Alone with the Cold Weather (Guerra Entre Familias Series #2)

CHAPTER 7

"Kindly keep all your notes. The exam for Mathematics is about to start."

Ang bilis ng mga nangyari. Na-exam na namin 'yung first three subjects na naka-schedule ngayong first day. The last exam namin for today is math. May day 2 pa tomorrow pero mas madali na ang mga subjects. Kinakabahan ako at feel ko ay kita 'yon sa look ko today! I feel so haggard. Kulang ako sa tulog and at the same time ay hindi 100% gising ang diwa ko. Hindi ko na nga tanda mga sinagot ko sa mga naunang subjects na tinake namin kanina at hindi ko rin sure kung tama. 'Yung pressure na nafefeel ko ay nadagdagan pa dahil sa mga kaklase ko na panay ang pag-review. Hindi na ako nakapag-review ng Math sa school kasi pagod pa rin ako.

Malalaki ang mga agwat ng mga upuan sa isa't isa pero rinig ko pa rin ang mga kaklase ko na nagsasaulo ng mga formula. Lalo na sina Danna at Andria. I wanna cry. Nagsaulo naman ako ng formulas pero feel ko magkakamali pa rin ako. Tinawag ko si Andria dahil siya ang pinakamalapit. Tinanong ko siya kung paano kapag biglang nakalimutan 'yung mga formula.

"Just remember our teacher's voice. Or 'yung boses nina Hugo nung mga time na tinuturuan nila tayo."

Nang makakuha na ako ng test paper ay pumikit ako ng mariin. Lord, Ikaw na po bahala sa'kin.

I did what Andria told me. I tried to remember the things Hugo and our teacher taught us.

At nagawa ko pang i-recall ang madalas sabihin sa'kin ni Hugo. "Don't forget to write the conclusion."

Maingat kong sinagutan ang bawat item sa takot na baka magkamali. Habang nagsasagot ako ay pakiramdam ko ang bagal ng oras pero naalarma ako nang maya-maya ay napagtanto ko na konti na lang kami na hindi pa done. I started to panic again lalo na nang sabihin ng teacher namin na we still have 5 minutes left in our time!

I looked at my test paper. Tatlong items ang hindi ko pa nasasagutan at may bonus question pa!

Bonus Question: What is the full name of your math teacher? (Kindly write his/her first name, middle name, and last name correctly.)

Oh my, goodness! Hindi ko alam middle name ni ma'am! Hindi ko muna sinagutan ang part na 'yon at inuna muna 'yong mga items na kaya ko.

"1 minute left."

Marami na ang nakapagpasa ng test paper nila. Tatlo na lang kami, and I still need more time! "Ma'am pa-extend pa po ng konting time please," pagmamakaawa ko sa adviser namin.

"Sige, 5 more minutes and after that ay ipapasa na. Finish or not finish. May meeting pa akong pupuntahan pagkatapos dito."

Kahit pa nadagdagan ng 5 minutes ang time namin ay hindi pa rin lagay ang loob ko because I'm still not done!

I did my best para masagutan ang tatlong natitirang items at inalala lahat ng natutunan ko kay teacher at kay Hugo.

"1 minute."

Nang sabihin 'yon ng adviser namin ay 'yong bonus question na lang ang hindi ko pa nasasagot. I actually don't remember our math teacher mentioning her middle name in class, but I suddenly remembered her f*******: name because she's included in my friend's list. Nilagay ko na lang ang natatandaan ko na name ni Ma'am at agad nang tumayo mula sa kinauupuan.

"30 seconds."

I was walking slowly towards our adviser. Hindi ko nagawang ipasa agad kasi tinitignan ko kung nasagutan ko na lahat. Nang masigurado na okay na para sa'kin ang mga sinagot ko ay saktong nakarating ako sa kinaroroonan ni Ma'am.

"Nasagutan mo ba lahat, besh?" tanong sa'kin ni Andria nang makalabas na kami ng room.

"Oo, besh. Ikaw?"

"Oo, nasagutan ko din. Ikaw, Danna?"

"Yup. I hope tama mga sagot natin."

