The Brainy Rebel

TBR 1

Maxine Valdez

 

"About Earth, what is three hundred sixty-five and twenty-four?"

 

I raised my right hand.

 

"Yes, Edward?"

 

And someone else stood up.

 

"A year, three hundred and sixty-five days, is the time it takes for the Earth to travel around the sun. A day, twenty four hours, is the time it takes for the Earth to spin around once on its axis."

 

"Good. Take your seat."

Inirapan ko yung sumagot sa tanong nung teacher. Ako dapat ang sasagot eh. Asshole.

Hindi na din ako nakinig afterwards kasi alam ko na naman yung mga tinuturo niya. This is the craziest thing in my life. I go to school so they could teach me what I already know.

"Ms. Valdez, I'm calling you!"

I went back to reality and sweetly smiled at her. "Yes, Ma'am?"

Napailing siya at huminga ng malalim. "For the third time, Maxine, why is the sky blue?"

I smiled shyly para kunwari hindi ko alam ang sagot.

"You don't—"

"Solar radiation sunlight is scattered across the atmosphere by a process called diffused sky radiation. So as you can see, the sky is blue because much more short-wave radiation, which happens to be the blue light, is scattered across the sky than long-wave radiation, which is the red light."

 

Hindi agad siya nakasagot. I'm waiting for a compliment but nothing came out of her mouth.

Pumunta ako sa unahan at tiningnan ang hawak niyang papel. What causes a rainbow? 'Yon ang nakasulat dun. Jusko, scripted pala.

"Classmates, rainbows can be seen when there are water droplets in the air and the sun is shining. Sunlight, which contains all colors, is refracted by the droplets at different angles, splitting it into its different colors." Bumalik ako sa upuan ko ng nakangisi. Maxine Valdez won again. "Class, dismissed." Saad ko at agad na sinuot ang earphones bago pumunta sa lugar ko.

It's a high place. Nasa likod lang siya ng university na ito. I got my book out from my bag at nagbasa.

Itinuon ko ang atensyon ko sa librong binabasa ko. Para 'to sa recitation bukas. Hindi ako nakapagaral kagabi, pumunta kasi ako sa bar.

After two hours of reading and reviewing, umuwi na ko. I have my own car, regalo ko sa sarili ko nung fourteenth birthday ko.