❝ BATONG-MILYAHE ❞

19

"Nanaman?!"

Sigaw ng isang estudyante sa loob ng classroom.

Nakalipas na rin ang isang semester, at nasa kalagitnaan na ang mga estudyante sakanilang pangalawa. Days had passed, almost a week and ramdam na ng mga estudyante ang paparating na hell week dahil PETAs here, reporting there, tasks everywhere sa second semester.

Typically, may isang section na palaging nabubulabog sapagkat may mga target itong asarin na mag love birds sa isang classroom, but...

Ever since that day of their trip, parang naglaho nalang daw ang pinagsamahan ng dalawa na parang bula, at alam naman na natin kung sino ito.

Hindi na ito masyado tinuonan nang pansin ng F5 at iba pa nilang mga kaibigan dahil halata sa expression ng dalawa ay mukhang may nangyaring hindi kaakit-akit, at hindi na nila gustong malaman 'yon. Bali hinayaan nalang nila ang dalawa at siguro, hinihintay rin na magpansinan muli.

Lalo na si Rindou. Mahilig ito mang-asar sa kuya niya, ngunit nang nakita niya ang ibang pagkikilos ni Ran simula ng araw na 'yon, ay may hinala na rin ito.

"Musta grading this sem?" Tanong ni Rindou kay Ran pagkalabas ng teacher dahil kakatapos lang maglesson.

"Delikado," masungit na pagkasagot ni Ran at lumabas na ng classroom para dumiretso sa canteen kasama ang iba pa niyang mga kaibigan.

"Bro naman! Uy!" Tawag pa ni Rindou, but Ran didn't turn back and walked straight ahead na para bang walang naririnig.

"Magi-isang linggo na 'yang ganiyan." Komento ni Sanzu sa gilid.

"E, wala. Ayaw sabihin 'yung nangyari," Rindou sighed. "Nah, as if I'd meddle with their business, pero curious parin ako."

"Tanungin mo kaya."

"Gago. Badtrip si kuya," Rindou scoffed. "Iba 'yun kapag nagalit."

"Isang beses ko nga lang siya makitang magalit. Ano ulit 'yun? Nung may naka-away sa court." Tawa ni Sanzu.

"Ah, 'yung Inigo. Gago 'yun, e."

"Sinabi mo pa. Bro's head a metal funnel." Pagiinsulto ni Sanzu.

"The fuck, dude?" Rindou looked at him judgingly then chuckled.

"Ayun nga. Ang alam ko insulto lang binabato ni Ran kapag nagagalit, e, tapos pagkalabas mo ng gate maya-maya, putang ina, boi, makikita mo si lord." Sabi ni Sanzu.

"Wala pa 'yun. Nung nag-away kami dati. Alam mo ba kung ano nangyari?" Tanong ni Rindou.

"Hindi, malamang. Hindi ko naman kayo kasama sa bahay. Ano ako, si Tita Rochelle? 'Oh my baby boysh are so big boysh naaa!' Ganon?" Sanzu mocked as he drank on his jug.

"Ina neto," binatukan nalang ni Rindou si Sanzu. "'Di nga. Pero naospital ako no'n."

Halos mabuga naman ni Sanzu ang iniinom niyang tubig sa narinig niya. "Naospital?! Nag-away ba kayo o nagpatayan?!"

"Matagal na 'to. Basta, nung Elem. palang kami, may pinag-aagawan kaming gamepass something sa laro. Tapos ayun boom nagsuntukan kami, then Ran busted his lip, bleeding, ako naman nauntog tagiliran ko ron sa may matulis na glass table. Bwahaha tang ina duguan. Tinahi sa ospital."

"...The fuck?" Sanzu's eyes just widened.

"Tas si mama, ang OA. Umiyak ba naman sa ospital e tahi lang naman 'yun. Tas si Ran na grounded ni dad. Tinanggalan ng computer pati kinuha PS4 nang ilang linggo."

"Ang lala niyo naman. Buti ako only child lang." Sanzu relaxingly exhaled.

