The Clairvoyant's Date

Three

Three
Odd

"Class dismissed."

Every student in the room, including I, were finally able to breathe an air of relief.

Grabe, ang gaan lang sa pakiramdam na tapos na ang araw ng pag-aaral sa oras na 'to. From complicated lectures, tiring physical education class, to consecutive quizzes and examinations of different subjects ba naman, of course makakahinga ka na ng maluwag dahil natapos na ang kalbaryo mo. I'm not gonna lie, all through out the day, hindi pa man ako nakakaalis ng bahay, ang pag-uwi na agad ang naglalaro sa isip ko.

Hmm, for sure I am not the only one. Yup, I'm sure as hell.

The sound of things being fixed, feet of chairs being dragged, and loud non-stop footsteps started to play like a music on replay.

Bawat estudyante ay nag-aayos na ng kani-kanilang gamit nang sa ganoon ay makauwi't makapagpahinga na sila sa kani-kanilang bahay. Meron namang nag-aayos pa ng sarili bago lumabas ng classroom.

As soon as I zipped my grey knapsack, I heard a voice calling my name.

"Aia!"

I looked for the voice to know who it was. It was Louise, she's standing near the doorway with her maroon backpack. She seems all set and ready to go home.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at nagmadali na sa pagsuot ko ng bag sa aking likod para agad na siyang mapuntahan.

Sabay kami ni Louise lagi na umuuwi. We always wait for each other pag oras na ng dismissal. On the way kasi ang bahay nila sa amin, except na mas malapit yung kanila which means mas nauuna siyang umuwi compared sa'kin.

Madilim na rin kasi ang daan pauwi so I could definitely say that having a companion really, really helps. I mean, pagod ka na nga buong araw because of the activities sa school, mapapagod ka pa on your way home. Pag may kausap ka habang pauwi, it somehow prevents it from happening. Hindi mo na namamalayan na malapit ka na pala sa uuwian mo.

"Tara, uwi na tayo." I said with all smiles.

We started walking away from the crowded classroom, palabas naman ng school.

We were talking about random stuff as we synchronizingly walked towards the exit when our adviser, Ms. Jopay, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Aia, baka naman pwedeng pakihatid ito sa table ni Sir Talapian sa Mathematics faculty room," She said, pertaining to the pile of paper she was holding.

"Tinatawag pa kasi ako sa office." Tuloy naman niya habang tumitingin sa kaniyang kaliwang braso kung nasaan ang kaniyang relos.

I instinctively reached for the papers to get them and nodded.

"Sige po, Ma'am. Wala pong problema."

Nagpasalamat naman siya at nagmadali nang naglakad papunta sa kung saan ang principal's office.

I hugged the pile of paper on my chest. Oh my, this is a bit heavy, huh?

"Aia, hindi na kita masasamahan sa faculty room. May pupuntahan pa kasi kami ni Daddy at pinapamadali niya akong umuwi." Louise said with an uneasy and uncomfortable voice.

Oh, kaya pala parang nagmamadali siyang umuwi at nauna na siya sa doorway ng classroom kanina.

"Ganun ba?" I said, the tone of sadness can't help but escape.

I saw how her reaction turned in to a worried one.

"Oo eh, sorry, Aia."
"Ano ka ba, okay lang. Ingat kayo sa lakad niyo, ah? Kwentuhan mo ako bukas." I said with a grin, paniguradong marami nanaman itong kwento. She always has something to tell whenever she goes to places.

We said our goodbyes then she went off. Hinatid ko naman siya ng tingin hanggang sa mawala na siya sa area of vision ko.

Haaaay. Now I'm all alone, again.

Tumalikod ako para makapunta na sa Mathematics faculty room. Sinalubong ko ang bulto ng mga estudyante na tinatahak ang kabaliktaran ng direksyon ko. Hinawakan ko naman ng mahigpit ang mga papel para hindi ito mahulog, sa dami kasi ng palabas na estudyante, 'di maiiwasang magkasanggaan na ang braso ng isa't-isa.

Maipasa na nga 'to nang makauwi na.

Ilang mga kilalang mukha pa ang nakasalubong ko sa pagtahak ng daan papuntang faculty. Some of them were my former classmates, ang iba naman ay mga kaibigan ko from another section. Tinatanguan at nginingitian ko naman sila pag nagkakasalubong ang mga mata namin as a sign of saying goodbye.

When I turned left, I noticed that only a few students are here on this part. Kaunti nalang sila, siguro'y ang iba'y palabas na dahil uwian na rin naman.

I entered the tall five storey building na makikita agad pagliko. Kailangan ko pang umakyat sa second floor para mailapag na ang mga papel na ipinapahatid ni Ma'am Jopay kay Sir Talapian.

Wait. Ano ba ang mga papel na 'to?

Out of curiosity, I flipped the first paper over to see what it is. Nakakita naman ako ng mga equations, numbers and mathematical symbols sa papel.

Hmm. This seems very familiar to me.

Ito pala ang exam namin kanina sa Statistics!

I shifted my sight on the part where the name of the owner, date and section was written.

Name: Frene Sanchez
Section: HUMSS - Witty
Date: 04/18/18

This paper is actually owned by one of my classmates, which basically means hawak ko ang examination results ng section namin. Tinignan ko pa ang ibang papel para makasigurado at hindi naman ako nabigo. Pare-parehas ang pangalan ng section ang nakalagay sa section bar.

These papers are all checked, siguro'y irerecord na ito ni Sir.

Wait... Tignan ko kaya ang nakuha kong score?

Kadalasan kasi ay hindi na ibinabalik sa amin ang exam papers kung kaya't hindi namin alam kung anong marka ang aming nakuha sa isang pagsusulit. Which I think is not that very strategic. I mean, how would the student know what part of the exam he or she needs to focus more on? In that way, mas pag-aaralan nila ang parte ng pagsusulit kung saan ay nahirapan silang sagutin.

Agad-agad ko namang hinanap ang sarili kong papel. Kahit sino naman siguro ay nanaisin na malaman, 'di ba? Lalo na't isa sa mga major subjects ng strand namin iyon. Tsaka, we all know that curiosity kills.

"Ay, pusa!"

Some of the papers fell on the floor due to my clumsiness. Ano ba naman 'yan, Aia? Hindi kasi nag-iingat, eh.

I silently thanked the circumstances na wala na gaanong tao sa parte na ito ng building. Mabuti nalang, or else makikita nila kung gaano ako kagaling gumawa ng kahihiyan.

Pinulot ko naman agad isa-isa ang mga papel habang pinpagalitan pa rin ang aking sarili.

I was down to the last paper on the floor when I noticed how odd looking the last paper is. Para lang siyang pinunit na bahagi ng papel and it was intensely crumpled. Kasama ba 'to sa mga nahulog ko? Oh, maybe it was on the floor already and I just hadn't notice.

Ah! Baka naman ito yung answer key?

I immediately grabbed the paper from the floor to confirm if it really is the answer key, but all I saw was this:

December 24, 2015... Helven Village Phase IV, No. 999, Black street.