Kabanata 1

"Amelia, what time will your class start?" My mother asked. Like, she has no clue.

"8 a.m. Mom." I still answer her.

"It's already 7 in the morning, babyahe ka pa." She said and then closed my door.

I immediately finish my routine, ayokong masermonan ngayong umaga.

"Kuya Nel, tara na po." I called our driver, and then quickly kissed Mom.

"Dalaga ka na, Ma'am Amelia. Biruin mo po, last year mo na sa high school, parang dati lang, nagsusumbong ka pa sa akin kapag inaaway ka ng aso mong is Choco." He said giggling.

I smiled slightly.

"Si kuya Nel talaga. Kahit naman po ngayon ay nagsusumbong pa rin ako sa inyo." I said.

"Magsusumbong nalang ho kayo kapag hindi nagawa ni Ador ng maayos ang trabaho niya." we both laughed at what he said. It is true, I rarely rely on them now. I feel like I am maturing.

And, Kuya Ador is his little brother. He is a little older than me, I believe he is a 2nd-year college student now. Most of his task is taking care of my Mom's flowers and plants. I don't know, though. He sometimes messes up things.

"Kuya pasundo nalang po mamaya, ingat po kayo." I told him, he already knows what time my class finishes.

As I entered the campus, I instantly felt the eyes on me. I want to roll mine because this never changes. I don't know why but excelling in a class is a big deal here. I've been striving in my studies since I started studying.

It's probably because my mother expects a lot from me. I'm not even a genius as they treat me, it's just I do everything just to excel in those things.

I walked past everyone. I could hear them murmur things like; 'she really doesn't have a friend ha?' or like, 'I wish I befriended her, makakakopya ako on science. I hate that subject kasi.' or like, 'Should I court her and make her answer all my activities?'

It's always like this. They are talking about me like I couldn't hear them. Like, hello? I have ears.

Some girls indeed tried to be friends with me but I always give them a cold shoulder whenever they want to approach me. Some of them also tried to bully me. Yes, they do get my attention, but they also get the attention of the professors. Unfortunately for them, our school has CCTV. Boys have a split opinion about me, like the girls though. Some of them tried to court me just to benefit from me, but most of them hate me, probably because of the things I can do.

"Hey, Amelia!" a boy from another section called me.

I did not even look at him and continued to walk to my class. I know him, I once played basketball with him.

"I want a rematch!" He told me, loud enough to bring attention to us.

Yes, boys have this pride na iniingatan, and they always try to look cool para mapansin ng girls. I don't know why.

I entered our classroom and quickly put my things on my desk. Our class started shortly and I don't know what happened to the boy na manghingi ng rematch kanina.

Our classes ended up more swiftly than I expected. I gathered my things and then headed straight to the library. This is always how my day goes. I always spend my time reading books while waiting for Kuya Nel.

But things will change today. Sarado ang library, not so good for me. Naka-sick leaves ang librarian for a week.

I disappointingly walked to the parking lot. I'll just find a bench near where Kuya Nel always picks me up.

Lucky me, I found one. But this place is not as quiet as the library.

I stopped reading and absentmindedly looked around to find the thing that causes the noise. My eyes landed on a group of students. I know them, well not really, some of them are from the college department and some are high school students like me.

They are probably related to each other. I always hear some of my classmates talk about them. They also excel in their studies. Plus, their grandfather owns this school. They are mixed blood like the girl na Grade 12 katulad ko. Henriette Yoshida, a smart girl - she almost beat me on quiz bees and other extracurricular activities, and our scores were almost tied to the last set of exams that we had.

Other students think that we are rivals, but she never treated me as one. She has this happy-go-lucky spirit, and she always smiles at me. Sometimes she will greet me, or ask me to review with her. She's nice, but I don't intend to have a friend.

I continued reading like I can understand the words on the page.

"Amelia?" I heard her say my name.

"Guys, wait up, I need to greet a friend!" She said to her cousins while I still pretended that I didn't hear her.

"Amelia?!" She excitedly said while poking me.

"Hi?" I replied confusingly. Clueless, why would she approach me.

"I rarely see you here. Your usual spot is in the library diba? What happened?" She also replied looking so confused.

"Uhh, closed eh. Sick leave si Miss Eva." I awkwardly replied.

"Oh okay, so you're waiting for your driver?" she asked and I quickly nodded. I don't want to say more things, and I am hoping she will leave me alone.

"Will you be okay here?" She asked worriedly.

Before I even respond, my phone rings.

I excused myself and then answered the phone.

"Hello, anak? Kuya Nel can't pick you up. Nagpasundo si Kuya Terrence mo, nasiran siya ng kotse." Mom continuously said on the other side of the line.

"What? Paano ho ako uuwi?" I asked as I panicked.

"Taxi, anak. Just text me the plate number. You can do it. Big girl ka na." she said and then ended the call, immediately.

I fixed my things and then took deep breaths, thinking about what I should do.

"Amelia, are you okay?" I was about to leave when I heard her. I almost forgot about her.

"Yeah, I'll be going. See you around." I said and took deep breaths again.

"But, where's your driver?" she asked me while I googled how to ride a taxi.

"He won't pick me up." I absentmindedly replied while reading sites that do not help me with my problem.

"We can drop you off? If you want?" she offered. I instantly looked at her.

"Uh, ayoko maka-abala, I'll just hail a taxi." I smiled at her and then started to walk to the gate.

"Ano ka ba, my brother is nice. He won't mind." she said, grabbing my arm and then dragged me to their car.

"What took you so long?" a strict and deep voice welcomed us as we stepped near a BMW.

"Kuya, this is Amelia, she'll be riding with us." she said while smiling widely at her brother.

I looked at his face making sure that I could hitch with them. I almost pleaded inside my head. His strict monolid eyes looked at me from head to toe.

"Why would I waste my time driving her home?" his eyes left me and looked at her sister na ngayon ay mukhang galit.

"This is my only chance to be close with her. Kuya naman, parang hindi ko siya nakwento sayo!" She annoyingly said.

What? Naikwento? Close to me? What?!

"Fine." he replied dismissively.

He opened the car door on the backseat for us and he looked at me like he wanted to roll his eyes on me.

"Come on, don't just stare at me." He said, I just nodded and slid myself in. Henriette did the same.

"Wow, what am I? You guys' driver?" He said after he settled on the driver's seat.

Henriette beside me just giggled.

"Aho!" Her brother added. (Stupid!)

I looked at her confused, wanting to know what her brother said.

"Let's just ignore him." She said, I shrugged my shoulders and just looked outside the window.

"You know what?! There's a new Coffee Shop near here! Can we make a stop there?" Henriette exclaimed excitedly.

I saw her brother roll his eyes.

Okay lang ba sya? I know that guys have the right to act however they want to. Pero I can't help to notice na he seems to make everything his problem. Like this, he could just turn her sister down pero inirapan nya pa. Like? Okay ka lang?

"We should stop for a coffee! Right, Amelia?" She said, convincing me.

"A good coffee will be perfect now, but I need to go home, asap." I said, slightly smiling at her.

"Ehhh? Why?" Her reaction seriously sound like a different language.

"My brother is going home from the States."

"What? Then we need to hurry!" She excitedly claimed.

Her brother sped up. And with that, my 45 mins travel from school to our village became 20 mins.

I am amazed na hindi kami naticket-an because of his overspeeding.

I still feel dizzy when we reach our front gate.

"We're here!" Henriette announced like she's not nahihilo.

"Yeah, thank you so much." I said slowly getting out of the car.

"See you at school, Amelia. You owe me a coffee date!" She said and then closed her window.