Chapter 2
Sobrang excited ko sa pagpunta sa school the next day. ‘Di ako mapakali. Ang daming scenarios na akong ginawa sa utak ko sa next meeting naming ni Ryan. Would he smile? Would he say hi? Would he even acknowledge my existence? Eesh! Nakaka-frustrate!
Tinali ko ang boring kong buhok sa side which was not usual for me. Trust me it took a lot of my strength. I hate my hair dahil sobrang haba nito kaya always kong nilulugay para inisin si Mama para payagan niya na akong paputulan ito. Sobrang kapal, itim at straight kasi ng buhok ko na parang kakandidato ako sa pagiging madre. Tiningnan ko ang sarili ko sa salamin. I looked bearable with my hair now but I’m not satisfied.
Sobrang kayumanggi ng kutis ko and I’m a little chubby so I was always teased in grade school for that. Perfect combination kasi para sa isang lechon. I sighed. I can do something with my hair but I can’t do magic for my skin and body. The only consolation is matangkad ako.
As usual, nakayuko ang ulo at hindi makatingin ng diretso kong pinasok ang roon namin and was greeted by deafening laughter of my classmates. They are gossiping by groups and my eyes quickly searched for the certain threesome rich boys group.
Nang nakita ko sila, my heart sank with the Titanic. Of all people na kasama ng mga ito! They found a fourth friend and it was my elementary bully. His name is Eric at close friends ang mga magulang namin but we never got along well. Ever! I still have the scar on my right elbow as evidence on how terrible he can be. Dalawang hakbang na lang ako sa upuan ko nang napunta ang mata ni Eric sa akin and my mood sank lower. Here we go. Let Eric tell the world how ugly I am.
“Hoy Sunog!” Sigaw ni Eric na nagpalingon sa buong klase dito. He’s a little over confident dahil uncle niya ang Mayor ng lugar namin. “Hoy Sunog, kinakausap kita!” Sigaw niya ulit sa akin.
Slowly, I faced him.
“Bakit ‘di mo ikwento sa mga kaibigan ko dito how disappointed your parents were when they adopted you in the pet shop?”
Sumingkit lalo ang mga mata ko habang pinapatay ng tingin ko si Eric. Ni hindi ko pa nga nalapag ang bag ko sa desk ko, eto na. Alam ko I promised my parents to behave pero I can’t be a pushover just because of this bullshit school tuition fee. Kung may magiging trouble man, Eric should take the blame. Lagi niya na lang akong pino-provoke. Hindi na ito bago sa amin itong scenario ngayon. He takes pleasure in hurting me. I hate him. I always hated him pero mas kinamumuhian ko ito ngayon dahil ang katabi niya ay ang crush ko! I did not dare return Ryan’s curious stare.
“Anong gusto mo, boink?” Ganti ko dito. Yun ang alas ko. Chubby man ako pero siya, mataba talaga. As in sobrang taba!
The rich kids beside him snickered except Ryan. Great! Now my image to Ryan is destroyed just because of this insensitive sadistic retard.
Dumilim ang mukha ni Eric. He clenched then unclenched his fists. That’s his sign when he’s pissed off. That’s always what he does when we are facing each other. Great. Just great. Ngayon mag-aaway kami sa harap ng mga kaklase kong halos hindi ko pa nga maalala ang mga mukha lalo na ang mga pangalan. I’ve known Eric since we were in first grade and he can never control his temper.
“Anong sabi mo pangit na sunog na pusit?” Sigaw nito. Not a good sign. The clenching and unclenching of his fists were faster now. At, mas malaki na ang ilong nito ngayon. I’m sorry but I can’t help but notice.
“Busy ako ngayon; can I ignore you some other time, Eric? Just grow up, okay? And please, huwag ka na masyadong pumunta sa kusina o ref niyo.” I said trying to escape trouble. Ryan just changes things, you know. I want to impress him. Weird.
