong bungkos ng bulaklak na halatang galing lang sa garden ng school. Pissed off, Faye approached the guy and said:
"So, what is it?"
"F-Faye. I-I just want to s-say that I like you, p-pwede –"
"Thanks but, no, you cannot. And please, stop ruining the school garden. Bye." boom! Preemptive supalpal statement ni Faye sa lalake and then left him like she didn't hear anything he said.
Ilang lalake na ba ang nareject ni Faye? Hindi na mabilang sa daliri ng dalawang kamay, hindi rin kayang bilangin kahit isali ang daliri ng dalawang paa. It can't be helped. Faye is very attractive despite her cold treatment to people surrounding her.
For Faye, ang tiwala, hindi dapat basta-basta ibinibigay lang. Trust should be earned, honestly and sincerely. Hindi ito dapat hayaang magkalamat kahit kaunti dahil ang konting lamat ay magiging dahilan ng tuluyang pagkasira nito. Sabi nga sa kantang "Choco latte" ng Parokya ni Edgar, "Parang tiwala, 'pag nasira na, mahirap nang ayusin pa."
Ito ang paniniwala ni Faye, masasabing based on experience na rin niya at ng kaniyang ina. She's been like this since she was in elementary, got betrayed a lot of times kaya nagkaroon siya ng trust issues to the point na mas pinipili niyang mapag-isa all the time. She doesn't care of what people say about her, good or bad. All she cares for is her academic and extracurricular activities. Mas komportable siya sa ganitong scenario. That's the reason why she never really had any friends.
Chapter One
Faye arrived at school, as usual, 30 minutes early. Earphones plugged in, volume up to maximum while reviewing their "today's lesson" for the first period. Na sa sariling mundo na naman niya si Faye at hindi na niya namamalayang napupuno na ang kanilang classroom ng kaniyang dumarating na mga kaklase habang papalapit ang start ng class.
"Oh, it's 5 minutes to 7:30am." Faye turned off her iPod and fixed her stuffs as their teacher arrived.
"Stand." command ng class representative and the whole class stood up properly and all together, they said: "Good Morning sir Faustino!"
"Good Morning, class. Thank you. You may take your seat now. So, before we start our lesson for today, let's have a recap of where we finished last Friday. Is there anyone who wants to give the class a recap?"
Siyempre, sa isang tipikal na class, lahat nagpapakiramdaman at tila walang gustong sumagot. Ang mangyayari niyan, teacher ang tatawag ng sasagot ng kaniyang tanong.
"Huh? Nag weekend lang tayo nakalimot na kayo, guys? Okay. Let's see. You, Miss Rodriguez, Faye." at nagtawag nga si teacher.
Tumayo si Faye without hesitation, and answered sir Faustino's question. "Last week, we discussed about the colonization of America here in the Philippines and the things they taught our ancestors when it comes to food, monetary system, education and their governance."