I sighed. Sana nga. Grabe talaga naging effort namin. I hope it pays off. Ayoko rin muna maging kampante kasi may subjects pa na natitira for tomorrow at matagal pa bago namin malaman scores namin.

Nang makarating kami sa waiting shed ay nandoon na sina Hugo at Azi.

"Kamusta?" si Hugo.

"Thank goodness, nakapag-sagot naman kami,"sabi ko bago humikab.

"Yeah, we did our best. Inalala namin ang mga natutunan namin sa class at sa inyong dalawa," said Andria. Azi smiled at her.

"We all deserve to eat something good. Tara na guys, my treat," si Danna.

Pumunta kami sa isang fast food chain at gaya nga ng sinabi ni Danna ay siya ang nanlibre sa'min. Sumama ako kay Danna sa pag-order ng mga food sa counter habang sina Andria, Azi, at Hugo naman ay naghahanap na ng table namin. Lahat ng kumakain ay mga estudyante galing sa school namin at halos lahat ng tables ay taken na. I hope may mahanap sila.

I whispered to Danna when I suddenly remembered something. "Okay lang ba na kumain ka ng fast food?" I just remembered that she's on a strict diet and I know very well that she's taking volleyball very seriously, alongside being our muse.

"It's fine. Ang tagal ko nang hindi kumakain ng fast food. Ngayon lang naman. And besides, I want to satisfy my cravings even just once."

I smiled and nodded at her. I'm glad makakakain na ulit siya ng mga gusto niya. Well, mukhang gusto din naman niya ang mga kinakain niya when she's on a diet pero kadalasan kasi ay masyado siyang mahigpit sa sarili niya. Bihira siyang kumain ng mga pagkain gaya ng fast food. Napapansin ko na patagal nang patagal ay lalo siyang nagiging strikto sa diet at training niya. I'm happy she decided to take a break on her diet, even just for today, because she deserves to eat what she craves for, too.

Nakapila pa rin kami sa may counter at isang tao na lang before kami maka-order nang may biglang tumawag sa'kin.

"Francine!"

The voice was familiar. I looked at the person who called me and smiled at him. "Hi, Felix!"

He was not alone. He's with his classmates. Mukhang naka-order na sila ng mga pagkain. Napansin ko ang bahagyang pamumula niya nang bigla siyang inasar ng mga kaklase niya.

"Ayyiiee! Guys, binata na talaga ang bunso natin!"

"Haha, I know right! Ang cute niyo, bhie."

"Picturan namin kayo! Okay lang ba, Francine?"

I smiled at them. "Yeah, it's okay."

Danna remained in line for the counter while I stood beside Felix at the side to take some pictures, taken by his classmates. Habang pinipicturan nila kami ay hindi nila naiwasang mag-ingay.

"Ang gaganda ng pictures niyo!" anila nang matapos.

"Thank you for taking pictures with me. I'll just send the pictures to you later if you want to," Felix told me.

"Yes, please." He smiled at my response.

He waved at me before he joined his classmates to go to their table. I went back to Danna who's still waiting for the person before us to finish ordering. She had her arms crossed as she glanced at Felix's direction before looking back at me.

"So, he was the guy you're referring to?" she asked with a teasing smile.

I felt my cheeks blush. "Yup. Siya ang nagyaya sa akin sa concert."

"Nakikita ko siya lagi sa practice sa cheerdance. Nasa first row siya."

I smiled at that. Kasali pala siya sa cheerdance? So I guess magaling talaga siya sumayaw. Never pa ako nakasali sa cheerdance. Wala pa akong experience doon habang sina Danna at Andria ay meron na. This year ay hindi kasali si Andria kasi sabi niya gusto muna niya mag-take ng break from that. Si Danna naman ay palaging kasali do'n since napaka-active niya at bukod doon ay required talaga siya mag-participate sa cheerdance dahil siya ang muse namin.

"How is he?" curious kong tanong.

"He's good."

Tumigil kami sa pag-uusap nang umalis ang taong nasa harapan namin at kami naman ang sunod na umorder. Marami kaming in-order na pagkain dahil nagutom talaga kami sa exam kaya humingi na kami ni Danna ng assistance kina Azi at Hugo. Tinulungan kami ni Andria na ayusin ang mga pagkain sa table namin. Nang maayos na namin ang mga pagkain sa table ay umupo na kami at nagsimulang kumain.

