Chapter 1: Alistair

Barbarus hic ego sum quia non intelligor illis (Here I am a barbarian, because men understand me not.) – from Ovid's Tristia

I found subtle slavery, which entitles things with other than their names—calling slyness an intelligence, and emptiness a knowledge, and weakness a tenderness, and cowardice a strong refusal – Khalil Gibran (Slavery)

(July 27, 2002)

"Tignan mo andiyan na naman yan."

"Wag kang maingay baka marinig ka."

"Eh, ano naman? Bakit ba nandito 'yan sa room natin, di naman dito class niya?"

"He's kinda cute, though."

"Shattap."

I ignored the sly looks and fervent whispers. Sanay na ako. I turned my attention to the equation on the board and started my mental calculations. The students of the 10th grade class all bated their breath when the student teacher drew one name from the stack of 1/8th index cards inside her basket. Lahat mukhang kabado na matawag yung pangalan nila.

"Alcantara," she called out the name at yung lalaki sa tabi ko ay muntik nang mahulog sa kinauupuan niya. His other seatmates let out their breath, grinned at him, and threw jokes while he visibly dragged his feet to the board.

Ten minutes and still he did not finish writing the correct solution.

Ten effin' minutes.

I suppressed a groan as he erased another section of his solution and started over. Nakakaantok. Nakakabanas. I let my eyes drift close as I played with different combinations of numbers on my head to work out an alternate equation. Nakakabato sa klase ko kaya ako umalis pero walang pinagkaiba itong klaseng binagsakan ko. Shit, ibig sabihin four years akong mababato nang ganito unless ma-accelerate na naman ako.

Nagulat ako ng maramdaman kong may nakatayo sa tapat ng armchair ko.

"Mr. Zabala this is no place for sleeping." I clearly heard the annoyed voice of the student teacher in front of me. I opened my eyes and stared straight at her.

"Ang bagal kasi eh," I murmured softly as I stretched like a cat. Narinig kong nabali yung chalk na hawak ni Alcantara at tinignan niya ako nang masama.

"Anong sabi mo?!" He gave me a threatening glare. I glared back.

"Mabagal na bingi pa."

"Gago ka!" He threw the chalk at me which I easily caught.

"Boys!" Saway ng student teacher na halatang natataranta. Pa'no ang liit niya tapos mas matangkad kami pareho sa kanya. "Zabala, go back to your own class," utos niya. "Alcantara, go back to your seat."

Instead of following her, I went to the board and erased the equation. Pinalitan ko ng mas simple bago ko isinulat ang solution na kung tutuusin ay kayang gawin in two steps. Bakit pinapakomplikado pa kasi ang mga bagay na simple?

"Ang bagal." I murmured as I left them gaping at my back.

Shit. Ngayon kailangan ko na namang bumalik d'on sa mas boring na classroom ko. I glanced at my watch and saw that there's thirty minutes remaining before the morning break. Instead of turning to the left wing where my supposed classroom should be, I climbed downstairs and went inside an empty classroom to 'kill time'.

Sanay na ang mga teachers sa akin. They know better than to cross verbal swords with me, so they let me be. Hindi ko naman napapabayaan ang grades ko because I make it a point to be present during quizzes, exams, reports and project presentations. Ayoko lang talaga ng lecture. Sa sobrang ka-boringan ko ay kung ano-anong bagay ang ginagawa ko which leads the teachers and my classmates to get irritated kaya lumalabas ako. Ever since I was small, mabilis na talaga akong makaintindi. I started reading at the age of one and haven't stopped since then. People were dubious kung totoong naiintindihan ko ang binabasa ko or nangangabisote lang ako. When I was two, my parents brought me to a specialist to get tested and they found out that I'm gifted with photographic memory and an extremely high IQ – a genius to be exact.

Being "gifted" was more of a curse for me while growing up kahit na alam ko namang ginagawa ng parents ko ang lahat ng bagay para maging normal ang buhay ko. Nakatulong na parehong teacher ang parents ko so they gave me an endless supply of reading materials, videos, journals, games, and toys para ma-occupy ang time ko. They've also enrolled kaming magkakapatid sa sports para mabawasan yung excess energy namin, especially ako.

 But that doesn't stop awkward situations for me.

