Riverwoods University

Chapter 1: First Day Hell Day

"You're the last one. Introduce yourself"

Here I am standing in front of a big classroom with my both hands in my pockets and a leather back pack hanging on my left shoulder.

I saw the professor fixing his eye glasses looking at me intently with a scrutinizing eyes. The way he's staring at me obviously says that he's not impressed with me. Maybe because of the evident look in my eyes that I'm bored and disgusted with this 'introduce yourself segment'.

Lahat ng pares ng mata na meron sa kwartong ito ay nakatutok sa akin ngayon. Natawa ko sa loob loob ko. We're not freshmen for pete's sake. Ridiculous. Ugh.

Yeah. So to clarify things. Today is my first day as a third year Business Management student. And I'm late. Everyone finished their introductions when I entered and now I'm the only one left.

I sighed. Fine.

Tumayo ako ng maayos at humarap sa buong classroom. I made sure to look at them with my pretty boring eyes.

"I'm Gabriela Mendez. 20."

There. I'm done. Nawa'y nasiyahan sila sa aking napakagandang introduction. However, people in the room kept staring at me as if they are waiting for whatever I'm still going to say. I'm sorry but I'm not fan of long speeches. Napansin naman siguro ng Professor na wala na akong balak pang dugtungan ang introduction ko. I heard him cleared his throat.

"Anything you want to add Ms. Mendez? What are you're expectations for this year? Any realizations you wanna share for the last two years being here in Riverwoods? "
The professor asked.

Oh. Didn't I tell you that I'm a transferee. And actually I'm an irregular student. But I'm not in the mood to tell that. Ayoko ng humaba pa ang usapan.

"I'm not actually into expectations so.. there's nothing to add Professor. " I smiled at him. Isang ngiting alam kong hindi umabot sa aking mata.

Hindi naman nakaligtas sa aking mata ang mapanghusga niyang tingin. Isang tingin na mapanuri. Tila ba hinahanap niya sa aking mata ang tunay kong pagkatao. Isa lang ang masasabi ko, wala akong pakealam. Sanay na ako sa mga titig na ganyan. Hindi din nakaligtas saking pandinig ang mga bulungan ng mga estudyante.

"She's cold and weird." Maarteng boses na narinig ko.

"Hella pretty." Boses naman ng walang kwentang nilalang.

"Mukhang maldita." Sabi ng isa pa. Yeah right. Nagsisimula palang ang klase gusto ko ng umuwi. Ugh.

"Alright Ms. Mendez. Please find a seat. "
Finally, the professor said. Mabuti naman dahil wala akong balak mandukot ng mga mata at pumutol ng dila sa umagang ito.

I found a vacant seat at the back beside a window. Yeha. A perfect seat for me.

"Attention in front everyone! Today is your first day as third year students. Two years from now you will be taking your own paths. Most of you might get a job in the corporate world. And maybe some of you will build their own businesses.... "

Hindi ko na masyado pinagtuunan pa ang mga sinasabi ng professor sa harap. Wala akong planong marinig ang mga ganyang kadramahan.

Being a good student is the least of my priority. Graduating is my only one priority. That's it! And yeah, I can graduate without being good and competitive in class. I'm not a believer of grades. They're just numbers for me.

Kinuha ko ang isang papel sa aking bag. I wanted to check what will be my next class for today. While reading through it, a notification popped in my cellphone. Guess what? It's a message from my brother, Samuel. Obviously he's checking me out.