The Heartbeat of Sky

Kabanata 1

Answer

"Go, Millie!!"

Napuno ng sigawan ang loob ng auditorium. The tension is in the air. Kita ko sa sulok ng mata ko ang pagbubulungan ng mga guro at estudyante. Damn it! I am headed by one point. Pero hindi pa rin nakakasiguro. This last question is worth 5 points and I know this will be the death of me. Sa apat na taon kong lumalaban sa quiz bee na ito, lagi kong hindi ko nakukuha ang panghuling tanong. Pero dahil lumalamang naman sa unang round ako pa rin ang nagchachampion. But today is different. Kaya, I don't blame them to scream my name. Pero sana lang ay wag nila kong ipressure dahil hindi sila nakakatulong.

"The final question will determined who will be the champion for this year quiz bee. Is it Milana Clementine Andrada from St. Paul School? Or Sandy Araña from St. Angel School? Okay. Here we go."

This is it, Millie, you got this, calm yourself. Just focus on the question. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang pag tulo ng pawis sa aking noo. Kahit anong alo ko sa sarili ay hindi mabawasan ang kaba ko. Traitor! Pinasadahan ko ng tingin ang mga kaibigan kong nasa harap. They smiled and cheered for me.

"For the last question worth 5 points, here it is, a company piloted a chicken-flavored nail polish?"

What the! What did he say? Chicken what? Agad akong nataranta, wala akong naalalang nag-aral ako ng tungkol sa mga manok! Damn this round. We got 2 minutes to answer and write it down. Nakita ko agad na nagsulat ang kalaban ko sa kanyang answer sheet. You got to be kidding me. I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure about my answer. It's KFC. I remember when my Dad told me about it when we were in a travel vacation in Hongkong. Agad kong tiningnan ang mga tao na nanunuod sa akin. They all waiting for my answer. Lalo akong nanginig, but I need to compose myself. I smiled and pretend to write something. Pero mas lalo akong namutla nang marinig ko ang sigawan nila. Am I letting them down? Walang pag aalinlangan kong sinulat ang KFC. Pero bago ulet ako makapag-isip ay nahagip ng mata ko ang isang kakaibang titig.

His messy hair is kinda distracting, parang kakagising lamang, his pointed nose is screaming perfection together with his perfect almond eyes. Ang pilik-mata nito ay mahaba at bagay na bagay sa mata nito. His eyebrows are in good shape too. Nagmumukhang galit dahil makapal iyon. Dinaig pa ang babae. His lips are always mocking for the smile. Bago ko matanggal ang titig sa kanya ay inangat nito ang kanyang daliri na parang dinilaan. He stood up and wear his hoody, ready to leave. What a piece of crap! Ang bastos na iyon! He licked his finger like he was saying it was good, nakakadi- wait! That's it! I got it right. It's finger-licking good! KFC! And I heard a buzzer.

"Congrats Millie! You never let the school down", the director said.

"Thank you, sir. I thought I didn't make it. I have a record of messing the final round", ngisi ko.

Narinig ko agad ang tili ng mga kaibigan ko. I'm happy that they are happy with my success, on our success. After the competition we headed back to school, it's good to hear that we are exempted na sa remaining subject.

"Where are we tonight?" Charlotte said while grinning. What did you expect, she loves to party and make friends. Halos kakilala na ata niya lahat ng estudyante dito. Nandito kami ngayon sa oval at nakatambay.