Behind The Bleachers(College Series #1)

IVONNE "With Highest Honor with an average of 99.7%, Ivonne Haven Sangco!" Pagpapakilala saakin ng MC. Agad akong nagtungo sa stage para tanggapin ang medals na ibibigay sakin. At para narin mag speech. "EARTH to Ivonne!" nagising ang diwa ko ng yugyugin ako ni Harmony. Kumakain kami ngayun dito sa Cafeteria dito sa HTU. "Ano nanaman bang ini-isip mo girlalu?" Tanong ni Yvette sa'kin habang nag a-apply ng liptint. "Magpapasahan na ng Codes, shet di ko alam kung magkakaroon ng error yung code ko." Na s-stress kong sabi. Sobrang hirap maging software engineer, pero worth it yung sahod. "Wow comming from you ha? Eh palagi ka ngang straight uno, ang nag-iisang 1.10 mo lang ay yung sa capstone natin." Sabat ni Ash, inirapan pa'ko nito. Kaklase ko kasi siya kaya alam niya ang nangyayari sa buhay ko. "Yeah, yeah, I know," I sighed, pushing my plate away. "Pero iba pa rin yung pressure, 'no? Imagine, yung code ko ay gagamitin sa website ng HTU, sinong hindi ma p-pressure at ma s-stress dun?" Yvette patted my hand reassuringly. "Relax, Ivonne. You're Ivonne Haven Sangco! The one with the almost-perfect Grade! You got this. We all got this." Ash nodded, still glaring at me playfully. "Kaya nga, feeling ko nga sinasadya mo lang yan eh para makita namin kung gaano ka humble." I chuckled, shaking my head. "Seriously, guys, I'm just stressed. But thanks, I appreciate the pep talk." Puro tawanan lang ang nangyari samin habang nag l-lunch. Nakilala ko si Ash nuong pagpasok ko palang, then he introduced me to Yvette and Harmony na naging ka close ko nadin in the meantime. After naming mag lunch ay inaya kami ni Ash to watch volleyball. Fan talaga siya ng volleyball nuon pa man, and graduating na nga kami ngayun pero ito palang ang unang beses kong manood. Hindi talaga ako mahilig manood ng mga ganitong bagay. God didn't bless me an athletic body, but I thank him because I didn't have any complications in my body. Pagdating namin sa Gym ay nag w-warm up na ang mga mag p-practice. Marami ring nanonood, yung iba nakatambay yung iba naman ay kinikilig sa mga players. Mas gugustuhin ko pang mag code kaysa manood sa kanila. I'm not interested at sports, hindi ako hater, but hindi lang talaga interested. Nag start na ang practice at na a-amazed ako sa mga nakikita ko. Hindi ko masyadong maintindihan ang nangyayari sa laro. May sumisigaw, may nag bo-block, may nag s-spike. Ang bilis ng mga pangyayari! Napapanganga nalang ako sa mga nakikita ko. "Okay ka lang?" tanong ni Harmony sakin nang mapansin niyang medyo lutang ako. "Oo naman! Ang galing nila, ang bilis!" sagot ko, trying to sound enthusiastic. Sa kalagitnaan ng practice, napansin ko ang isang player sa team. He was tall, athletic, and had piercing eyes na parang nakatingin din sa gawi ko. He was spiking the ball with so much power, na halos lumipad na ang bola. Medyo nag slow motion pa sa paningin ko ang pagtalon niya at pag spike kahit sa realidad ay halos wala pang isang segundo ang nangyari. "Ang galing niya 'no?" sabi ni Yvette, following my gaze. "Siya si Captain Izaiah. Grabe kung maglaro." So His Izaiah, matunog nga ang pangalan niya sa school. Paano ko nalaman? Simple lahat ng babae siga ang bukambibig. Kahit and dalawa kong bff, but iba ang crush kuno nila. After what felt like an eternity, the practice ended. The players started to pack up their things, sweaty and tired but with smiles on their faces. "Tara na?" Ash suggested, stretching. "Gutom na 'ko ulit." 3 hours din pala kaming nanood. As we were about to leave, Izaiah and a few of his teammates walked past us. He caught my eye again, and this time, he offered a small, almost hesitant smile. My heart skipped a beat. Parang slow motion ang lahat, at siya lang ang gumagalaw sa paningin ko. I awkwardly returned the smile, feeling my face heat up even more. I quickly looked away and hurried to catch up with my friends, who were already snickering. "Uy, Ivonne," Yvette teased, nudging my shoulder. "Crush?" "Shut up," I retorted, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Hindi ah! Nagulat lang ako." "Sure, nagulat ka lang," Ash chimed in, his eyebrows raised. "Okay, whatever you say." We continued walking, and I couldn't help but steal a glance back at Izaiah. He was still watching us, a playful smirk on his face. "Mukhang hindi ito ang huling panonood mo ng volleyball ah." Pang-aasar ni Harmony. "Well I find it amazing, hindi talaga ito ang last watch ko." I said while smiling, inaalala ko kung paano maglaro ang team ng HTU. "Yung laro ba talaga or yung player?" Yvette said, nakita ko pa kung paano naging mapang-asar ang mga ngiti niya. "Che bahala kayo riyan." I said, naasar na kasi ako "Ang bagal mo maglakad Ash iwanan kita riyan" binilisan ko na ang lakad at iniwan silang tatlo ruon. Mag 3pm na kasi at may klase pa kami ni Ash. Last class na namin yun 5pm labas namin today, bali 2 hrs lang ang last subject namin. