Chapter 16: Something Fucked-up
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MY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN I entered the room was he's not here. Kahit na alam kong wala naman talaga siya rito dahil klase ni Prof. Dimitri ito at hindi gawain ng matandang propesor ang palaging pagsasama ng dalawang seksyon.
"Prim!"
I smiled as I heard Diane call for my name. She's wearing a casual black blouse, wearing her usual eyeglasses today, looking chic. "Hi!"
"You look pale. Okay ka lang?"
Pero bago pa ako makasagot ay bigla nalang kaming napalingon sa harap matapos marinig ang boses ni Prof. "Good morning."
Umayos ng kani-kanilang upo ang mga estudyante, ilan ay nabigla rin sa ginawang pagpasok ng propesor.
"I just want to remind you for the presentation we're having before the whole semester break. Knowing some of you here, idlers, I knew you wouldn't be able to do the presentation on time."
The professor walked up to my chair to borrow my notes. "You know, I can actually exempt someone in your class just because she keeps her notes intact and organized. Anyway, the whole presentation is about our last week's discussion. Yung lahat ng kumuha ng chemical engineering last semester..."
I didn't mean to but I stopped listening. I just did. My head is buzzing and there is this ting ringing in my ears. Next to come was my eyes, it started drooping and I have to fight to keep it from closing completely.
"ㅡ Miss Montefalco, are you alright?" Prof. Dimitri asked.
Napa-ayos ako ng upo at napamura. Ngayon ko pa talaga napiling maging pabaya kung kailan katatapos lang niya akong purihin.
I nodded earnestly. "I.. yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"No. Your nose is bleeding, Ms. Montefalco."
I reached up and, indeed, there was a blood in the desk of my armchair already. I haven't noticed it dropping, much more running from my nose. Lumingon ako sa likod para abutin ang bag ko at kunin ang panyong nasa loob nito ng bigla nalang napatakan pati ang skirt na suot ko. And what are the odds that I'm actually wearing a white skirt today? Shit.
"Here," Diane whispers as she hands me her handkerchief. Agad na inabot ko ito at inilagay sa ilong ko. Hindi ko na magawang pansinin ang mga nag-aalalang mata ng mga kaklase ko.
"I think you should visit the clinic, Ms. Montefalco. Go. You are excused."
"Iㅡ no, sir. I can manage."
"No, I insist. You're pale. I can see. Magpasama ka kay Ms. Reyes at nang makapagpatuloy na ako," iritadong sabi ni Prof. Dimitri.
Tumango ako at hinindian na si Diane na samahan ako. Sapat nang ako lang ang maging perwisyo at huwag nang dumagdag sa p-problemahin pa ni Diane. Kinuha ko ang bag ko at dali-daling naglakad palabas para huwag nang maka-disturbo.
But, of course, I didn't go at the clinic like what was expected and instructed. Especially if my bloody nose stopped dripping droplets already. In fact if it weren't for the professor overreacting, I would still be inside, listening to his discussion.
I stopped at a space with a fallen branch of a tree. Walang tao rito kaya naisipan kong dito nalang itulog ang natitirang minuto bago ang susunod kong klase. Isinandal ko ang ulo ko sa nahulog na parte ng puno at umidlip.
Branch.jpg
Hindi ko alam kung gaano katagal akong nakatulog doon ngunit hindi ko malilimutan ang kabang naramdaman ko ng makitang madilim na ang paligid at wala na masyadong tao sa mga silid. Hindi kaya tapos na ang araw? Paano kung kanina pa nag-uwian at kanina pa ako hinihintay nina papa?
"Are you dreaming?"
Napatalon ako paalis sa sanga at tila isang elepanteng nagulat sa naging reaksyon. Hindi rin naman nagtagal bago umalis sa pinagtataguan nito ang taong nanggulat.
"You're in my hiding place," Jack said by way of explanation, as if it made sense.
"Whatㅡwhat time is it?" I asked, voice panicked.
"4:25," maikli nitong sagot.
"Damn, I missed my class," wala sa loob kong sabi. Pero agad din akong napahinga ng maluwag dahil alas-singko palang ang uwian na alam nina papa. "It's dark."
