<code 1>: Infinite Loop;

Chapter 2

Syntra's POV

Weeks had passed and our midterms had finally finished, and with that, at least nabawasan na ang mga gumugulo sa isip ko. For the first time in weeks, I could actually breathe a little—wala munang exams. "Muna" kasi mat finals pa kami. Pero finally, I could shift my focus entirely to something I've been dying to prepare for, whis is the hackathon.

We seriously need to prepare for this event. Hindi ako papayag— never, that we'll lose to that so-called genius from N.U., Tyrix Morvain. Kahit pa siya pa ang sinasabi nilang top coder ng buong university nila.

Akala niya kasi—well, assuming lang, pero feel ko talaga, na porket number one siya, siya na agad ang pinakamagaling sa lahat. Tsk. Kanya-kanyang yabang din 'yan.

Actually, hindi ko nga alam kung bakit ba ang init ng dugo ko agad sa kaniya. I mean, I haven't even met the guy. Ni picture nga niya, wala akong idea. No socials, no nothing.

Pero baka naman kasi overhyped lang ng mga taga-N.U.? Tipong sinasabi lang nilang gwapo o astig para matakot agad ang competitors? Hmm. Kung ganun, sorry nalang sa kanila dahil hindi ako madaling ma-intimidate.

"Okay class," ani Miss May. "Tomorrow, we will have a review for the Data Structures module five, which is all about queues and stacks. There will be a short quiz, so please study."

Narinig ko ang mga maliliit na sigaw ng mga kakalse ko at napangiti naman ako. Our 1st year here is so tiring and draining but it was fun.

"You may now leave the class," she continued. "Don't forget to turn off your computers. And you, Ms. Verelle, I need to talk to you."

Napatingin ako agad sa kaniya, nag-nod nalang in acknowledgment. I stayed behind, watching as one by one, my classmates started logging off and leaving the lab. I waited for the quiet hum of the computers to die down.

Kasama kong nagpaiwan si Aunix, of course. Since kasama ko siya sa team, I guess okay lang naman na marinig niya rin 'yung sasabihin ni Miss May.

Pagkaalis ng lahat, I approached her desk with confident steps. "Miss, malalaman na po ba namin ang theme ng event?" tanong ko agad, diretso sa point. Ayoko ng paligoy-ligoy kasi excited na excited na ako malaman kung anong bubuuin naming system.

Miss May gave us a small smile. "Yes. And the theme is mental health tech. Alam niyo naman siguro what that means—you need to build a real-time system that allows users to support or improve mental health in any way. Since it's Mental Health Awareness Month, they thought it was a relevant theme, kahit medyo late na dahil July pa ang event."

"Ohhh," I breathed out, and I swear I could feel the lightbulb flicker on inside my head. My brain was already sprinting through ideas faster than my fingers could ever type. "That's Interesting, Miss."

That was interesting. Super interesting.

Psychology has always been one of my what-if paths—isa sa mga option programs ko dati before I went full throttle sa tech. Hindi ko man siya pinili, it never really left my system. It's like this quiet background process running in my brain, always analyzing, always observing.

I never pursued it, but I've always had this insatiable curiosity about how people work. What makes someone tick? Bakit may taong ang dali ma-trigger, habang ang iba parang laging composed? What breaks people? And more importantly—what puts them back together?

There's something thrilling about understanding how someone's mind twists and turns... parang puzzle na may emotions, with no fixed solution. Walang one-size-fits-all. Every person is a unique algorithm made of traumas, memories, habits, and dreams.