“Tangina, dahilan nanaman, puro ka nalang dahilan, bakit ba hindi mo magaya –gaya yang ate mo, wala ka naming ginagawa dito sa bahay nato, walang dahilan kung bakit ka babagsak ng ganto” Celi’s father, who has been lecturing her for the past two hours. As much as it sounded impossible for a lecture to last that long, it is possible. “Putangina, lahat naman ng oras binibigay sayo tapos ganito parin grades mo? Tangina mo pinaglalaban mo pa yang course nayan, tapos hindi mo naman pala kaya, puro kalang yabang kupal ka” he paused, still seething with anger, while I sat down in front of him in silence. “Lumayas ka sa harapan ko, kung gusto mo yang pabukod-bukod bahala ka sa buhay mo” finally, I was able to stand up, my feet numb because of the hours I had to sit down. Upon entering my shared room with my sisters, my tears fell without me permitting. My sisters looked at me with worry, as well as my mother who waited for the sermon to be finished. I smiled at them with a strained laugh before sniffing and wiping my tears harshly. I look at my mother before she let out a sigh, a sigh that sounded disappointed to me. I could only nod and continued to pack my things.
It was supposed to be a good night for everyone since I am moving to a condo unit that I bought by myself. It was only then that my older sister noticed the paper that fell down from my bag and picked it up, whilst giving it to me, she looked at it and was shocked that it was my grades for my first year of college.
Yes, I was a first-year college student, now entering my second year. My course was a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, my ultimate dream.
Going back, my father noticed the ruckus and asked to see what the paper was about, then all that happened. Resulting in sleeping again with all my thoughts that filled my mind again and my heart hurt with the heaviness it carried.
18 years old, average height, maybe. Celiana Marie Sanchez, a second-year Civil Engineering. Brown eyes and hair are cut in different lengths. A typical academic gifted back then when I was still in high school but of course, life takes a lot of turns, I am now officially a former academically gifted kid to a burnout adult with a lot of traumas and problems. Hooray!
I have two close friends that I met when I was in elementary, Luke and Karylle. I am not exactly the friendly type. I’d rather listen to blabber about things. I pick my friend carefully and take my time on doing that. Has huge trust issues and many other things that make me really unstable, where even my family doesn’t even know that I have been trying to kill myself with the little things I think would work but never did. So, I had to suck it up to a point that I don’t how to distinguish what is a happy and genuine emotion from a bad one, what laughing sincerely feels like, and how crying all your heart feels like. Even talking without being scared of being rejected and ignored, I was scared of all of it but acted as if I wasn’t and acted as if I was so strong and independent out of everyone else.
Just like now, I waved bye with a sad smile before I got inside the taxi to go to my new place. All my things were in the trunk and my necessities were in a bag beside me. I let out a huge sigh before plugging in my earphones and listening to music for the rest of the ride.
3 hours, traffic time counted was the duration of the ride. It took a long ride and I had to pay a lot but it was maybe worth it because I’m now standing in front of the condominium building. This is where she wishes all good things would start. Grabbing all my bags, I entered the building and went straight to the lobby. My heart pounded in my chest, scared and nervous, overthinking even because I was worried if the lady could hear it. “Thank you, Ma’am, here’s your key” the lady behind the marble bar smiled at me while I took the key. Some staff helped me to carry my things to the elevator in which I bowed my head to thank them.
Upon closing the elevator doors, I looked down at the keys that rested in my hands. 717. Seventh floor, room 17. I smiled to myself but it fell remembering what happened last night. With a huge and determent sigh, I gained my composure, ‘promise this time, I’ll surpass everyone. I smiled and nodded to myself before I heard the elevator ding. I grabbed her bags again before striding through the hallway while looking for my unit.
I finally found it, 3 rooms before the last one in the middle of the long hallway. It was silent and almost creeping me out so I fumbled through the keys and opened the door.
The clean and fresh smell of the room greeted me as I pulled my things inside and locked the door. My eyes wandered instantly to the spacious place I moved in. I had a giddy smile on my face while taking my shoes off and wandering around. There is basic furniture already but no T.V. It’s not like I need it anyway. I only need the wi-fi anyways. I opened the bathroom and checked the kitchen and the balcony, which I loved most. Now, I’m inside the room that’s going to wait for a bit until it’s fully decorated. A smile on my face was painted on my face before I picked up my bags again and wasted no time placing them inside the bedroom and grabbed my wallet to buy cleaning supplies and food that I’ll need until tomorrow.
