Archangel 1: The Beginning
1193 Words
" Ano daw section mo?"
" Sana 'di ko na teacher si Sir Mariano."
" Punta tayo ng mall after class?"
" Sino nga yung kausap mo kagabi?! Niloloko mo ba 'ko?!"
" How you like that dadadat dat daradatdat~"
Should I be thankful that I don't understand what they're saying that much? I have my airpods on but I can still hear their voices. So this is what Manang Lourdes is talking about.. Filipinos are loud. No wonder mom's very noisy.
" Elle Sapphire Mendiola!!!!!"
I stopped walking to let the person who called me catch up. Just by the voice, I already know who it is. No one, and I mean no one, can beat Antoinette when it comes to loudness. Her high pitched voice can beat all these noises around us right now combined.
" Nakita mo na ba kung saan ang room mo?" She asked while clinging in to me, now trying to remove my airpods. I stayed quiet and remained looking at her, puzzled. " Oh right, you can't understand Tagalog that mu--"
" I can," I cut her. I needed to or else she would talk about it nonstop. "You just talk way too fast."
It has been 2 months since I came here in the Philippines but I will never get used to how fast and loud they talk. Americans do talk fast, but Filipinos are just on another level. They're like rappers! Especially Filipino moms..
" Fine! Room.. one.. thir.. ty.. six.. ang.. room... mo," She purposely syllabify her words to mock me. She can just say that Room 136 is my classroom. Antoinette and her humors, tsk!
" Pwu.. thang.. hi.. na.. mow," I replied making her laugh, probably because of my horrible pronunciation. My mother taught me how to speak Tagalog but all that I can only remember are the curses and some expressions.
When I first came here, I used to talk with Antoinette in Tagalog but gave up because she often mock my accent.
" You're famous here, huh?" I said while looking around. It looks like almost every student is looking at her with awe. It's quite justifiable tho, she's pretty. Not just average pretty, but pretty, pretty.
" Huwag mo pansinin."
We continued walking up until we reached Classroom 136. I was about to open the door but someone else did it first, slapping my hand a little bit. Okay? That was rude..
I looked at that person and was about to go off but Antoinette already held my cheek, turning it to face her. She shook her head on me, signaling me to just let it be. I returned my gaze on the rude guy but he already went inside, closing the door on us. Now that's super rude!
Attitude problem ka, siszt?
" Okay? Who's that piece of s**t?!" I hissed, still annoyed because of how rude he was.
" Shh," Antoinette tried to calm me down while looking side by side to make sure that no one heard what I just said. " Don't come near him. He's bad news.."
She went inside the room first, dragging me behind. We caught every single attention of our classmate making me quite annoyed. We settled at the seats at the back but everyone's still looking at us. Some are even laughing while looking at me!
" You didn't tell me Filipinos are THIS judgmental.." I whispered to Antoinette.
" Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" She put a mirror in front of me to let me see myself.
Hmm, what's the problem with my look? Tangled hair, eyebrows that almost look like a soccer field, thick glasses that even Betty la Fea wouldn't dare to wear, braces and uhh, uniform that are buttoned all way to the top.
Okay I look like a hot--no, ugly mess, damn it! What's the Filipino term for it? Is it dugyot?
" What? In America we don't even shower before going to school!" I tried to reason out. Antoinette returned her mirror in her bag and look at me with a suppressed smile.
" Get ready to get labeled as the school nerd, Elle." She chuckled.
Just in time for the professor to enter the room, probably our adviser/homeroom teacher. Everyone finally removed their judgmental gazes from me and looked in front, as it should be.
" Good morning, students!" The teacher greeted which everyone gladly reciprocated. " I'm Reinne Almontero at ako ang magiging adviser niyo for this school year.." And I'm right, he's our adviser.
He just went on and explained the school's rules and regulations and some of his classroom policies. It's nothing much actually, I just slept the whole period until Antoinette woke me up.
" Free cut. Tara sa canteen." Antoinette invited. We stood up and head our way to the canteen. The students look like they've seen an angel and alien walking side by side. Of course, I'm the alien!
" Anong gusto mo?" Antoinette asked, looking at the menu.
" Just burger and water." I answered. Antoinette was lining up for the counter when I suddenly felt the need to pee. I quickly asked her where's the nearest comfort room, at first she even wanted to come with me but dude, that's so weird! It's not like I have a disability who needs accommodation everywhere!
I immediately found a rest room, thanks to the signage. I was busy relieving water from my body when a loud thud suddenly echoed across the whole comfort room!
Dude, do you know how disturbing that was? My urine suddenly want to retreat because of shock!
" Akin na."
" Ouch!" A heavy sound of slap evaded the room. Ohh, that was a hard slap for sure. It's the first day of school and I get to witness bullying? Wow, such a privilege.. tsk!
" Hindi mo ba talaga ibibigay?!"
Say no hahaha..
" P-pero bigay 'to ni Alas.." Poor girl, she's stuttering because of fear.
" Ako ang nagbigay ng chocolate na yan kay Alas kaninang umaga, so basically, that's mine!"
So to be clear, bully girl gave that guy Alas chocolates but this Alas just gave it to another girl? Man, that sucks!
" Excuse me," I interrupted them. Antoinette's gonna kill me if I spend another minute here! " Can you move a little bit so I can open the door?"
I can't get out because they were blocking the cubicle where I'm at. It's also getting boring to hear them bully a girl for such a petty reason.
" Who are you?" I think that's the leader bully who's asking. She's the one holding the poor girl's hair.
" You don't need to know that.."
" What are you doing here?" The other bully asked.
" Uhh, peeing?" Dude are they serious? Do they not know what's the purpose of a comfort room?
The bullies signaled something to each other and before I knew it, they were attacking me already..
Great, just great!
Bully 1 tried to grab my hair but I caught her hands and twisted it. Bully 2 tried to kick me but I caught her leg as well and flipped her making her lie down on the floor. Going back to Bully 1, I grabbed her hair and slam her on the cubicle door. I also kicked Bully 2 on the stomach. Just to make sure, you know?
I saw them limping in pain already so I offered my hand on the poor girl they bullied who's still hugging her box of chocolates up until now.
Is that Alas even that handsome? Psh!
- Writer
