Serenity Hiraya
"Good morning, HUMSS A!"
Napalingon ako sa pinto nang marinig ko ang familiar na boses ni Violet. Hindi pa siya tuluyang nakakapasok ng pinto pero rinig na rinig na agad 'yung boses niya.
Nang magtama ang paningin namin ay agad siyang tumakbo papunta sa direksyon ko na agad ko rin namang sinalubong.
"AAAA! HIRAYA MARIE!" Excited niyang tili. Wala naman talagang Marie sa pangalan ko, gustong-gusto niya lang talagang dugtungan. "Miss na miss kita!"
Malakas akong tumawa dahil sa itsura niya. Nakanguso kasi si gaga na akala mo hindi nabigyan ng candy. Tapos, nagpapa cute pa siya sa akin.
"Hindi naman kita na-miss," biro ko.
"What?! How dare you?! Matapos kitang dalhan ng chocolate galing sa Japan?! Hindi mo ako miss?!" Madrama niyang tanong.
Bago pa ako makapagsalita ay naglabas na siya ng isang balot na Matcha KitKat galing sa tote bag niya at ipinakita sa akin.
"Ito naman, hindi ka mabiro! Syempre naman miss na miss kita. Nangungulila nga ako sa'yo e." Mabilis kong binawi ang sinabi ko bago kinuha sa kanya ang chocolates kahit hindi niya pa nabibigay.
Malaki ang ngiti kong bumalik sa upuan habang siya ay pinuntahan ang ibang kaibigan namin. Syempre, sobrang ingay na naman. Kami lang yata 'yung maingay sa room. Ilang buwan ba naman kasing hindi nagkita. Huli kaming nagkasama-sama ay noong enrollan pa. Pagkatapos non ay hindi na ulit nasundan.
"OMG, Cassandra Mae! Namiss din kita!" Bati niya kay Cass na obviously, wala namang Mae sa pangalan.
"Hello, Violet! Kumusta summer?" Natatawang bati niya rito.
"Sis ano, grade 11 na tayo tapos hindi mo pa rin alam paano bigkasin pangalan ko?!" Iritang tanong ni Violet kay Cassandra.
I was just watching them while eating my matcha. I was laughing my ass when I saw how pissed Violet was. Nung first day kasi ng JHS ay iba ang pronunciation ni Cass sa sa pangalan ni Violet. Ginagamit niya 'yon pang-asar doon sa isa.
"Va-yo-let nga ang pronunciation. Ang kulit!"
"Ayan sige ma stress ka diyan hanggang sa masiraan ka ng bait." It was Marcus.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Sis, bawal bumoses kapag Marcus pangalan."
"Bawal ako sagutin kapag hindi part ng primary colors ah," natatawang sagot ni Marcus.
"Ew, walang originality 'yung joke," parinig ni Cassandra kay Marcus.
Natigilan kaming mag-usap nang may pumasok na lalaking naka gray na jacket. Hindi namin masyadong kita ang mukha niya dahil natatakpan ito ng hoodie niya.
"Ay familiar siya. 'Yan yata 'yung kasama nila Iñigo nung enrollment? 'Yan yata 'yung pinsan nunf isang friend nila? Hindi ko sure," bulong ni Violet.
Syempre, hindi rin nagpahuli si Marcus. "Ay mga beh, mukhang pogi."
I observed his movements and watched him like a hawk.
Nang tanggalin niya ang hood ng kanyang jacket ay halos tumili si Marcus sa tabi ko.
Well, he looks good. Nakakaagaw ng atensyon 'yung makapal niyang kilay. Iyon ang unang mapapansin sa kanya. He also has tan skin and he's a tall guy.
"OMG, ang exciting na ng SHS ko. Grabe, first day pa lang may blessings na, TYL!" Bulong din ni Cassandra.
"Finally, may potential inspiration na ako ngayong year," I joked.
"Gaga! Humanap ka ng iba! Pwede bang sa'kin na 'yan, girl?" Si Marcus. Hinampas niya pa ako nang bahagya sa braso.
