Fate Must Be Crazy

Chapter 3

FOR FOUR YEARS of studying here, this is the very first time that I lost my ID. I'm still frustrated of what happened. Kung sinumang kupal 'yon na kumuha ng gamit ko, hinding-hindi ko siya mapapatawad. Hindi niya lang tinapakan ang pride ko, dinala niya pa ako sa landas na 'to. Kung hindi nangyari 'to, eh 'di sana hindi ako nagkautang na loob kay Mr. Raven.

"You said that your ID was stolen by an end student, are you still familiar with his face?"

"Yeah," walang ganang sagot ko at ipinikit ang mga mata. Hinding-hindi ko makakalimutan ang mukha ng salarin na nilapastangan ang pagkatao ko. Hindi lang mukha, buong itsura niya kabisang-kabisado ko pa rin. "And I do hope that your organization will do something about this. That kind of action should not be tolerated."

"Speaking of the organization, it must be nice to have your presence in the SSG office. Why'd you have to reject my proposal back then when I personally asked you to be my Vice President? That hurts, you know. At least let me hear your reason."

"I already told you, I'm not interested," diretsong sagot ko at umayos ng upo. "I never wanted to be part of that organization."

"Bakit ayaw mo? Is it because of me?"

Exactly. For the past four years I've been trying my best to avoid him as possible even though we're always at the same class. Unlike me, he's always sociable and loves to be the center of attention. He's full of energy, he's even an athlete. He knows a lot of sports like basketball, table tennis, archery and swimming. He's also a master of board games especially chess. We're so very opposite in many things. The only thing that we share in common is that we both love books and the two of us are members of the school's journalists club.

Aside from my personal reason, there's also someone in our class who desperately wants to get the VP position. It's just right to give it to someone who needed it the most. Unfortunately, that someone is too ungrateful for my kindness.

Hindi ko na sinagot ang tanong niya at itinuon na lang ang atensyon sa labas ng bintana. It must be so nice to be rich. Hindi na nila kailangang pagurin ang sarili nila sa paglalakad kasi may sariling sasakyan sila. Malaki kasi talaga ang school na 'to at sobrang lawak ng field. I wonder what it feels like to be on Mr. Raven's shoes.

Pasimple akong tumingin sa kanya dahil bigla na lang siyang tumahimik. Nakatingin na rin siya sa labas ng bintana na para bang may malalim na iniisip. Mayamaya lang ay huminto na ang sasakyan. Bumaba na ako at nagpasalamat sa butler niya bago naunang pumasok ng star building. Special Class is separated from the Middle Classes and this building was made solely for us. We have our own Locker Room, Library, Cafeteria, Music Room, Laboratories, and other facilities that are exclusive only for Special students.

"How about me? Where's my thank you? It's not fair," pagmamaktol niya na parang bata at inunahan ako sa paglalakad. "You're so rude to me. Why is that?"

Binagalan ko na lang ang paghakbang ko para hindi kami magsabay. Papasok pa lang ako ng classroom pero ramdam ko na ang malamig na aura na nakapalibot dito at ang mga makahulugang tingin ng mga kaklase namin. They're staring at me as if I made an unforgivable crime.

"Look who's here," bungad na wika ni Ms. Ocampo habang nanliliit ang mga mata at naka-de kwatrong nakaupo sa armchair niya. Pinasadahan niya ako ng tingin mula ulo hanggang paa at ngumisi. "What happened to our early bird? You're almost late. Nahiya ka pa sana umabsent ka na lang."

She's Vianne Marie Ocampo, the 'bitchy genius' of Class 4S. She's one of the most popular students in SacHea. She also came from a very well known and most influential family, her parents own various types of business firms. If I were to compare, halos magkapareho lang sila ng standing ni Mr. Raven. Kinulang nga lang siya sa GMRC. Siya 'yong tipong walang filter ang bibig kung magsalita. Bakit parang big deal sa kanya ang pagiging late ko? As far as I know it's none of her business.

"At sabay pa talaga kayo ni Mr. Raven, 'no? Is there going on between the two of you? Are we missing something?" sunod-sunod na tanong ni Ms. Wales at nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin sa 'min ni Mr. Raven.

"Seriously, Sabrina? As if namang papatol si Mr. Raven sa babaeng 'yan. I know his type and it's obviously not someone like her. If anything, I want you guys to see this." Iniharap ni Ms. Ramirez sa amin ang phone niya at nag-play ang isang video kung saan nandoon ako, nakayuko at humihingi ng tawad sa mga estudyante.

"This just happened a while ago pero nag-viral na kaagad. How embarrassing." She smirked at me as if she's trying to test my patience. As expected of one of Ms. Ocampo's underlings. I want to applaud them for trying hard to pissed me off. Jokes on them, I'm not the shallow one. As what the saying says, 'the worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise'.

"Oh dear. This isn't about Ms. Grey, this is about how popular I am that made this video go viral. Look at the comment section, they're always mentioning my name," nakangising wika ni Mr. Raven na ngayon ay hawak na ang phone ni Ms. Ramirez. Tumingin siya sa 'kin at ngumiti nang malapad. "Don't worry, Ms. Grey. I'll do something about this clip."

