Remembering Sir Tisoy

Samalamig

"Miss, sigurado ba kayo sa gagawin natin?" he asked with pure concern swept across his face.

"Oo, sigurado ako. 'Wag kang magaalala, hindi tayo sasabit dito," she replied with certainty.

They proceeded to their task. She held out a black plastic bag, looked behind her to see if the coast was clear, and dumped the bag on the desk that they stood over. She put her hand inside the bag, and fished out the contents. She ripped the packaging and handed one to him as well. He looked at her, questioning again if she was sure. 

Tubes of super glues in hand, they squeezed them all over the desk - making sure that they didn't miss any spots. They finished everything that was in the bag - five tubes to be exact. 

"Ayan, ok na. Salamat Marco ah?"

"Ok lang Ms. Mendoza, malakas kayo sa'kin eh."

-

"Good morning class, are we all ready for today?" he asked them all, whilst placing his messenger bag on his desk.

"Yes, Mr. F!" they all said in unison. 

"Good," he acknowledged, and then he set his attention back to his bag."Now, open your books to-" he cut himself off when he realised that there was something wrong.

His messenger bag toppled over so that the flap of the bag ended up face down on his desk. He tried to lift it up, but weirdly, it was stuck to his desk. He examined it, and soon noticed trails of clear liquid across his desk. He quickly stepped away from the desk, in fear that he will get it all over him.

"Ok...who did this?" he queried, irritated.

No one in the class spoke. They all just stared blankly at him, questioning his change in mood.

"Sinong naglagay ng super glue sa desk ko?" he continued to ask, both his hands now placed on his waist. 

Still, it seemed as though the whole class was clueless.

"Aamin ba ang kailangang umamin, or do I have to discipline the whole class for the sake of one?"

The students looked around the class, blindingly convincing whoever did the crime to speak up. Richard continued to look around the class. Then, he noticed the only student who was looking on the ground. Marco, the top student, not making any eye contact, and fidgeting with his hands. Richard waited for Marco to look up. And when he did, he flinched - jumping a little from his seat because of Richard's stare - and quickly looked back down. Marco couldn't take it anymore. He's been caught red handed.

"I'm sorry Mr. F," he confessed, whilst raising his hand, his head continually bowed down.

Richard let out a sigh, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'll see you after class Mr. Feliciano. Now, please excuse me as I call Manong Rudy to fix this mess."

-

"I know it wasn't you," Richard assessed, as he swivelled his chair.

"Po?"

"Kasi, Mr. Feliciano. Kung ikaw man ang may kagagawan nito, you'll look slightly more relieved that you've gotten it out of your chest. Pero, nakikita ko na may hindi ka pa sinasabi sa'kin. Tell me, sinong kasabwat mo?"

Marco looked towards the ground, clearly trying do decide whether to rat out who 'sent him'.

"Well?"

"Ummmm," Marco dragged, to try and get Richard off his case. 

"Let me guess...it was Ms. Mendoza wasn't it?"

All Marco could do was nod.

-

"Wow, Ms. Mendoza. How professional of you," she heard a voice - that was all too familiar - say behind her.

She was walking to the teacher's lounge, hoping to catch up with everyone there. Also, she wanted to see if her plan had worked. Clearly, it did. She turned around and confirmed that it was Richard. She fully faced him, and started walking towards him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ano nananaman 'yon, Mr. Faulkerson?"

"Grabe ka, Ms. Mendoza. Hindi porket alam mo na crush ka ng bata, eh gagamitin mo na para sa kalokohan mo. Haven't you learned from me na wag maging pa-fall," he bluntly said, smirking afterwards. 

She gasped before speaking.

"Excuse me? Are you calling me a user? So, what, amauser? Amauser?" 

"Well, ikaw ang may sabi niyan. Ikaw ang nag-assume niyan. Diba...doon ka naman magaling? Sa pagiging assuming?" 

She was downright ticked off by everything that he's been saying. So, she glared at him and turned around - not that she was accepting defeat but only because she was plainly too exasperated to think of a comeback. 

She was walking away when he all of a sudden rushed up to her, and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her towards him, making her turn around - her hair wooshing through the air. Their faces landed only inches apart. They stared intently at each other, anger clearly written in both of their eyes. 

"Do you really want to play it this way...Ms. Mendoza?" he said as he tightened his grip.

"Aray, Richard, bitawan mo ako," she said through gritted teeth, trying her best to pull away from his hand.

She had never called him Richard before, and it definitely caught his attention. This also made him loosen his hold, and eventually, let her arm go. 

"Alam mo, I really wanted to be nice to you. Especially, because alam ko na may atraso ako sa'yo. I wanted to fix things with you, I wanted to be friends. I've been trying my hardest to ignore your coldness towards me. Pero, with the way you've been acting, I'm starting to get really pissed," he said, wiping his face with his palm in the process.  

She continued to stare straight into his eyes, taking a few steps back. She then bent her hip, putting her weight on one foot, crossed her arms over her chest, and raised an eyebrow. 

"What are you going to do about it...Sir Tisoy?" she challenged, saying his name in a sing-songy voice.

He started to walk slowly towards her, keeping eye contact - effectively intimidating her as he came closer and closer. 

Eye to eye, he declared. 

"Game on, Ms. Mendoza."

-

A/N: Yes, nagaganahan akong mag-update lately. Let's savor it while it lasts 😒 

Also, let's play a game, for fun lang...kung gusto niyo lang naman. You've probably noticed how each chapter is named after certain food items. Some chapters, it's quite obvious why, but lately they've been a little bit more subtle. So, leave your guesses on each chapter of why you think it's named what it is (tbh, 'yong ibang rason, as to why ganun 'yong pangalan, walang logic/mema lang). And, I might just contact a few of you to contribute some ideas into RST - with ctto's of course 😉  

Criteria for the guesses? If you get it right, or if I find your guess to be really really creative 😁