Dying Embers

Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Ellipsis

"Take out a half-sheet of paper, crosswise."

Nanlamig agad ang katawan ko nang bumasag sa tahimik ng classroom ang utos ni Mr. Rumbaoa. I froze for a second — he's our math teacher, and for the life of me, I completely forgot about the quiz today! Paano ko nakalimutan 'to? I should've remembered... I should've!

Kumapit ako sa bag ko, hinila palabas ang papel at ballpen, huminga ng malalim, trying to calm my racing thoughts. I hadn't reviewed a single thing. The formulas, the angles, the fractions—barely anything made sense to me. I'm so screwed.

"Hindi ako nakapag-review." Bulong ko kay Jilliana na siyang katabi ko sa subject na ito.

She smirked, tilting her head toward me. "Don't worry. I've got your back."

Napangiti rin ako kahit papaano. Si Jilliana kasi — she actually likes numbers, parang may sparkle sa mata niya tuwing math for some reason I can't figure out.

At isa sa mga bagay na pinapahalagahan ko sa kaniya — she's a friend who'll always have your back. She's reliable, supportive, walang iwanan.

"Hindi na. One thing I cannot do is cheat," sabi ko, kasabay ng maliit na ngiti.

Although sa kanya, baka hindi cheating 'to. Pero I want to at least try to figure things out myself. Learning beats copying, kahit madalas akong malugmok sa numbers.

"But this is not cheating." Depensa naman niya.

Umiling ako. "Maybe not for you, pero sa'kin... feels like it. Tsaka, hindi ko naman iniintindi 'yung score na 'yan."

Tumitig lang siya sa akin nang matagal, tapos ngumisi at umiling. "Such a good girl, you are."

I rolled my eyes inside. Good girl? Me? 

"Good girl, but can be a badass, how's that even possible?" She laughed silently, careful not to alert Mr. Rumbaoa. Trust me, seeing him lose it is worse than failing math.

Ngumiti lang ako. I'm not proud to be called a badass. I don't want to hurt anyone — but sometimes, the world leaves no choice. I hate unfair attacks. I hate people testing me without reason. I can fight back if cornered — and I hate that I even have to.

"From one to ten. Okay, class, start now." Sinulat ni Sir ang mga tanong sa board, sabay balik sa teacher's desk.

At sa mismong oras na makita ko ang problems... my stomach dropped. Ang hirap! Para akong nagbabasa ng ibang language.

I let out a frustrated sigh, twirling my pen between my fingers. Out of instinct, napatingin ako sa papel ni Jilliana — at halos mahilo ako. Ang dami niyang solution lines para lang sa first question. Para akong nalunod.

Napailing na lang ako at nagsimulang magsulat ng random numbers. Kahit guesses lang. Kahit ano, basta may maisulat.

Kinagat ko ang labi ko habang tinititigan ang sagot ko, puro erasures, sobrang messy. Nakakainis tingnan, pero wala na. At least I tried.

Hanggang sa ilang minuto na ang nakalipas ay nagsalita ulit si Mr. Rumbaoa.

"Who's finished?" Biglang tanong ni Sir.

Many of my classmates raised their hands, telling that they're already finished answering — including Chance and Jilliana. While some of us are not done yet. I'm still stuck on number six, for goodness sake!

Chance glanced at me. I quickly looked away. Nakakahiya, nakakahiya talaga.

"You have five minutes to finish," dagdag pa ni Sir. "Then we'll check."