Under the Pouring Rain

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - so near yet so far

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"You had me waiting for so long, Ms. Reyes," salubong sa amin ni Sir Dylan.

I forced a smile to make up for the embarrassment his stare inflicted on me. He looks so done, paano ba naman eh isang oras akong na-delay sa pagpapasa ng papers ng buong klase.

"Sorry po, may mga nagpahintay pa po kasi ng papers nila," pagdadahilan ko.

Totoo naman, 'yung iba kasi ay kanina palang nagsimulang gumawa kahit within this day lang ang submission. Kaya ayon, gahol na gahol at mukhang sa akin pa nababaling ang sisi ngayon.

He sighed. "Well that's not an acceptable reason, malinaw naman siguro sa instruction ko na hanggang ngayon na lang ang submission, right?"

I was about to apologize na lang nang magsalita si Trisha mula sa gilid ko.

"Actually Sir, hindi pa po namin malalaman kung hindi kayo tinanong kahapon ng president namin- aray!" reklamo nito nang sikuhin ko siya.

Again, totoo rin kasi. Nagulantang na lang ang lahat sa group chat namin kagabi nang i-announce ng president namin na tomorrow na ang pasahan. Luckily for me, last week ko pa siya na-accomplish.

"That's because you'll be entering college soon. You should've done it the day I gave it to you. Be responsible enough," he reasoned.

"Sorry po," sabay naming tugon ni Trisha.

"Anyway, thank you for collecting this, Ms. Reyes."

Nakayuko kaming lumabas ng office dahil na rin sa kahihiyan. Alam kong medyo may inis si Trisha kay Sir since day 1, lagi kasing hindi pumapabor sa kanya ang mga rules nito, kaya na rin siguro hindi niya napigilang sumagot.

Matatapos na rin ang semester — senior high school period namin, to be exact, pero mukhang never niya nang maiintindihan ang mga shortcomings ni Sir Dylan no matter how I lowkey defend him.

"Aba, bakit parang kasalanan natin, kasalanan natin, ha!?" she exclaimed.

"Totoo naman kasi, dapat last week palang nagawa na 'yan. Sino ba kasing nagsabing next week pa ang pasahan, naka-encounter na ba tayo ng prof na 2 weeks ang preparation na binibigay para sa activity? Wala 'di ba?" sagot ko.

"Sabagay, pero ang gara niya. No wonder kung bakit walang may favourite sa kaniya. Matalino lang at magaling magturo, no more, no less."

"Kaysa naman kayo ano, 'no.'"

We purposely exchanged glances, and for sure, pareho kami ng taong nasa isip.

"Hmmm ikaw ha, hahahahaha!"

Just like that, dumiretso kami sa cafeteria nang nagtatawanan while talking s**t about this and that.

Everything has happened so quickly since the day he gave me that limited edition pen by Miss Nikki Shel; I joined the Research Laboratory Club and we even got second place on the national investigatory project. Although hindi naman ako ang representative, I felt extremely honoured to have worked alongside him and everyone. After all, it was the process that matters the most.

Most of all, I got to see him more often - and witnessed the sides of him that he does not show in class.

Ang daming nangyari at nagbago sa loob ng two years, at isa na roon ang unti-unting pagkahiwalay sa amin ni Jekoy. Bakit? Ayon, nagkajowa.

We've known each other for more than a decade, pero dahil napakaselosa ng impaktang 'yon, pinili namin ni Trisha na iwasan muna siya.

And speaking of the devil, heto at biglang may mabahong sumiksik sa tabi ko out of nowhere.

"Anyare p're? Ba't 'di mo kasama jowa mo?" tanong ni Trisha.

For a split second, nagkatinginan kami ni Trisha dahil nakapagtatakang narito siya ngayon imbes na nakikipaglandian sa girlfriend niya.

"Wala lang. Miss ko na kayo eh," sagot ni Jekoy at mas lalo pa ngang sumiksik sa akin, dahilan para lumipat ako sa tabi ni Trisha.

