Taming Hearts

Ice Breaker

Prologue

Wolves are often seen as a pack. However, some wolves leave the pack. Often called as a lone wolf, this type of wolf leaves the pack because it is picked on by stronger wolves. It is weak, and it can't handle the pressure, so it goes on a journey by itself. The wolf will most likely be alone for the rest of its life, but it can also find a new pack. Some make their own pack, others join another pack.

Sa mundo ng mga tao, wala tayong kaibahan sa mga lobo. Katulad nila, gusto nating mapasama sa isang grupo. Mayroon rin tayong itinayong caste system kung saan ang mga taong nasa taas ay laging pinapahirapan ang mga tao sa ilalim. Pero hindi tayo katulad ng mga lobo na madali lang na makakaalis sa grupo nilang kinakasalihan. Kailangan mayroong bumagsak, para mayroong makakaangat. Pwede naman tayong maging mag-isa habang buhay, pero hindi tayo makaka-survive ng matagal. Kailangan parin ng mga tao ang intersaksyon sa ibang mga tao, dahil kung hindi, baka mabaliw ito.

"Mina," tumitingin ako ng iba pang mga hayop sa museo nang bigla akong tawagin ng kaklase kong si Ansley. "Babalik na daw sa school." Tumango ako at sinundan siya.

Habang nasa bus kami pabalik ng school, nagbibigay ng written report ang teacher namin sa English tungkol sa participation grade namin—which by the way, consists 50% of our grade, and I'm most definitely flunking. Nang makuha ko yung report sakin, binigyan niya ako ng 75/100(C) na grade. May kasama pang Talk to me when we get back at school. Inilagay ko nalang ang earphones ko at natulog sa mahabang biyahe namin.

Pagkabalik namin sa school, pinuntahan ko na kaagad si Miss Evans. Ayokong bumagsak. Alam kong makaka apekto iyon sa GPA ko. Pero hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit kailangan nilang pilitin magsalita ang isang taong hindi comportable magsalita. Hindi ba nila alam na torture ito para sa mga mahiyaing katulad ko?

"Mina," she gives me an obvious fake smile. "You're failing my class," you don't say? "But I want to help you." I stared at her. "I'm giving you a project. Since I know your talent for writing is beyond amazing, I'm assigning you a research project." Psh, that's so easy. Is she belittling me? "But here's the catch, you need to interview people." God, I spoke too soon. I can't talk to people. It's just not my personality. People come to me. I don't want to come to them.

"I know you can't do that. That's why I'm assigning you a partner." Great, like that will make everything better. "You two are quite opposites, I must say. He's flunking my writing and reading portion, and acing participation, while you're the complete opposite. Since both of your strengths and weaknesses compliment each other, he will collect all the information and you will write them. However, both of you must be together while completing both tasks. You will learn speaking skills from him while he interviews people. On the other hand, he will learn writing skills from you as you write the paper. Don't even try to cheat because I will check on improvement. It's a win-win situation." She smiles. Nakakainis kung paano niya ginagawang komplikado ang mga bagay.

"I already told him this, so don't worry." Say, who is this guy anyway? We heard a knock, and she asked for the person to enter the faculty. I couldn't believe my eyes. The bad boy of Brent's here.

"Sam, you're just on time." He gave us blank stares. He has always had glassy eyes. Even if he smiles and shows different emotions, you can't read his eyes. "I believe you both know each other." No shit, sherlock. Not unless this bad boy's gonna deny my godly presence. We both nodded.

Kung swineswerte nga naman ako, hindi talaga kami mapaghiwalay ng tadhana. He's my Biochem lab partner and now my research partner? Wag mong sabihing magiging tutor pa ako nito sa math? Nagsasawa na ako sa mukha niya. Tiyaka hindi naman kami nag-uusap kahit lab partners kami. Ineexpect niya bang mag-uusap kami dahil sa research na ito?

"It's very simple. You just need to answer the question, When do you consider someone your friend? However, you need to gather 5 experiences from different groups of people. It doesn't matter whether they're old, or young, I just want it to be real and not made up. Easy, right? Here's the bonus. You don't have to do it, so no pressure. If you do it, you don't have to take the midterm exam." Nagtinginan kaming dalawa ni Sam. He gave me his iconic smirk. Mukhang parehas kaming interesado. Besides, 10% kaya ng final grade namin nakasalalay sa midterms. I'd do anything to get a high score.

"You're going to have a 6th experience. But this one involves both of you. Since it's pretty clear to me that you guys are kinda awkward alongside each other, I want you guys to be friends and you need to tell me how, why and when you became friends. No pressure, and you have 2 months." She let us out of the faculty.

We didn't talk to each other but we looked at each other's eyes as we parted ways. I really want that extra credit, but being friends with Sam? I couldn't even be friends with my neighbor. I guess I gotta give that up, then. Afterall, lone wolves rarely find a new pack to belong to.

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This book is dedicated to my goddess Mina.
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