Chemistry Between A Paper And A Ruler

I rolled my eyes.

Tumatawa parin si Sunny habang nakasandal sa railings. Bian snorted at our friend. Drey's also laughing kaya napaikot nalang ulit ako ng mata.

Ang saya nila.

Nasa loob sina Trina pero nakangisi rin.

"Tahimik na", bulong ko na dahilan ng pagtawa ni Sunny lalo.

"Maliit ka daw? Grade 7?", tawa pa nila.

Umiling nalang ako at tinignan ang mga nasa baba. I'm still pissed, but Sunny's laugh makes me much more pissed.

Nagsisisi na tuloy akong ikinuwento sa kanila ang tungkol sa nangyari sa supply office noong nag-enroll kami.

It was a very hot afternoon. Kararating lang noon ni Sunny galing sa senior high campus. Tinukso pa nga namin dahil kasama niya si Lara. Tapos iniwan pa namin sa accounting office kaharap sina Lara at Gab na nagtatawanan.

Nagpaalam si Trina na susunduin si Ever mula sa gate. Baka daw kasi maligaw kaya naiwan ako roon.

I was left in the middle of the line, holding three book receipts.

Siksikan roon, at halos magkapalitan na ng mukha ang iba. Samu't-saring amoy rin ang lumilipad sa hangin. I scrunched my nose upon the smell.

"Ang haba ng pila", someone murmured from behind.

Napatingin rin tuloy ako sa pila. May sampu pang tao sa unahan ko. Sakto namang paglingon ko sa nasa harap ko ay nagkatulakan kaya muntik pa akong matumba.

Good thing that the person behind me held my shoulders from my back and pushed me back. Itinayo niya ako nang maayos bago dinuro ang nasa harap ko.

"Umayos nga kayo. May bata sa likod niyo. Pa'no pag nasugatan niyo 'tong Grade 7?"

My eyes widened.

Grade 7? The audacity!

I looked at my uniform and pushed my necktie higher for them to see. Pero hindi ako pinansin ng mga ito. They just continued to argue.

"Sorry na. Eto kasi, Master."

"Anong ako? Ulol!"

The man standing behind me pointed at them again. "Umayos kayo."

Lumingon ako sa kanya. He's really tall and his curly hair makes him stand out. I scoffed and said, "Hindi ako bata."

"Hindi daw siya bata- Huh?"

Napatingin sa akin ang lalaki. Confusion flashed on his face before his eyes landed on my necktie. Inangat ko rin ang ID ko para ipakita ang tatak sa lace na Senior High.

"Senior High ka na?", aniya, hindi makapaniwala. I rolled my eyes which made him smile awkwardly at me. "Senior High ka pala. Sorry, batchmate."

I rolled my eyes again and snorted. "Yeah, right", I murmured before looking in front again.

The two other guys in front of me looked skeptical. Pero agad din nakabawi at humarap sa unahan bago pasimpleng nagtawanan.

I took my phone out, wanting to chat Trina and Ever to get back here faster. But instead, I saw Sunny messaged.

Sunny Guevara
I hate enrollments...

Of course. She's with the lovebirds. Her heart is breaking for sure.

I smirked and typed in.

Maryjoy Andrade
Me too, girl. Me too.

I sighed. Napapikit ako at nilanghap ang hangin. It smells like burned rice again, surely it's from the canteen.

"Si Yan oh", rinig kong biglang bulong ni Sunny.

Napamulat rin tuloy ako ng mata. And below us, in front of the hallway, the tall and athletic Yan is standing with his friends.

Yan is Trina's crush in the STEM 2 class. She's Sunny's friend so it is easier for them to interact. We're actually trying to make things work  between Yan and Trina.

"Yan!", tawag ni Sunny sa kaibigan.

My eyes roamed on Yan's friend when they all turned to us.

Gosh! The tall and curly haired man is with Yan! Does this mean that they're friends?

No way.

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CBAPAAR