I Could Fall

Chapter Nine

They began to stand up. Mukhang alam na agad nila kung sino ang makakagrupo. Pati si Dashiel ay nakatayo na at papunta na sa akin. We'll be groupmates, of course.

"Can I be in your group?" Atticus asked beside me.

"Of course!" I happily nodded and glanced at Dashiel when he reached our seats. Humila na ito ng isang upuan para umupo malapit sa amin. "Dashiel, tatlo na tayo! Sino pa kaya ang pwede?"

I looked around to find anyone who's still available. My eyes landed on Ruth and Cynthia who are walking towards us with slightly flushed cheeks and bright eyes. Hindi sila sa akin nakatingin kundi sa dalawang lalaki na kasama ko. Hmm...

"Uy, magkaka-group kayo?" Cynthia asked, eyeing the two guys before looking at me.

"Oo," sagot ko dahil mukhang walang plano sumagot ang dalawa.

"Wow. Ayos lang ba kung sumali kami, Atticus?" Ruth asked. She was blatantly staring at Atticus.

Hope and admiration was shining through her eyes. Alam na alam ko
tingin na 'yon. Those are two things that I'm so familiar with. She likes him.

Hindi ako sumagot dahil hindi naman ako ang tinanong. I just kept my mouth shut and brought out my pad from the bag. I'm just gonna write down my name.

"Hyon," Atticus called. I looked at him while unzipping my bag. "Is it okay if they group with us?"

Tumango ako rito at matapos ay ngumiti sa dalawa naming kaklase. "Okay lang sa akin."

"Thanks, Hyon!" Cynthia replied before settling down on the vacant chair in front of us. Tumabi naman sa kanya ang tuwang-tuwa na si Ruth.

"So, anong scene ang maganda at madaling i-drawing?" Cynthia started with the discussion.

"Wala akong maisip," si Ruth.

I slowly wrote down my name with a nice and clean cursive.

"Hyon, write my name for me," Dashiel ordered.

"Okay po," I instantly answered without looking up. I was expecting him to ask that.

Atticus cleared his throat. "Ako rin, please," he coarsely said.

My eyes raised to him. I gave him a smile and nodded. "Okay."

"Hello? May suggestions kayo para sa scene?" Cynthia asked again. "Wala akong maisip. Hindi ko pa kasi nababasa ng buo."

Itinuloy ko ang sulat at matapos ay inabot na ang papel kay Ruth para sila na ang magsulat ng pangalan nila.

"Uh. Yung meeting ni Basilio at Simoun sa puno ng Balete? It will be easy to do kasi dalawa lang characters," I suggested. I can already vividly visualize each frame.

"Sige. Yun na lang. Anong kabanata 'yon? Magpasa na tayo baka kasi maunahan pa tayo ng iba," sabi ni Cynthia.

"Seven. Si Simoun ang title," sagot ko.

Hanggang ten pa lang kasi ang nababasa ko habang sa discussion naman ay nasa chapter four pa lang kami. The Filipino subject alternates between El Fili and Sambotani.

Agad na isinulat 'yon ni Cynthia at matapos ay nagmamadaling tumayo para ipasa sa harap ang papel namin. Bumalik din agad para makapagsimula na kami sa meeting.

"Kailangan muna natin basahin ang kabanata bago makapag-brainstorm. We should plan first on where we'll do it and when?" Ruth stated.

"We can do it during the allotted meetings," Dashiel said.

"Parang hindi yata kaya ng dalawang meetings tapos two hours lang?" Cynthia stated.

I nodded in agreement. Hindi talaga. Unless we work individually at home which is not ideal since it's a group work.