Chapter 8

“Differentiate each of the following functions sabi rito sa direction,” Shane explained while pointing what she has jotted down on her notebook. Aldridge then took that notebook from her and he’s now reading what’s written on it.

“Okay naman ‘tong sagot mo. Namali ka lang ng placement doon sa negative exponent. For you not to get confused, the point of this problem is to make sure that you deal with the negative exponents. Look at this derivative you made,” Humingi si Aldridge ng ballpen kay Shane saka ito nagsimulang magsulat. Si Shane naman ay umayos ng pagkakaupo at pokus na pokus ito sa pakikinig habang nag-eexplain si Aldridge sa kanya.

“Ganyan pala ‘yon, hindi ko napansin,” tatangu-tangong saad ni Shane dito.

“As I mentioned earlier, make sure to deal with the exponents correctly, so definitely, it would become like this,” Aldridge continued explaining.

While the two of them were busy computing the Calculus activity they gave us, hindi ko magawang iiwas ang paningin ko kay Aldridge.

It’s been days since he went in our house, or let’s say when my parents asked him to. I know they don’t want Aldridge for me. Hindi lang dahil sa ipinaramdam nila iyon. They told it to me directly pero hindi ko iyon ipinaalam sa kanya.

Minsan pa lang naman nilang nakakasalamuha si Aldridge, e. Hindi pa nila siya masyadong kilala but how could they hate him with just one meeting? Or maybe they hated him because of me? Lahat na lang ba talaga ng ginagawa ko, kokontrahin ng pamilya ko?

“Oy, Meg!” Shane snapped her fingers in front of me. Ang ginawa niyang iyon ang nagpabalik sa akin sa reyalidad.

“Are you done with yours?” Aldridge then asked me. Tumango naman ako sa kanya bilang sagot.

“Iyan pa ba? On time ‘yan lagi, e. Kaso ayaw namang magpakopya,” Shane ranted.

“Ipinaliwanag ko naman na sa’yo kung paano compute-tin ‘yan,”

“Ayaw pa kasing ibigay sagot, e,” napanguso pa ito.

“Helping you is different from feeding you with answers,” I emphasized.

“Oo na! Oo na!” reklamo nito saka padabog siyang naupo ulit at inire-write iyong sagot na sinabi ni Aldridge sa kanya.

Napataas na lang ang sulok ng labi ko. Aware naman si Shane sa ugali kong iyon. Tumutulong naman ako lagi sa kanya pati sa iba ko pang kaklase pero hindi ko ugaling ibigay ‘yung mismong sagot sa kanila. I just don’t like to. Hindi kasi pagtulong ‘yung gano’n. Feeding them answers is against my perspectives.

Pauwi na kami no’n nang biglang bumuhos ang ulan kaya agad kaming nagsitakbuhan. While on the run, Aldridge pulled me beside him and using his bag, ginawa niyang payong iyon para takpan ang aking ulo. Si Shane naman ay naroon sa tabi ko.

“Grabe namang ulan ‘to. Walang pasabi,” bigkas ni Shane habang pinupunasan iyong braso niya nang makasilong kami.

“You can have this,” Aldridge spoke.

Without me agreeing it, he removed his uniform coat and put it at my back to cover my trembling body. I smiled because of what he did but seeing the droplets of water from his hair, I took my handkerchief and without me realizing it, I wiped it including his soaked shoulder.

“Eherm!” Shane faked a cough at my side and she followed it with whistles. Hinarap ko ito at nakita kong basa rin iyong buhok niya. Since I have an extra handkerchief, I handed it to her.

As she took it, she murmured. “Slow talaga.”

Naghintay kami ng ilang minuto roon hanggang sa tumila ang ulan. Kasama rin namin ang ilan pang mga estudyante. Katunayan nga niyan ay nagsisiksikan kami.

“I’ll return this next time,” I told Aldridge bago kami maghiwalay ng direksyon.

