'Till Death, Did We Part? (On Hiatus)

Chapter II

––—–––––First Day––––––—

It's been a month of summer vacation and it's already the Orentation Day of classes. Alam ko na kung ano nangyayari dito because I've already experienced this a handful of times already. However, as usual, nakakapakaba pa rin ang lumipat ng school. Bagong karanasan, bagong taong pwedeng magkaroon ng bagong katangian na hindi ko pa nakikita noon, sa tagal ko sa mundong ito, marami pa rin akong bagong nakikita.

I come into the room with nothing but a friendly smile and a will to have new experiences, but lowering my expectations. Ayoko namang umasa sa wala this time.

However, it was far from my expectations. Instead of the usual noisy class, which I experience all the time, the first observation my brain could render at this moment is that the class is in dead silence. Lahat sila tahimik. Hindi ko alam kung bakit but I think there's something so unusual happening, or maybe it's just a gut feeling. I've been born nervous. Masyado ata akong nago-overthink.

I come to the vacant seat at the far left side of the room. Malapit sa mga bintana. This way I can think better, a depth of view always give my brain a quick boost.

Dead silence continues on for the next few minutes. Is there something wrong with me? May mali ba sa mukha ko? Naligo naman ako ngayon ah! Then suddenly in my moment of deep thought, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Filipino ka ba, pre?" Said this dude. Mukha siyang tsinoy, pero hindi naman siya singkit. Slightly white pero hindi yung mabubulag ka sa puti. His eyes have a slight hint of hazel. Where did this dude came from?

"Pwede mo rin sabihin iyon, pero actually Fil-Am ako." I said, still observing him. I just noticed that his hair has a slight hint of brown. He looks so, weird. Medyo matangkad siya, pero I think he's a few inches taller than me. I'm just 5'9, I'm too short.

"Aba pre, may half din tayo dito!" He told his friend I suppose, who was next to him. The other guy is obviously American, he's slightly blonde and has brown eyes. He's a little bit closer to the Filipino tint of complexion. Kayumanggi, was it called? I don't necessarily remember. "Woah, pre kamusta!" The other guy told me, which was the one who I was observing. He offered me a high-five, and for some reason I high-fived him back.

"Woah, chillax ka lang diyan Alex. Feeling close ka na naman!" Said the guy with the hazel eye. I didn't even notice the class is already starting to raise its volume. A lot of murmurs can be heard throughout the room. Siguro kaming tatlo yung pasimuno nito. "Sorry naman, Zim. Masaya lang ako na may bago tayong kaibigan." Sabi ni Alex. Seems like they were a fun pair of people, but what do they mean by 'may half din tayo'?

"Half din kayo?", I asked. Ngumiti si Zim at sinabing: "Oo pre, half-Chinese, half-Australian, pero I was adopted by a Filipino family. Kaya ako ganito, nagsasalita ng ganito sayo ngayon. Long story pre, bata pa ako nun nung ako'y-" Then Alex hilariously interrupted him. "Tama na yan, Zim. Mamaya mag-drama ka na naman at hanggang bukas pa yung MMK story mo." Zim smirked, with mixed emotions. "Ah basta, long story short, inampon ako." Sabi ni Zim. I chuckled. "Ako naman si Alex, gaya ng pagkasabi nitong ni Zim kanina, you've heard my name. I'm half-Amercian, half-Dutch, half-Filipino." Mukhang nagtaka si Zim at sinabi: "Pre parang mali yung pag-fraction mo ah. Alam ko namang mahina ka sa Math pero sa harap pa ng ating bagong kaibigan?" Tumawa kami ni Zim. "Sorry naman, ganito kasi yun. Yung Tatay ko ay Fil-Am tapos yung Nanay ko ay Dutch." Sabi ni Alex. "Eh di one-fourth Filipino at one-fourth American ka!" Tuluyan ang pagtawa namin ni Zim. Napangisi na lang si Alex.

Naglipas ang oras at may dumating na teacher. Tumayo kaming lahat. "Sit down." Sabi ng Teacher, and we sit down. 

"May announcement kami. Absent yung teacher niyo." Nagulat yung iba kong mga kaklase, maging si Zim. Alex, however, doesn't seem to be shocked. He seems to start to think about what he just had heard.

"Yung teacher niyo ay nawawala. Hinahanap siya ng mga pulis mula kahapon pa. Nagtanong kami sa mga kamag-anak niya at maging sila ay nagtataka kung saan siya napunta. Kaya cancelled ang classes niyo ngayon. Maaga kayong papalabasin, dahil dito, huwag kayong mag-gagala kung saan-saan."

This seemed to be alarming, because I've never experienced something like this before. This isn't what I was talking about when I said "new experiences". I wasn't asking for any of this at all.

So there it was. We were ready to go home. "Paunahan sa labas!", I told my fellow halves. Thankfully I was nearer to the door, so I rushed. I look back, but then I bumped into someone. I looked at the girl and quickly helped her up. She wasn't in a group of friends, thankfully. Then she looked at me with an annoyed look. I then look at her more clearly and realize, "Jessica?!" I said. It's the girl in my dreams! Should I even call them dreams, or should I call them memories? It doesn't matter. Jessica is in front of me! I was in a state of panic until she talked and said, "Sinong Jessica? Hindi ka ba magso-sorry? Nagka-pasa pa ako dahil sayo oh." I begin to observe her more and realize she's not Jessica. She looks so much liker her, however. Magka-hawig sila! But, I guess I need to say sorry. "Ay, sorry. Akala ko kilala kita, hindi pala. Sorry din sa pag-bangga sayo. Hindi ko sinasadya." She was still annoyed and walked away. I said sorry to her, at least! Why didn't she take that?

Lumapit si Zim at si Alex, "Nate, okay ka lang? Nabangga mo pa si Dianne." Sabi ni Alex. "So, Dianne yung pangalan niya?" Tinanong ko. Sinagot ako ni Zim: "Yes, her full name is Dianne Mae Sintosa. A girl from the other section, weird siya diba?", Zim smirked.

I need to find out more about Dianne.