When Everything Fails (De Chavez #2)

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

AFTER THE announcement of partners, the classroom fell into a sheer moment of silence. I, too, was stupefied as to what the hell happened. Mr. Fernandez went into the classroom, said he had to run some errands, and switched schedule with Mr. Gonzales to group us into two, and here I was, gaping right in front of the man who was grinning in my face. I couldn't hear any sounds from my classmates, all I could feel was the stentorian beats of my heart.

"Stop grinning, will you?" I gritted my teeth, the annoyance that welled up in my chest was making my nerve pulse with so much agitation.

I was born to compete with this guy and how could I do it if we were teammates? How can I defeat him if what we needed was to help each other to pass this subject? What made me more irritated was the reaction of my classmates. They were all pleased with the result of the counting and I could not raise any objection since I knew I would get backlash from it. Napatingin ulit ako kay Kei na ngayon ay nakangising nakakaloko.

The whisper of underlying annoyance to this guy intensified within me, pulsing an uncontrollable irritation through me. Amongst all the people that comprise the section 9-A, I was the one who seemed to have met the damnation. Lalo pa at napapangisi lang ang kasama ko sa harap ko. Hindi ko ba alam at hinayaan pa ni Mr. Fernandez na lumapit siya rito. I was not pleased with who I might be spending some of my time with. Imagine the disaster it might cause between the two rivals in one project?

"So, you might be wondering what this project..." Mr. Fernandez began, "I've grouped you into two to prepare for a performance that will be presented in December. At kung makikita kong pinag-effort'an niyo talaga ito ay baka hindi na rin kayo mag exam ng finals sa subject ko."

Because of what Mr. Fernandez said, the crowd went wild. Pumikit ako nang mariin dahil sa hiyawan ng mga kaklase ko. Pumalakpak pa itong asungot na nasa harap ko. He was smiling while clapping with so much glee. I clenched my teeth as I rolled my eyes at him. Nakita niya iyon at mas lalo siyang natawa.

"Mabuti nalang at magaling ang partner ko!" Sabi ni Kei at sumandal sa kaniyang upuan, "Wait, are we going to sing?"

I rolled my eyes, "Mamaya nalang natin 'to pag-usapan. Wala pa akong ma-isip na gagawin sa performance natin. At tatanungin ko pa criteria ng performance."

He chuckled and leaned over and propped his elbows in the armchair, "Who's the leader?"

"Ako," I said flatly.

"Are you sure you can handle me?"

I squinted my eyes, "Are you going to make this difficult for me?"

He shrugged, "It depends,"

I glared at him but what he only did was to smirk at me. My irritation intensified as I tried to nip at his skin. Oh, God, I hate this man. Sobra akong naiinis sa kaniya at gusto kong saktan siya kahit sa anong paraan.

•••

That day rolled smoothly. Kei and I never did try to open up the topic about our performance on that day because we were both preoccupied with other school works. Pero kahit na gano'n ay iniisip ko pa rin ang maaari naming gagawin para makakuha nang magandang puntos sa performance namin. I wasn't pleased with my partner but I won't let this give chaos in our performance especially that Kei seemed to not bother about anything at all. Baka mamaya ay magbago ang isip ni Mr. Fernandez at gawing individual grading pala ito.

In the empty hallway, I sauntered my way toward the SSG Office. May titignan lang akong documents para sa gagawing activities next week. Hindi naman ito malaking activity pero kailangan pa rin ng approval galing sa mas nakakataas talaga. After this, I was wondering if I could go to a cafe to unwind. This week had been hell to me and I needed to loosen up. Magpapasama sana ako kay Sue ngunit nauna na siyang umalis dahil ang sabi may kikitain daw siya. I wondered if she was still with that Samaniego.