“Sure. Take care, Meg,” before entering the car, I gave him a smile and waved my hand at him. Pagkapasok ko ay pinaandar na ni Uncle Danny iyong kotse hanggang sa makauwi kami sa bahay.

The next day, I went to school early. May report kasi kami sa first subject namin na General Chemistry 2 and it so happened that our group will be the first rapporteur.

Hindi ko nga alam kung anong naisip ng teacher namin at kami ang inuna. Sa halip kasi na by alphabetical order kami sa pagrereport, like the common way of dividing reports, baligtad iyong ginawa niya. Probably kaming mga nasa hulihan ang mauuna knowing that my surname starts with letter U since I’m Uy.

Some of us complained but she just told us na para naman daw maiba so we really had no choice but to be the first rapporteur.

Iyong alphabetical order pa naman ang gustung-gusto ko kapag reporting kasi kami lagi ang magiging last gawa ng surnames namin pero hindi marunong makisama iyong teacher namin ngayon.

Composition, structure, and properties of matter iyong napunta sa amin. As materials for our report, we created PowerPoint presentation and provide our classmates some videos para mas lalo nilang maintindihan. We also gave them copies para may basis sila habang nagrereport kami.

Interactive report ‘yong ginawa namin. Meaning, we threw them questions before, during and after discussing them the topic para hindi lang kami iyong nagsasalita and we’re glad that we were able to make it more interactive as we can.

Each group was only given 20 minutes to discuss the prior topic given to us but we exceeded. Umabot pa yata kami ng lampas 30 minutes. Marami kasing sakop iyong topic namin and we made sure to explain them even the smallest details para mas lalo nilang ma-grasp iyong information.

“That ends our report. Thank you for listening and for actively participating in our discussion.” Done with my closing remarks, all of my classmates clapped for our group presentation.

Pumunta naman si Ma’am Astra sa harapan at nagbigay pa ng ibang information saka nagproceed sa next rapporteur hanggang sa matapos iyong time namin sa kanya.

“What if I’ll show you pictures then from that pictures alone, you guys will guess what our topic is all about. Okay lang kaya ‘yon?” Shane asked that while putting some hot sauce on her plate. Ang hilig talaga ng babaeng ‘to sa maanghang.

They say people who eat spicy foods tend to live longer. Sanayin ko na rin kaya ang sarili ko sa maanghang?

“Huy!” sabay tapik nito sa balikat ko. “Parang motivation kumbaga. Ang common na kasi kung diretso reporting kaagad,” dagdag pa nito.

“Okay lang naman ‘yon. Pero kayong bahala since kayo naman ang magrereport,” I answered.

“Lagyan kong konting twist para maiba. Just pretend na hindi mo alam ang gagawin namin kapag kami na ang magrereport ah?”

Napaikot na lamang ako ng mata. “Fine, fine,” sumusuko kong saad sa kanya.

Habang kumakain kami for lunch, kung anu-anong mga ikinukwento nito sa akin. Ni hindi man lang siya nauubusan ng topic. Then suddenly, two bottles of water were placed on top of our table. Bahagya kaming nagulat doon at sabay pa kaming napalingon ni Shane sa naglagay noon.

“Drink that after eating.” It was Aldridge who stated that.

“Kumain ka na?” I asked him.

He nodded his head to me. “Yeah, kanina lang. I’ll go ahead. May tatapusin pa kasi akong activity namin.” Ngumiti lamang ako sa kanya.

Nang umalis ito ay ginulo pa niya nang bahagya ang buhok ko. Sinundan ko na lamang siya ng tingin noong naglakad na siya palabas nitong cafeteria.

“Hindi sa pagiging chismosa ha? But what’s the tea between the two of you?” I heard Shane ask.

“He’s courting me.”

“What the hell?” ang malakas na tono ni Shane ang nakapagpabalik sa akin sa huwisyo. When I faced her, I saw how her eyes grew bigger. It’s only then I realized what I just told her.

“Kailan pa?” and she started throwing me questions now.

