Intoxicated

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

He smelled of perfume, body wash, and Tyrone, and everything sweet to the nose. I was this close to him-and it's bad because I'm losing my focus. Hindi na pumapasok sa tenga ko ang mga sinasabi ni Mr. Reyes.

Walang nagsasalita sa aming dalawa. This was literature class kaya nama'y pinabasa sa amin ni Sir ang isang story entitled, "The house on Zapote street."

Himala na lang na natapos kong basahin ang first page gayung nawawala ako sa sarili ko, and I think tapos na rin siya. But nobody was flipping the page. Should I ask him?

Just when I was about to look at him, he flipped one page slowly, waiting for me to protest. And when he realized I won't protest against it, tuluyan niya nang nilipat ang page. Then I again started struggling to read, with all my senses shut down.

As soon as natapos ako, ayoko pa ring umalis sa ganong posisyon. Awkward as it might be, I stayed for another minute, pretending to keep reading, and I know tapos na siya.

"Okay, class. Are you done?" Umalingawngaw ang boses ni Sir and that was my cue. Muli kong inusog ang upuan ko pabalik sa dating pwesto, few inches away from him. And it reminded me once again where I belong, where I should be. Gusto ko siyang pasalamatan, but I was too afraid of the recognition in his eyes. Kaya't minabuti kong 'wag na lang siya titigan. I whispered thank you, though hindi niya naman iyon maririnig.

During math, he was asleep. How could he possibly sleep sa ganito kagandang subject?

"So how do you find for the f of x?" Asked Mrs. Mendiola. Gusto kong sumagot pero natatakot akong ipasagot ako ni ma'am sa board and once again I'll have their attention. I again peeked at Tyrone who was still leaning on his table, asleep. I frowned.

One more subject until dismissal-economics. Kakagising lang niya when Ms. Loria arrived. Mabilis kong binaling ang titig ko sa unahan even before he'd notice. Ms. Loria discussed about the background of Economics, the great Economists, definition, et cetera. I wasn't really paying much attention.

Halos magheadbang na ako sa sobrang antok. Puyat na puyat ako at hindi ko na macontrol ang antok sa buong katawan ko. I gave up at isinandal ang ulo ko sa armchair.

Nagising akong halos wala nang tao sa room. Yung mga cleaners na lang at dalawang estudyante na nagsusulat ng notes. Shit, what did I miss? Tinitigan ko ang board at nakita si Kiel na binubura na ang mga nakasulat rito. Halos mapuno ang board ng notes at wala akong nagawa kundi titigan ito habang nabubura.

Maybe I can borrow Desiree's notes tomorrow.

Inayos ko ang notebook kong nasa armchair at napansin ang nakausling papel dito na para bang isiniksik lang ito. Kumunot ako ng noo bago ko ito binasa. I immediately recognized the penmanship. The not-quite-nice-but-still-legilbe handwriting of Tyrone. Biglang may kung anong pakpak ang nagoccupy sa tyan ko.

can i borrow your notes in math?

I grinned like an idiot. Ayan kasi, natutulog tulog. I held it close to my aggressive heart, as if it was the only way I could calm it. Why did it have to be me? And how can I bring my notes to him?

I immediately scanned my recycled notebook. Bigla akong nahiya dahil folder lang ang front page nito, ang mga pages ay galing sa mga notebook ko last year na hindi nagamit pati na ng notebook ni Princess. Tanging ang yellow yarn lang ang dahilan kung bakit ito nakaattach sa isa't isa. Mabuti na lang medyo maayos ang sulat ko. At least.

Itinago ko ang maliit na papel sa side pocket ng bag ko. I have to keep this. This is the first reason for me to talk to him.

Tumayo ako at naglakad palabas ng room. I need to find him now para mapahiram ko 'to sa kan'ya. Puno ng estudyante ang hallway, and cafeteria, pati na ang field. Students were everywhere pero hindi mahirap hanapin si Tyrone. He's tall and he stands out no matter how hard he tried not to.