The mall wasn’t far from the building. I even reached it by walking and I had a nice time, strolling around the place, trying to get used to the new space I just moved in. Since it was a Sunday, the mall was packed with people. From friends to families and even couples were enjoying their time around different shops and restaurants. I went straight to the department store, to the house decorations station where I strolled for quite the longest time, trying to find small and fitting ornaments to place around the house. While walking around, I felt my phone vibrate inside my pocket, making me take it out and answer the caller. “Hoy, hindi mo naman sinabi na umalis ka na pala, pumunta pa ako sa inyo gaga ka” I laugh at the sound of my friend, Luke. “Sorry, sorry, nakalimutan ko pala na pupunta ka today, nandito ako sa mall malapit sa building, pupunta ka pa rin ba?” I ask while proceeding to walk toward the nearest counter to pay for the things I choose. In the end, a few ornaments were
I looked at the back of the man who escorted me to my unit. “ Today’s a lot of surprises” he took a glance at me with a half smirk on his face. “So, you happen to be my new neighbor” he added before facing me, stopping in front of my door. I frowned at him in confusion. “I live at 720” he chuckled, my mouth hanging half open at his statement. He laughed more, “so my neighbor Liana, maybe I can borrow the book tomorrow? I’ll just knock and I’ll bring the book as well” he smiled before placing down the bags he offered to carry before striding toward his unit and opening the door. He opened it and looked back at me, gesturing for me to go in as well with a smile. And I did go inside, in a trance. I shook my head at the revelation before carrying the bags from the department store to my room and the ones from the supermarket to the kitchen. Half of the day was spent organizing the house. I cleaned the kitchen counter and placed the snacks and foods inside the cabinet, placing the drinks i
Brye looked at the small lady compared to him. Her height, and her physique, even though she is a grown woman already, she's small compared to those that he had seen. It was as if he was talking to a teenager who is still in their puberty phase if it was in terms of physique. He half smiled, “hmm, I’d suggest the usual that I’d take, that’s not on the menu but it’s what we’ll take” he smirks at Karlos before pulling the lady with him to a seat beside the wall. Brye watched her eyes wander around the places, looking at the frames that hung on the wall. Different pictures of the valued people the owner, Karlos, has placed, or the events from the past that he had taken an interest in. Soft music was playing in their background, “he’s your friend?” she finally asks something, muttering the words softly as if she was scared that Karlos will hear her. He laughs at her, “yeah, but he’s graduated already” he tells her, eyes landing on each other. She nods at him then falls into silence again.
“Gaga ang aga aga tapos nakakunot yung noo mo” Luke, who dropped by so early in the morning grins. “Alam mo dapat sana sinabi mo na pupunta ka pala kagabi pa, edi sana natulog ako ng maaga” I rolled my eyes at him while getting myself water from the fridge. “Eh, surprise nga e” he retorts, making me roll my eyes again at him. “Ano? Wala ka bang pakape jan?” he wandered around the kitchen, looking for something to eat. “Wala, I’m still about to buy an induction stove and other equipment” I tell him while I walk to the bathroom to freshen myself. “Ano bayan, may unit walang pangluto” he complains, while he tailed behind me. “Ano bayan, may cellphone pero walang load pangtext manlang” I answered him back, making him snort with a smile. “May pupuntahan ka?” I asked him while taking my wallet and phone. “Oo, may kikitain lang” he shrugged and I squint my eyes at him. “Weh, kikitain tapos sunod boyfriend mo na” I chuckle at him before I gestured him to go out. “Lilibre mo ko?” he grins, “hin
“Wait lang, sorry I was in the middle of tidying up the kitchen, kakatapos ko lang kasi iayos” I gestured for him to sit down on the couch while I went straight to the kitchen to throw away the boxes where the equipment was placed. “I have drinks here, wanna have some while we read?” I heard him say, making me turn to him with a frown, witnessing the man was just sitting down on the couch. “Brye, it’s just past noon?” I look at him with bewilderment. Brye laughs at the face I made, “yeah, and? Please get the glasses?” he chuckled, and I blinked before turning again and continuing on cleaning. Despite that I did say it was past noon, I took glasses and placed them on the coffee table, “I’ll take the book” I told him before proceeding to my room and leaving him nodding. I came back again and Brye was opening the bottles ready, pouring them fully into each cup. “Are you just in the mood na uminom or may problem ka?” I commented before placing the book gently on the table and sitting down
“Are you okay with that?” he muttered, the warmth of his hand leaving my wrist, disappearing. “Yep, it’s not like may gagawin kang masama” I shrugged before throwing him a smile and walking to the kitchen. I took a glass and poured myself some water. The moment I turned again Akihiko was still sitting on the couch while looking at me. “Di ka na ba inaantok?” I raised a brow in confusion and walked closer to him. It was a short stare competition. Akihiko took a while before answering and he only stared at me while he did. But after a few more seconds, Akihiko shakes his head with a laugh, “no it's nothing, let’s go back to sleep” he stands up and held my wrist again, rubbing the inside part of it a bit. He led us to my room and closed the door behind us, making it dark inside and only the lights from the outside illuminated the room. He removes his hand and I lay on the bed before he lay on the side. There was a deafening silence before I let out a sigh and got myself more comfortable
Brye: Sorry, can’t make it today, let’s go next time. 😊 With that, I placed my phone back beside the night table and stuffed my face into the fluffy pillows that lay below me. That’s fine, at least I have time to do the things that I needed to do. Since it was almost time again to start my 2nd year, I stood up from bed and made it before heading to the closet to pick out home clothes and started freshening up myself. After taking a bath, and wearing the most comfortable clothes that I have, I set up my laptop, the tablet that I owned, and the papers, reviewers as well as workbooks that I have. My table was filled with studying materials that I arranged, papers were stuck on the corkboard and there were notes written on my whiteboard, waiting to be erased. The productive morning started with tea, and I was making some flashcards that I would need for review. The silence was excellent, at least I was able to focus my mind and body with the peace that surrounded me. The scratching o
“So, what happened?” my voice was groggy. It was just a past few minutes when I woke up because of the constant ringing of my phone. “So ayun nga, remember that may guy ako na mineet? During that time na naglalakad kami, nakita ko si Kari” Luke, the source of my somehow daily headache, blabbered. “Anong gagawin ko?” I frowned, rubbing my face. The drowsiness was gone after minutes of waking up and my body was awake. “Gaga, it’s been years, syempre nagulat kami parehas tapos she said kelan daw tayo maghahang out ulit” he continued, using the tone of voice that I knew well, the tone that he uses when he wants to make me realize something, to make me understand what he is talking to. It was a bit of a high-pitched and sounded like a nag to me if I would be honest. “Maybe next week? Packed na kase yung week ko this week and I have plans already” I tell him while standing up and walking straight out of the room. “Sure yan? Icclear ko na rin yung schedule ko tapos inform ko siya para di siy