Serendipity

Chapter 7

"The things is, Nicholas. I had never seen you so worn out and wasted. Nagyon lang," the way his voice sound so sarcastic, opposite to his fatherly disposition. He looks worried of me and I can also agree with him too. I'm worried about myself too. Nababaliw na yata ako.

"Uh, Sir..."

"I mean, you are just different, Nicholas. You are not normal. Hindi ko naman sinasabi na abnormal ka. Pero you are just different from teenagers you're age."

Hindi ko alam kung maiinis ba ako o matatawa sa sinabi niya. Pero ang alam ko, parehas kong naramdam ang dalawa.

"You are very smart. I can say you have the potential for our society. Not only here, alam kong malayo pa ang iyong mararating. If you could just let out your wings and widen your horizon in life. I know you can be someone important someday. You can be the best you can be in the future, Nicholas."

Okay... So ano nga ang dahilan kung bakit nandito ako ngayon? Taas ang isang kilay ko habang pinapanood ang aking guro na pinupuri ako.

"And I'm not saying this because it's my job as a teacher to encourage my students, but I want to atleast help and know you, Mr. Salazar. Napapansin ko lang kasi na..."

I sighed. I know where this is going. Again and again with this topic.

"You never socialize with anyone. You never have friends. You... are just so alone," aniya habang pinipilit inaayos ang kaniyang mga salita. Pinaypayan niya ang kaniyang sarili. He fastly wiped some small sweats on his face with a handkerchief.

"I-i mean, you are always socially akward and an introvert. Students are scared to approach you because you are sometimes r-rude and uhmm... scary. Ehem, and these past few days, pansin ko ang kawalan mo ng gana sa pag-aaral at palagi kang natulala sa malayo. Tell me, Nicholas. Is something bothering you?"

Umiling ako. It was a lie. Help Sir, nababaliw na yata ako.

"I-Is this about family? Or are you finding difficulties on studying? You can talk to me and I will listen to your problems. I am of course, you're second parent," he akwardly laughed at the end.

"I have no problem, Sir," I coldly said. Walang ni isang reaksyon ang mukha. Napailing na lamang si Sir Ramos. He sighed and closed his eyes. Halatang namomroblema.

"Okay ganito nalang! Nicholas, tell me, anong gusto mo paglaki mo?"

Nabigla ako sa tanong niya. I scrunched my nose, nagdadalawang isip kong sasabihin ko ba ang totoo.

"I want to be an astronomer, Sir."

His eyes twinkled. I played with my hands because of the akwardness. He laughed like an old man and I almost covered both my ears because of embarrassment. Ni hindi ko nga ito masabi sabi kay Misa!

"Why do you want to be an astronomer?"

"Because I love astronomy and space," maikli kong sabi. Nakataas ang isa niyang kilay, telling me to elaborate more. Malakas akong tumikhim.

"I-I love space. Space has amazed me since I have first read about it in my childhood. It feels like a mystery hidden in plain sight, so much so that almost everybody misses it or doesn't realize the magic of it."

He smiled.

"Just looking at the sky made me my curiosity flew higher than it can ever reached. It all started with the moon, the stars and the sun that we always see in our whole life. And I wonder what lies beyond the blue sky that we always look up!---"

"There is always something new to see. Whether it's a comet, asteroid or spacecraft, space is a busy place and usually there is something in the sky that you've never seen before. And most importantly, I learned more about the world, our planet, life and most importantly, the universe!"