Oh, My Ma'am!

Chapter II

"YOU have an extremely intelligent daughter, Mr. Rodriguez. You should be so proud."

Pangalawang compliment na iyon na naibigay ni Andie sa lalaking kausap niya, pero mukhang balewala lang naman dito ang mga naririnig. Was he even listening? "Mr. Rodriguez?"

Tumingin ito sa kanya, finally. "Sorry. Sobrang dami ng tao. Nakakahilo. I never liked people. Especially now. You were saying?"

You suck at taking compliments, she was thinking of saying. And you're weird. Ang totoo, nababastusan na siya sa attitude ng kausap. Kundangan na nga lang at gustung-gusto niyang estudyante ang anak nito. 

"Mr. Rodriguez, maayos naman ang performance ni Tara dito sa school, especially sa subject ko. Except—"

"I never liked 'excepts' after a good compliment."

Andie frowned.

He seemed to have noticed. "Oh, go on."

Wala pa yatang isang minuto na nakakalayo si Tara ay gusto na niya agad mapabalik. Her father was exasperating. Pero kailangan niyang kausapin ang lalaking ito alang-alang sa bata.

"Except na pagdating sa ilang subjects niya, parang wala siyang nagiging effort na mag-aral. In fact, sa English, which is my subject, she performs excellently. Sa Math, she does well din. English and Math, Mr. Rodriguez. Mga subject na usually ay hindi kelangang pag-aralan kung likas na matalino ang isang bata."

Binuklat niya ang report card ni Tara at may itinuro sa kausap. "Look here, Sir, Tara got a whopping ninety-six mark sa English niya, and a good ninety-two sa Math."

"Nice," sabi ng lalaki, na bahagya lang nakatingin sa itinuturo ni Andie.

She was truly puzzled now. What was wrong with this guy? Parang may sariling mundo ang lalaki. Could he be autistic? Di-sana'y nabanggit ni Tara iyon sa kanya.

He started to crack his knuckles.

She decided to just carry on. "Ang problema, Sir, ay itong ibang subject. Lalo itong Social Studies. Tingnan n'yo."

She gave him time to look and absorb the figures. She wondered why absorbing the two-digit number was taking him forever.

Nang sobrang tagal na itong hindi nagre-react ay siya na lang muli ang nagsalita. "Seventy-nine, Sir. Social Studies. At 'yang iba, look—low eighty's. Science, eighty-one—"

"What's wrong with eighty-one?" he snapped. Pumitik ito sa desk niya. "What's wrong with eighty-one?"

Nag-panic si Andie. Autistic nga yata talaga itong kausap niya. Luminga-linga siya sa paligid, hoping somebody would see her predicament. Mukhang ano mang sandali ay puwede siyang saktan ng kausap niya, dahil lang minaliit niya ang 81.

Her eyes travelled through the door and the windows of the large assembly room in desperate search for this nut's daughter.

"Erm, Sir..." She fumbled for words as her eyes continued searching for Tara. "Eighty-one is okay. I-I'm just saying Tara could do better..."

Nakatitig sa kanya ang lalaki, looking suddenly oblivious of everything else around them but her.

Andie was terrified. It seemed every single word was offensive to this person. He had serious issues. She concluded this Mr. Rodriguez truly was a nutcase.

And now she didn't know what to do. She looked around again for rescue. Wala si Tara. Wala ring ibang tao na nakatingin sa kanila. Napagakat siya sa labi.

Tara hadn't warned her about her father. Paano niya ngayon ipakikipag-usap dito ang mga importanteng concerns niya about Tara?

She could try and be done with it. "S-Sir, uhm, Mr. Rodriguez, I'm saying na napakatalinong bata ni Tara. Yun nga lang po, mukha siyang walang hilig sa pag-aaral. Ang homeworks niya, Sir, halos wala siyang ginagawa. Nanghihinayang lang po ako, Mr. Rodriguez."

Patangu-tango ang lalaki. "I think what you're saying is... You think nagkukulang sa push si Tara, tama?"

"Yes, Sir." She was somewhat relieved to hear him talk with sense.

"Well, guess what? You're absolutely right. Now, can I have the report card para mapirmahan ko na? I really need to go. I'm not feeling so well." He started fidgeting. It didn't seem to be a good sign.

Worried na ini-envelope ni Andie ang report card bago inilahad iyon sa lalaki. "You can take it home. Sa bahay n'yo na pirmahan, Sir. Ipabalik n'yo na lang kay Tara kapag nakita na din ng Mommy niya, and the rest—"

"Oh, for Christ's sake. Akina 'yan." Hinanggit nito ang hawak niyang envelope.

Napahawak si Andie sa dibdib. "Good day to you, Sir," ang tangi niyang nasabi.

Nakahinga lang nang maluwag si Andie nang makalayo na si Mr. Rodriguez. It took her a measure of time to recover herself.

Tatawagin na niya ang kasunod na pangalan ng estudyante nang biglang may sumulpot sa harapan ng desk niya. Nagulat pa siya at muling nasapo ang dibdib.

"Ma'am Andie."

"Oh, hey, Tara. Whew. It's you."

Nakatayo lang itong nakatingin sa kanya.

"What?" Andie asked.

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry."

Andie was confused. "W-What?"

"Sorry po sa behavior ng daddy ko. You see, he's... he's not okay."

"W-Well, I could see that..."

"Yes, Ma'am, you see..." Nanggigilid ang luha ng bata. "You see... Kamamatay lang ng mommy ko."

Natigilan si Andie, napasandal sa upuan. "Oh..." tanging nausal niya. Kawawa naman pala ang mag-ama.

That might explain Tara's lack of interest in her studies. Nakita niya ang transcript nito from the previous year, at malayung-malayo ang marka nito ngayon kesa sa nakaraang taon.

"And you're... you're okay now, right?"

"You might think I'm okay now, Ma'am Andie. I always try to look okay. Pero... pero..." Her voice cracked.

"Tara, I understand now. We can talk some other time, okay? Anytime na libre ako, you can always talk to me."

Tara thanked her and left.

Namatayan pala ng asawa si Mr. Rodriguez. Nadurog tuloy ang puso ni Andie, to think na pinag-isipan niya ito ng kung anu-ano.

Pagkatapos niyang ianunsiyo ang pangalan ng sunod na estudyante, napasulyap siya sa may pintuan kung saan nakita niyang nakaalakbay si Mr. Rodriguez sa anak nito. Bago iniumang nito ang kili-kili na tila ipinaaamoy iyon sa anak.

She found herself smiling at that.

(Hope you're enjoying. Pls vote po, lovely readers! ❤️)