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"Oh, no. Oh, no no no no..."
'Yan ang paulit-ulit kong sambit habang tumatakbo patungo sa building namin, hawak-hawak ang textbook ko sa kaliwang kamay at ang strap ng tote bag ko sa kabila. Unfortunately, elevated pa ang location ng building ko so I had to climb fleights of stairs just to get there.
I glanced down at my wrist watch and read the time. 8:08 a.m na pala. My god! I pushed the glass doors of the building open and ran up another set of stairs to the 3rd floor. Stairs na naman!
Of all places, why did my professor choose to hold classes here? Ba't di nalang sa lecture hall sa first floor? O kaya naman sa gusaling 'di pa kailangan i-hiking? I want to become a journalist, not an athlete!
But to be fair, it was my fault that I didn't wake up early today so I had to do all this running.
But again, in my defense, dahil din naman 'yun sa kaka-aral ko para sa subject niya, ah!
Never mind. Thinking like this wouldn't change things anyway. The problem at hand was that male-late na ako sa subject ng prof naming strict regarding tardiness.
Strange nga, eh. He doesn’t even list down attendance. As per his explanation, he doesn't have the time and patience for marking every single one of his many students. His only rule is that if he catches you entering the room once his lecture has already started, bibigyan ka niya ng demerit for that session.
Never pa akong na-late kaya never pa rin akong nagka-demerit. Ayokong magka-demerit dahil sayang 'yung points, at mas ayaw kong mapahiya sa lalaking 'yon dahil lang sa demerit!
With a heart rate that increased by a kilometer per millisecond, I rushed to the lecture hall. The strands of my hair floated in the wind and my bag swayed roughly with every step. I kept on looking down at my watch. Ang tanging ingay sa hallway ay ang pagyapak ng mga paa kong muntik nang bumigay.
I stopped in front of Room 315. Lecture Hall. Finally! But I had no time to celebrate nor catch my breath. It was time for the final battle. I placed my hand on the doorknob and—
Why was I holding a hand?! Whose—
"Oh, wow." Looks like fate had a lot of surprises in store for me today. I raised my eyebrows in equal parts shock and amusement. He did the same.
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, in the School of Arts and Sciences, there lived a girl from the Arts and a boy from the Sciences. They were both in the Debate Team as their programs' best debaters. She had reservations; he did not. She was open to conversation; he was not. He was a harsh person who said what he thought without any filter at all. It was extremely irksome.
One day, she decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. She beat him in a debate with his own weapons — harsh way of speaking, added with a few mocking tilts of the head and belittling eyebrow raises. It was the most fulfilling moment of her life.
Then, he learned that they shared a class. I don't even know why they share a class! What do their courses even have in common?! The moment he got a higher score than her in an exam (by a mere one point, mind you), he knew that he couldn't let the chance to rub it in her face pass. And so, exactly that he did.
Of course, 'di naman pwedeng magpatalo lang 'yung babae! The two have been upping each other in debates and exams ever since. The end.
Now, back to the present.
"So you can come to class late, huh, Lorraine…" Loki Mendez from B.S. Biology whispered upon seeing me, putting emphasis on the word can. He stood up straight and fixed the collar and cuffs of his white dress shirt. Mukhang nagulo sa sariling pagmamadali niya kanina.
I blinked. News flash: he had button-downs to spare. He usually just wears shirts in class so I wasn't used to seeing him look this… clean. Did he run out of shirts? Aasarin ko na sana siya nang napagtanto kong naka-white rin ako.
Coincidentally, I was wearing a loose blouse with ruffles paired with light blue jeans. Para naman kaming nag-matching nito?! I let out a sharp exhale to let out the frustration building up in me.
"My name isn't Lorraine." I glared at him. Sa tagal na naming magkasama sa Debate Team at sa klaseng 'to, di niya pa matama ang pangalan ko? I thought he was smart.
"Yeah, I know. It's Lorelei," he corrected himself. "Lorelei Rios from A.B. Journ."
