Tuesday.
I wasn’t expecting na magiging normal ang takbo ng umagang ‘to. Back to school ang scheme ko. As usual, kasabay ko si Johanna pagpasok sa SAU. Nag-usap kami kagabi, pero ganun pa din. Wala pa rin akong sinasabi sa kanya.
Sa totoo lang, masyado talaga akong nawei-weirduhan sa sobrang pagkanormal ng araw na ‘to. Wala kasing nagtatanong kung bakit ako absent. Maski ‘yung class adviser namin na si Mr. Marquez.
Nakakatawang isipin na I’m finding it weird. ‘Di ba dapat nga matuwa pa ‘ko? Pero… I was not around for a week—and a day. How come no one wouldn’t ask me about my absence?
English time. Alas, may kumausap na din sa’kin.
Bago pa pumasok si Ms. Alecks, lumapit sa’kin si Natasha.
“Umm… hey, Ember.”
“Yes?”
She handed me a piece of paper. “May project tayo sa English. Exam lang kasi natin ‘yung play, meaning to say, hindi pa included ‘yung project dun.”
“Ah, I see.” I took the paper. Nakasulat ‘yung gagawin namin for the project. By two’s pala ‘yun. Kami ni Natasha ‘yung magkagrupo.
“By the way,” she flattened her hands on the table of my arm chair, “si Ms. Alecks ‘yung pumili ng mga magkakagrupo.”
“Umm, yeah. Nasabi ‘yun ni Johanna sakin pero nalimutan niya na daw kasi kung sino ‘yung kagrupo ko.”
“Okay. Just text me if you need anything.” Bumalik na siya sa upuan niya.
I find it awkward to talk to her, pero wala naman akong magagawa. Naalala ko ‘yung nangyari sa’min sa isang Chinese restaurant sa Cavite. Sobrang intense ‘yung sagutan nila ni Prince. I wonder if she feels better now.
“Good morning, class.” Pumasok na si Ms. Alecks. We greeted her back.
“So, how’s the play?”
Half of the class looked at me.
Wow. Kung kelan ko ba naman hindi in-e-expect ‘yung attention nila, dun ko pa mafee-feel. Is this some kind of a joke?
“Well…” Ms. Alecks checked the attendance, “hello, Ms. Horel. It’s nice to see you back.”
I flashed an awkward smile at her.
“Are you ready to practice now?”
“Guess so.”
“Good.” She smiled at me. “Class, I’m giving you time now. And, anyway, I want you to know that your play might be moved. The High School Department is getting ready for the council campaign. Oh, and by the way, I hope you guys have already decided if you’re going to run for a position or not.”
Nagpaalam na siya tapos naiwan na naman ‘yung klase naming na kami-kami lang.
“Okay,” Gertrude speaks up, “let’s start the practice.”
Nagpraktis kami sa auditorium. Dun kasi kami mismo magp-play. Malaki siya. Kasya siguro mga isang libong tao sa loob. Mga 45-50 ft. yung taas niya, hindi ako sigurado masyado. Ito na rin siguro ‘yung pinakamalamig na parte ng SAU. Malakas kasi masyado ‘yung aircon eh.
Inabot sa’kin ni Candice ‘yung script ko.
“Thank you,” I smiled at her.
She smiled back. “’Wag ka na a-absent, ah?”Niyakap niya ko.
“Susubukan ko.” Biniro ko siya.
“’Di na a-absent ‘yan.”
Psssh. Si Ice.
