I went to the court. Napakunot ang noo ko ng makita ang mga basketball players na tinutukso si Liam.
Wait, tinutukso ba nila si Liam sa akin?
"Hi, Donna!" Few of his teammates called me.
I smiled at them and cutely waved my hand at Liam. Sa may stage ay nakita ko sina Charm.
Tsk, magselos ka, ravengirl. Wala akong pakialam.
"Hi." Natigil ako sa pagdadaldal ng marinig ang malalim na boses na iyon.
My jaw dropped open the moment I saw Dale, the transferee, Von, Andy, and Liam.
"I think we should stop doing this, Dale." Liam patiently told Dale.
I hid my smirk. I think I know where this is going. I tried to act normal. Pilit ko rin tinitingnan ang reaksyon ng magkakaibigan.
"Gusto lang naming tanungin if nandito ba ang poetic lover ni Liam?" I almost puke and laugh my heart out upon hearing the term, 'poetic lover.'
"You know, Liam is receiving poems from someone unknown." I bit my cheeks inside to stop myself from smiling.
I don't think Charm have the guts to stand and admit that it's her so, I'm going to take this chance.
"Looks like, she's not here." I pursed my lips upon hearing the tone of disappointment in Liam's voice.
Breathe. One. Two. Three.
"That's me." I acted nervous when in fact halos mamatay na ako sa kilig habang naglalakad palapit sa kanila.
I tried to caught Charm's reaction on my peripheral vision. Oh, sorry, dear.
Kaya lang ay mukhang matalino itong si Dale para alamin ang pen name. Oh dear, I know the pen name but I won't tell.
Kakabahan na sana ako ng makitang tumayo si Charm sa kanyang kinauupuan but as usual, the weakling Charm didn't admit that it was her. Pity her. Tsk.
"You like me?" Hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Liam sa akin nang makita niya akong nakaupo sa may red bench.
Kunwari ay nag-aaral pero ang totoo ay hinihintay ko lang siyang dumaan.
"Yes. Isn't it too obvious?" I mocked him. He shrugged his shoulders tsaka ako iniwan na.
Ibang klase rin iyon eh.
Pagpasok ko sa room ay narinig ko ang tilian ng mga kaklase ko.
"What's going on?" I curiously asked her.
"Pogi raw iyong bagong prof!" Fiona giggled at her.
I shrugged my shoulders. Matamlay kong tiningnan ang Prof namin sa fundamentals. Buti naman at pumasok na to! Halos one week din tong wala eh!
"Hi, class!" He formally greeted us. Saglit niyang inilibot ang kanyang tingin. "I'm Mr. Gabriel Simone Lacson. I'll be your professor for fundamentals of food science and technology."
Napairap na lang ako ng makitang halos mangisay sa kilig ang mga kaklase ko. Seriously? Bet ba nila ang mga matatanda?
Hindi ko alam kung matutuwa ba ako na hindi matanda ang prof namin. Bata nga, strikto naman!
"Sir, ilang taon ka na po?" Maharot na tanong ni Fiona.
"If you'll pass the board exam, I'll tell you." Sir said while plastering a smirk on his face.
"Hula ko ay nasa thirty na yan." I said to everyone. They all laughed at me.
"I am a fresh graduate from UP. How come, I'm that old?" He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow on me.
"Akala ko ba, Sir, hindi tumatanggap ng mga fresh grad ang BSU?" Usisa naman ni Jerard.
I agree on him. Sabi ng mga prof namin nung pasukan, lahat ng mga profs dito ay nakapagmasteral na.
"I graduated Summa Cum Laude. I am going to study my masteral perhaps after next year. They hired because I'm competent enough, plus, I really know Food Science and Technology."
Kita mo yan! Nagbibiruan biglang ang seryoso ng paliwanag.
"Anyway, going back to the topic, based on the article that you read, why do we need food technologist and not culinary arts?"
Pilit kong iniwasang tingnan si Sir. God! Hindi ako nagbasa! Sinearch ko lang nga ang sagot ko sa assignment namin.
Suddenly, no one in class is speaking. Syempre, ang recitation ni Sir, daig pa ang defense sa thesis!
"Miss Pascal."
Jusko po, Ama naming maaawain, tulungan mo po ako.
"Miss Pascal." Napapikit ako ng muli akong tawagin ni Sir.
My throat suddenly felt dry. My hands are getting cold. I pressed my lips in a thin line and stared at Sir for awhile.
"Uhm..." Rinig na rinig ko ang malakas na tibok ng puso ko.
"Did you do your assignment?" He eyed me seriously.
I nodded, "Yes, Sir. I just...I just need to concentrate." I reasoned out and think again.
Shit! Kung hindi sana ako nag copy paste, di sana alam ko! Sir nodded at me.
"Ahm according to the article, we...need food technologist because...they...they are not cooking." Napapikit ako ng marinig ang mumunting tawanan ng mga kaklase ko.
"So what?" Masungit na tanong sa akin ni Sir pabalik.
"That's why we need them...because they are not cooking...they are checking...the foods." I tried to sound confident kahit na ang totoo ay napapahiya na ako.
"Is that your answer in your assignment?" Sir unbelievably asked me.
Hindi ko maalala ang sagot ko doon kaya naman gamit ang maliit na boses ay labag sa loob akong sumagot, "Yes, Sir."
I saw how Sir unbelievably looked at me. Buti na lang at natapos na ang oras ni Sir. Of course, it ended with the scene of me being the clown inside our class.
The next day, kunot-noo na pumasok si Sir sa klase namin. Hindi talaga ako natutuwa kapag subject na ni Sir. Nalaman pa namin na siya na rin ang hahawak sa Qualitative Chemistry namin.
"First, I do not tolerate plagiarism." Panimula nito bago tinigil ang tingin sa akin.
I tried to not to think that he might caught me doing plagiarism. Of course he did! Eh mukhang sa alien pa naman ang utak nito!
"I am letting you do readings and essays after it so that it would retained on your minds, but, it looks like some of you always want the easiest ways, right, Miss Pascal?"
I heard the little murmuring of my classmates.
I looked at Sir and nodded. Still trying to act like I didn't do anything wrong.
"Is your answer last meeting, your answer in your essay?" Halos magsitindigan ang mga balahibo ko lalo na ng marinig ang galit sa boses ni Sir.
"Yes." Nakayuko ako habang sinagot ang tanong niya.
I almost jumped from my chair when I heard the slamming of the table. Madilim akong tiningnan ni Sir.
"Really, Miss Pascal?" He mocked me.
Naramdaman ko ang pag-iinit ng mga mata ko lalo na ng ngumisi ito sa akin.
"You are already second year college students. How come you're acting like an elementary? You can't write essays?" He scoffed and angrily stormed out of our room.
"Ano ba yan! Anak ba yan ni Mayor?"
"Puro ganda lang eh!"
I held all my things and decided to go home. So much for this day!