***
Bleau Margarette Robinson's Point of View
Lumapad ang ngiti ko habang nakatingin sa uniform ko. It was pretty.
Siguradong late na ako but it doesn't bother me. Okay lang naman daw kasi 'yun sabi ni Ms. Valentine para sa mga tulad kong transferee.
Yeah about that, I've researched as well, that they rarely accept transferees. Curious tuloy ako sa ginawa ni lady Mauris ko para makapasok ulit ako dito.
Nagtungo muna ako sa Room 109 bago pumunta sa classroom ko for the second subject. Excited na ako sa magiging Classmates ko for this sem. I'm sure they're nice. Sana.
"Ms. Austerman what can you say about the situa—Oh excuse me, I think we have some visitors in here."
Ngumiti ako sa papalapit na teacher na hindi alintana ang pagkaputol ng discussion noong lumitaw ako. Maamo ang kanyang mukha. Halatadong mabait at easy.
But on second thought, looks can be deceiving. No matter how that phrase seems cliché' it is still relevant.
"Hello Ms." aniya sa himig na naghahanap ng dugtong
"Ms. Robinson Maam. I'm sorry I was late medyo nahirapan po kasi akong hanapin itong classroom." I immediately said at pormal na yumukod. I'd like to smile some more, but the girl I saw in the parking lot is inside our classroom, sitting beside her are I think her friends from earlier.
If I'm not mistaken, two sections per level ang inaaccomodate dito sa Andromeda, students are sorted randomly. That works for Middle School and High School learners so there's a total of twelve advisory classrooms here for learners.
"Okay. So ikaw pala 'yung transferee. Please, join us."
Pinapasok ako ng teacher at ipinakilala sa mga taong nandoon sa klase. Iginala ko ang tingin ko sa paligid estimated 30+ ang population namin sa section na ito. Majority ay mga lalaki and most of them nakita ko na kanina sa school grounds.
The room doesn't look like a typical classroom na puno ng charts o kung ano ano pa, it's more like of a convention hall which can only accommodate 60 people at maximum with extravagant carvings on every corner. Well, the corners have pillars.
The walls were clean and smooth in texture—probably a porcelain tile in the shade of hazelnut clad on the very foundation of the walls. The ceilings don't just have a single lamp. It contains many—all enclosed in a glass shade colored in buttermilk or cream.
"Welcome back to Andromeda Spring Academy Ms. Robinson. You can sit anywhere you want."
Naghanap ako ng bakanteng upuan. Mayroon doon sa may bandang kaliwa, second row, kaya doon na ako naupo.
Mukhang nagulat naman ang mga kaklase ko noong marinig nila ang salitang 'back'. Understandable naman iyun dahil hindi ko naman nakita halos karamihan sa kanila doon sa Andromeda noong Elementary ako.
In fact dadalawa na nga lang ang estudyante na natira dito na nagmula sa Andromeda, sina Ashton at Wolf na parehong kaklase ko rin ngayon. Pero dahil sa bumalik ako, tatlo na kami.
"So going back to our discussion Ms. Austerman what can you say about the case?"
Tumayo ang tinatawag ni Maam na si Ms. Austerman. At 'di na 'ko nagulat na si Fritz iyun, dahil nakaramdam na naman ako ng kaba, kaklase ko rin pala siya. She was saying something I couldn't grasp noong napalingon ako sa katabi ko.
She was pretty, automatic rin ang smile at paglahad niya ng kamay sa akin
"Hi I'm Gayla and this is Privo we're both Crushers." Siniko niya ang lalaking katabi niya, lumingon ito sa akin at tumango.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Bleau."
"Sabay ka mamaya sa amin maglunch" Pinal na sabi niya bago nakinig ulit sa discussion. Nakinig na rin ako pero kaunti lang ang nakuha ko.
"..We can frequently observe the relevance of their statements. So technically the error is in the argument itself. That's all Maam." panapos ni Fritz
Pinigilan ko naman ang sarili ko sa pagtaas ng kamay at pagkamot ng ulo. Ang pathetic ng dating ko. Gawd! Kaunti na nga lang ang napakinggan, nagkataong sa last part pa ng sagot.
"Impressive Ms. Austerman you may now take your seat."
"Now guys I want you to remember that—"
"Ang talino talaga ni Fritz." mahinang sabi ni Gayla.
Agree ako doon, matalino nga si Fritz. Kahit konti lang ang nadinig ko, kumbinsido akong matalino si Fritz.