Katabi ko sa aking kanan si Hugo habang nasa kaliwa ko naman si Danna. Katapat naming tatlo ang magkatabing sina Azi at Andria. Our spot is by the large window.

We were still eating when we suddenly heard a phone ringing. Danna stood up from her seat and took her phone from her pocket. "My brother is calling. Lalabas muna ako." I nodded at her and she went outside.

"Do you drink coffee?"

I was surprised when Hugo suddenly asked me that. I was already eating my chocolate ice cream by that time.

I looked at him. "No, I don't. Gatas ang iniinom ko instead. Sorry to say pero hindi ako fan ng coffee."

He nodded. "You look tired."

So, he noticed how haggard I was. Nakakahiya. I bit my lower lip. "Kulang ako sa tulog. I didn't manage to review before the exam in math started because I'm half asleep. My mind isn't a hundred percent awake today."

"Ayos lang kung hindi ka nakapag-review before mismo mag-exam kasi nakapag-review ka naman kagabi."

I looked away. "Actually, I'm not that confident with my answers," mahina kong sabi pero mukhang narinig pa rin niya 'yon.

"Why?"

"I feel like I didn't give my hundred percent for that. Like I said, my mind is half-asleep today. Kulang ako sa tulog. Hindi ko sigurado kung nasagot ko nang tama ang mga questions sa exam especially because of my current state right now," I said and looked at him again, noticing how attentive he is.

It was like he knew that I have more things I want to say that's why he's just listening and not yet saying anything.

So I continued. "I'm sorry if this seems like I'm complaining. I just wanna share my thoughts to someone, also with the hopes that someone would at least understand me. If anyone would be responsible for my current state right now, that would only be me and me alone kasi ako ang gumawa ng decisions. I agreed to go on a date right exactly the day before the exams, which is really risky on my behalf. I chose to go because I want to give Felix a chance and I also want to attend that concert too, since I like the K-pop group. I'm afraid I might not fulfill my promise to pass the exam. Ngayon pa lang ay gusto ko na mag-sorry sa'yo."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," seryoso niyang sabi.

"I already asked you what if I fail to pass the exam and you told me that I won't because you'll be the one teaching me. You're a good teacher, Hugo. It's just that the problem is not you, it's me. You already did your part, which is to help me review. I'm the one who screwed up."

Bahagyang kumunot ang noo niya for a little while, parang napaisip sa sinabi ko. Then he sighed and looked at me carefully. "It seems to me that you got pressured. But you don't have to pressure yourself."

I bit my lower again and looked down. I feel like I'm gonna cry but I don't want to. Nakakahiya sa kanya, no. Sa pag-open up ko pa nga lang sa kanya ay nahihiya na ako (though hindi ko na lang din talaga napigilan), what more if umiyak pa ako? I'm not even sure how he'll react if a girl cries in front of him. I don't know much about him yet, either. 'Yung feeling na want mo umiyak pero feel mo hindi dapat. I don't know but it just seems inappropriate.

I also realized that my urge to cry right now isn't that strong. I realized that I'm feeling very sad right now, wanting to cry, but not actually to the point where I can really cry.

"You should be confident with your answers, because you studied. I saw how you made effort. You managed to study before you had fun with your date. You earned it. And besides, like what I said earlier, it's okay if you didn't get to review during the last minutes before the exam started because you already studied the night before and the days before that concert. That's much more okay than cramming. At least you already had your brain relaxed before you completely went to war. You don't have to pressure yourself. I told you that I want you to pass your exam in return because aside from that being the reason why we review during exams, it was also my intention to motivate you."

I looked at him with amazement, not only because of his good words to me but also because I realized that this seemed to be the first time we had a conversation this long. 'Yung may pagka-close din as friends. He always seemed to be so quiet and always gives short responses. Iba pa kasi 'yung mga times na nagtuturo siya sa'kin ng math. This conversation we're having right now was more than that.

At first glance, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy whom I can talk with about these kinds of things. At first glance, he seemed intimidating. But I was completely wrong.