Yung tipong lagi akong gustong i-bully sa klase kasi ako ang laging pinakamaliit (hindi dahil sa pandak ako, matangkad ako for my age, pero dahil sa ako ang pinakabata). Sinubukan namin na i-homeschool ako pero later on, naisip nila na kailangan kong makasalamuha ang mga batang ka-age ko. Sa totoo lang, I preferred being homeschooled at okay na ako na si Diosa na baby sister ko lang ang kasama ko sa bahay, pero hirap din kasi si mommy na tutukan ang progress naming dahil sa work niya. Our mother is an associate professor of Sociology at UP Diliman.

Si Dad naman – well, officially my dad is living with his second family. We all try not to get affected by it, pero ang hirap sa isang bata na lumalaking walang tatay. My kuya Alphonse tries his best to act brave in front of us, being the eldest – but I know, late at night, that he cries too. We are all affected by this problem pero para siyang bogeyman na parating nag-lu-lurk sa shadows at hindi naman talaga namin pinag-uusapan.

Not openly.

We all act like it's normal and we keep on saying that dad is probably in just one of his expeditions, being one of the world's top anthropologists in the field of forensics.

I sat in the musky darkness for a while. I dare not open the lights dahil baka mahuli ako ng mga janitors. Sunlight filtered through the cracks on the window and created a pretty mosaic on the old, maroon tiles. Noong maliit ako paborito kong panoorin ang mga alikabok na lumulutang sa sinag ng araw. It was fascinating how billions of particles actually float in perpetuity even if they were invisible to the naked eye.

Tama na Alistair, kaya ka nababansagang weirdo ng ibang bata eh. At eleven, I'm on the 7th grade honors class. Classmate ko si Kuya Alejandro – and it's always been a sore topic. Supposed to be nasa 10th grade na dapat ako, but my mom decided to let me enter high school as normal as possible. It was kinda funny actually, dahil alam ko naman at tanggap ko na hindi ako normal. I've always been different and I like who I am. I've ceased trying to meet other people's standards on how I should be.             

After a few moments of waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I let my gaze roam around the room.

Chemistry, eh?

Bottles filled the shelves behind thick glass. Chemical models adorned the walls. There's a complete skeleton standing on one corner.

Kawawa naman yung display, nilagyan nila ng fedora. I sighed as I stood up and took the hat off the skull. Luma na 'tong classroom na 'to at halos wala masyadong gumagamit kasi sira yung aircon. My gaze fell on the half-broken lock on the cabinet. Someone clearly tried to break the lock. I took out a special pin I designed and picked the lock – one of my bad habits, according to kuya Alfredo, pero sadyang curious ako sa mga bagay na tinatago under lock and key.

I opened the metal door and it made an uncomfortable squeak. I paused and listened with my heart on my throat. Minsan may mga janitor na napapadaan at lagot ako kung mahuhuli akong breaking in sa supplies. When a full-minute passed na wala naman akong naramdamang tao sa paligid, marahan kong ibinukas nang mas malaki yung pintuan ng cabinet.

Well, I'll be damned.

A complete set of alkali metals.

Well, ain't that fun?  

I felt a frisson of excitement as I took out a bottle labeled Li. There was sodium, potassium, and even rubidium. Nice, nice... I love doing experiments and these are just perfect.

I returned the bottle to the cabinet and took the one with Sodium. The others might prove useful next time pero sa ngayon, gusto ko lang maglaro. 

I slipped out of the room and went to the back of the old PE Pavilion where an abandoned well is located. Gustong-gusto kong tumambay dito kasi maraming urban stories ang ginawa nila tungkol sa lumang balon. Tuloy kakaunti ang gustong lumapit at tahimik akong nakapagpapalipas ng oras. Not to mention ang daming insekto at hayop ang naninirahan sa tabi ng well. I could spend hours watching insects in their natural habitat.

I sat down on the mouth of the well and pulled out the bottle. The late morning sun glinted merrily on its lid and I took a stick from the ground, opened the lid and took a little sample. I dropped the volatile metal on the well and watched as the element sizzled upon contact with the water before it burst into orange flame.

"Niice... galing ah!" The bottle was suddenly taken from my hand and I spun around and saw Alcantara and his minions with an avid look in their faces. "This looks fun."

"Hand it over," I tried to sound authoritative but failed. Pinagpasa-pasahan nila ang bote ng Sodium.

"No way, ikaw lang ba pwede maglaro ng fireworks?" Nakangisi niyang tanong sa akin.

