"Tangina," Vera hissed as she flipped the pages of her notebook. Napakadaming sticky notes ang naroroon at kanina niya pa ito paulit-ulit na pinagbubuntungan ng inis.
"Anong problema?" nanliit ang mga mata ko sa dami-daming highlights sa notebook nito.
"There's so much to memorize, Snow!" naiiyak nitong sumbong habang nakabagsak ang mga balikat.
Hindi ako nagsalita bagama't mabilis kong kinuha ang sariling reviewer sa bag at saka iniabot iyon sa kaniya. I've already finished reviewing for the upcoming exams, saka hindi ko rin naman gusto na mag-aral the day before the exams.
Her whole face lit up as she saw my reviewer.
"Alam mo, plus points ka sa langit!"
"Nambola ka pa," I chuckled.
"Bwiset kasi 'tong PreCal na 'to. Magagamit ko ba 'tong Parabola sa pagiging lawyer? Hindi naman diba?"
"Just practice solving it. Ulit-ulitin mo lang ang pagso-solve... you don't need to memorize the equations..."
Napanguso ito sa sinabi ko, "Sasampalin ko talaga gumawa ng pesteng parabola na 'to."
"Sus, ang sabihin mo, hindi ka lang talaga nakikinig sa discussion ni Ma'am!"
Biglang sumulpot si Eyvinder sa tabi namin saka sinimulang tuksuhin ang naiiritang si Vera.
"Atleast ako, hindi nangugulo sa gitna ng klase ng ibang strand!"
Napasipol naman si Eyvinder, "Mataas naman grades ko sa'yo sa PreCal."
Halos mamula na si Vera sa galit. Nagulat na lang ako nang bigla nitong hampasin ng notebook si Eyvinder.
"Hindi sana kayo magkatuluyan ni Sophia, bwiset ka!"
Halakhak lamang ang isinagot ni Eyvinder saka sinalo ang notebook ni Vera.
"Ah," he smirked, "So gusto mo na tayo ang dapat na magkatuluyan?"
"Pigilan mo 'ko, Snow," nanggagalaiting sambit ni Vera, "Baka makapatay ako ng hayop."
Vera is in rage kaya ako na mismo ang nagpatigil kay Eyvinder, at baka kung ano pa ang mabato sa kaniya ni Vera.
"Tigil na... paparating na si Sir," I sighed, but Eyvinder just laughed before leaving right away.
"Gagong 'yon..." gigil at inis na sambit ni Vera, habang ipinokus ang atensyon sa sariling libro.
I didn't talk to her for a while. Halatang-halata kasi sa aura nito ang pagka-bad mood.
Instead, I just opened my phone just to scroll on my feed. Agad akong nakatanggap ng notification pagka-online na pagka-online ko pa lang.
_sun: Are you going to the music club later?
Kaagad akong nagtipa ng reply nang makitang si Sun iyon.
snowregan: yes.
_sun: Any food that you like?
_sun: Nasa Charleston building kami ni Cloud.
I bit my lip as I typed a response again.
snowregan: kayo na ang bahala...
snowregan: hindi naman ako mapili sa pagkain
seen.
Agad na napabaling ang atensyon ko kay Vera nang magtanong ito sa isang process na hindi niya maintindihan kaya inilapag ko muna ang cellphone ko sa desk ko saka siya tinuruan. I gave her a simpler form of that formula. Mga ilang ulit pa niya iyon sinolve bago nakuha.
My phone beeped again, as I saw Sun's message.
_sun: We've bought what you wanted.
My forehead immediately creased. Sa pagkakaalam ko, hindi naman ako nag-request ng pagkain na gusto ko?
snowregan: what do you mean?
_sun sent a photo.
Napanganga ako sa nakita. I even needed to blink twice just to confirm what he just sent.
snowregan: nang-aasar ka ba?
snowregan: that's too much. sino ang uubos niyan?
Hindi ako makapaniwalang umorder siya ng ten boxes ng churros!
_sun: Ikaw.
_sun: You already proved your appetite in eating these, the last time I checked.
_sun: It wouldn't be that hard for you, don't you think?
Napasinghap ako sa aking nabasa.
snowregan: iniinsulto mo ba ako?
_sun: No.
_sun is typing...
_sun: I'm just stating a fact.
"Bullshit," sabay kaming nagulat ni Vera dahil sa sinabi ko. Mabilis kong tinakpan ang sariling bibig dahil d'on.
Agad siyang natawa sa reaksyon ko.
"Nagmumura ka pala?" she chortled, "Pwedeng paki-ulit?"
I just shook my head at her.
"Mag-review ka na lang diyan," mahinang suway ko.
"Ang ganda pala pakinggan kapag ikaw nagmumura!" natawa itong muli.
Napalabi ako saka napagdesisyunan na huwag ng replyan si Sun.
Baka mainis at mapamura lang ako ulit.
My phone began to lit up after a few minutes. Ilang beses kong pinigilan ang sarili na huwag lingunin iyon.
Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako bago inabot ang cellphone ko at tinignan iyon.