“A-hm,” I ended up pursing my lips, feeling out of words. What the hell, Meg? Hindi ko kasi namalayang iyon pala ang nabigkas ko kanina habang ang paningin ko ay nakatutok lamang sa papaalis na si Aldridge.

“Hoy! Ikaw, hindi ka nagsasabi ah! I mean, yeah, I can sense something naman na because of your actions but I didn’t know you’re already at the courting stage. Wow, Meg, ang galing!” aniya. “So, kailan pa siya nanligaw?”

“Weeks ago? Noong pumunta siya sa bahay namin tapos ipinaalam niya sa harap ng family ko mismo.”

“What the hell part 2,” saad nito. Napailing na lamang ako dahil sa sinabi niya.

She also threw me bunch of questions and I had no choice but to tell her everything dahil ayaw naman niya akong tantanan.

“May pa-slow slow pa akong nalalaman. Ako pala ‘tong slow kasi hindi ko man lang nalaman kaagad,” sambit pa nito matapos makuntento sa lahat ng sagot ko. “Anyway, I’m rooting for the two of you. Ang cute niyo kayang tignan.” Sa sinabi niyang iyon, kusang kumurba ang ngiti sa aking labi.

Days and weeks quickly passed by. Parang kahapon lang no’ng nag-midtem examination kami and now, we are only waiting minutes to start our final examination.

“You may now start answering your test papers,” with that cue, sinimulan na naming sagutan iyong test papers namin. We were only given an hour to finish the exam saka namin ipinasa ang mga iyon.

The next day, itinuloy namin iyong final examination namin sa iba pa naming subjects hanggang sa matapos kami sa lahat ng mga iyon.

“Makakahinga na tayo nang maluwang. Sana lang talaga makakahinga rin tayo sa results,” Shane expressed while putting her things inside her bag.

“Paanong makakahinga? Hello? Research is waving pa kaya,” singit ni Amanda sa usapan namin, seatmate namin.

“Oo nga ‘no? Pero at least last na ‘yang research. Tapos na rin naman tayo sa mga projects. Tamang good luck na lang for our research then hello graduation, on the way na po kami,” Shane answered.

After that, all of us went out of our room and headed straight to our house since uwian naman na.

We took the final exam last Thursday and Friday and now that it’s weekend, our group busied ourselves in our research. Good thing we had group chat and we used that as a means of communicating each other, doon kami nagpapalitan ng mga ideas.

Our research topic focuses in teenage pregnancy which falls into abortion. Some of our members suggested about online games pero sure kasi kaming maraming kukuha no’n kaya ni-disregard na namin.

Before our final exam, nagkaroon na kami ng pre oral defense. Malaking tulong talaga iyon sa aming lahat kasi ni-check na ng committee ang dapat ayusin so right now, kailangan pa naming i-improve ang mga ito. Kailangan naming aralin lahat for us to be prepared especially sa mga questions na maaari nilang ibato sa amin kapag final defense na.

“Kinakabahan na ako. Next week na final defense,” saad ni Shane habang narito kami sa lilim ng isang puno.

“Normal lang ang kabahan but we have to trust ourselves,” Aldridge commented.

“Hindi ka pa tapos sa inyo, Meg?” sabay na napalingon ang mga ito sa direksyon ko nang itanong iyon ni Shane.

“Tapos na but I have to double check our manuscript bago kami magprint. Darn, nakakapanghinang marinig ang final defense,” I told them.

“Kaya nga e. Pwede bang graduation na lang kaagad?” What Shane asked made me shook my head.

“Kaya nga kailangan nating magfocus kung gusto nating grumaduate,” tugon ko.

Sitting in our spot, lahat kami ay nakatingin sa kanya-kanya naming research manuscript at sa dala naming laptop. Then Shane’s phone beeped.

“Tinatawag ako ng group mates ko. Maiwan ko muna kayo r’yan,” paalam nito bago niya kami iniwang dalawa ni Aldridge.

