[b][size=3]THREE[/size][/b] [i]Cale[/i] “Miss Ortega, you are late.” Ma’am David said sternly. “I’m sorry ma’am.” The girl said sheepishly a little breathlessly. Hinihingal kasi eh. Prang ang layo ng tinakbo. “I don’t want this to happen again, Miss Ortega. Are we clear?” “Crystal.” Then she sat in the empty seat next to mine. I watched her. Her cheeks were red and she was looking down, completely embarrassed. I know I’ve seen her somewhere. I just don’t remember— Alam kuna! Siya yung nasa mall nun. Nung fashion show.. Wew. What are the odds? I see her sa mall and then a few days later, kaklase ko pala siya. Patawa talaga ang fate. “Excuse me?” She said suddenly. Ako ba kausap niya? “Ano?” I asked, a little confused. “Yung wallet ko. Asa may paahan mo. Pwedeng pakikuha?” Wenk. Uutusan pa ‘ko e. “Abot mo naman e.” Tapos she looked a little shocked. “Malamang hindi. Kaya nga pinakukuha ko sayo diba?” Angas. I kicked the wallet slightly toward her. “Yan na.” Sabi ko. “Sungit naman.” She whispered as she bent down to pick her wallet. “Sige, you’re welcome.” I said, smirking. Nakakatuwa naman siyang asarin. [align=center] [u] [/u][/align] [i]Keenah[/i] Malas ko talaga ngayon. Nalate na nga, napagalitan pa. Plus, kulangot pa ‘tong nakatabi ko. And yes, you read right. Kulangot nga. Yun yung tawag namin ni Cedric sa mga taong nakaka-bad vibes. Tsk. I wish Ced were here. Sayang kasi e, di kami magkaklase. Sa kabilang section pa sila ng iba kong kaclose.. “Class as you all know, your batch is the graduating class this year. Am I right?” Ma’am David said nung matapos na siyang magcheck ng attendance. “Yes ma’am.” We answered in chorus. “So I’m expecting good things from all of you ah. There had better be no misbehaviour in my class. Or else.. baka di na kayo makasabay sa mga ibang section sa pagmarcha.” She warned. “Okay class, as you may have noticed we have a few transferees. There are 3 in this class, I think. At dahil jan, I am assigning them a sort of tour guide. Pero yung tour guide nila will do much more than just touring and guiding them around the school. They will be the ones to assist them rin sa pagadjust sa rules and culture ng school natin.” She continued. “Whoa. Ang mamalas naman ng mga mapipiling yun. Dagdag trabaho.” I whispered. “Ang ingay naman.” Parinig ni kulangot. “Would you like to share with the rest of the class what you two are talking about, Ms. Ortega, Mr. Benson?” Ma’am David suddenly said loudly. WHOOPS. Busted. “Um, kasi ma’am, ano po—“ I stammered. But kulangot cut in. “Ms. Ortega was just asking me if I would like her to be my tour guide/assistant.” He said. WHUUUUUT?! FFFUU! “Ah. As you wish. You two will be partners then. Now, moving on.. Mr. Suarez will be...” Di na ‘ko nakinig. Mejo nahihilo ata ako. “Are you insane?!” I whispered furiously dito sa Mr. Benson na ‘to. “Be glad I’m not. Kasi if that were the case, mas mahihirapan kang ihandle ako, TG. ” Putek ang yabang talagaaaaaa!! [align=center] [u] [/u][/align] ”TG, pakidala naman bag ko oh.” Biglang sabi ni kulangot sakin nung nadismiss na kami’t pupunta na sa next classroom. Nga pala, I learned na Cale yung pangalan niya. I took a peek at his I.D. kanina e. “Yabang mo. Baka gustong makilala ng mukha mo yung sapatos ko?” I said. Ang angas talaga. Akala mo kung sino. “Subukan mo lang. Susumbong kita.” He taunted. Inirapan ko siya. “Samahan pa kita e.” I fired back. “Sige.” Tapos bumalik siya sa room papunta ka Ma’am David. HEEEEEEEEEH! Hinabol ko siya’t hinila papalayo. “Akin na nga.” I said, defeated. Tapos hinablot ko bag niya’t naglakad na. I heard him chuckle. [align=center] [u] [/u][/align] Maya-maya nung lunch time na, I got up and started to go. Pero biglang nagsalita ung kulangot. “Oi. San ka pupunta?” I sighed, exasperated. “Kakaen. Bawal nb yun ngayon?” “Hnde. Wala naman akong sinabi..” then he got up too. “O tara na. Ano pang tinutungatunganga mo jan?” ANO BAAA. Kasama ko na nga siya for the past periods, pati ba naman b sa lunch break kelangan kadikit ko siya?! “Di mo ba alam kung nasan ang canteen? Di mo ba kayang pumunta dun mag-isa?” sumbat ko. “Transferee nga e, hello?” I rolled my eyes and started walking. Fine. Isasama ko siya papunta sa cafeteria. Pero pagdating dun, I’m going to ditch him na. Kasabay ko kaya ng lunch break sina Cedric. I’m going to sit with them of course. It’s not really a choice kung papipiliin ako kung si kulangot o sila. “O eto na. Ayun ung pila, at ayun ung mga upuan. Ge, see you mamaya.” I said formally when we reached the cafeteria. Then I walked over to where Cedric, Jem, Marqui and Daena were sitting. “O Keen, mukhang stressed ka ata?” Jem said pagkaupo ko. “Bwisit e. May kulangot sa paligid.” Tawanan sila. I laughed a little too. Kasi naman nakakatawa siyang pakinggan kahit gets nilang lahat ung meaning. “Alin ba?” tanong ni Ced. I pointed to Cale. May kausap siyang guy, parang kakilala niya. Good. Akala ko pa naman magiging loner siya. Naguilty rin naman ako kahit papano sa pag-iwan sakanya noh. “Napano siya?” they asked. “Katabi ko kasi. Tapos naassign pkong iassist siya. Transferee e. Pero siya ung nagvolunteer sakin. Ang yabang amo. Nakakairita tlga.” I ranted. “Whew. Tough break.” Marqui commented. “Ugh. Don’t get me started.” I said, rolling my eyes. Then we ate. [b]It felt nice to finally shove all thoughts of him kahit saglit lang.[/b]