"Aray!" Sigaw ko. Napalingon tuloy 'yung lalaki dahil doon. "I'm just joking, bitch. Bawal ako sa any distraction ngayong year," dugtong ko sa mas mahinang boses na.
Pinagmamasdan ko lang siya habang nag-d-daydream ang mga kaibigan ko sa kanya. Hawak niya lang ang kanyang cellphone at mukhang may ka-chat.
Matapos nilang pagkwentuhan 'yung classmate namin ay nagpaalam silang may pupuntahan lang sa kabilang section kaya tumango lang ako. Instead of following them, I busied myself reading and reviewing the printed modules that I did. Advance study, para hindi ako magulat kung biglang may magpa recitation.
Pagbalik ni Violet ay halos magsalubong ang kilay niya nang makita akong nagbabasa.
"OMG! First day of school, Hiraya! Ano 'yan?! Bakit ka nagbabasa?"
"Advance reading?"
"The hell?! Wala pa ngang lessons! You really want to graduate as valedictorian, huh?"
I smiled at her words. She's right. Of course, I do not plan to ruin the list of my achievements. I want to graduate With Highest Honors again. Besides, I need this because I have a deal with my grandma, I cannot let it slide.
Yes, I've made up my mind. Papayag ako sa deal ni lola dahil iyon ang pagkakataon kong makita si mommy sa Australia.
"Who wouldn't?" Sagot ko nalang sa kanya.
"Me!" She even raised her hand. "Okay na ako basta pasado, hehe."
Ilang minuto pa ay dumating na ang unang teacher namin. Natahimik ang lahat nang pumasok siya at inilapag sa table ang dala niyang libro.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Mr. Enriquez and I am your adviser. I will also be your teacher in Creative Writing for this semester..." our teacher started introducing himself.
Sinulat niya ang pangalan sa board bago siya nag attendance. We also learned that he'll be our adviser for this school year. Pagkatapos ng attendance ay introduce yourselves na agad.
At dahil letter A ang surname ko, pang lima ako sa magsasalita.
"Okay now let me call Añasco. Añasco Hiraya? Wow, I like your name."
I walked to the front while fixing my short hair. I adjusted my glasses before facing my classmates.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Serenity Hiraya Trinidad Añasco. You can call me Raya or Hiraya and I am 16 years old. I love books, coffee shops, and museums, while reading is my favorite thing to do. I chose the HUMSS strand because I want to be a famous journalist and writer someday."
I looked at Mr. Enriquez and I saw him smiling at my introduction.
"Thank you for that, Añasco..." He looked at the paper again. "Next is Alvarez."
Tumayo si 'yung lalaki kanina bago pumunta sa harap.
Oh, wow. Alvarez 'yung surname niya?
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Kenji Steven Alvarez. You can call me Steb or Kenj, whichever you like. I am 17 years old and I love coffee. I'm originally from Bicol but we just moved here recently. The reason why I chose HUMSS was because my mom wants me to become a Public Attorney. I also love reading books and documentaries."
I was amazed with how he introduced himself. And what? He also loves reading? I feel like he'll be a great friend at magkakasundo agad kami.
Matapos ang introduction ay muling tumayo si sir sa harap. Mayroon pa naman daw kaming 20 minutes kaya nag decide siyang magsimula ng debate.
I smirked. Good, I did not win the debate competition last year for nothing.
"Since our subject is Creative Writing, how about we debate about what's easier to write. Creative fiction or nonfiction? I think aware naman kayo kung anong meaning ng fiction and nonfiction, right?"
Sumagot kami sa agad. Madali lang pala 'to, e.
Tinuro niya 'yung side namin, "this side is fiction then the other side will be nonfiction. I will decide whose group is exempt from the first quiz."
I smirked when I heard that. Perfect quiz number one, here I come.
I immediately raised my right hand. Agad naman akong na recognize ni sir kaya mabilis akong tumayo.