"Okay lang. At least may kuya akong nanlilibre sa 'kin." Angal ni Rindou.

"E, pero ngayon? Bad trip si Ran, baka nga isang piraso ng candy ipagdamot pa sa 'yo. HAHAHAHA! Ulol!" Ganti naman ni Sanzu.

"Aba gag-" Hindi na nahabol ni Rindou si Sanzu na tumakbo na papalabas ng classroom.

"Hi, nakshit kong pakshit! Ba't ang gloomy today?! Dapat bloomy!" Sigaw ni Hakkai nang pagka-upo sa tabi ng upuan mo.

"Ah," tinawanan mo nalang ito at tumango.

"Ah...? Ahlimango. Ano ka ba! Anong nangyari? Isang week na nakalipas, o, 'di ka parin nagk-kwento. Ano bang nangyari sainyo?" 

"Uh, well," you just scratched your head and shrugged.

"...Well?" Hakkai raised a brow, then took out his ballpen and a paper. "Bilis. Taking down notes. Baka may advice ako."

"Uhm, It's a long story..." tipid na sagot mo, at tumayo ka nalang galing sa upuan para magbreak. "Labas muna ako."

"Twenty minutes break after that set!"

Sigaw ng coach sa court habang nagt-training ang mga basketball players. Dismissal time na rin nila kaya't dumiretso na sa court sina Ran at Kakucho dahil may training sila.

"Retsam, grabe ka na. May galit ka ba sa bola? Baka naman kami patalbugin mo mamaya, ah." Sabi ni Jonathan nang napansin ang agresibong kilos ni Ran. He's the captain, and one of his task are helping his teammates when warming up, kaya't siya ang nagbabato ng bola sakanila, pero akala mo isang kaban ng bigas 'yung binabato, e.

"Game na. Sabihin mo sakanila game na." Utos ni Ran.

Si Kakucho naman sa kabilang side ng court ay pansin din ang change of demeanor ni Ran. He's just listening kapag may kinekwento sina Rindou about dito.

"Oy! Game na raw! Isang round lang. Pagkatapos break na!" Sigaw nina Kevin.

"Kampi ko si Ran," nag-agawan naman ang mga players.

"Akin nalang si Kaku- este ako nalang kay Ssob Kaku. Nyeta iba pagkasabi ko, p're." Napakamot nalang ng ulo ang isang player.

"Bad mood ba si Ran?" Bulong ng ibang mga players. "Gago. Sa team nalang ako ni Ran. Mukhang galit. Ayoko kalaban. Baka ako i-shoot sa ring."

"Tsk. Tagal naman," bulong ni Ran sa sulok habang  pinapanood ang mga players na magdecide ng kanilang teams.

Narinig naman ito ng mga players at agad pumwesto.

Pumikit si Ran nang saglit dahil sa inis habang nakasandal sa pader with his arms crossed. He then walked to them and tossed the ball to the supposed referee.

Nagsimula nang maglaro ang mga players at nasa gilid lang si Ran, hindi masyadong active ngunit nagp-participate parin at tinatanggap ang bola.

"Ran!" One of his teammates called his attention para i-bato sakaniya ang bola, and as Ran received the ball, he sprinted towards the ring.

Tumingin muna si Ran sa benches kung saan may mga estudyanteng nanonood, at mga nagch-cheer sakaniya.

Bumalik nalang ang tingin niya sa laro at hindi na sila pinansin.

Wala siya roon, e.

Hindi sanay si Ran na hindi siya nanonood. Hindi sanay si Ran kapag wala ang nag-iisa niyang muse. Ang kaniyang paraluman. Nanonood, suportado, kahit malayo.

Ran still continues the game even if he has no energy, even just the slightest, as if it all went down the drain.

That's why he failed to shoot the ball, ni-hindi man umabot ang bola sa ring nang isang inch.

Nang matapos na ang round nila, nagbreak na muna ang mga players. Umupo nalang sina Ran at ang kaniyang mga kaibigan sa bench, pero parang ni-isa sakanila ay walang kumikibo.