"It is. May bagyong nasa Philippine Area of Responsibility kaya ganito kadilim," then he regarded me closely. "Do you even watch the news?"
"I don't." Nagsimula na akong magpagpag at inayos ang sarili. "By the way, you shouldn't really watch people sleep, Jack. It's creepy."
He chuckled and nodded at me, mockingly. "What happened to you? Suddenly had a change of heart about cutting-classes?"
"I'm not cutting-classes. Dimitri kicked me out of his class," I said and sighed again. "And I also miss my one elective."
"Tsk. You're doing a lot of things."
It is my time to regard him closely. "You're lucky you only have like 2 classes."
He shrugged and snorted. "Dimitri kicking out his favorite student? Now that's more unbelievable than the stars being a hundred years away."
"I am not kidding. He thought I was disturbing his class."
"What happened?" he replied dryly. Then his naughty eyes caught sight of the drop of blood in my skirt and clears his throat. "Oh.."
Oh no no no no! The hell. He's not thinking I'm having that time of the month, right? Right? Because he couldn't be possibly thinking about that. Anything but that.
"What!" I snapped. I fixed the offensive skirt out of sight and showed him the dried blood in Diane's handkerchief. "I had a nosebleed!"
He squinted at my noseㅡdisgusting, yesㅡ and gave me a pat in the head. "It's stop bleeding."
"Well it was five hours ago. Of course it would stop bleeding by now," I replied monotone. Tiningnan ko agad ang cellphone ko kung may susundo ba sa akin ngayon ngunit bigla nalang hinila ni Jack ang kamay ko pababa.
"Dito ka muna. Marami namang masasakyan mamaya," aniya sabay upo sa tabi ko. "Bakit ka nga ulit nagka-nosebleed?"
"I don't know. I didn't go to the clinic."
"You're cutting classes," he teased.
I looked at him incredulously. "I didn't! Sumasakit yung ulo ko kaya naisipan kong itulog nalang iyon."
"Ah. That explains the nosebleed. Uminom ka na ba ng paracetamol?" tanong niya na parang hindi niya ako inasar-asar kanina.
"I don't need it anymore. I'll be fine if you let me go home," I told him testily.
"The hospitals and doctors highly discourage self-medication, Prim. And right now you obviously need paracetamol. Sumasakit ulo mo."
I want to tell him that what he was doing is considered self-medicating because it was not really necessary to do so but then before I could even start speaking, he was already rummaging through his tiny belt bagㅡ bringing out bottled water and a biogesic.
"Here."
I eyed it warily and swallowed. "I didn't expect you to have medicine on hand, really."
He chuckles. "Ask me again when you experienced drinking for two days straight. Ewan ko nalang kung hindi ka mapapa-bili ng maraming biogesic."
I cringed. Inabot niya sa akin ulit ang gamot kaya napangiwi ako ulit. "I really hate drinking medicines, Jack."
"And look what it got you," he said.
I sighed and took the capsule but not the bottled water. "Take that. I can drink without it."
He laughs again and presses the bottled water in my hand. "You are exactly how I expect you to be. Romantic. Star-gazer. Shell collector. Believes in first love, love is blind and indirect kisses."
"Hey!" I complained, pushing the bottle away. "You can't make me drink from this."
"Bakit ba?" asar na sagot nito habang hindi pa rin kinukuha pabalik ang bottled water.
"You smoke," I said, stating the obvious.
He laughed and thankfully takes the bottled water away. "Fine."
So I did. Facing away from his challenging gaze, I tried to swallow the medicine and made a face. I almost gagged but Jack's presence made me determined to swallow it down.
"Why do you smoke anyway? That's, like, suicide," I told him, rolling my eyes.
Tumawa lang muli ito at umiling. "I don't like smoking. I just end up doing it."
"Or maybe you like doing the opposite because that way you are cooler in other people's eyes," I scoffed. "You are very predictable, Mr. Saremi."
He laughed and gave me a high-five, that went not reciprocated. "You know what, I look forward to your smart mouth everyday. It just slaps the hard way."
I blushed. It was a vague sentence. But to hide my blush, I tried to switch to sarcasm. "I'm so honored."
