The Crimson Curse

Chapter Five

"Curiosity can be as dangerous as a butterfly hovering over a flame" - Nancy B. Brewer

Chapter Five: The Crimson Curse

Sir Xavier had a talent.

He can make other people look stupid by staring at them for a solid ten seconds.

Madalas ay ang mga students ang biktima ng talent niyang iyon. Mas madalas ay ako.

He calls on me everytime he gets a chance. I'll just stand up because I had no other choice. Tatayo lang ako kasi hindi ko alam ang sagot habang ang iba kong classmate ay nag so-solve na sa kanya-kanyang papel. Ni hindi man lang ako binigyan ng chance na sulatan iyon scratch paper ko.

Hindi ganon kabilis ang utak ko sa math. My mind hates numbers kaya medyo slow ang process pagdating sa computation so I feel pressured kapag on the spot.

Tuwing may exercise naman tinatawag parin siya ako. It'll be me vs. one of the smartest students in class. In the end, talo ako.

It went on for the whole month. Sir Xavier did not waste a chance to make me realize na mali nga talaga ang pinasok ko at ang sinabi ko noong araw na iyon.

Math really isn't my thing.

Violet and her group didn't help.

I just want to die everytime na math na.

Kahit na ganon hindi parin ako nagpapatalo. Lyndon will tutor me in advance at home and I'll try my best to remember all of it. I'm getting the hang of it now kaya may confidence ako sa pag sagot sa exams.

I was satisfied when I dropped my pen bago pa matapos ang oras. I inahaled a deep breath before standing up to pass my paper.

I wasn't the first one to pass, iyong straight A nerd ay nauna pa sa'kin pero kung makatingin tong mga classmate ko para bang hindi sila naniniwala na tapos na ako sa exam. Even Sir Xavier's brow was raised nang palapit na ako sa table niya.

He was already checking papers kaya for sure malalaman ko din agad ang score ko.

One of his favorite students is my brother kaya makatulong sa'kin ang advanced math nila. Naituturo sa'kin iyon ni Lynd. Kahit na mahirap pinipilit kong intindihin dahil ayaw kong maging talunan.

Sir Xavier is really ticking me off with that attitude of his.

Para kasing galit na galit siya sa'kin.

Ngayon lang ako na-push mag aral ng ganito kaya tuwang tuwa si Brandon at Damon tuwing nakikita nila kami ni Lynd na nag re-review sa living room. Proud older brothers.

Maayos kong inabot ang aking papel at tatakilod na sana when he called me back.

"Ms. Castellan"

"Yes Sir?" I turned to look at him again. What did I do wrong this time?

"You forgot your name," he points at the blank line on top of the paper where my name should be.

Nakaramdam naman ako ng hiya. Sa sobrang ready ko kasi mag sagot nakalimutan ko nang ilagay yung pangalan ko.

Ibinigay niya muli sa'kin ang papel at siya na rin mismo ang nag abot ng ballpen.

Castellan, Celestine Osiria A.

"Osiria?" I never expected him to have any violent reaction after reading my name. I usually put 'Celestine Castellan' on my paper dahil minsan ay tinatamad akong mag sulat.

Tumango ako at inabot sa kanya ang ballpen. "It's a kind of rose po"

"How unique"

I swear I saw his lips curve up.