Almost Noticed

Chapter 5: Midterm Madness

“Four hours of sleep. Two quizzes. One return demo. And zero motivation,” Hannaia groaned habang nakasubsob ang mukha sa mesa ng reading area nang library.

“Magkape ka,” sabi ng friend niya, si Ria, sabay abot ng sache ng 3-in-1. “O kaya, iyak ka na lang. Pareho lang naman ang epekto.”

Hannaia chuckled. “Pagod na utak ko, Ria. Pati reflexes ko delayed na.”

Midterms week. Otherwise known as hell week. The campus was buzzing with stress—students clutching reviewers, highlighters everywhere, and caffeine-fueled breakdowns at every corner.

Meanwhile, across the field at Engineering Hall, Zac was pacing in front of their studio classroom. Isang oras na lang bago ang final design defense nila, and his groupmate was still editing the slides.

“Bro, ‘di pa rin nagpa-print si Mikko?” frustratedly asked by Zac.

“Wala pa. Parang nawawala sa Earth. Kung pwede lang i-defense ‘to sa drawing lang, ako na,” tugon ng isa.

He rubbed his temples. “Kung babagsak ako dito, magshi-shift na lang ako ng course. Maybe Nursing?”

Hindi niya alam, Hannaia was thinking the exact opposite—*“Kung babagsak ako sa return demo na ‘to, magco-course shift na lang ako. Maybe Engineering?”*

That night, Zac limped into the school clinic. Na-twist niya ang paa sa may hagdan kakamadali papunta sa lab. Hannaia, ironically, was on minor clinic duty.

“Anong nangyari?” she asked, trying not to smile habang nilalagyan ng cold compress ang paa niya.

“Nagmadali. Ayaw ma-late. Ayun. Karma.”

“Wow. Heroic.”

“Or clumsy. Depends kung sino tatanungin.”

Nagkatinginan sila saglit. Despite the chaos around them, that small moment—between gauze, bandages, and quiet laughter—felt safe.

“Midterms ka rin?” tanong ni Hannaia.

“Yeah. Parang kalaban ko buong semester.”

She nodded. “Same. Gusto ko lang matapos ‘to nang may dignidad pa ako.”

Later, habang naglalakad si Zac palabas ng clinic, iniisip niya kung bakit ang gaan ng pakiramdam niya despite the sprain, despite the pressure. Maybe it was because of her.

That same night, Hannaia found herself staring at the cold compress tray, smiling without meaning to.

Maybe stress wasn’t so bad—if you had someone to laugh with in between the mess.

Sa gitna ng midterms madness, when everyone was focused on surviving, they found comfort.

Not in grades. Not in sleep. But in the company of someone who got it—someone equally tired, equally determined.

And somehow, that made all the difference.