"So..." Kevin cleared his throat, attempting to subside the awkward tension.

"Broken 'to, par," bulong ni Jonathan.

"Halata naman," sagot ni Kevin.

"Rinig ko kayo. 'Wag na kayo magbulungan." Ran said as he drank on his water jug.

"Ay. Haha. Ganon ba kalakas boses namin." Napakamot nalang sa ulo ang dalawa

.

"Baka gusto niyong gawin ko kayong announcer," sagot ni Ran.

"Ay, haha, eto naman. Joke lang. Haha..." Nerbyosong tawa nina Jonathan.

Ran stood up from the bench. "Punta lang ako canteen."

"Kanina ka pa punta nang punta sa canteen," sabi ng mga kaibigan niya.

"Sasama ba kayo? Bili lang Gatorade." Tanong ni Ran.

Dumiretso na si Ran sa canteen kasama ang dalawa niyang kaibigan. Maraming tao sa canteen dahil dismissal na, at dito usually tumatambay ang mga estudyante.

(Y/N) is also in the canteen, kasama sina Hakkai at nakapila sila sa isang stall.

"Pabili nga po, tinolang bilat." Bulong ni Hakkai.

"Namo 'wag ka ngang dugyot. Subsob ko mukha mo sa hugasan ng plato,e, o kaya sa sawsawan ng fishball." Sabi ni Akane.

Pumila naman sina Ran sa same stall at nasa may likuran niyo lang sila ng pila.

"Anong bibilhin mo rito?" Tawa ni Kevin. "Bilihan 'to ng ice cream, ah."

"I know," Ran muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Akala ko ba Gatorade bibilhin mo?" Tanong ni Jonathan.

"Gusto ko rin ng ice cream, e. May problema?" Sagot ni Ran.

"Wala naman," patagong tawa ng dalawa nang nakita ka rin sa may pila.

"Ang ingay naman naknampu–" Reklamo ni Hakkai nang lumingon.

"Ay shet. Mga basketball players." Bulong ni Hakkai sainyo. "6 footers oh my gawd."

Lumingon naman kayong dalawa nina Akane at nanlaki ang mga mata mo na nasa pila rin si Ran, kasama ang mga kaibigan niya.

Before Ran can look at you, agad kang tumingin sa harap ng pila.

"Next," kayo naman nina Akane ang susunod na bibili. Natanggap mo na rin ang sukli mo at dali-daling nilagay sa wallet mo para agad na ring maka-alis.

Ran watched you, and almost smiled to himself when he remembered kung paano ka niya laging inuunahan magbayad para sa binili mo kapag naaabutan ka niya sa canteen.

"Uyy, (Y/N)," bati nina Jonathan sa 'yo, kaya't huminto ka muna sa gilid ng pula. "Musta?"

Si Ran naman ay nasa likuran nila at parang walang naririnig dahil naka cross lang ang arms nito while looking straight at the line.

Napansin mo ito and just awkwardly laughed, "uh, okay lang." Sagot mo kina Jonathan.

Tumingin sina Kevin sa captain nila at halos lumabas ang kaluluwa dahil masama ang titig ni Ran sakanila.

"Ay," they cleared their throat at nagpaalam na rin sa 'yo. "Mauna na kami. May training pa kami. Haha. Magagalit si Retsam."

"Tara na," tawag nila kay Ran at naglakad pabalik sa court.

You looked at them for the last time and noticed Ran giving you the same look, but as he saw you, he immediately looked away. You did the same, yet you can still see him looking at you in your peripheral vision.

"Ba't parang natunaw agad ice cream mo?" Tanong ni Hakkai sa 'yo pagtapos nila sa pila.

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked down at your ice cream. "Oh."

"(Y/N),"

Tawag ng mga magulang mo sa'yo habang kumakain ng hapunan sa hapag kainan.

Tumingin ka nalang sakanila bilang sagot.

"Kamusta Baguio?"

"Ah," nahinto ka muna nang saglit sa kain. "...Okay lang naman po."

