CHAPTER 28 :STATIC
857 Words
"They always tell us in class that noise is just an unwanted disturbance—a minor glitch you need to filter out so a system stays stable. But standing there, listening to the doubts creeping into my mind, I realized some noises are too loud to ignore. It wasn't just a glitch anymore; it was starting to shake my entire foundation."
Inside the university pavilion of DMMMSU-MLUC on a Monday morning, the noise wasn't coming from faulty machinery. It was coming from human mouths.
"Sila na ba?"
"Gosh, totoo nga ang chika! Sabay silang pumasok kanina, tapos si Reuben pa ang may bitbit ng drafting tube niya!"
"Akala ko ba focus sa Mock Boards si Papa Reuben? Bakit parang iba ang pinaplano nitong i-liquidate ngayon?"
The whispers were thick, heavy, and completely unsubtle as I walked down the concrete pathway toward the Engineering building.
Beside me, Reuben remained completely unbothered. His long, confident strides didn't falter, and his expression was as cool and analytical as ever, his hand firmly holding my heavy drafting bag.
"Hayaan mo sila," Reuben murmured, his deep voice slicing through the background chatter as we paused near the lobby staircase. He looked down at me, a tiny, teasing smirk playing on his lips. "Hindi kasama ang opinyon nila sa financial statements ko, kaya bale-wala silang asset o liability sa buhay ko."
I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "Sira. Paano kung makaapekto 'yan sa reputasyon mo sa CBA? Baka sabihin nila, pinababayaan mo na ang review mo dahil sa akin."
"Let them talk, Malia," Reuben replied, his dark eyes instantly softening, turning intensely serious as he looked at me. "As long as you and I know the truth, the rest is just background noise. Sige na, akyat ka na. Susunduin kita mamayang lunch."
"Sige. Mag-aral ka nang mabuti," I smiled, taking my bag from his hand.
But even before I could step up the stairs of the Engineering building, a shrill voice broke the peace of my morning. It came from a corner of the pavilion. It was Cheska—the classmate of Reuben's I once felt jealous of when she flirted with him in front of me at the library. It was obvious she had followed us there.
She was surrounded by her usual circle of friends from the accounting department, her arms crossed as she stared at me with a look of pure, toxic amusement. Her eyebrows almost reached the stratosphere.
"Wow, iba talaga kapag Queen of Engineering," Cheska scoffed, taking a few slow, calculated steps toward me when Reuben was already out of sight. "Akala ko ba kaya ka bumalik dito ay para bawiin ang scholarship mo pagkatapos ng mga nangyari? Iba rin pala ang diskarte mo ngayon, Malia. Ginagamit mo ang top student ng department namin para tulungan ka sa mga requirements mo? Ganyan na ba ka-desperada ang mga taga-Engineering?"
A few engineering students loitering around the pavilion stopped in their tracks, waiting for a showdown between two of the most popular faces on campus.
I slowly turned around, locking my cold eyes directly onto Cheska's defensive posture. I didn't flinch. I didn't look angry. Instead, I offered her a sarcastically polite smile.
"Cheska, kung kailangan mo ng tutor sa Advanced Math o kailangan mo ng magtuturo sa'yo kung paano mag-simplify ng equations para hindi ka nahihirapan sa Accounting, pwede mo naman akong pakiusapan nang maayos," I answered, my voice calm, steady, and loud enough for the onlookers to hear. "Hindi mo kailangang mag-iskandalo rito sa tapat ng building namin para lang makuha ang atensyon ko. At tsaka, bago mo pakialaman ang scholarship ko, pakisigurado muna na balanse ang mga ledger mo sa CBA ngayong summer. Mas madaling mag-audit ng buhay ng iba kung hindi bagsakin ang sarili mong report card."
"Pffft!" At the corner of the pavilion, an Engineering student who overheard our conversation nearly choked on his coffee as he tried to stifle his laughter.
"Grabe, sunog sa sariling building," another voice muttered from the opposite corner.
Cheska's face flushed a violent, angry red, her hands gripping her designer bag until her knuckles turned white. "You—! Akala mo lang kung sino ka—!"
"Malia! Halika na, magsisimula na ang major plate natin!" I turned my head to the shout of my fellow irregular student calling me. Our class had just started.
I didn't give Cheska another second of my time. I calmly turned my back on her and walked up the stairs, leaving her standing there under the hot morning sun, fuming in front of everyone.
The university was full of "Marites," full of insecure people like Cheska who wanted to see me fail, and full of toxic reminders of my past life. But as I entered my classroom and touched the clean lead of my mechanical pencil, I knew one thing for certain: the noise didn't matter anymore. My foundation was solid, my math was flawless, and no amount of CBA drama could ever shake the Queen of Engineering again
- Writer
