Saving Humanity

Chapter Eighteen: The Insufferable Jock

Chapter Eighteen: The Insufferable Jock

Andre

I hate this.

I hate everything about this situation that I'm in right now.

I mean, yeah, if we defeat those aliens and banish them from our land, I get to be one of the heroes. I'll enjoy the luxurious life that only fame and fortune can give me.

Still, I hate this.

I never want to be a hero. All I want is to live a normal life, surrounded by all the normal things in the world.

Bakit kasi kailangan pang mangyari ng alien invasion na ito. Ayos na ayos na ang buong buhay ko, eh. Nasa bingit na ako ng tagumpay. Nakuha ko na ang approval ni Daddy at tuloy na tuloy na ang paglipad ko sa Canada.

Then this shit happened and ruined everything.

Kung kailan nahanap ko na ang purpose ko sa buhay, kung kailan nagkaroon na ako ng maipagmamalaki ko sa mga parents ko at sa lahat ng mga taong nangmaliit sa akin, tsaka pa nangyari ang lahat ng ito.

Before I got stucked in this situation with three other teenagers, before all of these happened, I was just a jock.

An insufferable jock, to be exact.

At least, that's what my school mates used to call me.

Inaamin ko, hindi ako isang mabuting nilalang. Marami na akong inapakan at sinaktan na tao. 'Yung iba pa nga, binigay ang buong pagkatao nila sa akin, pero wala akong ginawa kundi basagin ang mga puso nila bilang kapalit.

I can't help it. No matter how hard I try to become a better person, I can't do it. I guess it's not in my nature to be good. Maybe, I was born to be a fucking demon who'll do nothing but wreak havoc in this world.

It's not a big surprise that I turned out the way I am, considering the nature of my parents. My dad is a politician who spends most of his money buying supporters who will do anything for him. My mom, well, she's a casino addict.

Lumaki ako nang hindi man lang naramdaman ang pag-aalaga nila. Sa buong buhay ko, ang mga maids lang namin ang nagpalaki sa akin. Sila ang nagturo sa akin kung paano magsulat ang magbasa noong bata pa ako. Sa kanila ko rin natutunan kung paano magluto dahil palagi ko silang pinapanood sa kusina.

Napaka-miserable ng buhay ko, hindi ba? 'Yung tipong mas malapit pa ako sa mga katulong namin kaysa sa sarili kong mga magulang.

Iyon siguro ang dahilan kung bakit naging bully sa school. Sa bahay kasi, walang ginawa ang mga magulang ko kundi punahin ang bawat galaw ko. Nakabantay sila na parang mga CCTV cameras sa lahat ng gagawin ko.

It gets tiring, you know. No one wants to have someone breathing on their neck all the time.

Pero nagbago ang ihip ng hangin nang tumungtong ako ng high school. Sumali kasi ako sa foot ball team ng campus namin. Foot ball ang paboritong sports ni Dad, kaya naman natuwa siya ng sobra nang malaman niya ang desisyon ko.

That was probably one of the happiest days of my life. Seeing the approving gaze of my Dad directed at me was the best feeling ever. For a short moment, I felt as if I was important to him.

Sa unang pagkakataon, naramdaman ko na anak nga nila talaga ako.

Simula noon, lahat ng gusto ko ay ibinibigay ni Dad. As long as I remain on the team, we won't have any problems. He was still monitoring everything that I do, but he was more lenient.

Mom was still the same, though. But at least, I was able to successfully get the approval of one of my parents.

I was the team captain when our school got its first win after five years of defeat. It was also my last year as a high school student. Dad was so proud, he immediately agreed to my request to continue my studies in Canada.

Then this invasion happened. Now, everything was ruined.

So no one can blame me if I'm being this grumpy right now.

Tiningnan ko ng masama 'yung TV na nasa harapan ko. I'm so bored right now and all I want to do is to watch some movies, but there's no electricity. The electromagnet—or whatever it was, rendered all of the electronic devices useless.

Binato ko sa malayo ang remote na hawak ko. Base sa napag-usapan ng mga kasama ko kanina, mananatili kami dito ng tatlong araw.

Tatlong araw na walang ibang gagawin kundi tumingin sa kawalan. Mas mabuti pang nasa labas kami at nakikipaglaban sa mga aso—

No, wait. It's better if we stay here, where we'll be safe from harm. It's not that I'm scared, no, actually it's not my fault that I'm like this. It's just that... Everytime I witness a violence of some sorts, my brain goes into shock mode. I can't control it, no matter how hard I try.

So, yeah, you can't blame me if I need some saving everytime some shit happens.

This is not the case with foot ball, though. Everyone knows that my chosen sports is a violent one, but my brain works completely fine when I'm on the field. It's because when I'm playing, I can control what will happen and how the game will end. It's just a matter of strategy and team work.

But an unexpected attack by a pack of wild dogs? My brain goes boom, shock mode.

Whenever I go into shock mode, my entire body freezes, and my focus zeroes in on the danger in front of me. I can't think straight and formulate decent thoughts.

It's like someone messes up with my brain switch and turns off everything.

The only way to get me back to my senses is to pour a cold water over my head, or slapping me across the face as hard as you can. I prefer the former, though. The latter can do some damage in my face.

"What in the world are you doing, Andre?" Felicity walks towards the remote now in pieces on the floor. "Sinira mo 'yung remote! Baka nakakalimutan mo na nakikigamit lang tayo sa bahay na 'to."

I sigh. Here comes the little miss perfect. So annoying.

"Felicity, nakikita mo ba ang nasa paligid mo o nagbubulag-bulagan ka?" tanong ko sa kanya. "The world is already in shambles. Sa tingin mo may pakialam pa ang may-ari ng bahay na ito kung sirain ko ang remote nila?"

"Yes. If I'm the owner of this house, I will kick you out."

I raise my eyebrows. "Pero hindi naman ikaw ang may-ari, diba?" I look around, mocking her further. "At hindi ko rin nakikita 'yung mga tunay na may-ari. So why don't you piss off and mind your own business?"

Felicity's face goes red with anger. For a moment, I thought she's going to punch me like Holly did before.

Pero huminga lang siya nang malalim at tiningnan ako ng masama.

"You're impossible," she seethes, then walks away as fast as she can.

I let out a triumphant grin. I know that having shitty parents is not a good excuse to be mean to others, but what can I do? I was born to be like this.

In fact, I enjoy being mean.

Maybe my schoolmates were right about giving me a nickname.

Indeed, I am an insufferable jock.