Pakwan Shots

Bad Reputation

It's the first day of Senior High School, which I can already predict is going to be a challenging one, given that zero of my friends are at the same strand as me. Speaking of my friends, I say hi to them--Kim, Carol, and the twins Cienne and Camille--at the corridor on my way to my classroom.

When I enter, I greet a few of my past classmates and make my way towards the blackboard where a piece of paper is usually taped, which indicates the seat plan for the whole semester arranged by our adviser. Who, might I add, hasn't even met us.

I curl my eyebrows when I see who's seated next to me.

REYES, Mika Aereen

"Hi, Ara!" Cyd, Kim's girlfriend, greets me with a smile.

"Cyd! 'Di ko alam na ABM ka rin pala, akala ko wala ako ka-close dito."

"Akala ko rin, eh. Oh, sino pala katabi mo?"

I look at the seat plan again. "Uhm, Reyes? Mika Reyes, 'di ko alam, 'di ko siya kilala."

Cyd's eyes widens and laughs. "Good luck!"

"Ha? Bakit naman?"

"Ay sorry, I didn't mean that in an unkind way." Cyd leans closer. "I just meant... good luck trying to make friends with her, kasi kaklase ko siya dati. Ewan ko, I guess it's my fault din, baka di lang nagtugma personalities namin. And, well, I don't believe a word, but people are saying a lot of things about her."

"What kind of things?"

And before we know it, a tall girl with short brown hair is beside us.

I can sense that she heard what we were talking about, but she doesn't say anything. She's wearing tons of silver rings and has two upper earrings. She looks at the seat plan, then looks at me.

"I guess you're my seatmate."

"Uhm..." I start as I look at Cyd. "Yes--wait, you know me?"

She nods, looking away. Then, without another word, she makes her way to her seat.

I look back at Cyd. "That's her?"

Cyd nods, a smile plastered on her face. "Sabi sa'kin ni Kim, may ex daw siyang professional drummer ng band and pinagpalit niya sa guitarist nung same band na 'yun."

"Ha? Wait, professional? So, like... adult?" I ask, because we're all only 17 or 18 years old. I hope she's not a minor anymore if she's going around dating full-blown adults.

"Oo siguro. 20 or 21 maybe? Tapos sabi nung isa kong friend, madami na raw siya nagawang offense. Nag-vandalize, sumagot sa teacher, nagdala ng alak sa school. Isang offense na lang daw, kick out na siya. But it's hard to believe. Alam mo naman mga tao, walang magawa sa buhay."

I look at the girl named Mika Reyes as she puts on a pair of earphones. I look at the people around her, and and a couple of them are whispering with one another. Mika hardly seems to mind.

When our teacher arrives, I sit next to Mika as she removes her earphones. I try not to mind her presence too much.

After a few welcoming messages and a brief orientation of what Senior High would be like, our teacher says, "So, start by making friends. You have two minutes to introduce yourselves to your seatmates. Timer starts now."

I turn to Mika. She smiles, not showing her teeth.

She lends out a hand and says, "Mika."

I take her hand. "Ara," I reply.

"Ara?" She asks, breaking our handshake. "Ayaw mo 'yung Victonara? It's a cool name."

I find it hard to talk to her, considering that she's looking at every direction except mine. "Well, ikaw bahala, kung gusto mo mahirapan every time sinasabi mo pangalan ko." I chuckle to signify that it's a joke, but she merely smiles. Not showing her teeth, once again. "Uhm, so... what are your hobbies, Mika?"

She takes a deep breath, giving off the vibe that it's such a burden to talk to me. "Uhm. Listening to music? I guess, yeah. And watching movies, preferably 90s and early 2000s."

"Oh, music?" I nod. "And movies? Cool. Ang galing."

And for the first time since I've met her, Mika laughs. A laugh that I couldn't believe would be coming from her. So genuine, so real. "Ang awkward mo," she says.

"Sorry," I reply, laughing with her.

"It's okay, cute ka naman."

Suddenly, I couldn't bear looking at her eyes. "Uhm, so... what type of music?"

"Any. I mostly enjoy AC/DC's discography. The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Aerosmith. But then I also really like Beyonce's music, a few rap songs, minsan nakikinig rin ako sa OPM. My music taste's all over the place."

"Oh, talaga?"

She nods. "How about you? Anong hobbies mo?"

"Uhm, mahilig ako magbasa," I start. "My favorite book is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. I also really like Harry Potter. Tsaka If I Stay by Gayle Forman. So... I guess, like your taste in music, my taste in books is all over the place, too."

She looks at me so delicately, I find it hard to believe how people could believe in such crazy rumors about her. But then, I look away.

And before we know it, the two minutes are over.

After class, I try to strike up a conversation with Mika. For some reason, I wanted to get to know her more. Because in those two minutes that we talked, I'm able to understand that the only bad thing about her is her reputation.

"Hey, gusto mo ba i-try 'yung new milk tea place with me dyan sa kanto?" I ask her. I put my backpack on and so does she.

She looks at me, confused. "Ara... 'di mo ba naririnig 'yung mga sinasabi ng mga tao tungkol sa'kin?"

"What do you mean?"

She walks away and I follow her until we reach the corridor. "Let's just say na you don't want to be seen making friends with someone like me."

"Okay, I know what people are saying--"

"Ayun naman pala, eh."

"--but it doesn't mean I believe them."

We stop walking and she gives me the same delicate look she gave me awhile ago, and this time I don't look away.

"'Di naman totoo 'yung mga 'yun, diba?" I ask, just to clarify.

"It depends on what you heard," she replies. For a moment I think she's going to say something more, but then decides against it and resumes walking.

In that moment, I realize that I shouldn't care whether those rumors are true or not. It doesn't matter what people think of her. All I know is I want to know her more. Be with her more, even.

So, I catch up with her. "Hey," I say. "Come with me to that milk tea place."

"Ang kulit," she comments as she takes my hand and leads me to the restroom hallway, where there's no people. "Okay, one thing you should know about me: I don't like milk tea."

I furrow my brows. "Who doesn't like milk tea?"

"Me. So, you should just... go with your other friends."

"I don't want to go with them, Mika. I want to go with you."

"Ara..."

"Okay, so how about burgers? Mayroong place dyan sa tapat ng school that serves really good burgers. Tapos ang sarap din ng spaghetti nila. Promise, it's heaven."

Mika rolls her eyes.

"Please?" I beg, my palms pressed together.

She looks at me, and she smiles. I mean, really smile. It's the first time I'm ever seeing her smile that shows her teeth. Bungisngis din pala 'to, eh. For some reason, I'm tempted to do everything to keep that smile on her face.

"Okay."