Carnage of Vicinity (At a Not-So-Ordinary Senior High)

CHAPTER 11: Catch Up with the Rodent

VICINITY

LOSERS! MALAMANG AY 'yon na ang tawag sa amin ngayon ng mga kapwa namin estudyante sa DBNHS. Our two-week long preparation was in vain. Lahat ng inaral namin ay napunta lang sa wala. What's funny was we were humble enough to feel anxious of what the outcome would be, pero our confidence was there na kaya naming manalo. We believed in the possibility.

Kaya naman we were also surprised that we lost the Battle of the Brains.

Sa mga naunang tanong ay wala kaming naging problema. Everything was in accordance to what our group had researched on. Sulit ang pagba-browse namin ng mga libro at soft learning materials mula sa web. I was also actually surprised that Michaela and Rainier were able to answer the questions related to the topics allotted to them. It helped a lot na hindi kami nauungusan noong una.

That's why I was disappointed with Cameron nang hindi siya nakasagot nang tama just when we finally needed him. Wala sanang problema ro'n because as what I had said, he was also capable of making a mistake. But making a series of them? At hindi pa siya tumutulong sa pagde-decide namin ng isasagot sa mga naunang tanong? That's something suspicious of him.

Hindi pa siya nakuntento sa huli. Just when victory was already in the end of our grasp, doon niya pa napiling magkamali.

I walked away from them right after the awarding ceremony. I needed to distance myself from Cameron. I could no longer be in the same space as him. Ang hindi ko alam, 'agad niya pala akong sinundan pag-alis ko sa gymnasium.

"Vi, please, hear me out."

Nagpatuloy lang ako sa paglalakad at hindi ko siya nilingon. God knew how much effort did I need to prevent myself from turning around. I couldn't face him in my current status. Mas mabuti kung mag-uusap kami kapag kalmado na ako.

"Can you please slow down?" I looked over my shoulder at nakitang halos tumakbo na siya para lang maabutan ako. "Pakinggan mo muna ako, please!"

Napahinto na ako sa paglalakad. If I remembered it right, that was the first time that he used our native language. Hindi ko pa siya narinig magtagalog kahit minsan, and it was enough to make me stop on my track.

"Ano ba 'yon?!" Kunot-noo ko siyang nilingon. Lukot ang mukha ko hanggang sa makatayo siya sa tapat ko.

Pinagtinginan kami ng mga students sa paligid. 'Yung iba ay 'agad na umiwas ng tingin, habang ang iba naman ay nagbulungan habang nakatingin sa'min. They should have been thankful dahil wala akong oras sa kanila. Kung nagkataon ay baka sa kanila ko naibunton ang inis na nararamdaman ko ngayon.

"Are you mad? Are you frustrated because we lost?"

Kailangan pa bang itanong 'yon? Of course, I was!

"If yes, what would you do?" panghahamon ko sa kaniya. Wala na akong pakialam kung may mga estudyanteng dumadaan malapit sa'min. We're on the pavement malapit sa oval kaya naman hindi talaga namin maiiwasang makuha ang atensyon ng mga chismosa.

"Vi..."

"Can you stop calling me with that petty nickname?"

Halos gumawa na ng tunog ang mga ngipin ko dahil sa pagngitngit ko sa kanila. I couldn't help it because I could not put how I feel into words. Katawan ko na lang ang kusang gumagawa ng paraan para mailabas ko ang galit na nararamdaman ko.

Kung ipapaliwanag ko man sa kaniya kung bakit ako nakakaramdam ng galit, would he even understand? Did he even know that it's more than the competition? Na natalo kami?

"I can explain, Vi. I will make you understand what I did; why I had to do it."

Naningkit ang mga mata ko. "What do you mean?"