His Imperfect Halo (COMPLETED)

Epilogue

"Ms. Fuentes!!"

The shout jolted my attention away from the window, and I almost jumped when I saw Mrs. Valdez standing right in front of me, glaring angrily.

I felt a tear coming out of my eye, quickly wiping it away and raising my gaze to meet Mrs. Valdez's stern look.

"A-Ano po ulit—"

"Aba't - anong ano po ulit?! Ang sabi ko, ialis mo 'yang paningin mo sa bintana at makinig ka sa'kin! Kanina pa, Ms. Fuentes! Ang pagtuturo ko naman ang pagtuunan mo ng pansin! Hay! Araw-araw na lang 'e pineperwisyo mo 'ko!" Napasapo ito sa kanyang mukha. "Mamamatay ako ng maaga sa'yong bata ka!"

Aksidente kong nabalingan ng tingin ang mga kaklase kong muling pinipigilan ang tawa nila. Lalo na ang dalawang nasa gilid ko. Ibinalik kong muli ang paningin kay Mrs. Valdez. Dahil sa pangangatog ay nagbaba na lang ako ng ulo at bahagyang inayos ang aking salamin.

"S-Sorry po..." paumanhin ko.

Saktong tumunog ang bell. "I'll talk to your parents tomorrow. Tomorrow, ha! Baka sakaling hindi mo na naman nadinig," singhal niya na mabagal ko na lamang na tinanguan. "Goodbye, class."

As she walked to the front of the room to grab her bag and leave, I let out a sigh of relief and reached for my own bag behind me. Tatayo na sana ako, pero may isang taong malakas na nagpatong ng kamay sa upuan ko dahilan para mapatigil ako.

I looked up to see who it was, and as expected, it was Ashley, with Avery beside her.

"Makinig din kasi minsan. It won't kill you, you know," Ashley sarcastically remarked.

"Can you - can you get your hand off the table?" I asked politely, but it seemed like they were more interested in boosting their egos than understanding me, so they laughed sarcastically.

"And now you're speaking like that to us?" Avery's eyes narrowed. Slowly, she approached me and flicked my forehead. "Hey, weirdo. I'm so, so sick of having you as my seatmate, tapos ganiyan ka pa kung makapagsalita? Walang-wala ka pa sa kalingkingan namin kaya matuto kang gumalang, ha?"

"Let's not waste our time here anymore, Avery. Come on," si Ashley. Tumalikod na sila, pero kahit ayaw ko ay naririnig ko pa rin ang mga bulungan nito.

"Ano bang pinaggagawa ng babaeng 'yan?" tanong ni Avery rito.

"You know her, nananaginip na naman ng gising. Come on, she always does that. Probably because she has no friends." Ashley laughed. "She's so weird," she continued, shaking her head.

Finally, they left the classroom. I took a deep breath and slung my bag over my shoulder as I stood up, making my way out of the room. With each step I took in the university hallway, all I could see were fellow students laughing with their friends on either side. Ang ibang grupo ay nag-aasaran, ang iba naman ay nagtatawanan. Meanwhile, I found myself in the middle, clutching my bag handle tightly.

At that moment, all I could think about was how much of a loner I was, how I was the girl with the oversized glasses that made me feel like a complete outcast. I couldn't shake the feeling that I would never truly belong here. Sila Avery at Ashley, palagi nila akong pinagti-tripan. Habang kumakain sa cafeteria, itatapon nila sa'kin ang mga tira nila. Habang nasa CR, ang itatapon naman nila sa akin ay isang malaking plastik ng mga basura. Everywhere I was in the university, they were always there.

Palagi ko na lang isinasantabi, pinapabayaan. Why? Because I was a weirdo. A wannabe bad girl.

But being me won't mean that I couldn't like someone.

"Shit!"

Sigaw ng isang lalaking nakaupo sa sahig ng daan nang matalisod niya ako. Nakasandal ang ulo niya sa mga locker na nasa gilid niya.