When Shane’s gone, I asked Aldridge about their research. Since it’s all about electricity, wala akong masyadong naintindihan pero sabi niya sa akin ay okay naman na raw lahat. They’re now taking their rest before the final defense comes. Isang malaking sana all na lang talaga.

“You want to become an engineer ‘di ba?” Aldridge answered me with just a nod. “Why do you want to become an engineer?” I asked again.

“It’s just... How about you? Why do you want to become a doctor?” he didn’t finish answering my question. Sa halip ay ibinalik nito ang tanong sa akin.

“I want to prolong people’s lives,” simple kong sagot sa kanya but from that simple words, all of the other reasons lie within it.

Nang mapansin ako nitong busy sa research namin, saka siya nagsalita. “Continue what you’re doing. I’ll buy us snacks,” then he stood up and headed to the cafeteria.

Left alone, I checked my phone. Ang ilan sa grupo ko ay minessage ako sa ibang mali kaya kaagad ko iyong in-edit sa laptop. Buti na lang noong nakaraang weekend pati no’ng free time namin ay nag-overnight kami sa bahay nila Jamaica. Doon ay nagawa naming idiscuss lahat ng kailangan naming malaman pati ‘yung pinakaimportanteng detalye para sa research namin. We can’t fail this kaya nagfocus talaga kami nang mabuti rito.

As he handed it to me, agad kong binuksan ang mga iyon. I asked him if he wanted me to put some spicy sauce on his burger. When he nodded at me, I poured the spicy sauce on it. Nakahiwalay kasi ang maliit na sachet no’n while I didn’t put something on mine since spicy is not my thing.

“Here’s yours—” I stop midsentence and was alarmed because of how he looked.

Agad kong binitawan iyong burger at nilapitan siya. With eyes closed, his back was leaned on the tree. Nakahawak ito sa kanyang ulo at ilang beses siyang napailing kasabay ng mahina niyang pagdaing. For no reason, my heart thumped fast because of worry and nervousness.

“Aldridge, hey, are you okay?” hinawakan ko ito sa braso hanggang sa mapunta iyong kamay ko sa mukha niya, tinatapik nang mahina iyong pisngi niya.

When he opened his eyes, he kept blinking while shaking his head. “I am. My head suddenly hurts.”

“Why? Do you feel something wrong with your head?”

“No. Napagod lang ako kasi tinakbo ko ‘yung cafeteria papunta at pabalik dito. Gawa na rin siguro ng malakas na sinag ng araw.”

“Bakit naman kasi tinakbo mo?” medyo pagalit kong saad sa kanya pero naroon pa rin sa boses ko ang pag-aalala. Ang layo ng cafeteria dito sa tinambayan namin, bakit kasi kailangan pa niyang takbuhin? “Do you want water? I have something here.” Hinila ko iyong bag ko at kinuha iyong tumbler doon saka siya pinainom.

Matapos nitong uminom at matapos ng ilang minuto, bumalik naman na siya sa dati. Nang lingunin ako nito’y kinurot niya ‘yong pisngi ko pero iniiwas ko ‘yong mukha ko sa kanya saka siya sinamaan ng tingin.

“Hey, sorry.”

“Kasi naman, e. Pinakaba mo ako Aldridge, alam mo ba ‘yon?” singhal ko sa kanya pero ngumiti lang ito nang malaki sa akin. “Ngingiti-ngiti ka r’yan. Nakakatuwa ‘yon ha? Nakakatuwa?” I questioned sarcastically.

“Sorry, love,”

“Che!” saka ako pasimpleng tumingin sa ibang direksyon. Hindi dahil sa naiinis ako sa kanya, kundi dahil alam kong namumula ang pisngi ko dahil sa itinawag niya sa akin.

“Love,” napakagat na lamang ako sa pang-ibaba kong labi.

“Heh! H’wag mo akong kausapin,” saka ko kunyaring itinuon ang sarili ko sa laptop. Truth is, I’m hiding him what I’m feeling. Kasi naman si Aldridge, e! I didn’t know na may ganito siyang side.