"You seem stressed. You deserve to have a good rest." May bigla siyang kinuha sa bag niya at nagulat ako nang iabot niya sa'kin 'yon. "And you also deserve this."

Nagulat ako dahil dalawa 'yon sa mga paborito kong pagkain — Pringles at Flat Tops. 'Yung size ng Pringles na inaabot niya sa'kin ngayon ay ang pinakamalaki sa mga size na meron ang pagkain na 'yon.

"Is that really for me?" Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na binigyan niya ako no'n. Nabigla ako.

"Yes, Franci. It's yours now."

I took it from him and smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Nilagay ko 'yon sa bag ko at nagpatuloy kami sa pag-ubos ng mga natitira naming pagkain sa table. Andria and Azi seem to be having their own world as well because they're still busy talking to each other. Kalaunan din ay bumalik na si Danna galing sa labas at inubos na din ang pagkain niya.

"Buti na lang din talaga madadali na ang subjects na ite-take natin bukas," sabi ko kay Danna.

"I know, right. Excited na ako mag-intrams," masaya niyang sabi.

"Sasali ba kayo sa mga laro?" I asked curiously.

Andria and Azi joined the conversation. "Kasali ako sa sudoku," sabi ni Azi.

"I'll participate in chess," sabi ni Hugo.

"Volleyball," sabi ni Danna.

"Tayo lang pala ang hindi kasali," sabi sa'kin ni Andria. "Manonood na lang kami ng laro niyo."

"Yup! We'll support you guys," I said.

Pagkatapos naming kumain ay naghiwa-hiwalay na kami. When I got home, I was alone again since my parents are still at work. I went to my room, put my bag where I always place it and changed my clothes.

Out of nowhere, I suddenly remembered the bouquet of flowers Felix gave me days ago. I had put it in a flower vase on that same day in the living room and told the maids to take good care of it. I took the plushie out from the paper bag that I placed near my desk. Pagod na pagod na ako kagabi at naging busy pa ako sa pag-review kaya nalimutan ko ‘yun. Nilagay ko na lang ‘yung plushie sa kama ko at hinayaan na siya do’n. Kinuha ko ‘yung school bag ko at nilabas ‘yung mga reviewer na hindi ko na gagamitin. Hinanda ko ang mga notes at reviewer para sa mga subject na naka-sched bukas bago nagsimulang mag-review. Nilabas ko ang pagkain na binigay ni Hugo at pinatong na rin ‘yon sa desk ko.

Actually, pagod at antukin pa rin ako pero pinilit ko na lang din na mag-review o kahit ma-scan man lang ang notes at reviewer ko even though mas madali na ang mga subjects na ite-take namin bukas. Masyado ako naging busy sa math kaya medyo may kaba pa ako para rin sa ibang subjects. Baka kasi sa sobra akong naging busy sa isang subject ay mapabayaan ko na ‘yong iba. As much as possible, I hope to balance them all.

I tried listening to music with the hopes na makatulong ‘yon para mabawasan ang antok ko. As I was already vibing myself with the music and underlining the important keywords in the reviewer that can help me remember the terms at the same time when my phone suddenly beeped, telling me that I received a message. I opened my phone and saw Felix sent me the pictures taken at the fast food restaurant. I just thanked him with a smiley emoji before going back to what I’m doing.

When I thought that I had already reviewed enough, I stood up from my desk and rested on my bed. I opened my phone to scroll on social media for a little while. Felix and I already added each other on our socials so I saw his post from an hour ago. It was a picture of both of us taken earlier. I also saw Danna’s post which was a picture of the fast foods she ate. As for my other friends: Andria, Azi, and Hugo, I haven’t seen them post on their socials for today.

I took the Pringles and Flat Tops from the desk and decided to watch a movie while I ate it. That became my way to relax before I had completely gone off to sleep.

The next day went smoothly as expected.

"Beshies, I have to go na. Pupunta pa ako sa trainings at rehearsals ko," sabi sa'min ni Danna habang nag-aayos na kami ng mga gamit namin. Halatang nagmamadali siya. Hindi na kami nakasagot ni Andria sa kanya dahil may biglang tumawag sa kanya. "Papunta na ako diyan!" aniya sa kausap sa phone bago dali-daling lumabas ng room.