_sun: I'm outside of your room.
Napako sa aking kinauupuan. My lips suddenly parted...
snowregan: anong ginagawa mo riyan?
Although I'm a bit nervous, I managed to reply to him at least. Pabalik-balik rin ang mga tingin ko mula sa pintuan.
_sun: I'm here to fetch you.
snowregan: may klase pa ako.
_sun: Sir Philipps is absent. I heard from our adviser earlier.
Pagkabasa ko pa lang ng message ni Sun ay bigla kong narinig ang boses ni Vera na nasa gitna na ng classroom at nag-announce na absent nga si Sir Philipps, ang teacher namin sa PreCal.
Nagsimulang maghiyawan ang lahat dahil sa narinig.
“Hoy huwag muna kayong mag-celebrate,” si Vera habang may binabasa sa phone nito, "May sinend si Sir na activity, bukas ang deadline."
Biglang nagkagulo ang lahat dahil sa anunsyo ng classroom president namin. Lahat sila ay nilapitan siya para siguraduhin ito. Nang hindi nito binawi ang kanyang sinabi ay nagdiwang muli ang lahat. I chuckled at that.
Kaagad naman akong natigilan nang may maalala. Mabilis akong naglakad papalabas ng classroom at nakitang walang tao roon.
Is he bluffing?
Binuksan ko ang ig ko para tingnan ang message ni Sun ngunit nag-send na naman ito ulit ng picture na naglalaman ng tatlong boxes ng churros na nasa labas ng classroom ko.
I immediately went out of the room again and saw it in front of our room. Inilibot ko ang paningin para tingnan kung nasaan siya, ngunit wala akong makitang ni anino niya.
I messaged him again.
snowregan: where are you?
_sun: Enjoy your churros, Snow.
snowregan: you're crazy.
_sun reacted 😂 to your message.
Wala akong nagawa kung hindi ay kuhanin ang churros mula sa labas. Even if I return these to him later ay gagawa at gagawa ito nang paraan para hindi ko ito masauli sa kaniya. I attempted to do this yesterday, isasauli ko na sana ang inorder niyang churros noong isang araw ngunit imbes na masauli sa kaniya, ay nagawa pa nitong ilagay sa locker ko.
I dm'ed him why he did that, and again, he just laughed at my message.
"Ang dami naman neto!"
I shared the churros with Vera. Alam ko naman na hindi ko mauubos iyon. Sun is just over reacting porket nahuli niya ako noon na naubos ang isang box.
"Napasobra kasi ako ng bili," I lied, ngunit hindi ako nito pinansin at saka nagpatuloy sa pagkain.
Hindi na muna ako pumunta ng music club dahil gagawin ko pa ang pa-activity ni Sir kanina sa PreCal. Ayaw ko naman gumawa ng mga assignments sa bahay para maasikaso ko nang maigi si Mama.
We decided to have our lunch at the butterfly garden. I suggested Vera to go here, at pumayag naman siya dahil gusto rin niyang umidlip ng ilang minuto.
"I'm so full!" napainom ito ng tubig, saka ito may tinignan.
I took a bite of the churros from the second box as soon as I was finished with my lunch.
"Is that Jupiter?"
Tinuro ni Vera ang pigura ng nagkukumpulang mga lalaki mula sa open field. Malapit-lapit lang kasi ang open field mula rito, and it was not that hard to see a few people from here in a distance.
Medyo masinag ang araw, kaya hirap akong makahagilap. I squinted my eyes just to see a familiar face.
"Si Jupiter nga!" Vera confirmed. Kaagad akong napatayo nang makitang nakahiga na ito sa damuhan.
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang kwelyuhin siya ng isang lalaki na kasama niya.
"S-Snow!"
I immediately ran as soon as the other guy punched him not minding the blinding heat.
Mabilis akong nakarating sa kinaroroonan nila. Jupiter was still lying on the grass, as the guy was about to launch him again, when I immediately threw an empty box of churros at his head.
Agad akong tumakbo papunta kay Jupiter. I even threw a glare at his frat members for just standing there. Ni hindi nila ito tinulungan man lang!
"Are you hurt?" nag-aalalang tanong ko kay Jupiter habang nakahawak ito sa kaniyang panga. It was bleeding non- stop!
His eyes immediately went on me. He looked confused.
"Snow?" tila nalilito nitong tanong, "Anong ginagawa mo rito?"
Parang kaswal lamang itong tumayo, hindi iniinda ang nagdurugo nitong mukha. Napaawang ang bibig ko.
"What?" naiinis kong tugon.
Sa halip na sagutin ako, ay kinausap nito ang kaniyang mga frat members at mukhang may inuutos. Some of them looked at me as if I was ruining their show.
"—a fucking piece of shi—
I immediately faced Jupiter's attacker. Agad itong natigilan nang maaninag ang mukha ko.
"What?" I threw him a hard look nang hindi nito tinuloy ang balak sabihin.
He looked stunned.
Nakarinig ako ng mahinang tawa mula sa likuran ko. Jupiter was all smiles as he's busy laughing his ass off on that guy.