Hindi ko na lang sila pinansin at tahimik na umupo sa armchair ko. I'm not in the mood to talk with them. Sakto namang tumunog ang bell at mayamaya'y dumating na rin ang adviser namin.

"Best morning Class 4S," bati sa 'min ni Teacher Alcazar. We stood from our seats and greeted her back. She's holding a red expanded envelope. It's the result of the 2nd Quarter Final Exam and as far as I know, the same result will be posted on the bulletin board at the ground floor of the main building kung saan makikita ng lahat ang ranking of top students, especially the most awaited result of the current standing of each student in Special Class. I couldn't care less if may matanggal na naman sa 'min ang importante hindi ako 'yon.

"Today is indeed an important day for all of us. We will not only announce the result of the 2nd Quarter Final Exam but we will also vote for one student from this class to be sent off to join the End Class as a special order from the School Head. I believe you're already briefed about this matter last Friday, am I correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

I almost forgot about that. This is one of the downsides of being an S Class student. Each one of us must do a special task as a part of our requirements before we graduate. Apat pa lang sa 'min ang nakatanggap nito at lahat ng 'yon nagawa nila nang walang kahirap-hirap. Of course, they have the money and the influence. Nothing is impossible if you're wealthy. Besides, the task was given to them personally by the School Head.

Ang kaibahan lang ngayon ay kami mismo ang pipili ng isa sa amin para gawin ang special task. One student from Special class must join the End Class to experience the life of an End student, to observe the things beneath the surface and write a constructive analysis according to what they have observed.

No one in their right minds will go down to the lowest part of this school just for that. What's worse? The chosen student must also do something to improve the academic standing of the students. The main goal is to make them pass the 3rd Quarter Final Examination. Once they fail, the chosen student will no longer step up to the Special Class and will be joining the End Class until the end of the school year. In short, it's suicide.

"Alright, good. Then I assume that you already have someone in mind to vote for."

Sigurado akong si Mr. Raven ang makakakuha ng majority votes. It's an S rate task and there's no other person who is suited for that but him. In fact, hindi na dapat pinagbobotohan pa ang mga ganitong bagay kasi halata naman na.

He won't like it for sure. Sino ba naman kasing gugustuhing bumaba sa kung nasaan siya ngayon para makisama sa mga mababang uring estudyante ng eskwelahang 'to? Tanga lang ang papayag nun. But knowing that he's an ace, I'm sure he'll do it as quickly as possible. He wasn't called prime student for nothing.

"Before we proceed to voting, let's announce first the result of your exam. I know you've been dying to know about your scores."

Isa-isang binigay sa 'min ni Teacher Alcazar ang mga papers namin at bahagyang umarko ang gilid ng labi ko nang makita ang scores ko. Out of nine subjects, I only perfected eight. I got 99 out of 100 in Math just because I wrote a wrong sign in one item. My average score is 99.89. Not bad, not good either. I expected higher than this. My main goal is to perfect all the subjects but I just failed it perfectly. I want to pinch myself for being clumsy. Small mistake is still a mistake and it affected the overall result.

Pasimple kong inilibot ang tingin sa mga kaklase ko at inobserbahan ang iba't ibang ekspresyon ng mga mukha nila. Tila huminto sa pagtakbo ang oras at nakatitig lang sila sa mga papel. Walang ni isa ang nagsasalita o gumagawa ng kahit na anong ingay. Tanging pagtunog lang ng aircon at mga yabag ng sandals ni Teacher Alcazar ang naririnig ko.

"I noticed how your scores dramatically went down especially in your major subjects. What's the matter, class? Most of you got 90+ not higher than 95 which is an average score of an A Class. I already told you, expect the unexpected and widen your scope. May mga instances talaga na ang lalabas sa exam ay wala sa pinag-aralan ninyo." Wika nito sa seryosong tono at umiling-iling. Bumalik siya sa gitna at pumalakpak nang isang beses para makuha ang atensyon ng mga estudyante.

"But still, you've done well. Good job Class 4S. You've fought a fight that no ordinary students would dare to face. I'm pretty sure lalo lang kayong titingalain ng mga Middle Classes pati na ang mga taga ibang school."

In this class, an average of 80 won't do. The average of 95 is already a red warning sign. This is a Special Class after all. Looks like they're taking advantage of their current standing that they already forgot the real risk of it. They should've studied hard for this. Walang mahirap na exam sa mautak na estudyante. Kahit ilang beses pa nilang baliktarin at baguhin ang mga tanong sa test papers as long as kabisado na ng estudyante ang tamang paraan ng pagsagot nito, wala rin.

"Teacher, how do you explain this? Mr. Raven and I got the same average score. I can't accept this. We can't be in the same position, right? Isa lang dapat ang Rank 1 kaya paano niyo ipapaliwanag 'to?" Napatingin kaming lahat kay Ms. Ocampo. Hawak niya ang test papers ni Laxus. Gano'n na lang ang panlalaki ng mga mata ko nang makita ang scores nila.

