Chapter 7: What’s Wrong

“Innovation... Innovation... New idea..
Puto ano na?!”

Nagpagulong-gulong ako sa kama ko at pinaghahampas ang ulo ko sa unan. Bukas na ang presentation para sa innovation project namin ngunit heto ako at nakamata, walang maisip na maaring ipresent bukas. Puto bakit ang hirap?

Bumangon ako sa kama at tiningnan ang hallway. The lights on each rooms were still open kaya tiyak kong abala rin ang iba para sa project na ‘to. Megan’s bed was clean at nasa study hall siya ngayon ng Bldg. L-1485 para gawin ang project. Nagreklamo siya kanina na ang ingay ko kaya lumipat siya roon.

I’m pretty sure they’re busy making this innovation project right now. Mabuti pa sila may mga ideya na kung ano ang gagawin samantalang ako wala. Puto, why do my brain doesn’t function when I needed it the most? Binabagabag pa ako ng pag-uusap namin ni Trench. Is that what’s the status quo really is?

Or maybe Trench perceived it wrong. One-sided and biased dahil una sa lahat, lalaki siya. Ah basta! Ayaw ko munang mabagabag sa tungkol doon dahil may proposal pa akong gagawin para sa project namin.

Tahimik na naglakad ako sa hallway. I’m curious what the others are working on pero pinigilan ko ang kuryosidad ko. I’m only human and I might do things I will surely regret later gaya ng nangyari dati. Why do I’m stressing my self so much eh proposal lang naman ‘to? It’s not like I will be embarrassing myself in front gaya sa face-off. I need to do this. Bumalik ako sa kwarto at gumawa ng innovation proposal para sa preservation ng mga agricultural products.

***

I yawned few times in class, ignoring Trench’s presence at my side. Nasa harapan si Miss Venna at isa-isang tiningnan ang mga folders na naglalaman ng project proposal ng klase. She scanned the folders and segregated some of it, eh? Bakit kaya? Mayamaya ay tumayo siya mula sa kinauupuan. She picked up the pile na iilan lamang samantalang iniwan ang halos gabundok na pile ng folders sa mesa niya.

“I have chosen six outstanding proposals,” wika ni Ma’am Venna at binuksan ang unang folder.

“Triangle Grande Bermudo’s walk-in holographic technology in 3 dimension. I like the idea wherein holographic technology is very handy. We don’t need physical computers nearby dahil we can have it through this proposal. Consumes less space at kahit saan ay pwedeng gamitin even if you are in the middle of a dessert or a forest. Disadvantage of this proposal, it takes time to achieve but nevertheless, good job Triangle.”

Umugong ang palakpakan sa loob ng classroom and everyone was praising Triangle. Was that even a surprise? We all are well-informed how genius the Grandes are. Pero whoah, just imagine if that proposal can be implemented, goodbye excessive physical computers! Napatingin ako sa direction ni Triangle and he was just sitting there, looking at nowhere na para bang hindi siya nakikinig. Wala siyang paki sa mga palakpak na alay ng lahat sa kanya. He looks so bored.

Sunod na kinuha ni Ma’am Venna ang isa pang folder. “Next one is Nikon Zamora’s reality environment. Pinili ko ‘to because I think this compliments Triangle’s proposal. Instead of the large screens, I suggest we  use the walk-in holographic experience in this reality environment. Surround sound and real-time processing pa if connected to the satellite. If you wish to be in both five wards at the same time, this is the perfect solution for that. Or in any environment you want. Downfall, not handy if not integrated with Triangle’s proposal. If integrated, requires manpower-- skilled manpower for each component which will increase the costs. Anyhow, this is very impressive Mister Zamora. Congratulations.”

Muli ay nabalot ng paghanga at pagkamangha ang buong classroom. Everyone congratulated Nikon, who looks like he’s very proud to the point na kumaway-kaway pa siya sa amin. His gaze shifted to me and he wriggled his brows. I silently scowled and looked away.