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. I couldn't focus in class, my mind replaying that brief moment with Izaiah. Was it just a polite smile, or was there something more to it? "Okay ka lang talaga?" Ash asked, nudging me during our break. "Kanina ka pa lutang." "I'm fine," I insisted, although alam kong hindi siya naniniwala. "Iniisip ko lang yung code." He chuckled. "Sure you are. Sabagay ganyan din ako nung una kong nakita si Haylee, yung player ng Crestwood" I rolled my eyes. "HAHA nakakatawa." After class, I decided to head straight to the library to work on the website code. I needed to distract myself and prove to everyone, including myself, that I wasn't completely losing my mind over Izaiah. The library was quiet and dimly lit, the perfect environment for coding. I plugged in my headphones, opened my laptop, and started typing. Hindi ko na namamalayan ang paligid ko dahil sa sobrang focus ko sa ginagawa ko. Ganito ang nangyayari sa'kin. Panay ako code kapagdistracted ako, I can't be distracted. Nangako ako kila Sister Nelia na g-graduate ako ng With flying colors. It's already 8pm pasarado na ang library. 9pm panaman ang sarado ng school, may mga night class pa kasi. "Hi!" "Anak ng teteng!" napalabi nalang ako dahil sa nasabi ko. "HAHAHAHA, you looked so tense." sabi niya, at talagang tinawanan ako. "Don't disturb me Mr. I'm working on something." Inirapan ko siya masiyadong feeling close. "Sorry, by the way I'm Maxim Izaiah Zanhuesa" pagpapakilala niya sa'kin. "Okay Mr. Izaiah" "Hindi ka man lang magpapakilala sa'kin Ms. Coder?" He asked me. "Ivonne Haven Sangco, Mr. Please don't disturb me" I said. Kinakabahan ako baka mag karoon ng error ang code ko. "Watching you focus, it's... impressive." Out of nowhere niyang sabi. Hindi ako sumagot. Bahala siya diyan. Kailangan kong matapos 'to. Every line of code needed to be perfect. "You're too focus at that," patuloy niya, kahit hindi ako nagsasalita. "I think you love that code more than yourself." Napahinto ako sandali, napapikit. Huminga ako nang malalim bago sumagot nang hindi tumitingin sa kanya. "Mr. Izaiah, this website is for the university. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of students and faculty will use it. If there's an error, it could cause a lot of problems. So yes, sa ngayon, mas mahalaga 'to." He was quiet for a moment. Akala ko tatalab na ang pakiusap ko. Pero nagkamali ako. "Okay, okay," sabi niya, pero may kasamang konting pagka-intriga sa boses niya. "I get it. But maybe it's not that bad if I just... watch? What a waste of an opportunity to see someone an always straight uno in action." "Still doesn't give you the right to disturb me," bulong ko, pero medyo malakas para marinig niya. Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko sa screen at nagpatuloy sa pag-type. I could feel his eyes on me. It was unnerving. Pakiramdam ko, bawat keystroke na ginagawa ko, bawat galaw ko, inoobserbahan niya. Pinipilit kong hindi magkamali, hindi lang dahil sa code mismo, kundi dahil ayokong may makita siyang kapintasan sa ginagawa ko. This was my element, my comfort zone, at hindi ko hahayaang sirain niya 'yun. Minutes passed. Ang tanging maririnig lang ay ang click-clack ng keyboard ko at ang paminsan-minsang tunog ng pahinang binubuklat ng ibang estudyante na nag-aaral pa rin. Siya naman, tahimik lang sa tapat ko. Naka-lean back siya sa upuan, nakatitig lang sa screen ng laptop ko, kahit alam kong hindi niya maiintindihan ang mga nakasulat doon. Maya-maya, naramdaman ko ang presensya ng library staff. "Sir, Ma'am, magsasara na po tayo," magalang na paalala niya. Alas otso trenta na pala. Ang bilis ng oras kapag nag-c-code at kapag may istorbo ka. I shut down my laptop quickly, gathering my things. Tumayo na rin si Izaiah. "It looks like we have to leave." sabi niya with that same playful smirk. "Obviously," I mumbled, trying to avoid his gaze. Mabilis kong inayos ang gamit ko sa bag. Sabay kaming naglakad palabas ng library. Ang tahimik ng mga estudyanteng natitira, lahat nagmamadaling umalis. Sa labas ng library, sa hallway na medyo maliwanag, huminto siya. Huminto din ako, medyo nagtataka. "Well," sabi niya, his hands in his pockets. "It was... interesting watching you work, Ivonne." "Thank you , Mr. Izaiah," sagot ko, trying to keep my tone neutral. "Just Izaiah is fine," he corrected gently. "Or Maxim. Your choice." "Okay... Izaiah," I conceded, feeling a little awkward. "So," he continued, taking a small step closer. "Will I see you again sa practice ng volleyball?" My face heated up again. Was that an invitation? O pang-aasar lang? "Ah... I don't know," I stammered. "Busy ako sa coding." "Hmm," he hummed, a smile playing on his lips. "Maybe I can 'disturb' you again sometime soon?" He wasn't even trying to hide his amusement now. My mind was racing. Should I flat out say no? Or play along? "It's too late for you to go home alone, I'll take you home." He said. "No thank you I can handle my self" I said at inirapan siya. Malay ko ba kung may gawin siya sa'king masama. "I can be trusted, Ivonne, I didn't take advantage." He is so persistent kaya napapayag niya din ako. Hinatid niya ako sa boarding house na tinutuluyan ko. "Good night Miss Ma'am, have a good night rest. Sweet dreams!" After that umuwi na siya.