"Naiwan mo wallet mo 'no?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Hindi, tanga. Basta patabi muna, para namang hindi tropa."

"Nako Jekoy, aminin mo, wala na kayo 'no?" Trisha raised a brow at him, as if pressuring him to give an answer.

"Ata? Ewan."

Napalingon kami ni Trisha sa isa't-isa bago humarap muli kay Jekoy.

'Ewan' daw?

Hmm. . .

"Gago ka talaga," sabay naming komento ni Trisha.

***

"As we all know, your graduation ceremony is coming near and next week na mag-sa-start ang practice niyo for that special day. On the first day of said activity, we will be announcing the ranking of the top 5 outstanding students for the entire school year and that covers all the strands here. Also, paalala ko lang 'yung graduation ball natin 2 days after the actual grad ceremony. That's all, congratulations in advance. 'Yong mga may sabit pa, maiwan, magtutuos tayo. Class, dismissed."

Graduation ball . . .

Maybe I should . . go confess my feelings by then? Wala namang mawawala 'di ba? Katinuan ko siguro, oo, joke.

Pero what if—

"Hoy Gia!"

Halos mapatalon ako sa kinauupuan ko nang sigawan ako ni Trisha sa tenga. Mukhang kanina pa ata ako tinatawag habang lumulutang ang isip ko.

"Ha bakit?"

She rolled her eyes. "Una ka na kako, may pa-despedida ata si coach sa'min. Nako, anong araw ba ngayon, bakit extra-sabog ata ang mga tao? Hay, alis na ko, mwaps. Ingat!" ani nito sabay harurot palabas ng classroom.

Nang ikutin ko ng tingin ang kwarto ay wala na rin palang tao, maski si Jekoy. Ano pa bang in-e-expect ko eh lagi naman na niyang kasabay umuwi 'yung girlfriend niya?

Kagaya ng nakagawian, mag-isa na naman akong naglakad palabas ng building. Tapos na ang club activities namin simula nang matapos ang national competition, recent lang din natapos ang sa mga sports, at ngayon naman ay may celebration ata sila Trisha.

Sa kalagitnaan ng paglalakad ko ay nadatnan ko si Sir Dylan sa laboratory, salamin kasi ang walls nito kaya kitang-kita mula sa labas. Out of curiosity, I tried to get his attention, and he seemed to have received my signal naman.

He explained that he tried to recreate an experiment he saw online, only to discover na kulang pala siya sa materials while at it. Kaya ayon, mag-isa siyang naglilinis until I came.

"Thanks for helping me clean out," sabi nito habang sabay kaming naghuhugas ng kamay sa magkatabing lavatory.

"No worries po," I replied.

We hanged the glasswares sa drying rack, and sat next to each other while waiting. I felt a sudden race inside my chest, which I immediately suppressed — sanayan lang. Sa dalawang taon ba namang lagi kaming magkasama, natutunan ko nang pakalmahin ang sarili ko silently, kahit na alam kong mas lumalalim ang pagtingin ko sa kanya as time passes.

"So what are your plans for college?" He asked, breaking the silence between us.

"I'll be taking my premed po."

"Really? That's great. What particular degree program is it?"

"Ano. . Biology po."

"Ohh.

'You're the one who inspired me to do so,' I thought.

It was indeed my dad's decision na pumasok ako sa medical school someday, and prompt me to immerse myself in studying medicine at an early age, pero it was Sir Dylan who made me enjoy it somehow.

"Sir, curious lang po. You seem to be quite the expert po kasi in terms of medical biology, naisip niyo po bang pumasok sa medical school before?" I asked the question that's been bothering me for years. Kahit kasi we've always been in the same room, I never got to chance to talk to him alone, maliban sa araw na nag-enlist ako sa club na 'to.

"I actually took medical biology as my major. Regarding sa medical school, I did try but had to quit halfway," he admitted, eyes still directed towards his front.

"O-oh. Sayang naman po."

'Had to quit'. . for whatever reason was it?

Kahit na mas na-intriga ako sa sagot niya, I chose not to ask further na lang.