Your parents slowly nodded, then looked at each other, doubting your response based on your tone.

"Pagod ba sa school?" Your mother asked.

"Pagod lang po," sagot mo, trying to avoid the Baguio topic.

"Ah," your mother just nodded, signaling your father as he looked at him.

"Ba't ako?" Your father whispered.

"Ikaw na kumausap diyan," sagot naman ng nanay mo, at nagbubulungan pa sila kahit rinig mo naman.

"Ma, pa, okay lang po ako. Pagod lang sa school. Nasa second sem na po kasi kami." Pagpapaliwanag mo.

Pagakatapos mong kumain, umakyat ka na rin sa kwarto mo at gumawa na ng assignments. Kahit walang gana, tinuloy mo parin gumawa at dumiretso ka na rin sa kama para magpahinga.

"Ran, hindi ka pa ba bababa?"

Tanong ni Aunt Mari sa may pintuan ni Ran. Nakahiga lang ito sa kama at halatang walang gana kumain.

"Susunod nalang po ako," sagot ni Ran.

"Osya, sige," tumango nalang si Aunt Mari at sinara ang pintuan.

Ran was extremely bored out of his mind. Kahit may mga task pa ito na kailangan gawin, wala itong gana tumayo at gawin, kahit anong pilit niya sa sarili. Nakakalat lang ang mga libro at papel sa desk nito.

He decided to open his private twitter, at iilang tao lang ang mga inaaccept niya rito.

htni.1 tweeted

babalik ka o babalik ka

Ran typed out of nowhere, actually lacking seriousness when he tweeted that. "As if she'll see it." He thought dahil sina Rindou at mga close friends lang naman niya ang mutuals sa private account nito, at hindi rin sila active sa main account.

Suddenly, may nag notif sa account nito and he opened it. It's probably Rindou or one of his friends teasing him about his ridiculous sudden tweet.

anony.mo replied to "babalik ka o babalik ka"

O

htni.1

bro who tf r u

when did I accept u to my priv twt

anony.mo

Yes

htni.1

dude fuck off

anony.mo

Ok

Bobo

Ran was a bit dismayed by this aggressive user, but it somehow reminds him of someone.

htni.1

"Bobo"

is that you?

anony.mo

Who

htni.1

stop playing dumb.

anony.mo

Well no

htni.1

fr? that's you

anony.mo

...

htni.1

balik ka na

anony.mo

Balik kita sa sinapupunan mo

htni.1

what the fuck

okay, that's really you.

come here and come back to me.

anony.mo

No

htni.1

balik ka na

miss na kita oh

anony.mo

Pano miss

htni.1

"Wait, Ran, wait lang"

remember it now?

anony.mo

Fuck u

htni.1

miss u

anony.mo

We can't do something about that

Can't you just wait?

Sayo rin naman ako uuwi

I'll come back when it's all settled

Ran read the replies thrice, poking the insides of his cheek with his tongue. "Purposely doing this, huh?"

htni.1

wdym?

All he needs to remember when he's losing motivation is just to know that someone will come back, and he finally has a reason to stay and wait.

anony.mo

I'll be there at your greatest moment, capt. :)

Bye bye. talk to you again, someday.

Agad naman nagscroll si Ran sa kanyang follower list at nakitang na naka-unfollow na ang account mo, but he just followed you.

He opened your profile, seeing your anony.mo's account bio...  "#1"

Ran's eyes widened at the #1 bio. Could it be something?

Naisipan ni Ran na maglagay din ng #1 sa bio niya. Not only to his private twitter, but to his main accounts in every platform. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, etc. 

#1. His jersey. His muse's jersey.

Ran went to his private Twitter profile, unfollowing and blocking all the accounts except for yours

He doesn't want the others to see the tweets between the two of you. He just wants it all for his eyes, to read them, and to keep those tweets, because this might be the last conversation and interaction you'll have with him for the next few days, weeks, months, or even years.

Linggo at buwan ang nakalipas, at ang bawat estudyante ay tumungtong na sakanilang graduating day. Another milestone was reached for these senior students.

