If I have Nothing (Absinthe Series 5)

Kabanata 29

Kabanata 29

If I Have Nothing

Hindi ko namalayang lumipas na ang isang buwan simula ng tumira ako sa condo namin. Sa unang dalawang linggo, kapag weekends, umuuwi ako sa bahay. Mom scolded me for that because she said I shouldn't be at home every weekend. Okay na iyong babalik every other week dahil may asawa na ako at mas magandang palagi kaming magkasama ni Rhett.

Hindi na nga kami madalas magkita. Every since that night, he comes home late. Minsan ay may dalang gitara, minsan mukhang pagod lang at galing sa kung saan. The last time I've heard of his band, they were recording their songs for a pre-debut album pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa naiirelease sa madla.

Siguro ay marami ang magugustuhan ang album na iyon. The lyrics were unique and soulful, na para bang may ipinagaalayan sila ng kanilang ginawang kanta. They'd be attracting a lot of listeners with their beat and rhythm because it was different from any bands.

"Syden!" Marriam ran towards me, "Review mo ako para sa moving quiz! Please!"

Mahina akong tumawa, "Saan ka ba nahihirapan?"

"Nakakalito ang mga tissues, syempre lahat. The microscope images the last time, they felt like they're all the same."

I cringed. This topic is actually a bit confusing to me, too. The epithelial tissues—scratch that, tissues topic is confusing actually. But if I remember their description, I could easily pinpoint what kind of epithelial tissues they were, pati na rin ang connective tissue na may iilan pang types at kailangang kabisaduhin kung ano ang images nila kapag subjected na sa microscope.

"Trauma na ako noong first moving quiz. May nakakagulat pang tanong, akala ko identify the cell parts lang!" Histerya pa rin ni Marriam.

It was our first time to experience a moving quiz. Sa high school naman ay walang ganoon kaya naninibago pa kami. Lalo na iyong munting bell na biglang tutunog kapag tapos na ang 30 seconds mo sa iisang station at kahit wala kang sagot, kailangan mo ng lumipat. There's actually a rest station, kaya kung nakalimot ka sa isang item, mababalikan mo pa iyon.

I didn't exactly fail our first moving quiz. Ang lesson kasi ay natutunan na simula high school kaya medyo tanda ko pa at itinuturo pa rin naman sa amin. After our moving quiz, there's a written laboratory quiz. Higit pa doon, walang masyadong choices. It's always a battle of familiarizing and remembering what you studied, kung hindi ay wala ka talagang makukuha. Other than the laboratory quiz, may lecture quiz din kami kasi iba ang lesson doon.

It was actually stressful but it was fun. Lalo na kapag tatawanan ko na lang iyong nakalimutan kong sagot. It can always happen. Hindi naman kasi sa lahat ng oras ay makakakuha ako ng perpektong score sa kada test.

"Oh my gosh, anong answer mo sa 6?" tanong sa akin ni Marriam nang matapos kaming lahat sa pagsasagot.

I didn't have a copy of my paper but I quite remember what I answered.

"Hyaline cartilage?"

Nakahinga siya nang maluwag. "Thank you, lord. Buti na lang di ko siya nakalimutan. Nagdadalawang isip ako kung elastic ba kasi mukha silang magkapareho."

"True, but Hyaline cartilage is evenly dispersed compared to elastic."

Niyakap ako ni Marriam at pinanggigilan. "Aaah, sana pasado ulit ang score ko!"

"I hope so too," I smiled, "We studied too hard for this."

"Excited na akong mag-second sem. Gusto ko ng kumuha ng dugo," she pouted.

"I actually saw from our syllabus that we'll have a blood typing. Pero baka sa susunod pa."

"Di ako nagbabasa ng syllabus," humalakhak siya, "Excited na akong ma-prick ka."