"Congrats, marunong ka palang magbasa ng ID card."
"Congrats, marunong ka palang ma-late," he fired back in a bored mocking tone.
He sounded like he didn’t have enough energy to exchange barbs with me this morning but he did it anyway. Kaya ‘to nababansagan na future captain ng Debate Team, eh. Palaban talaga. Nakakainis.
"I could say the same thing to you. Your hair is a mess," I commented, pointing at the top of his head.
"And you think yours isn't?"
Oh, shoot.
In an attempt to save face, I quickly brushed my hair with my fingers. Itatali ko na sana 'yun nang matandaan kong I forgot to bring a hair tie. Just what was with me today?!
After our little exchange, anxiety rushed back into my system. I bit my lip as I glanced at the door.
I peeked inside through the door window. Our professor was already lecturing, facing towards the class. I cursed myself. If we enter now, siguradong mahuhuli kami ni Sir at mababawasan ng points.
"Anyway, how do we get in? He's pacing around the platform."
"Why are you so jittery?" He raised a brow. "Just open the door."
"The demerit!" I reminded him.
"Oh? And?"
"And?" I repeated in disbelief. "Talagang wala kang pakialam, 'no?"
"Nope." He shrugged as his hands rested in the pockets of his beige pants. "Even with the demerit, I could still beat you with my test scores."
I felt the blood rush up to my head. This... irritating show-off! 2 points lang naman 'yung lamang niya sa 'kin sa last test! Bonus pa 'yun!
"Not now," I sighed. "I'm not in the mood to keep up with your teasing, okay? Mamaya mo na ako asarin." I started pacing around. He just stared back at me without a response.
"How do we get in first?" I asked again, panicking a lot more evidently now.
"Calm down, Lorelei. We won't die." He calmly put back his hand on the doorknob. "Like I said, just open the door. Get this over with."
"You can't be serious!" I looked at him in disbelief.
He sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine. I'll open the door and you hide. Sneak in while he lists my name in his class record. That good?"
"Oh..." I whispered in understanding. Sinabayan ko pa 'yun ng pagtango. The plan kind of made sense... Wait, huh?! "Teka! Paano ka naman?! Hey! Hey, Lo—"
"Sorry I'm late, sir."
What the heck?!
Loki suddenly swung the door open without any warning. I rushed to hide myself behind the wall from everyone's sight, especially our professor's. My eyes went wide and I let out an exhale. Dala ng pagkagulat, napahawak ako sa dibdib ko. I hugged my belongings, making sure that it wasn't visible from the door.
I nervously glanced sidewards at Loki. He was looking at what or who I assumed to be our professor with his usual dull gaze. He didn't even look the slightest bit affected. Nasayang lang ang pag-alala ko sa kanya. My heart was beating so fast! How was he so calm in this situation?!
"Mr. Mendez," Prof. Morayta called my companion from inside the hall. "Indeed, you're 10 minutes late. That earns you a demerit."
"Apologies, sir.” He bowed his head slightly.
"Take a seat."
Nang magtama ang tingin namin ni Loki saglit, I crouched and rushed inside. Our instructor went back to his table and listed down Loki's tardiness in his record book, giving me time to sit down on an empty chair at the right side of the hall. I watched him sit somewhere at the other side, a few rows behind me.
Para akong nabunutan ng tinik sa lalamunan. I took a deep breath, finally calming down. Mabuti nalang at no comment din ang aking mga naging seatmate tungkol sa biglang pagdating ko. My tardiness was left unnoticed thanks to Loki's grand entrance.
I felt relieved. And a bit guilty. Medyo naawa rin ako sa kanya. But more than all that, I was grateful.
The class went on for another 50 minutes. It wasn't a fun class, to be honest. Kailangan lang talagang i-take. Idagdag mo pa 'yung fact na napaka-aga ng schedule niya. The person sitting beside me yawned repeatedly habang 'yung nasa harap ko ay tuluyan nang natulog.