"Sir, we all know that it's easier to write creative fiction. It's because when we say fiction, it means the work is a product of the author's imagination. This gives us freedom to write anything we want to write. Besides, there are a lot of genres including sci-fi and fantasy, in which we can express our thoughts, even the unimaginable ones."
Nagpalakpakan 'yung mga nasa side ko. Some are even cheering and 'yung iba ay naghihiyawan pa.
"'Yun oh! Baka kaibigan ko 'yan! Exempted na tayo sa quiz one!" Cassandra cheered.
Then, Alvarez raised his hand for a rebut. I raised my brow because of it.
It's the first time that I met someone—a transferee who's active on the first day of class.
"Well... miss, I'm afraid I won't agree with your statement. You said that there are a lot of genres including sci-fi and fantasy, but have you forgotten that creative fiction does not only focus on writing books or novels? May I remind you that poetries, song lyrics, and memoirs are part of creative fiction? How would you put unimaginable thoughts in that? See, that's where we conclude that nonfiction is easier to write. All you have to do is search for facts and evidence that you can put to your work and you're done," he smirked at me.
Nagkagulo naman 'yung mga nasa side niya at nakipag apir naman siya sa kanila. May friends na agad siya?
I raised my brow once again. Wow, hinahamon niya ba ako? Well, if I'm being honest, I haven't thought about that. He has a point pero syempre hindi ako magpapatalo. Besides, mas maganda kaya 'yung point ko.
I raised my hand again before speaking. "You said it yourself, we need to base on factual events and gather evidence to support our work when writing non fiction. Hindi ba doon pa lang mahirap na? It's hard to find this kind of information, plus, you need to look out for fake news. This will take you a lot of time, thus, it is one reason why fiction is easier to write. Hindi mo na kailangan ng facts because your imaginations are enough."
He stood up. "How sure are you? Haven't you heard about figurative language and imagery? It seems like you're not listening to your Junior High lessons, Ms. Añasco. In order to write a successful creative fiction, you need to consider a lot of elements including figures of speech, imagery, and even rhyming when writing them. We all know that it's hard. This only proves that writing nonfiction is easier because you don't need to consider these things. Also, you can't just write creative fiction without basing from facts and truths, miss. Does it mean that it's alright for you to write such fiction that has a risk of passing fake news to your readers?"
What the hell?
I take it back, I don't want to be friends with him. I am also officially rejecting him as my crush.
How dare he? Mukha ba akong hindi nakikinig sa lessons nung JHS?! He's starting to get into my nerves! Hindi ko kasi naisip 'yung mga sinabi niya.
"That's why we have our imagination right? Para rin ma express natin nang maayos 'yung thoughts and ideas natin while writing fiction. And no, Mr. Alvarez, you're wrong. Figurative Language is also used when writing nonfictions. It is called creative nonfiction for a reason. But I guess, hindi mo siya alam?"
Hindi ako nakipagtalo ng titig sa kanya. I was staring at him so I quickly noticed when he raised his eyebrow. His lips stretched into a smirk that made me want to strangle him.
Argh! Nakakainis 'yung ngisi niya! Hindi ako mabilis mapikon... but the way he's looking at me with teasing eyes, gusto ko na lang dukutin ang eyeballs niya.
"You see, Ms. Añasco, hindi lahat ng students kagaya mo. We have different levels of intelligence, meaning not all students can be creative and imaginative as you. Don't be inconsiderate and don't invalidate the things they can't do," he finished our debate with a grin.
"Woo! Ang init ng labanan, jusko! Parang silang dalawa lang 'yung nagsasagutan," I heard my annoying classmate announced that made the whole class laugh.
"Grabe 'yon! 'Yung titigan, 'di ko ma take!"
I rolled my eyes when some of them started to say "ayiee" and "ship."
Ugh, I hate him! Why does he have to be good at this? Fuck, mukhang may kaagaw na ako sa pwesto.
I can't let that happen!
Nagpatuloy ang debate pero this time ay may iba ng boses. Natapos ito side namin ang huling nakapagsalita bago tumunog ang timer ni sir.
