Platonic Hearts (Compass Series #1)

Chapter One

Solace

“1 minute left.”

Nangibabaw ang singhapan ng mga kaklase ko nang tuluyan nang ibinagsak ni sir ang orasan niya. It means the time for the test is done and he’s only giving us an extra minute.

“Shit… shit… kalahati pa lang ‘yung nasagutan ko!” hindi mapakaling pagdadabog ng katabi. She almost throw her papers on the floor while flipping. Bigla siyang napatingin sakin na mabilis ko namang iniwasan. I know where this goes, she better won’t think about it.

“Psst! Aria!”

I shut my eyes firmly. She didn’t get it the first time. Kaya nga ako umiwas ng tingin sa kanya agad, diba? Ayoko namang parating gawin ito sa kanila.

“Aria!” Pabulong niyang tawag ngunit mas malakas na kaysa sa una.

“What?” I mouthed to her before glancing at our teacher. Kung hindi ko pa ‘to papatulan malamang hindi siya titigil sa pagtawag sakin. And I don’t want to get in trouble. From the start, I planned to have a peaceful exam. Pero kapag last minutes nalang, doon ka na talaga gagambalin ng iba.

Napataas pa yung kilay ko nang hindi lang pala siya ang naghihintay sa paglingon ko. There are others behind and beside her that were also peeking on me like giraffes. Napabuntong-hininga ako. Kailan ba magsisipag ang mga ‘to?

“No.” I mouthed to them apologetically. Inunahan ko na sila na ikinabagsak naman ng mga balikat nila. I’m not usually like this and my classmates know that. I often share my answers with them, but this time, it is very risky. Ayoko namang mapahamak kami.

Veronica, my classmate beside me pouted. “Pakopya naman kahit sa last part lang, please--”

“Times up!”

Hindi ko na siya narinig pa nang tumayo na yung prof namin. One by one, he gather the test papers of my classmates in front without asking for their permission. Basta-basta nalang niyang kinuha ang mga iyon kahit na ang iba ay nagsusulat pa. I immediately heard whimpering sounds all over the room.

Napaayos ko ng up bago pinasadahan ng tingin ang sariling papel. I made sure it’s neat and well-written before placing it on my desk properly. The exam was hard, I will give our prof the praise for that. He did warn us last week about this. Sinadya niyang gawing mahirap ang exam para daw ma-encourage naman yung mga kaklase kong magreview. Kaya mas dinoble ko pa ang oras ko para sa pagre-review dito. But I guess for most of my classmates, this didn’t turned out well.

“Omg…” takot na ani ni Veronica sa tabi ko habang tinitigan ang papel niya. “Babagsak na ata ako, Aria.”

Pinilit kong ngumiti sa kanya. I wish I could help, but she did approach me late. No doubt that our course wasn’t easy and I saw how most of them strive to pass everything, that’s why I’m not that selfish with my answers. Pare-pareho man lang kaming sumusubok na mag-survive sa year na’to sa bawat subjects. Magagaling sila, pero mayroon lang talagang mga extra complicated and tricky subjects kagaya ng isang ‘to. Even if you did studied it, you still won’t get the full context of it unless you’ve looked into smaller details.

“Bibigyan kita ng notes sa susunod…” sambit ko nalang sa kanya. She scratched the back of her neck, frustrated before slamming her paper down.

“May kulang ata sa notes ko… I swear I did study! Pero bakit ito ang mga lumabas?” reklamo niya.

“Situational…” Sagot ko sa kanya. “I didn’t expect this too.”

Napaismid siya bago napalabi. “At least may sagot ka. But still! This is so unfair… Dapat sinasabi kung ano ba dapat ang mga pag-aaralan—”