May mga estudyante na naka kuha ng with honor, with high honor, at with highest honors. Kilala naman na siguro natin kung sino ang mga ito.

Maraming tao sa school ngayon, lalo't na ang venue kung saan ginanap ang graduation. May mga nagp-photograph sa gilid habang hawak ang kanilang mga diploma at medals, at marami pang iba.

"Imagine mo 'yun. Napasa ko STEM. Haha. Isasaksak ko nalang 'yung tangkay ng puno sa baga ko." Comment ni Makoto.

"Congrats, love!" Sigaw ni (Y/N) Ashanti sa gilid habang kasama ang parents niya and parents ni Mitsuya. Nagp-picture din sila and they both graduated with highest honor awards.

"Shet, graduate ako nang walang pinag-aralan. Akalain mo 'yun?!" Sigaw nina Hanma sa gilid.

"Syempre naman! Kinaldagan lang ni Hanma 'yang school year! EZ lang 'yan!" Sigaw ni Chifuyu.

"Syempre. M-M-M, o ano ano." Sabi ni Hanma na kumaldag nga, pero nakita ng principal at agad naman nag-ayos si Hanma at Chifuyu na parang walang nangyari.

"Lagot. Nahuli ka ni Principal Panotski." Bulong ni Chifuyu.

"Baji, nak! Tayo ka diyan, picturan kita." Sabi ng nanay nito.

Si Baji naman ay tumayo nalang at akala mo poste dahil halos hindi gumalaw. Ang awkward pa ng pose. 'Yung kamay nasa harap, parang 'yung 'hawak betlog pose' daw. Literal talaga na "nak, pose ka jan".

"Tangina, boi. HAHAHAHA!" Patagong tawa nina Hanma at Chifuyu sa likuran ng mama ni Baji na halatang inaasar ang kaibigan nila.

"Big boy na si Baji! Binata na talaga!" Sigaw pa ni Hanma habang pinipicturan parin si Baji.

"Inamo, marinig ka ng teachers. Pabalikin tayo ng grade one. Gago." Bulong nina Baji nang binatukan ito sa ulo pagka-alis ng nanay nito.

"Congrats sainyong grade twelve! Magc-college na, nuks!" Sigaw ng mga grade eleven sakanilang mga seniors.

"Wow naman, Father Taiju! Gumaganon! High honor!" Sabi ng mga kaklase nito. He's graduating from grade twelve, and moving to college now.

"Congrats, girls!" Nagpicture naman ang mga babae from Section A and B. Most of them got awards and honors. It is no doubt that they really exceeded in their academics.

"Ebarg ka na, Sanzu. Minacho dance lang 'yung finals, pero gumraduate." Sigaw nina Rindou. 

"Empre. Gulat ka kapag g-graduate tayo sa grade twelve, baka maging Salutatorian pa 'ko."

"Inamo, baka salutsot." Sagot ni Rindou.

"AHH! Rindou! Ran!" Tawag ni Rochelle as she ran to them in her heels while holding a camera.

"Congrats to my boys!" She said, giving her sons a hug. "Tayo kayo diyan, picture. Include your friends– O, sama kayo."

"Nu 'to. Kinder graduation." Bulong ni Rindou.

Ran pursed his lips, simply nodding as he just went on about what his mother wanted, kahit ilang linggo na itong may tinatagong galit sa kanyang nanay, hindi niya parin tuluyang magawa na iwasan ito.

F5 posed in front of the stage while holding up their certificates and medals. Ever since childhood, sila parin ang magkakasama. It's like a tradition for them to take a group photo at every gathering, and of course, every graduation. 

"(Y/N), congrats!" Sa kabila naman, ay narinig mo ang boses ng mga kaibigan mo na patakbo papunta sa'yo.

Lumingon ka naman to see them, also having bright smiles on their faces as they saw the number of rewards you received. Especially since you graduated with the highest honor.

"Grabe, ang nag-iisang graduate with highest honor sa Section B!" Sabi nila, and yes, si (Y/N) lang ang nakakuha ng with highest honor sa klase.