I heaved a sigh before staring at Fritz, I could feel that she was an alpha woman with her aura but my intuition didn't go along with it. She has something I could not name and I'm not liking it. Besides, it is still too early to conclude that she's dangerous or what. I just got here.
"Intimidating nga lang." sabad ni Privo. I breathe out again, agree rin ako roon.
The two continued to stare at me, noticing perhaps how heavy that exhalation was. Nagsmile na lang ako sa kanila.
Deep down I was thankful I'm not the only to get that aura from Fritz. Dahil kung ako lang talaga, I'd really think na naiiba ako sa kanila. Buti na lang hindi.
But then again, it could also be na hindi lang ako sanay, Gawd! I didn't know going back was this hard. It's supposed to be easy, but it isn't.
Dalawang regular classes pa ang hinarap ko bago tumunog ang bell para sa lunch. Gaya ng napag usapan, sumabay ako kina Gayla maglunch.
Sumabay rin sa amin si Wolf at ipinakilala nila ako sa iba pang mga crusher na kaklase namin. Nalaman ko rin na si Wolf ang Alpha ng Crusher, kaya marami ang ilag sa kanya. Like he's the head of the pack. Cool.
By 3:30 in the afternoon, tapos na ang lahat ng klase kaya nag-uunahan ang mga estudyante sa paglabas ng classroom.
"Careful" I held tighter on Ashton's collar as a group of students came rushing through the door.
Napatitig ako sa mukha niya. Ashton's blue eyes is strikingly beautiful in the afternoon rays. Ang gwapo niya na ngayon kumpara sa dati. Improving ang ngipin dahil kompleto na, though he cut his hair, dati kasi mahaba iyun.
"Stay on the sides next time," dagdag niya pagkatapos akong mahila sa isang gilid.
Nanatili akong nakatitig sa mukha niya. Ashton is an old friend, we are part of the pioneering batch of Andromeda Spring Academy. Back then this was still a simple Montessori school.
"Halika na Bleau" Untag sa akin ni Gayla kaya napalingon ako sa gawi niya. Medyo alanganin ang tingin niya, maybe because nasa likod ko si Ashton . Hindi rin nakaligtas sa akin ang pagblush niya noong lumabas ito ng classroom.
Napangisi ako especially when frown covered Privo's face. He immediately went out of the Classroom leaving Gayla and me behind. Humabol kaming dalawa ni Gayla sa kanya.
Gosh! He walked so fast. He was already in the intersection when we managed to catch up.
"Why are you so quick Privo? Saan ba tayo pupunta? Tapos na ang klase hindi ba?"
I shouted. The two of us are walking behind him. Ang haba ng biyas niya so his strides are much faster and bigger. Privo's shoulder length chestnut hair is bouncing. Tinanggal niya kasi ang pagkakatali noon sa pagiging man bun.
"Kaya nga kailangan na nating umalis—Hey! Why are you smiling like that?"
I rolled my eyes.
"I ain't smiling. Teka saan ba tayo pupunta? Uuwi?"
Napakamot siya ng ulo. Mukhang napipikon pa rin.
"Oo nga pala"
Si Gayla ang nagsalita para sagutin ang tanong ko.
"May training pa tayo. Lahat ng students dito sa Andromeda may training after class. 'Yun nga lang by Pack ang training dito kaya lahat ng makakasama mo mamaya ay mga Crushers."
Napatango ako, 'yun pala 'yun. Kaya pala marami na ang nagsilabasan ng classroom pero hindi pa ng gate.
Sandali akong napatigil sa paglalakad.
"Training? For what?"
Napailing si Privo.
"We need to train to be Physically fit. That's one of the Objectives of the Academy. To produce strong-minded and physically fit students. And also some students here are athletic. Of course, you do not expect them to sit down in lectures for 6 straight f*cking hours Bleau"
I stayed quiet. It started to make sense why Andromeda indeed is great. Its students are disciplined, enough for them to make time for training every day. Tumigil kami sa isang sulok. There were students lining up and waiting patiently.
"We are being screened one by one, trainings has attendance as well,"
Napatango ako bago ako dumaan sa gate, an artificial voice have read my logo and mentioned my name that kind of scared me.
Tumawa lang si Gayla at Privo pareho before we started walking. And while doing that, napansin ko na wala nang masyadong tao sa school grounds. All I can see are trees I've identified as Malabulak—a tree often mistaken as a Fire Tree, Narra, and Molave. I thought these were nearing extinction but the school's boasting a lot of it. I figured long enough that this place would make a good sanctuary.
"We're crossing borders Bleau, we're taking you to The Great Plains,"