"Dodge!"
Pagkasigaw ni Asha ay kaagad na umilag si Elisse sa biglaang pag-atake ng guro. Her heart raced like a wild horse, she thought she's gonna die today!
"Observe your opponent. Being in a stationary position doesn't always do good." Sabi ng kaharap habang patuloy ito sa paggalaw.
Sumugod ulit ito at iniamba ang kamao kay Elisse pero kaagad siyang nakayuko at bahagyang napaatras ngunit mabilis niyang naibalanse ang sarili. She tried to launch an under kick but the latter quickly jumped ten feet away from her.
She stood up. Her breathing was labored because of too much fear, nervousness, and the sudden exhaustion as her body wasn't used at all with fighting. She's been sweating like a river in just a span of less than five minutes. She was relying on pure instinct with no known skills in both defense and offense. This is not so good.
Relax, stupid!
Sa wakas ay nagsalita na rin ang nasa isip niya. Pinilit niyang sundin ang gusto nito. Huminga siya ng malalim at inobserbahan ang guro na palakad-lakad lang, mas lalo tuloy siyang nagpipigil ng hininga dahil anumang oras ay pwede itong sumugod. Umatras siya ng kaunti pero nakalinya pa rin sa direksyon ng katunggali.
Relax.
"Tactic number two ─ shielding."
Kaagad niyang ihinanda ang sarili nang sumugod ito. Jennifer aimed her right fist directly to her but she was able to stepped back rightway, ran in circle until she reached the opponent's but was surprised when her teacher lurched at her face to face. Muli nitong iniamba ang kamao. She felt like her breath was cut off short when her opponent gave her a liver blow.
She sucked a lungful of air. She can't breathe properly. She can almost see birds around her vision, her focus became vague.
"Elisse!"
"Onee-chan!"
Bakas sa boses ng mga kaibigan niya ang pag-aalala sa natamo. Kailangan niyang umayos.
Napayuko siya at sunud-sunod na napaubo. She was gasping for air by that time and was thankful because her teacher was not yet making a move. This is torture!
Parang gusto niya umiyak ngunit hindi pwede. Alam niyang hindi pa 'yon todo pero grabe pa rin ito para sa kanya. Habol ang hininga na napalingon siya sa mga kasamahan. Nag-aalala silang lahat sa kanya. She didn't want them to worry too much. She knew she could surpass this class.
"Dodging is not always successful."
Tumayo siya pagkarinig ko no'n. She made a mental note. Tiningnan niya ang guro at nahuli ang pagngiti nito. Parang nangilabot siya sa nakita.
"Suko ka na ba?"
"Hindi po, Ma'am," She shook her head as she got into defense mode.
Sumugod ulit ito papunta sa kanya. Tumakbo siya palayo sa guro at hinayaan itong sundan siya. When she decided that her opponent's proximity was enough, Elisse stopped in a halt, twisted her foot clockwise to launch forward an attack, and kicked her but the teacher was able to quickly dodge almost out of reflex and once again aimed a punch.
Pigil-hininga ang ginawa niyang pag-iwas at nang makakita ng opening ay kaagad siyang umatake ulit. She gave her a liver blow like what the teacher did to her a while ago. Napaatras ang kaharap ng kaunti at nginitian siya.
"Nice move." Tumayo ito ng maayos habang siya ay nananatiling alerto. "Next is deflection and redirection. Since clean area ang location natin ngayon, I'm just going to explain how it works."
She's breathing hard while listening, almost to the point of dizziness. It felt like her heart was pumping too much blood and she's feeling lightheaded because of exhaustion. Pagkakataon niya na 'to para mabawi ang lakas at makapagpahinga kahit ilang segundo lang.
"Deflecting involves sidestepping the attacker's momentum and then pulling or shoving him off balance into a fixed object. Redirection is similar and involves turning the attacker towards an object or another member of the group and yanking or shoving a person in a certain object."
Matapos no'n ay muli itong sumugod pero kaagad itong nawala sa paningin niya. Namalayan niya na lang ang sarili na namimilipit sa sakit dahil sa ginawa nito. She was annoyed with herself, she can't even do anything!
I told you to relax.
I can't! How can I relax when I'm aching in pain?
Elisse spit the blood from her mouth and decided to ignore the sore feeling from her now busted lips.
"Next ─ control your environment."
She ran away from her while thinking of a good counterattack. Elisse changed her pace and ran towards the opponent. The teacher aimed at her again but she managed to shield herself.
She quickly held her opponent's arm and twisted it. The teacher turned around to reverse the attack but Elisse quickly tripped her foot and the opponent went out of balance and that's her cue to make another move. Tinuhod ni Elisse ang sikmura ng guro at kaagad na tumalon paatras.
She did it somehow. Napahinga siya ng malalim at pinigilan ang sarili na mag-react o magpakita ng emosyon. Ang totoo ay masakit ang kamao niya at parang bibigay na yata ang sariling mga binti. Hindi siya sanay mapagod ng sobra.
The sun rays were already hurting her skin like a burning feeling once bathed in heat longer than intended. It was a little sore to her when she's clad in sweat and her lungs were burning from breathing too fast. They've been at it for only a few minutes but Elisse felt like she's been in hell for hours.
Nang lingunin niya si Ma'am Jennifer ay parang hindi man lang ito napagod. Alam niya sa sarili na nagagamit na niya ang bilis at ang lakas pero hindi pa iyon maayos. Parang biglang nawawala at lumalabas lang kapag nasa crucial moment siya.
"Prioritize and alternate your attack." Her eyes widened when her opponent vanished in her sight.
"What ─ o...ouch!" Daing niya dahil nasa likuran na niya na parehas ang dalawang kamay na hawak-hawak ng guro. Pinilit niyang makawala pero lalo itong humihigpit. She frowned in pain. Ang sakit!
