Chapter 8
Malala na ata ang pagka-assuming ko. Lahat na lang nilalagyan ko ng meaning. It's so stupid of me to think Sir is interested in me. There's nothing special about me.
"Baka naman gusto mo nang ubusin 'yang pagkain mo," I heard Clarisse said. Napatingin ako sa pagkain ko at nakitang halos hindi ko pa iyon nababawasan.
Nasa canteen na kami for lunch. Wala pa masyadong tao kaya we were able to sit on our usual table. Medyo maaga pa kasi para sa lunch ng ibang students.
"Sorry," I murmured. Sinubukan kong sumubo ulit ng pagkain kahit wala talaga akong gana.
"Ano ba 'yang iniisip mo? Parang wala ka sa sarili," puna ni Clarisse.
Truth is, I also don't know. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ganito ako ngayon. Hindi naman ako PMS. My period's still two weeks from now.
Masyado talaga akong maraming iniisip.
"Inlababo ka na 'no?" Clarisse teased. Kunot-noo akong tumitig sa kanya.
"Really?" Walang ganang sagot ko. Pinagtawanan niya lang ako.
"Come on, ano bang iniisip mo at this moment?" She asked and I couldn't think of anything to say. Hindi ko naman kayang sabihin sa kanya 'yong iniisip ko. Baka mamaya walang humpay na ang pagpush niya sa akin kay Sir.
I just shrugged and forced myself to eat. Ayaw ko talagang magsalita. At ayaw kong pinipilit niya ako kasi madali lang akong mapilit.
Nang tingnan ko si Clarisse ay nakatingin rin siya sa akin. She was frowning at padabog pang kumain ulit. Para siyang batang nagtatampo.
"Oh, ba't may tantrums 'yang baby mo, Hope?" I heard Lio said from behind. I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up," I said. "Ikaw 'tong di pumasok sa klase. Anong drama mo?" I asked. Nakaupo na siya sa katabi kong upuan. He even stole some of my food. Kaasar.
"Late nagising eh. Ayaw kong rumampa today so I decided wag na lang muna pumasok," he replied coolly. Never ata 'tong nag-worry na baka ma-drop sa klase. May mga instructors kasing kapag sumobra sa maximum number of absences ang absences ng isang student ay automatic dropped sila sa klase. Pasalamat itong si Lio, walang ganoon sa department namin.
"Ayan. Late nagising kasi late natutulog. Seriously, Lio? When will you ever learn?" Clarisse interjected. Isa pa 'tong nagsalita. Eh madalas rin naman siyang late.
"Wow. Sorry naman sa early bird na tulad mo 'no?" Lio replied sarcastically. I rolled my eyes again. Minsan kinakaya ko naman ang kulit ng dalawa pero kapag ganito na at mukhang walang humpay na ata ang palitan nila ng pang-aasar sa isa't-isa, parang gusto ko na lang mag-walk out.
I took a heavy breath and began eating again. Once I'm done with my food, I will really leave these two.
The unstoppable bickering of the two continued. Nang matapos akong kumain ay tiningnan ko pa ang dalawa and frowned at them. They didn't seem to see it because they were so busy about their rebuttals.
I drank my water before I slowly stood up. Hindi rin nila napansin 'yon kaya napailing na lang ako. So I began walking towards the door.
Dami kong iniisip eh, makikigulo pa sila.
Nang makalabas ng canteen ay sa parking na ako dumiretso. I figured maybe I'll just stay inside my car. Susunod naman iyong dalawa dito kapag napansin nilang wala na ako doon.
I was a few meters from my car when I noticed someone was also on his way to the parking. Pinaliit ko pa ang mga mata ko to see who's the one coming. I think I need eyeglasses now.
Habang papalapit ako sa car ay natatanaw ko na rin clearly kung sino 'yon.
And guess what...
It was Sir Troy.
Lagi na lang ba?
My heartbeat then became wild upon realizing it was really him.
Kahit saan na lang ba ako pupunta, nandoon siya? Hindi ba pwedeng pakalmahin muna ako ng tadhana? God. Baka sa susunod magka-heart ailment na talaga ako nito.
Even with super fast heartbeats, I tried to play it cool and pretended I didn't noticed him. Oo na, ako na ang pretentious. But gah, hindi ko talaga kaya itong sunod-sunod na interactions namin. Konti na lang iisipin ko nang sinusundan niya ako. Ugh. Ang assuming ko na talaga.
Nasa tapat na ako ng pinto ng car ko when I saw from my peripheral vision that Sir Troy stopped from moving and looked at me. And shocks, ang sakit na ng mga mata ko, trying to see kung sa akin pa talaga siya nakatingin (of course without moving my body. I don't want to be caught).
"Hey, Miss Rivera," I heard him say. Ito na, ito na. Nakita niya na nga ako. Ang sama ko naman if I'll ignore him, right? I should at least greet him or what.
Dahan-dahan akong lumingon sa direksyon niya. Magkatabi lang pala talaga sa parking ang mga sasakyan namin. Mine's facing the School building samantalang ang sa kanya ay nakatalikod.
Now we're face to face, though we're two cars (our cars) away. I looked at him and flashed a smile and mumbled, "Sir". Mahina lang ang pagkakasabi ko 'non but I know he heard it.
"I just want to remind you about adding your classmates to our facebook group," he said. And then I heard his car beeped. "That's it," he added as he smiled. It's not his usual smile! There's really something with this smile that makes it different from his usual smile. Ugh. Pati ba naman 'yon napapansin ko? Or am I just imagining things?
"Okay, Sir," was what I said before he opened his car's door. Medyo nakahinga na ako nang maluwag 'don kasi tapos na ang usapan namin. He really has this aura that can freak me out whenever we're near.
Two deep sighs and I opened my car's door. But before I could even step inside ay napatigil ako when I heard Sir mumbled something. Medyo mahina iyon kaya hindi ko narinig. Akala ko pa nga I was just hallucinating. But he did call me by my surname. At nang lumingon ako sa direksyon niya, I saw him standing beside his car, door still open.
"Do you mind if I just call you Hope?" He asked. And shit, my heart began drumming crazily again. "Whenever I call you Miss Rivera, I feel like I'm also calling your sisters," he added as he chuckled. "Tatlo pa naman kayo."
Okay, heart, be still. He's just asking to call me by my first name. Nothing more.
"Okay lang, Sir," I managed to say. Though I really don't know kung paano ko nagawang bumigkas ng salita sa kabila ng matinding pagtibok ng puso ko. It's like my heart's knocking so hard on my ribcage because it wants to break free. Stupid heart.
"Good," he said and he smiled again. "I gotta go."
Ilang minuto rin akong nakatayo lang doon, trying to calm myself.
Pero nakaalis na lang ang sasakyan ni Sir, ganoon pa rin ang lagay ng puso ko.
Bakit ba ganoon epekto niya sa akin?