"Anyway, there's no use dwelling in the past. Kita mo, kung tinuloy ko 'yon, I wouldn't be here guiding all of you. I'm having my fair share of fun din naman. This time, lumingon na siya sa side ko.

And I do hope that the heat I felt on my face just now did not appear visibly.

"Ang masasabi ko lang, Miss Reyes, getting into medical school is indeed a prestigious experience but you will have to extensively prepare yourself mentally for it. It won't be easy, pero I trust na you can do it anyhow," he added, making my heart pound a little heavier.

"Thank you po."

"You still have several years to think about it, kaya gawin mo nang mabuti, okay?"

"Yes po."

And yet again, napagitnaan na naman kami ng katahimikan.

"By the way, Ms. Reyes," I turned to him upon hearing my surname, "about the book you returned to me last time . . ."

"Po?"

He scratched the back of his head, nakalimutan ba niya ang sasabihin niya? Yes, I did borrow that one book by Ms. Shel from him, which I returned naman after a week, pero what of it?

"Nothing. Oh, it's getting late na, baka hinahanap ka na sa inyo?"

Shoot, it's 4pm already!

"Ay, sige una na po ako."

***

Despite the fact na isang oras na akong late sa pag-uwi, I walked down the hallway with an occupied mind at low speed.

What was it that he was about to tell me? I'm dead curious pero alangan namang bumalik pa ako to ask?

That book, ano nga bang meron do'n?

I tried to recall the times I've spent with that book on my possession. Isang linggo ko siyang hiniram and throughout that period, was there any significant event na nangyari?

Okay, so . . .

Fuck, could it be—

"Well hello, Gia. Busy ka?"

Agad akong napalingon sa likod ko nang may marinig akong pamilyar na boses.

That annoying tone and pitch, realizing whose voice was it made me bite my lower lip and shut my eyes in displeasure.

"Kayla, bakit? May kailangan ka?" I smiled kahit na labag sa kalooban ko.

It was none other than Jericho's dramatic girlfriend. . and her two chipettes.

"Yes, it's an urgent matter, sama ka sa'min?"

Her confident smile shouts trouble, mukhang may something talaga kaya sumabay sa amin si Jekoy kanina eh.

"Ano kasi, hinahanap na 'ko sa bahay," pagdadahilan ko.

"Saglit lang naman. May itatanong lang ako about kay Jericho, medyo may tampuhan kasi kami eh," she pouted, para bang batang nagpapa-cute sa nanay para mapagbigyan.

Pero teka, seryoso ba 'to? Ganito 'yung mga napapanood kong eksena bago makuyog 'yung main character eh.

Kaso ano pa nga bang magagawa ko? Hindi naman siguro nila ako kakalbuhin dito, ano? After all, nanganganib ang good moral character naming lahat during this time of the school year.

"S-Sige."

***

Last Thursday night . . .

Huling dalawang araw ng hellweek. Napasampal na lang ako sa magkabilang pisngi dahil sa sobrang antok. Naubos ko na ang tubig sa electric kettle ko kakatimpla ng kape pero mukhang wala talagang epekto. Instead, parang na-high ata ako, para bang nag-le-levitate na 'yung utak ko at wala na ako sa tamang katinuan.

Umay na rin ako kaka-memorise ng mga terms sa reviewer ko; basa - recite - basa - recite.

Then all of a sudden, naisipan kong magsulat muna sa journal, pampa-refresh lang.

I let my fingers and mind synchronize to craft each word, hanggang sa ma-realize ko na lang that the flow is turning it into a letter. . addressed to him.

Then I remember, dati ko pa pinaplano na magsulat for him, maybe it's the time na to do so?

With that, I plucked the page off and cleaned the edges. I still have some envelopes left pa rin from the last letter I wrote for someone else, kaya I folded it and slipped in inside.

And now, all that's left is the perfect timing.

After graduation, I suppose?

That in mind, inipit ko muna iyon sa librong naka-stack sa left side ng table ko and proceeded on studying the rest of my notes.