"That's mine." I saw his friend try to open the lid. "Akin na sabi eh." I held out my hand."

"Finders, keepers dude," the guy was able to successfully open the lid.

"WAG!" I tried to take it from him pero mas matangkad siya and he put his finger inside the bottle.

Crap.

"Shit!" Napamura siya ng biglang nag-react ang sodium sa kanyang balat. Naihagis niya ang bote at nahulog ito sa loob ng balon. "FUCK! "Tangina mo Zabala!" I could hear the glass break and immediately the water reacted violently. The water bubbled and fizzled violently before orange flame licked the mouth of the well. Nagsigawan ang barkada ni Alcantara at nagtakbuhan.

"Gago ka!" Isang malakas na sapak ang nagpabagsak sa akin sa lupa. Oh no, you didn't just fucking...

Nagdilim ang aking paningin and everything rushed out in a sickening blur. I just found myself being restrained by my Kuya Alejandro and Alphonse while another teacher tried to pull Alcantara away from me. Duguan ang nguso at ilong niya while I can hear a ringing on my ears where I guess he landed a punch.

 Fuck.

After that, we spent the majority of the afternoon in the guidance office. Long bouts of lecture which I fairly tuned out. As far as I'm concerned, it wasn't my fault.

Well, I did bring out the sodium from the Science room, but that is beside the point. I certainly know what it does... it's those idiots who are trying to shake their tail feathers at me that are at fault here.

Kaso no matter how many times I tried to defend my side, I still got detention. And three days suspension. And my parents need to go into conference with the teacher and the guidance counselor. More yakkity-yak on my behavior.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was told that I could go home. Naghihintay sila kuya sa may pinto and they immediately came at attention when I came out. Kuya Alphonse looked pissed habang nakangiti ng malaki si Kuya Albert. Kuya Alejandro is busy with his camera, as usual.

"Ang daya, anong ginamit mo? Di ka man lang nag-share..." Kuya Albert pouted at me at pareho kaming binatukan ni Kuya Alphonse. "Oww... kuya ang killjoy mo talaga." He rubbed the spot on his head.

"Shut-up. Imbis na turuan mo, dinadagdagan mo pa." Kuya Alphonse gave him another sharp rap on the head. "Ali..." he pulled me by the arm and I had no choice but to follow.

"Whatever scientific explanation you have in mind, skip it. I don't have to know..." he told me in a quiet voice nang makalayo kami kila Kuya Albert at Kuya Alejandro, "but I don't want you going around and wrecking havoc to others."

"Kuya it wasn't—" he shushed me with a hand on my mouth.

"Ali, what you have... it's a gift," he pulled his hand off my mouth. "I know who you are, and I know that you've always had good intentions. Pero don't get carried away by sudden impulses. Hindi lahat ng tao maiintindihan ka, at hindi lahat ng tao handang makinig sa'yo. You might be in right, but most of the time how you present your argument is much more important than the truth will ever be."

"Kuya Alphonse..." whatever explanations I have flew over my head. I can see the tension in kuya's eyes. I know he's right. I also know that he's in a lot of pressure. He's going to graduate soon at ngayon magulo ang aming pamilya. He's trying his best to lead us dahil hindi kami kayang panindigan ng aming mga magulang. 

 "Sorry Kuya Alphonse," I mumbled. He ruffled my hair and shoved me forward.

"Tara, susunduin pa natin si Diosa." He said gruffly as we started to walk.

"Baby boy next time sali mo kami ha?" Inakbayan ako ni Kuya Albert at bumulong. Kuya Alejandro ran to the front and took a snapshot of us.

"'Takte Alejandro, wag mo po-post yan!" Kuya Albert disengaged and ran after him.

"Bakit, ano masama sa brotherly love?!" He laughed as he dodged away. I couldn't help but sigh.

Idiots.

Pero mahal ko 'tong mga 'to.

A/N:

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! Eto na gift ko sa inyo! The first few chapters of SC are flashbacks of the Zabala brothers. XD Enjoy people!

*Alkali metals are the chemical elements found in Group 1 of the periodic table. The alkali metals include: Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Rubidium (RB), Cesium (Cs), and Francium (Fr). They react violently to hydrogen to form hydrides. In other words, since water is H2O or it has one oxygen and two hydrogens bonded together, they literally explode when in contact with water.