Bed of Flames✅

CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3

A week of going to school was like opening the threshold of hell. It was so boring and cycled. Wala akong kaibigan, not that I want one, though, I just feel like I'm some kind of virus they are scared to be infected, reason why no one has the guts to be near with me.

"Where is the cafeteria here?" I asked one of my classmates.

Parang nagulat pa siya nang magtanong ako. She's greatly surprised that she even parted her lips for amazement. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"Uh... ano... uhm... C-Canteen lang meron kami. Nasa baba, gilid ng computer lab, kung gusto mo..."

Kumunot ang noo ko. I stood up and found my way towards canteen. Hindi ko pa kabisado ang pasikot-sikot ng eskwelahang ito, ngayon pa kasi ako lumabas ng room para bumili.

Hindi ako nagpagawa ng baon ngayon. I'm not that gradeschool girl to even have a baon to school. Nang makarating sa canteen na sinasabi noong babae, napangiwi ako.

It was full of students na bumibili. As in, puno talaga. Kung makikisiksik ako... wait... no way I would allow that to happen! Baka magkakapalit-palit kami ng muka sa sobrang siksik dyan. So, I waited for almost five minutes. Medyo wala ng mga studyante ngayon.

Lumapit ako sa may nagtitinda ng kung ano roon. I examined all the foods that served. My forehead creased when I didn't recognize even one of the served food.

Marami naman ang pagpipilian but all of those are new to me. Ngayon ko pa yata nakita ang mga ito.

"Anong sa'yo, Ineng? Pumili ka lang." masiglang sabi ng babaeng kaharap ko.

"Do you have granola?"

"Ha? Ano? Arenola?!"

"What, no!" umiling ako. "I said Granola. Or... Lava Cake, Cheeseburger, Mousse, Pizza at least. Or even one of those foods I mentioned."

"Teka... Teka lang, Ineng, ha. Mahina kalaban." natawa siya. "Hindi ko alam 'yong mga pagkaing nabanggit mo, ni hindi ko alam anong hugis noong mga no'n. Ito lang talaga mga pagkain dito."

I took a glimpse of the foods she offered to me. Wala rin akong napapamilyaran sa lahat ng mga ito. Tiningnan ko ang katabing babae ng kaharap ko. Basically, there are five fat women serving snacks here.

I saw one of their snacks, a long rectangular shaped snack covered by dark green colored banana leaf, it was folded by each side... something like that.

"What do you call that food?" turo ko roon. Itinuro niya naman iyon.

"Saan? Ito? Ah... Suman tawag dyan. Hindi ka pa ba nakakakain nito?"

Umiling ako.

"Yayamanin ka siguro. Ito naman... bibingka." she pointed at something with a cracked surface which sides were covered by banana leaf.

It's not that masama tingnan. But I'm just concerned of how it tastes. But then, I take out my cash and buy it.

"Two suman and bibingka, please." sabi ko sabay bigay ng pera ko.

"Naku, Ineng! Wala ka bang mas liliit dito? Wala akong panukli dyan!" she said, giving back the thousand peso bill I gave.

"What? Bakit? How much this costs, then?"

"Two pesos ang suman, five pesos ang bibingka. Fourteen pesos lang babayaran mo!"

"That cheap? Ang mura naman."