I took down notes to keep myself awake and busy. For a moment, I peeked back at Loki. I saw him yawn and run his hand through his raven hair before focusing his eyes back on our textbook. Mukhang kasama na rin siya sa mga inaantok. He closed his eyes for a second and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to wake himself up. I laughed to myself silently at the sight.
Nang matapos ang klase, agad nang tumayo ang lahat at nakipagsiksikang lumabas. I fixed my things before heading out. "Don't forget about our exam tomorrow!" pahabol pa na sigaw ng aming prof.
Nang makalabas na ako sa building, I ran a few steps to catch up with the guy with disheveled hair. He was just a few paces ahead of me kaya 'di naman ako nahirapang humabol. The outdoors greeted me by messing with my hair again. Gosh, it was windy! Leaves started falling from the trees around us as if autumn suddenly came.
"Hey, wait!" I called while reaching for something in my tote bag.
Loki paused and turned his head to me, bored. "What?"
"Here." I handed that something over.
With evident hesitation, Loki took the item from my hand. He looked at it curiously and examined it like a laboratory specimen. "What is this?"
"Uh... strawberry milk?"
"Yeah, I know. I can read. What for?"
"For earlier." I hugged my book and brushed my hair away from my face again. This wind, I swear! "Sa 'yo na 'yan! Uh, thank you. Really."
I may not like his guts but I knew when to thank a person. Marunong naman akong tumanaw ng utang na loob.
"Sure," he slowly said while scrutinizing the milk box again. ‘Di ko naman ‘yan nilagyan ng lason, grabe ka!
"Talagang okay lang ba sa'yo 'yung nagka-demerit ka kanina?" I asked again, genuinely concerned.
"I told you, I don't care about it." He shrugged. "A small minus is no big deal. I could just make up for it with my other activities."
I just continued staring at him with guilt still tugging at my heart. I mean, points pa rin kaya ‘yun! We’re literally fighting over grades. This puts him at a disadvantage — one he gave himself because of me. Medyo unfair. I want to defeat him, yes, but not this way. Wait, maco-compromise ba ‘yung pagiging achiever niya rito?! President’s Lister ‘to, eh!
Loki seemed to have read my mind because he let out a frustrated sigh, pulling me back to the surface before I full on drowned in the sea of remorse.
"Why are you so affected? I'm the one with the demerit. Stop thinking about it."
I bit my lip and tilted my head sideways to get a clearer view of his face. "Okay lang talaga sa 'yo?"
Bigla niya nalang akong pinitik sa noo. Napapikit tuloy ako.
"What was that for?!" I asked in irritation.
"I said stop thinking about it."
"I'll try," I muttered honestly. Could he blame me? I’m an overthinker by nature. That answer seemed to satisfy him, though. Wala na siyang sinabi pa.
He took the straw attached to the carton and poked it in. I bit my lip in grief and watched him enjoy the strawberry milk. I frowned while he maintained a bored expression on his face.
"Wala man lang 'thank you'? Breakfast ko sana 'yan, eh." I muttered while looking away.
I noticed him pause for the half of a second before reaching down in his pocket. “A carton of milk for breakfast,” I thought I heard him mumble with a subtle shake of the head. He suddenly dropped something in my tote bag and my eyes went wide in reflex.
"What was that?" I asked in a panic.
"My thank you."
I quickly opened my bag to check for whatever he dropped. Everything seemed to be where I last put it except for one foreign object — a hair tie.
He casually took another sip. "I assume you'll be burying yourself in books tonight for tomorrow's exam?"
"Obviously," I replied with a confident smile. I tied my hair into a ponytail with his gift. "I have no plans of losing to you tomorrow."
"Likewise." His lips curved up into an amused smirk. "See you at the library then, Lorelei."
He turned around to leave, strawberry milk still in hand. I stifled a smile, realizing that Loki Mendez was now a few percent less annoying in my eyes than he was yesterday.
(ending theme: The Image of You - Sandeul)