Snippets of Our Future (Commit and Run Series #2)

Chapter 15

When I slid my phone on my pants, I noticed that Uno was now making his way upstairs. Nasa gilid pa ako ng hagdan dahil napahinto pala ako dahil kausap ko si Prezie. 

He looked confused about what room to enter. I almost laughed at his reaction especially when his brow started to furrow. 

I cleared my throat. "That room, you can use the bathroom if you want to. Feel at home, I'll just be downstairs if you need anything." Ngumiti ako ng kaunti habang nakapamulsa. 

He nodded. "Thanks. I'll... go now." He turned his back on me. I even heard him letting out a deep breath. He must've been stressed from the long ride. Bitbit niya pa naman ang backpack niya. 

Nang makababa ako, nakita ko si Lyndex na parang nagbabasa ng libro sa sofa at may sinusulat sa papel. Nag-aaral pala 'to? Akala ko pa naman ay puro paglalaro lang siya. Masyado kasing makulit. 

Nang makalapit ako sa sofa ay hindi ko maiwasang tapunan siya ng tingin. I am amazed when I learned that the book he was reading is not the usual book given by the school. Ibang libro ang hawak niya, at math pa. Mas maliit 'yon kumpara sa karaniwang laki ng mga libro na pinamimigay. 

Matalino nga, ang bilis magsulat ng solution sa math. Parang isang tingin niya lang, calculated na agad sa utak niya. 

Hindi niya yata napansin na nakatingin ako sa kaniya at nasa sofa na rin kaya bumoses na ako. "Anong grado ka na ba?" 

Bahagya siyang nagulat nang bigla akong magtanong. "Grade ten pa lang. Ikaw?" He asked back.

Tumango ako. "Second year college." I rested my hands on my waist. "You must be really smart. Math contest tayo?" pagyayaya ko.

"Ha?" he asked confusedly. "Anong laban ko sa 'yo, eh, mukhang kumakain ka rin naman ng formulas at equations!" 

I laughed at his rebuttal. This boy really. "Hindi naman, at mukhang. . ." I eyed the equations in his book. "I think, nakalimutan ko na rin ang mga basics ko, eh." Kunwaring tanong ko. 

"Hmm, sige. Tutal, parang gusto ko rin ang mga contest. Pero easy lang, ah? Bata pa ako at baka lapagan mo ako ng engineering questions. Mahinatay pa ako!" 

Damn, he's overreacting now. Ganito rin ba ang Kuya niya? I've seen Uno being annoying and loud but not like this. Hmm, let's see for the next few days if I can see him being like this. 

We really did begin to have a computational contest. At first, it was an easy one since it was just a normal competition. Pero habang tumatagal, nagiging mahirap. Humantong pa sa pagkakaroon ng timer kung sino ang talagang pinakamabilis matapos sa limang equation. 

I defeated him twice but he defeated me thrice! I should go back to grade school. I am a bit confused with some basics. Pero hindi naman ako ganito kapag nasa klase ako, ngayon lang siguro dahil hindi ako nag-aaral masyado. . . pero kahit naman hindi, ganoon pa rin. Bahala na. 

Tinuturuan ko siya ng mga shortcut or easier way to solve some problems and how to organize his solution. I taught him how to use the GUFSA method and then, he would give me some explanation on some basics. Iba kasi ang method at format niya. 

We remained that way. Nakaupo kami sa sahig habang nag-aaral. Nagmukha na tuloy kaming magkaklase. When I was waiting for him to answer the question, I narrowed my eyes into the living room. 

Nakita kong pababa si Uno mula sa kwarto ko. Nang makita niyang magkatabi kami ng kapatid niyang busy sa pagso-solve, hindi na siya lumapit. Nagtama pa ang mga mata namin pero agad rin siyang dumiretso sa kusina kung nasaan sila Manang. 

They are busy checking the ingredients. Nandito na rin ang ilan sa mga kaibigan niya. Nakipag-usap siya roon, kaya binalingan ko nalang ang kapatid niya.