Naramdaman niya ang hininga nito sa tainga niya. "Prioritize your target and lastly..." Mas hinigpitan nito ang pagkakahawak. She screamed in pain. "Protect your loved ones."
Parang huminto ang lahat sa kanya dahil sa narinig. Pansamantalang naging manhid ang katawan niya nang may mapagtanto siya. That's it. That's something she lost in the middle of acceptance.
She's stupid.
She wanted to protect them but she's not ready to die. Dahil sa takot ay nalimutan na niya kung bakit niya gustong protektahan ang mga kaibigan. She was so pressured to be the chosen one that she nearly forgot that protecting them was not just her obligation. It was her will to protect them, because...because she loved them.
Her obligations have blinded her and so she was filled with tremendous fear. She's so selfish. Bakit ba siya nagpadala sa takot?
She wanted to protect her mother and her friends the most, more than anything else. Napalingon siya sa mga kaibigan at una niyang nakita si Adrienne. She was also looking at Elisse and somehow, something stirred inside her. Sunod niyang pinagmasdan sina Sam, ang kambal, si Diamond, at Asha.
I'm here, too.
She didn't know if it's just her imagination but she felt her senses sharpened. She took a deep breath and tried breaking free from her teacher's grip and what surprised her was...she did it.
Sa pagkagulat ng katunggali ay kaagad niya itong sinalubong ng suntok at halos mapanganga siya sa gulat nang tumalsik ito. Napaatras niya ito.
Mabilis itong nakabawi at sumugod sa kanya pero hindi tulad kanina ay mas nasusundan na niya ang galaw nito ngayon. Tumalon ito pataas at nag-landing sa likuran niya. Kaagad siyang humarap at tumalon paatras nang bigla itong nagpakawala ng suntok.
"You nailed it, kid." Natutuwang sabi ng guro kaya gumaan na rin ang loob niya. She's doing good.
Mabilis siyang tumakbo papunta rito. Sumuntok ito ngunit maagap niyang nahawakan ang braso ng kaharap at hinila ito palapit sa kanya ng malakas na dahilan upang halos masubsob ito sa kanya. Napaungol ang guro sa sakit nang sinikmuraan siya ni Elisse.
And again, Elisse pulled her harshly until the teacher finally crashed to the ground and they both heard a loud thud. Inapakan niya ito sa tiyan at napangiti.
Inilagay naman ng guro ang parehas na kamay sa magkabilang gilid ng ulo. "You win."
Pagkatapos itong sabihin 'yon ay lumayo na siya. Tumayo naman ito at nagpagpag ng sarili. Gano'n na rin ang ginawa niya dahil ang dumi niya na. Lumapit sa kanya sina Adrienne pero nauna pang yumakap ang kambal sa sa kanya.
"A-aray." She winced when they hugged tighter. Her body ached so much and she's having a hard time breathing.
"S-sorry," Paumanhin ni Rin at ngumuso naman si Len. Ngumiti lang siya at tumango.
Pagkabitaw nila ay parang namanhid ang katawan niya at halos muntik nang bumagsak kung hindi lang siya nasalo ni Adrienne. "Namanhid yata ang k ─ katawan ko."
"You pushed yourself too hard." Hindi na siya nakaalma ng buhatin siya ni Adrienne.
She can't even struggle to get down because she can't even move a muscle. She almost felt like she's been in a marathon for hours because she felt extremely exhausted and her skin felt like it was burning.
She bit her lower lip hard. The aftermath of the fight took a toll on her like a thunder strike. Her muscles and arms were shaking vigorously because of pain. One single move might break her bones.
"Nagawa mo rin sa wakas, Elisse." She heard her teacher's voice but she didn't pay any more attention to look at the woman. Her eyes were closing forcefully amidst her half consciousness.
"Hindi sanay ang katawan niya kaya ganyan ang naging resulta." Narinig niya ulit na sabi nito pero mukhang kina Adrienne na ito nakikipag-usap. Hindi niya na rin naman kayang sumagot pa dahil parang nawala na rin maging ang sariling boses.
Gusto niya na lang matulog at magpahinga. Palagi na lang.
"She's still like a human after all." Boses naman ni Adrienne ang narinig niya at parang lalo siyang nakaramdam ng antok. "It would take time hanggang sa masanay siya."
"Madali lang solusyonan iyan. Based on her skills, I'll categorize her under the class D."
Iyon lang ang huli niyang narinig bago tuluyang lamunin ng dilim.
Class D, huh...
--
"A-aray."
"Huwag muna kasing bumangon." Sabi ni Adrienne at pinilit ulit siyang pahigain. "Ang tigas ng ulo mo."
Napabuntong-hininga na lang si Elisse at sinunod si Adrienne sa kagustuhan nito. She stared at her and she didn't look affected with what she's doing. Adrienne just played with Elisse's fingers.
She woke up half an hour ago and was appalled when she realized that she slept a lot ─ again. Her body was still aching but she didn't mind it. She'll soon get used to the pain. Napapikit siya at napaisip. Hindi niya alam kung bakit pansamantala niya lang nagamit ang extra strength kanina.
Dahil lang ba sa hindi sanay ang katawan? Bakit pakiramdam niya ay may kulang?
She knew and she felt that she could do more. She shook her head because of the unpleasant thoughts. She's still weak.
Yes. And stupid.
Ginatungan mo pa.
This part of her loved to discriminate against her. She heard the voice laughing bitterly at her. Do you know why?
She didn't answer and just waited. She felt the sadness after hearing her other self's laugh. There's something missing. Did she miss something?
You accepted your possible death but you never said about accepting me.
Napahawak siya sa dibdib. She suddenly felt something in her heart ─ pain.
_____