"Shit," Jupiter chuckled, "Come on Archeon. You can do better."
The guy named Archeon gave him a glare.
"Tumahimik ka, Forteza."
"I'm not doing anything," nang-aasar na sambit ni Jupiter.
Napansin kong nag-iisa na lang si Jupiter at mukhang pinaalis niya ang mga kasama niya kanina. That's better, they're not that friendly-looking anyway.
"You even had the audacity to laugh," naiiling na saway ko kay Jupiter.
"Kalma lang po, Nyebe," kaagad akong dinaluhan ni Vera.
Archeon looked a little tensed when I caught him staring at me. Maigi nitong pinag-aaralan ang mukha ko. He looks bothered.
Ngayon ko lang napagtanto na naiiba ang uniform nito. As soon as I saw the logo imprinted on his uniform, I immediately figured out that he's from Southville Academy. One of the top rival schools of Blakefield University.
He looked familiar all of a sudden. He had the same pair of hazel eyes like Summer. His slick black hair was properly gelled, that it almost made him looked more mature.
"You're not Summer," he stated.
"I'm not," I pursed my lips.
Nagtagal pa ang mga tingin nito sa'kin, "But you look like her."
Hindi ako makaimik. Ilang beses ko ng narinig 'yan, but I chose not to believe it. I just couldn't see why people always point it out to me.
"If you want to visit your cousin, I would gladly let you," agad akong hinarang ni Jupiter mula kay Archeon.
Hindi pa rin nito naalis ang mga mata sa'kin.
"Cousin?" I asked.
"Archeon Klaus Silverio," he immediately offered his hand, "Summer's cousin."
"Bakit mo sinuntok si Jupiter?" hindi ko pinansin ang kamay nito, sa halip ay tinaasan ko ito ng kilay.
Agad na napahalakhak si Jupiter sa inasal ko.
"Sagutin mo 'yan," Jupiter mocked him.
Archeon's face darkened.
"He pissed me off."
"Kailangan talaga suntukin mo?" I couldn't believe it. Mabuti na lang at mabilis na akong hinila ni Vera papalayo roon at baka kung ano pa ang masabi ko.
"What's happening?"
I immediately recognized Sun's voice. Sa likod nito ay sina Cloud at Orion. Naaninag ko rin ang papalapit na sina Fall at Summer.
Vera immediately squealed as soon as she saw Orion.
"What are you doing here, Arch?" Summer was the first one to greet Archeon among them. Mabilis namang dinaluhan ni Fall ang sugatan na si Jupiter.
Tawang-tawa si Cloud nang makita ang hitsura nito.
"Sana nilakasan mo pa!" Cloud nudged Archeon.
"Are you okay?" I almost jumped. Hindi ko namalayan ang pagtabi sa'kin ni Sun.
He looked at me blankly.
"Ayos lang," maiksing sagot ko at ibinalik ang atensyon kina Archeon at Summer na taimtim na nag-uusap.
Hinanap ng mga mata ko si Vera ngunit agad ko itong nakita na nasa likuran ni Fall, katabi ni Orion na abala sa pagtingin ng sugat ni Jupiter.
"Ganiyan ba talaga sila?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Who?"
I pointed both Archeon and Jupiter.
"Nagsusuntukan na parang wala lang."
"That's what they always do since they grew up with each other."
Napatingin ako sa kaniya dahil doon.
"So is it really true? About Summer and Jupiter's arrangement..."
Kung iisipin, mula pagkabata pa pala, matagal na pinaplano ang kasal nilang dalawa. It wouldn't be hard to figure out since Archeon and Jupiter seemed to know each other very well.
"For business, yes."
It's just sad for a fact that they are being arranged since they're young.
Kumunot ang noo nito sa'kin, "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. It just made me think..."
He faced me with a serious look.
"What is it?"
Ang matalim nitong titig ay nakapagpabalik sa'kin sa huwisyo. He looked extravagantly good when he's more serious like this. Mas lalo lamang nadepina ang kaniyang panga.
"H-Hindi naman importante ang opinyon ko..." I immediately looked away.
"I want to know..." his hoarse voice made me more nervous.
It looks like he is very curious about my answer. Huminga ako nang malalim bago nagsalita.
"Napaisip lang ako..." I mumbled softly, "Is it really important for you to marry for convenience? For the stability of your businesses? Paano kung hindi mo mahal ang taong ipapakasal sa'yo?"
He lowered his gaze. I was conscious about what he is looking at.
"You can learn how to love that person," he simply stated.
I bit my lip... a bit disappointed about what he said.
"Pero iba pa rin kapag mahal mo," I reasoned out.
He nodded slowly, agreeing to my opinion. Nabigla ako sa bilis ng pag-iba ng opinyon nito.
"Right," he said in a low voice, "That's why I won't marry anyone if she's not the love of my life."
Natigilan ako nang sabihin niya iyon. He was staring right into my eyes as he said those words.
🎶 ~ 🎶 ~ 🎶 ~ 🎶