Andria and I looked at each other after seeing our friend rushing out and didn't help but smile.

When we finished packing our things in our bags, we left the room and went to the waiting shed only to see that Azi and Hugo were not there yet.

"Baka nasa room pa sila," sabi ni Andria.

"Puntahan natin?" tanong ko. She agreed.

When we reached their room, karamihan sa mga kaklase nila ay nasa labas na at mukhang paalis na din. Tumigil kami sa may malaking bintana ng room nila at nakita namin na busy pa si Azi sa paglalagay ng mga gamit niya sa kanyang bag.

As for Hugo, he seemed to be already done with his things. He was busy talking to Elliyah Monreal. We were outside but it can be noticed that they were both enthusiastic about the topic they were talking about. Both of them also seemed to be smiling at each other, too.

"Pasok tayo?" tanong sa'kin ni Andria.

I looked at her and smiled. "Dito na lang ako labas."

She entered the room and went to Azi, who smiled when he saw her. Nagsimula na rin silang mag-usap. I tried to busy myself with my phone, scrolling through my socials.

Sometimes there would be some other students walking past me and I would feel their looks at me. That suddenly made me feel conscious about myself and at the same time, shy and little. Of course I would feel conscious if I feel other people looking at me. I would feel shy and little because of how they look at me, especially if there are hints of judgments and insult in their eyes. It made me realize that it was somehow a bad idea to stay outside alone. Pero ayoko din namang manira ng moment ng iba kaya nga pinili ko na lang na mag-stay sa labas.

I'm not clearly sure why I would feel their stares at me but I think it's also because of the dates I had that everyone knew about. Joaquin asked me out in front of everyone at their party. Felix asked me out at the school canteen. I went to both dates that were done in public! It's not that I'm blaming Joaquin and Felix and complaining about the public dates I went with them. It's just that it can't be denied that how they asked me out and how I went with the dates with them caught a lot of attention from our schoolmates.

I had fun with both of the dates, for it to be clear. They treated me nicely. Nothing actually went wrong with them. I didn't have any conflicts with both of them. But I realized that there might be other people around us that didn't take it lightly. Na para bang big deal sa kanila 'yon.

I put my phone down and crossed my arms before closing my eyes. I sighed heavily.

Oh my gosh, girl. You're always thinking too much.

But I can't help it!

I opened my eyes when I heard Elliyah and Hugo's voice getting near. Palabas na sila ng room nang makita ko. Hugo looked at me when he realized that I was already outside and seeing him look at my direction made Elliyah look at me, too.

"See you guys tomorrow." She looked back at Hugo to tell him that before she looked at me again and smiled. I just smiled back at her as well. Then she left.

"May gagawin ba kayo today?" tanong ko bigla kay Hugo. Lumabas na rin ng room sina Azi at Andria.

"Magpa-practice lang ako sa chess," aniya.

"Pwede ka na maglaro bukas kahit walang practice," biro sa kanya ni Azi. "Magaling ka na, bro."

Hugo smirked at him. "I still have to."

I looked at Azi. "Ikaw, Azi? Busy ka din?"

"No, I'm free," sagot niya.

I looked back at Hugo. "So, you won't be joining us today?"

"I'll join you."

"But you said you still have practice."

He gave a little smile. "Oo, may practice ako. Pero break muna."

Pumunta kami sa isang cafe at doon kumain. Habang naghihintay kami na dumating ang order namin ay inabala ko ang sarili ko sa panonood ng mga fashion videos. Andria is busy reading one of her books. Azi is busy writing something in his notebook. Hugo is busy playing chess in his phone.

I was still busy watching videos online when I suddenly received a chat from Danna. I opened the chat to see that she just sent me some pictures of Felix at the cheerdance practice.

Danna: Since I now know that he's the guy you were talking about, I'll gladly take pictures for you 😏.

Oh my, gosh! I can't believe her, haha! I looked at the pictures and I didn't help but smile. He looks so fine! Nag-reply ako kay Danna.

You actually don't have to but still, thank you, besh!

She replied with a wink emoji before going offline. Busy talaga siya pero ginawa niya 'yon for me? Haha, grabe! Ang cute ni Danna! I love her!