"Settle down, class. Since both of the sides had expressed their opinions, I had processed the scores. I'll give the point to this side since they spoke Filipino less than the other side." He then pointed to the other side.
"What?!" I murmured irritably.
Halos kumulo ang dugo ko nang marinig kong chinicheer nila si Alvarez kasi sila 'yung exempted sa quiz. I can't believe we lost the point just because our side used Filipino often! Ang unfair!
"Sir, mas maganda 'yung nagawa kong point." This time, I decided to speak up.
"May I remind you that this is an English class. As much as possible, I want you students to learn how to converse in the English language. The debate earlier was just a practice test to test your speaking and communication skills."
What the?! Akala ko ba kung sinong mas maganda 'yung point? Bakit biglang gano'n? Unfair!
Hindi ako nakikinig kay sir dahil naiinis pa rin ako dahil natalo ang grupo namin. Paglingon ko sa kabilang side ay saktong lumingon din si Alvarez sa side ko na may nakakalokong ngiti sa labi. I raised my brow at him but he just smirked at me and even salute at me with his two fingers.
Argh! Nakakairita!
Ilang araw yata akong badtrip sa tuwing nakikita ko si Alvarez. Lagi pa siyang sumasapaw kapag nag-rerecite ako. It's either kokontrahin niya ang sagot ko or makikipag-agawan siya sa recitation points.
Naging good mood lang ako nung dumating si dada galing sa Cebu after three days.
Pagdating ni dada, dried mangoes agad ang bumungad sa akin. Galing kasi siya sa Cebu dahil kinailangan siya ni engineer doon. He stayed there for three days tapos ngayon lang siya bumalik.
"Really, dada? Dried mangoes?"
"What? Masarap naman ang mangga ah? Nakakakain ka nga ng lasang damo pero 'di ka makakain ng mangga?"
I laughed at his statement. My dada knows how much I love matcha, salungat sa kanya na kape lang ang gusto. He also know that I am not fond of mangoes kaya nagtataka ako bakit ito ang binili niyang pasalubong.
"Serenity, anak. Nabanggit ko na sa'yo 'yung tungkol sa Davao 'di ba? Na may gagawing branch si engineer doon kaya kailangang mag stay nang matagal..."
"Yes po, dada. Anong meron?"
He took a deep breath. "Kailangan ako ni engineer doon habang nandoon siya. Hindi naman ako makatanggi dahil alam mo kung gaano siya kahigpit. Ayokong mawalan ng trabaho, anak. Wala namang problema sa akin kaya lang ikaw ang iniisip ko."
"Dada, I can handle myself naman po. You don't need to worry po."
Hinagkan niya ako at yinakap nang mahigpit. "Syempre hindi ko maiwasang hindi mag-alala, anak. Kapakanan mo pa rin ang iniisip ko. Malayo ang school mo rito sa bahay at alam kong mapapagod ka sa byahe mo araw-araw."
I understand my father. I know what he's talking about. Naisip ko na rin naman 'yon pero hindi pwedeng option na mag resign siya sa trabaho dahil wala kaming ibang aasahan.
"What should we do, dada?"
"Nakausap ko si Tati, naalala mo siya 'di ba?" I hummed as an answer. "Well, nalaman kong malapit lang sa school niyo ang apartment na pinapaupahan niya. Okay lang ba sa'yon mag rent doon, anak?"
"Paano po itong bahay natin? Walang matitira rito?"
He chuckled before messing my hair. "Huwag kang nang mag-alala, si dada na ang bahala. Kung okay lang sa iyo na doon ka muna mag rent, mas okay sa akin. May security doon kaya hindi ko na kailangang mag-alala para sa safety mo. Walking distance lang din kaya hindi ka ma ha-hassle sa pag travel. Naiintindihan mo ba, Serenity?"
"I understand, dada."
He smiled at me before kissing my forehead. "Matulog ka na, late na rin, oh. May pasok ka pa bukas.
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elluneily 🌷🍰🎫