“Next is Coco Masin’s future android robot.” Ngumiti si Ma’am Venna sa klase. “I can see Coco’s passion with android robots. This time, he wanted an android robot na improved ang battery life and only requires less time for charging. Also, his proposal is about an android robot who can do heavy jobs. Longer battery life, fast charging. May added features pa like enhanced AI and water resistance pa. Downfall, no, not downfall rather disadvantage, the Capital has enough robots. I think the best we can do is upgrade those android robots with the features that you propose than making more. Less costs incurred that way.”

Malawak ang ngiti ni Coco nang binati siya ng mga kaklase namin at pinalakpakan. Yup, Coco may look dumb at times dahil madalas siyang nakatingala at nakanganga but he’s truly a genius. Pero in fairness ah, ang talino rin ni Ma’am Venna to think on the spot about the downfall, disadvantage and possible alternative. I think panahon na para irecognize siya totally ng Capital.

“Another proposal that caught my attention is Ronan Berdon’s healer. Actually, I think you should think of a more catchy name than healer because honestly, as I saw this akala ko ay simpleng panggagamot lamang. But Ronan’s---”

Biglang tumayo si KL mula sa kanyang kinauupuan. “Ma’am!” he raised his hand at nang nirecognize siya ni Ma’am ay tila timang na ngumiti siya. “KL na lang po, wag na Ronan.” I scoffed unbelievably. Tumango naman si Ma’am Venna at saka lamang napanatag si Karding liit at naupo.

“So KL’s proposal will save us a lot time and pain. Healer is about light technology that will heal wounds in a matter of seconds. If you cut your skin open, you don’t need stitches to close your wound because of healer. I think it’s better if you designed it into something handy kaysa sa room device lang siya. His proposal is about how skin and tissues heal faster than normal. Gaya halimbawa ng hand abrasion, usually it takes more or less 30 days but with healer; hemostasis, proliferation and tissue remodeling will be fast. In more or less a minute, your wound which supposedly needed stitches and which heals in a month will develop scabs to cover the wound in an instant. I don’t see any downfall on this research proposal but of course this requires careful study. Good job mister Berdon.”

Gaya ng mga nauna ay pinalakpakan ng klase si KL na tumayo pa at tila nagchampion sa boxing na itinaas ng mga kamay. I know KL is smart, ‘yon nga lang masyadong practical. He’d rather earn money right away than studying.

“Fifth proposal is Megan’s mind transportation. This is very creative of you and I think you come up with this idea because of your love for astronomy.”

Oh, sabagay. Nasabi na ni Megan sa akin dati na interesado siya sa astronomy, no wonder she would come up with ideas related to astronomy.

“Mind transportation is about giving individuals virtual experience for example in the galaxy while just sitting in a corner. This is very creative and will make discussions easier. Halimbawa kung ang topic natin ay tungkol sa constellation, Megan’s proposal will bring you every constellations para mas madali at maging virtual. I like your idea about how a small button-like thing will makes you virtualize everything kapag idinikit mo sa sintido mo. Good job Megan.”

Napapalakpak na rin ako. Good for her, halos umaga na kaya siya bumalik sa kwarto namin kagabi para tapusin ang proposal niya. It paid off! Megan smile at everyone at nagpasalamat sa mga bumati sa kanya.

“Last, okay this barely made it but I see the intention behind this proposal and that’s the deciding factor. Sonia Gallego’s ‘preservezeer’ or preservation freezer. Nothing is special about this because we already have something like this but her preservezeer will preserve vegetables and fruits for a longer time without deteriorating the nutrient contents of the products. This actually prevents the Capital from running out of supplies. The intention is that by this, less agricultural product will go to waste due to rotting and I merit that.”

Natutuwang tinapik ko ang dibdib! Puto ang saya sa pakiramdam! Parang kagabi halos pukpokin ko ang ulo ko para lamang pigain ang ideyang pwede kong gamitin! And it actually paid off! Slow claps for myself!

Ma’am Venna cleared her throat at inayos ang mga folder sa kamay niya. “That’s all for today. Thank you.”

Nang umalis siya sa harap ay halos pinigilan ko na ang sarili kong magtatatalon sa tuwa! Naging maingay ang paligid at kanya-kanyang puri sa bawat isa at kwentuhan tungkol sa mga proposal nila. Bigla akong natigilan nang makarinig ako ng usapan ng mga kaklase kong hindi malayo sa akin.