A while ago, when your name had been called on the stage, you were looking at the audience, still hoping to find someone.

You and Ran made eye contact when you were on the stage a while ago, receiving your awards, medals, and certificate.

"Ran."

Even from afar, and kahit ilang months na kayong hindi naguusap, you saw how he clapped his hands and gave you a supporting, proud smile.

Kahit malayo siya at may distansya kayo, you still had the slightest want to show him your reached milestone.

After all, he was always your number one supporter, and you were always his number one fan and muse.

Your eyes widened at his subtle yet noticeable move. It brought a smile to your face.

You knew, right at that moment, he was still waiting for you. His heart still belongs to you.

You snapped out of your thoughts and blinked your eyes as you heard your friends call you.

"(Y/N)! Kain tayo sa labas! Kasama raw buong Section B! Pinagpaalam na kita kina tita!" Sabi ni Hakkai.

"Go, anak! Congrats!" Tumingin ka naman sa malayo, and saw your parents encouraging you since you've received a lot of rewards, and the least they could do is spoil you.

You just nodded, continued talking with your friends at pumayag ka na rin, ngunit napapansin mo na parang may naka-tingin sa 'yo, so you looked around to see Ran looking at you, supporting you in silence from afar.

"Section B!" Ms. Vina, the class adviser calls her students as she's beside the school's photographer.

It's obvious what they were implying, and lahat kayo ay pumwesto sa harap ng school. Bawat isa ay suot ang kanilang toga, holding up their medals, and kanya-kanyang pose ang mga iba. May mga magkakaibigang magka-akbay, at marami pa.

You're beside Hakkai and Akane, and ang hindi mo alam, Ran is just behind you along with his friends.

As the shutter clicked, everyone tossed their graduation cap in the air, showing their successful smiles as the photo captured a special moment for each and everyone.

Class of 2021-2022. Padayon!

A/N: 

Hindi pa tapos 'yung story chill kayo, nag-graduate lang sila. Nap-predict ko na mga comments niyo eh HAHAH

Anyway, hi! Please, spare some time to read this, since it's very important!

----

So pansin niyo since Ivory, magulo 'yung grade leve/sched nila

Firstly, I wasn't really planning to take Ivory seriously, kaya hindi ko na inayos yung grammar and 'yung mga information. Bali parang crack fic lang siya dapat, but the humor is focused on the memes we see today and the vibes from a typical Filo high school classroom.

Kaya kung ano ano nalang mga pinaglalagay ko dun putangina tignan niyo nga ung mga OC names palang pang tarantado na

Second, hindi kasi ako sure if I'll make the grade level optional, like kayong readers na ang bahala since reader nga kayo, and kung anong grade gusto niyo, but since I've mentioned that I'll turn this into a series, it'll be difficult for me to identify which is which, who is who, etc. Inisip ko nalang na ako na ang magd-decide ng grade level nila.

So...

Nung Ivory days, they're still in Grade 10. JHS. Including Section B (Characters in S&C, BEFORE)

Sa S&C days naman (NOW), senior high school na sila, including the characters of Ivory, so lahat ay grade 11 na, but since graduate na sila sa chapter na 'to, they'll be in grade 12 na.

Magka-batch ang Section A & B

A mistake in S&C. Iba 'yung mga nalalagay kong subjects for senior students sa past chapters ng S&C, and wala rin akong nabanggit na kung anong strand sila, so sorry for that confusion, but since they're moving into a new grade (12), I'll arrange each of their strands.

So... maybe sa next few chapters, or sa next book may mga strands na sila.

Feel free to comment with some suggestions and information about SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. It might help me avoid mistakes in my future writings, particularly for HS SERIES. Like kunwari, anong mga subjects sa senior high, ano ung sched niyo ganun.

...Since I'm just a junior HS student, senior things confuse me, and I'm unfamiliar with them. Siguro ka-grade ko lang si Gab, o kaya mas matanda ako, ewan haha

See you sa next chapter! Happy reading ୨୧