Hindi niya pinansin ang sarkasmo sa aking pangungusap at sa halip ay kumuha ng bato sa kanan niya. Ipinakita niya ito sa akin at tumango. "Registration."
Lumuhod siya sa tabi ko at ipinuwesto ang katawan na para bang magsusulat... sa puno.
"Ack! Sulatan ba naman daw ang puno!" hindi makapaniwalang tugon ko.
Hindi niya ako pinansin at ipinagpatuloy lang ang isinusulat. Hindi ko makita kung ano ang isinulat niya pero hindi rin naman niya ito itinatago sa akin. Dahil dito, sa ibang parte nalang ng puno ko ipinokus ang aking mata at nakitang may iba na rin palang naisulat dito. Hindi ko mabasa ang iba pero napansin ko naman ang mga pangalan ng ilan sa mga kaibigan niya.
Sa pinaka-gilid na parte ng puno kung saan naka-sandal ang ulo ko kanina ay ang mga salitang:
Eureka! -JMS
08.29.18
Iyon ang araw na hindi niya sinipot ang thesis proposal namin kaya agad ko naman ito napansin. Amoy alak siya sa mga panahon na iyon na maging si Ms. Nevada ay napansin din. Hindi kaya dito siya uminom?
Eureka could only mean the Greek quote by the great Archimedes. It was an expression used by a person who has discovered something vital. Ano naman kaya ang kinalaman ng araw na iyon sa salitang ito?
"Not to be mean but... do you really know the meaning of that word?" sabay turo sa sulat na nakita ko.
Sinundan naman ni Jack ng tingin ang kamay ko at tumango. "It was my favorite word."
"And what happened to that day?" I asked, dispassionatey. "Aside from not making it on time, I mean."
Tiningnan niya ako ng makahulugan bago tumawa ng malakasㅡsobrang lakas na pati ang batong hawak-hawak niya ay tumakbo palayo. "You hold grudges."
"Am I not supposed to?"
He shook his head. "It's bad for your health, Prim."
I rolled my eyes and leaned my aching back in the other side. Sitting up straight for hours will do that to you. "So... will you tell me? What happened?"
Sinunod ni Jack ang pagkakaupo ko at tumikhim ito. "I drank with my father."
I raised a brow. "And here I was thinking you guys are beyond repair."
"What made you think so?"
"You act like it."
He shook his head. "The bastard told me something. Something fucked-up."
I hissed and glared at him. "You and your cursing."
He raised a brow and shrugged. "He was acting very weird that night. If it weren't for Sam... I might have killed him."
Hindi sinasadya akong napatingin sa paligid. Para akong nakaramdam ng takot na baka mayroong nagmamasid sa amin at maaaring makarinig sakaniya.
"You shouldn't speak things like that in public," I chided. I drew closer to him and hugged myself tighter, just so I can whisper. "He's still your father."
Huminga siya ng malalim. "No, of course not. He's the worst father a man could ever have."
"You're an angry son," I observed, clutching my bag tighter. My father always told me an angry son is always a dangerous man. I remembered the man who was so close to abducting me just days ago. He was an angry son, then. But then I also remembered how this was the same man who saved me from an angry son.
"I have every goddamn right to be."
"What is it that your father did, then?" Napag-desisyunang kong iyon lang ang paraan para maintindihan ko ang galit niyaㅡang alamin ito.
He stared at me, long enough to be uncomfortable before he sighed and stood. "Ihahatid na kita."
Inikot ko ang aking mata atsaka tumayo galing sa pagkakaupo. "Thanks. But no thanks."
"Sa sakayan?" pangungulit niya.
I looked away. I'm supposed to hate him for making me curious enough to ask and still leaving it unanswered but I can never refuse a help from a man who wants to save me from trouble.
"Fine."
He rubbed at his eyes and shook his head. "A thank you never kills, you know."
Ngunit hindi na nito hinintay ang magiging sagot ko at tinalikuran na ako palabas ng hiding place niya. Buti nalang din dahil hindi ko kayang ipaliwanag kapag tinanong niya kung bakit ako nakangiti. Dahil ba semestral break na o dahil sa nakaka-asar niyang pangungusap?
To be continued...
A/N:
a filler. still, you gotta admit that it's a good one loljk!