“Wait, I can’t believe it. Trench didn’t make it?”

“Bakit hindi kasali si Trench?”

Umugong na ang mga bulong-bulongan tungkol doon. Actually, hindi na siya bulong-bulongan dahil ang lalakas ng mga boses nila!

“Omygod, this is big news! Trench failed!”

“Kinakalawang na siya!”

“Siguro dati ay ginagamit lang niya ang pagiging Grande niya kaya palagi siyang nare-recognize noon!”

“Oo nga, he always made it on top before!”

“Oh my God! Big news! Trench Grande Mariano failed!”

Natigilan ako at unti-unting napakuyom ang kamao ko. Dahan-dahan na nilingon ko siya sa tabi ko. He was just staring at his table, iniinda ang naririnig sa paligid. His face is blank like always but I know deep inside, he’s hurting.

Trench is smart! No doubt about it! At tiyak kong hindi niya ginamit ang pagiging Grande before kung bakit nagta-top siya! These people! How could they say it gayong hindi kwestyonable ang talino ni Trench!

I can only see the side of his face-- his damn serious face pero puto, alam kong nasasaktan siya sa mga naririnig. Can’t people be considerate of him? Kahit gaano tayo ka-close to perfection, may mga flaws din naman tayo and I think that’s the thing with Trench right now. So what if hindi nagustuhan ni Ma’am Venna ang proposal niya?!

What if he’s having a bad day that’s why he didn’t put his heart on this project? Puto ang judgmental ng mga tao ah, idya-judge agad na hindi siya matalino eh wala naman sila sa kalingkingan ni Trench!

Biglang tumahimik ang klase nang marahas na tumayo si Tatsulok sa kanyang kinauupuan. His chair made a sound at nagtagpo ang kanyang mga kilay. He has that look in his face na tiyak kakabahan ka. Puto ganyan nga! Ipaglaban mo si Trench sa mga makikitid ang utak na kaklase natin--- napatigil ako nang biglang lumabas sa classroom si Triangle.

I thought he stood up because he will defend Trench. Bakit umalis siya nang wala man lamang sinasabi para ipagtanggol si Trench? He just left the classroom without a word. Puto, is that really Triangle?!

Napahawak ako sa noo ko at halos hindi makapaniwala sa nakita. Puto, tell me it’s just my hallucinations! Tell me that Triangle didn’t leave the classroom despite hearing the negative comments about his cousin! Ano na ang nangyari sa TT cousins?!

“I really can’t believe this. All this time, akala ko ay matalino si Trench.”

Ang mga usap-usapan ay nagresume nang tuluyang makalabas ng classroom si Triangle. And that’s it! Padabog na hinampas ko ang mesa kaya napatingin silang lahat sa akin.

“Anong problema mo Sunny?” tanong ng isang kaklase namin.

I raised my chin, giving them angry looks. “Kayo anong problema ninyo? How could you judge Trench para lamang sa activity na ito? He has proven himself so many times before at dahil lamang hindi nagustuhan ni Ma’am Venna ang proposal niya ngayon, ganyan na kayo mag-isip? Anong klaseng utak ang meron kayo?!” mababakas ang labis na galit sa boses ko. Puto, I’m really pissed right now as in to the highest level! Siomai!

“Oh bakit ka galit? Hindi ba dapat matuwa ka dahil napatunayan mong mas matalino ka kaysa kay Trench?” sagot ng isa.

“Oo nga! Remember you used to be from a prep class!”

"Natalo ka pa ni Brenda sa face-off dati!"

They laughed like it’s a punchline or something. I clenched my jaw, keeping myself calm kahit inis na inis na ako. Sasagot na sana ako nang biglang tumayo si Trench mula sa gilid ko. Tahimik na sinuot niya ang kanyang backpack at lumabas ng classroom nang wala man lamang sinabi. Wala akong nagawa kundi panoorin siyang lumabas ng pinto.

I also wonder why he didn’t make it. Hindi ko siya huhusgahan gaya ng iba naming kaklase pero bakit nga ba? Puto what’s wrong with him?

#