The noise of the creaking door filled the entire room, drawing my attention. Andrei was at the entrance, walking towards me, with Annette trailing close behind. Our eyes met briefly, but she grabbed his arm, engaging him in a hushed conversation to avoid being scolded by the librarian. Pero mukhang wala namang pakialam yung librarian dito dahil nagce-cellphone lang naman siya.
"Don't be too hard on yourself."
"Is that your mantra for me?" I scoffed when I heard him sit down. "Should I make a compilation about you saying 'I shouldn't be too hard on myself' or that 'I should give myself a break that I deserve?'"
"Pinapaalala ko lang. Suspended nga yung klase tapos nag-aaral ka pa rin. Robot ka ba?"
"Para namang hindi mo pa ako kilala." A hint of dismay was evident in my voice. "Tomorrow's the big day. I can feel it."
"Kaya nga. Mas mabuting relax ka muna ngayon. Irelax mo lahat lalong-lalo na yung utak mo. Baka mag-overheat 'yan bukas, sige ka." He was about to steal my book but I hold on to it tight. That's not what I'm used to. Some people say it's better that way, but for me, it's not. Natatakot ako na baka masayang ko ang ilang linggong pagre-review dahil lang sa isang araw na pahinga.
"Promise, kapag nakuha ka, celebrate tayo." A great motivation for me, he knows it.
"To where?"
"Secret." He sheepishly smiled. My gaze unintentionally passed through him and met Annette's pair of blazing eyes fixated on us.
"What's up with you and Annette?" I broke the eye contact first, a creeping unease settling in. I don't know why, her stares just felt different and penetrating... and burning.
"Selos ka?" He grinned.
"Curious," I corrected. I checked up on Annette again and she didn't move a muscle, still looking at us.
He paused for a second and observed my reaction so I tried my hardest to keep a straight face. "Nagtanong siya kung totoo ba ang usap-usapan na may namamagitan daw sa atin dahil lagi tayong magkasama."
Those ridiculous gossip again. Napaka malisyoso ng mga estudyante rito. Can't a boy and girl be seen together without any romance going on in between?
"What did you say to her?"
"Syempre, sinabi ko ang totoo."
"Thank good—"
"Sinabi kong tayo na."
"What?" I almost smacked his face with the book I was holding but lucky for him, he reacted quickly like he knew I was going to react like this and gestured for me to shush.
"Biro lang. Dineny ko syempre. Magagalit ka na naman kasi kung hindi."
Of course, I'll get mad. Who wouldn't get mad at the person who has every chance of debunking something that is clearly not true but refuses to because of some... joke?
Napailing nalang ako. "Ignore those. We're too young for that stuff anyway."
"Nga naman..." he mumbled. "Nakalimutan ko. Lucky Four nga pala kayo tapos ako campus crush—" He immediately stopped when I glared at him. Nagsisimula na siyang magyabang. Palibhasa totoo.
~~~~~
MY instinct was right when I made a wild guess about the elimination happening today. Ma'am Clara, our adviser, delivered us a surprise announcement.
This process has three rounds. Each grade level has its three Mathletes representatives and all students of every section will have to answer questions given to us on a piece of paper. That would be the first round. Then they will take the five students with the highest scores from each section. Titipunin nila lahat at gaya sa unang round, may sasagutan ulit kami. We only have less than an hour to answer the questions on rounds one and two.
YOU ARE READING
Only You (EDITING)
Teen Fiction(Lucky Academy #1) -Aubri Victoria Silvestre - Aubri's life is full of competition and pressure. She never had a fun childhood because, at a young age, she was conditioned to be the greatest and to excel in school academics. Fortunately, few people...