"Of course, you can be in the same spot. There's no rule that says only one person can take the Rank 1 spot," nakangiting sagot ni Teacher Alcazar at sinundan ito ng pagngisi. "Yun ay kung kayo nga ang nasa Rank 1."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ms. Ocampo, haven't you forgot? This is a Special Class. Hindi lang kayo ni Mr. Raven ang estudyante ko rito at mas lalong hindi lang kayo ang gustong makatungtong sa Rank 1." Sa gulat ko, bigla na lang tumingin si Teacher Alcazar sa 'kin at ngumiti nang malapad. "Right, Ms. Grey?"

Sunod-sunod akong napalunok ng sariling laway. Nagsitinginan ang lahat sa 'kin. I'm still surprised. I can't believe this. Mr. Raven only got an average score of 99. Tumingin ako sa gawi niya pero nakatingin lang siya sa labas ng bintana. It's as if he doesn't care. He looks bored, resting his head on his hand and using his elbow for support.

"That's right. Ms. Grey got the highest average score in this class. C'mon, don't be shy and congratulate her."

Walang ni isa ang nag-abalang i-congratulate ako o kahit pumalakpak man lang. I'm not happy either. I don't know what's going on but something isn't right here.

"What? Is this some kind of joke?" taas-kilay na wika ni Ms. Ocampo at kaagad na kinuha ang test papers ko. Nanlaki ang mga mata niya at kaagad itong inilapag sa desk ko. "I-Impossible..."

Halos hindi maipinta ang mukha ni Ms. Ocampo. I'm not satisfied with the result but seeing her react like this makes me wanna laugh and celebrate. Buti na lang marunong akong magtimpi kung 'di baka kanina ko pa siya naasar.

"Congratulations, Ms. Grey." It's Mr. Raven. He extended his hand while smiling widely. Tiningnan ko lang ito at mahinang tumango tsaka itinuon ang tingin sa harap dahil may sasabihin pa si Teacher. Agad niyang binawi ang kamay niya na para bang napahiya at bumalik sa pagkakaupo.

After the announcement of result, the voting started. We used a mobile app–exclusive only for school use, in casting our votes at automatic na itong magbibilang ng boto. I stared blankly at my phone screen while the 15-minute countdown is running. Kailangan ko lang naman pindutin ang pangalan ni Mr. Raven pero bakit ayaw gumalaw ng mga daliri ko?

'Did you know? There's an old saying na kapag minalas ka ng isang beses, masusundan ito ng dalawa pa. Hindi matatapos ang araw hangga't hindi ka minalas ng tatlong beses. Pang-ilang kamalasan mo na ba 'to?'

Bigla ko tuloy naalala ang sinabi niya kanina. Ang lakas ng loob niyang asarin ako siya naman pala ang minamalas ngayon. Unang kamalasan niya ay hindi siya ang nasa Rank 1. Pangalawa, siya ang iboboto ng Special Class para bumaba sa End Class. Syempre ang pangatlo, makakasalamuha niya ang mga mabababang uri ng estudyante sa SacHea.

Sure, he can be annoying sometimes but if I think about it, siya lang ang nag-iisang kumakausap sa 'kin nang maayos dito sa Special Class. He's so kind towards me at kahit na nagawa kong agawin ang puwesto niya, nagawa niya pa rin akong i-congratulate nang bukal sa loob. We're still not that close but it feels like he's a loss to me. I'm not hoping but what if this is already the last chance that we'll see each other?

In the end, I just pressed my name and voted for myself. I can't thank him enough for all the things that he'd done for me, kahit sa ganitong paraan man lang mabawasan ang utang na loob ko sa kanya.

"Nakapag-vote na ba ang lahat? If yes then let's see the result. Just click the green button."

Imbes na pindutin ang green button, ibinaba ko na lang ang cellphone ko sa desk at pumikit nang mariin. I can't afford to see his name. Should I make a proper farewell for him?

"With a rating of 99%..." Otomatikong bumukas ang mga mata ko sa narinig. That's a huge vote. As expected of the Prime student–

"Flare Zen Fuentes Grey, you are the chosen student. You may now proceed to the School Head office for the briefing."

Huh? What?

"Pardon?" Para akong nabingi sa narinig ko. Hindi ako makapaniwala kaya para makasiguro, pinindot ko ang green button sa screen ng phone ko at pangalan ko nga ang lumabas. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at agad na napatayo.

"No.. This can't be happening..." I bit my lower lip and looked at Teacher Alcazar as I repeatedly shook my head. "I can't accept this. This is insane. There must be something wrong with the app."

"Poor little thing, we all voted for you," agad akong napatingin kay Ms. Ocampo na ngayon ay halos mapunit na ang mga labi sa abot-tainga niyang ngiti. Sunod kong tiningnan ang mga kaklase ko at para akong binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. They look like evil spirits smirking at me. With a rating of 99% for Pete's sake, pinagkaisahan nila ako.