RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

CHAPTER 12: MARKED

"By sacrificing us?" tanong ko. "Hindi sila gumagawa ng paraan para tulungan tayo. Paano kung hindi ikaw na may alam sa ganitong bagay ang nasa quarantine? Ibig sabihin ay walang mangyayaring mga test. I'm just lucky because you're isolated, too."

"Should we sacrifice the majority then?" tanong niya sa akin.

Napabuga na lamang ako ng hangin. Sa tingin ko ay hindi ako mananalo kung si Trench ang kausap ko.

"Hindi ka ba natatakot?" biglang tanong ko. I was surprised to myself that I was able to ask that question.

"About what?"

"About this big problem we're facing now." Dahil ako? Natatakot ako. Paano kung bilang na lang pala ang mga araw ko? Mamamaalam na ako sa mga pangarap ko sa buhay. Goodbye to the slot of being an official. Goodbye to all my ideals about feminism and equality. Goodbye to everything.

"The biggest problem in life isn't the problem itself, but how we act upon it. Face it or not, may problemang darating and we shouldn't fret upon it. We have to act," wika niya.

Bahagya akong humanga sa pinagsasabi niya. Trench Grande Mariano think so maturely that it also got me thinking to a lot of things.

"I'm Sunny. Sunny Gallego," I blurted out. Nagtatakang napatingin siya sa akin. "You never call me by my name so I thought you didn't know. It's Sunny."

"I know."

Napatitig ako sa kanya. Alam niya ang pangalan ko? "A-Alam mo?"

Tumango siya sa akin. "I gave you your admission letter on your first day here. You made a buzz by topping the activity conducted by the alumni, and you won an annoying and silly bet with someone from regular class. You also helped a dying man. Your name is known, who wouldn't know your name?"

Bahagya akong napangiti. I don't know but I feel like it's a positive recognition. I made my name known in a good way somehow.

"And oh," dagdag ni Trench. "You're a talk of town because of the fact that you're Jean-Claude's sibling but you almost flunk the aptitude test at ngayon ay nasa prep class."

Now, that's not positive. At bakit masyadong big deal dahil kapatid ako ni Jean-Claude?

"Who exactly is my brother here?" tanong ko sa kanya. "I mean dito sa Academy?"

"Your brother used to be a Royal," wika ni Trench. "He doesn't work hard to secure his spot, he just did what he wanted to do. Kagaya mo ay matigas din ang ulo niya. He could take the first spot on the Royals but he didn't want to. He's truly one of the bests. He's more into biotechnology gaya ko, at isa siya sa mga hinahangaan ko."

Sa madaling salita ay idol niya si Jean-Claude. Really, my brother is that smart?