Lesson 5
Gorgeous
"F uck you, f uck you, f uck you..."
Paulit-ulit kong bulong sa sarili ko habang nakaharap sa dingding. Gan'to lang talaga ako buong period niya? Face the wall? I am wearing a 2.5-inch heels for Pete's sake!
My ankles hurt. My heels ache. My feet and legs are in pain. I am standing here for almost 20 minutes! This is so ridiculous!
Habang nakatayo ako rito mag-isa na parang loser dito sa likod ng room, sila naman ay nagtatanong kay Sir. He chose not to start teaching the first lesson of our Accounting class. Narinig ko kanina na mag-chill daw muna ang class. Chill your ass. Tss. How will I chill in this condition, huh?
"Sir! Where did you graduate pala?" Some guy in the class raised the question.
"Bachelor's degree or my Master's?" He clarified.
"Both, Sir?" Hmm... Now I am also curious. Let's see his credentials.
"Well I graduated 4 years ago here with a double degree in Accountancy and Economics. I passed the CPA exam the same year I graduated. I pursued my M.B.A. in Harvard Business School and my Master of Arts degree in Economics in Stanford University."
I heard a collective "woah" from the class. Harvard? Stanford? Well, not bad. Ivy League school pa.
"So Sir, why did you choose to teach?" May isa pang nagtanong ulit.
Hindi kaagad sumagot si Sir, napaisip yata.
"Oh, I have a personal reason that I cannot disclose to the class."
Then collective "awww" from the class. Nagpatuloy lang sila sa pag-interview kay Sir. I, on the other hand, am feeling the pain on my legs.
I guess I should remove my heels. And I did. Woah, now, I feel better.
I checked the time on my phone. 30 minutes to go and this class will end soon. I am fuckin' bored. What should I do? The internet is connecting poorly to my phone that's why I can't watch make-up or skincare tutorials huhu. How about sound trip? I am subscribed to Spotify Premium naman.
Scene One – James Dean & Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens
I plugged my earphones to my ears and just listened to the music, ignoring what's happening in the class. Duh, I am treated as if I do not belong naman so I don't really care right now.
Stay for tonight
If you want to
I can show you
What my dreams are made of,
As I'm dreaming of your face
I've been away for a long time
Such a long time
And I miss you there
I can't imagine being anywhere else
I can't imagine being anywhere else but here
Maya-maya nagulat ako nang nakaramdam ako ng mainit na hininga sa batok ko. It sent chills to my spine. Sa sobrang gulat ko, I quickly turned to face who's behind me only to find it is Sir pala.
Face to face. Close enough for me to notice he has hazelnut brown eyes and long eyelashes. He bent his body down earlier because he was much taller than me.
I blushed and immediately backed a few steps away from him.
I removed the earphones from my ears.
"Ano naman this time, Sir? I believe nanahimik lang ako dito sa likod." I raised a brow and crossed my arms while waiting for his response.
"Well, I believe I came here to tell you to sit down because I see you are tired standing up." Itinuro niya ang heels ko na inilapag ko kanina sa sahig.
"Are you sure you're gonna let me sit down? Akala ko ba hanggang end of period mo?"
"Ayaw mo ba talagang umupo? Well, okay lang, resume your po –"
"Hep-hep! Fine, uupo na!" I waved my hand to signal that it's fine.
Bumalik na siya sa harap habang sinusuot ko ang heels ko.
As I returned on my seat, I almost wanna thank the heavens for being able to sit again because my legs are terribly aching.
"Bestie, congrats, nakaupo ka na rin ulit!" Hinampas niya ako sa braso at ang saya ng loka.
"Traitor." I narrowed my eyes on her as I referred to the help I asked before which she declined.
"Peace. Hehe." She gave me a peace sign.
"Treat me a Coco milk tea later as your peace offering." I pouted on my demand.
"Sure, not a big deed!"
"Ehem," kinuha ni Sir ang atensyon ng klase, "I'll discuss the syllabus next meeting in Acc10 on Wednesday. As you are informed with class schedules given to you by the school, this is a two-hour class with two meetings a week. And by the way, I will also be handling your Economics class."
What? Prof ko pa siya sa dalawang subject? Oh gosh. Accounting and Economics pa.
"Also," dagdag pa niya, "since I already have the class list here in my files, I'll repeat the roll call again and once I call your name out, you'll mention the preferred name you want me to address you. I don't want this class to be overly formal by me affixing miss and mister before your names. Clear?"
We agreed in unison. He started the roll call with Alano.
Alcazar. Amante. Bautista. Bernas. Buan. And the list goes on.
Then, "Romulo." Banggit ni Sir sa apelyido ko.
I replied with, "Gorgeous, Sir."
"Gorgeous? What?" Napakunot ang noo niya.
"Yes, Sir. Anything wrong with that? And that word justifies me."
"Preferred name. Ang layo sa Ansherina Francheska Chrysanthe mo. Nasaan ang Gorgeous doon?"
"But I prefer to be called Gorgeous!"
"I was asking for a name. Not an adjective."
"But, Sir. I am gorgeous, therefore I am GORGEOUS. It's almost my name. Can't you see, I'm so gorjez."
"Saan banda?" pamimilosopong tanong niya.
"Ay aba, andito na hindi mo pa makita? Duh. Are you blind?" Baka baliktad ang placing ng eyeballs niya. Nakaharap siguro sa utak niya kaya hindi makita ang kadyosahan ko.
"I am not kidding," sabi niya.
"I am also not kidding, Sir."
"I won't consider this. Choose a different name." Ang KJ naman neto.
"Fine," I pouted, "I am good with Cheska." He just looked at me and took note of my preferred name and then he went on to the next name.
"Saldana..."
Then I felt my phone vibrated. I checked it and saw that there's the wi-fi connection has connected well to my phone this time. And I have a notification from a fellow Jaclyn Hill fan, kasama raw ako sa giveaway winners! OMG! May 15 minutes pa ako para makapagmessage kay J.H.!
I opened my e-mail and typed my message to her. I finished typing but it's not sending! Sht, the wi-fi again! Kailangan kong lumabas para makakuha nang magandang signal talaga!
"San Lucia." Tinawag na ni Sir si Genera pero wala akong pake dahil ang laman ng utak ko ngayon ay magsend ang message ko kay Jaclyn Hill within 13 minutes! Mga 27 minutes bago dismissal huhu.
Alam ko na, tatakbo ako nang mabilis palabas. Yung tipong walang magagawa si Sir.
"Bestie, bestie," bulong ko kay Sharpay. "Urgent 'to. Basta, let's just meet after school."
"Huh? What? Anong gagawin mo?"
"Basta. Bye!"
After that I grabbed my bag and ran towards the door. I swung it open and ran as fast as I could until I got to the first floor. Then the pain of running while wearing heels suddenly sank in to me.
But at least, I'll receive my Jaclyn Hill giveaway! Yes! I pressed the Send button on my e-mail and the system notified me my message was successfully sent.
I smirked. "I win this time, Sir." I told myself as I started walking towards the parking lot.