When did you guys experience your first love? What kind of person did you fall in love with? When did you know that you already love that person? Was it love at first sight or did it take time?
What happened to your first love?
In my case, I fell in love for the first time during the second semester of my 1st year in highschool. He's a quiet and shy boy who's a year older than me. It wasn't love at first sight but it didn't take that long for me to fall for his charms.
I mentioned before that I was 'kinda' good at math and I admire those who are good at it. In the long run, I actually realized that I have a 'thing' for guys who are good at math. And I guess the reason for that is because of him, Ethan Avanzado.
During my 1st year in highschool, I was selected to be one of the two students in my year to join a math quiz bee in our division. 2 students from each year were chosen and trained for several weeks before the competition.
Dahil nga sa nalalapit na araw ng kompetisyon, ako at ang kaklase kong si Yoseph ay pinayagang 'di um-attend ng klase dahil sa "excuse letter" na galing sa math department.
Kilala ko na si Yoseph kahit noong elementary pa lang ako dahil madalas kaming magkalaban sa math competitions noon pa naman. He's a bit chubby tapos singkit ang mata niya. Our parents also know each other kasi lagi kami nilang sinasamahan para mag-cheer sa amin tuwing may competition. Pero dahil pareho kami ng pinasukang high school, sasali kami ulit sa math quiz bee, 'di bilang magkalaban kundi magkakampi.
Sa mga oras at araw na excused kami ay imbes na sa klasrum, sa math faculty room kami mag-rereview.
Yoseph and I are idly standing in front of the faculty room and arguing with each other who will open the door.
"Kel, ikaw na magbukas ng pinto. Peymus ka naman." Tinulak ako ni Yoseph malapit sa may pintuan.
"Huh? Anong kinalaman no'n? Ikaw na, mas close ka kay Ma'am Helena." Hinila ko ang bisig niya para siya ang magbukas ng pinto.
"Di ba sabi nila, Ladies first. Kaya ikaw na," pagkumbinsi niya pa sa akin. Sobrang unrelated naman ng reason na binanggit niya. Walang ka-connect connect sa pagbukas ng pinto at pagbati sa mga guro.
Sa totoo lang, walang patutunguhan itong pagtatalo namin at 'di kami makakapasok kung ganito kami ka-mahiyain kaya nilakasan ko na ang loob ko at binuksan ang pinto.
"Good morning po," pagbati namin at pagkatapos ay sinundan ako ni Yoseph papasok sa loob ng faculty room.
"Oh, buti, pumasok na kayo. Akala ko aabutin pa kayo ng siyam-siyam," wika ng lalaking naka-uniporme na nakataas ang buhok dahil sa dami ng gel o wax na nilagay niya rito.
Taliwas sa iniisip namin ni Yoseph na mga guro ang nasa loob ng faculty room, dalawang lalaking estudyante ang naroon.
"Anong pinagtatalunan n'yo sa labas? LQ ba kayo?" pang-aasar sa'min ng maliit na lalaki na sumalubong sa amin.
"Hindi ah!" sabay naming pagtanggi. Nagkatinginan kami ni Yoseph at mukhang pareho kaming nandidiri sa isa't isa.
"Pero teka, paano mo nalaman na nagtatalo kami?" tanong ko sa maliit na lalaki.
"Tumingin ka sa likod mo," sagot n'ya sa kin at tinuro gamit ang kanyang nguso ang nasa likod ko.
Paglingon ko ay nakita ko ang bintana na katabi ng pinto. It was a dark-tinted window that enables one to see what's outside but if you're outside, you can't see the inside. Napalakas ata masyado ang pagtutulakan at paghihilahan namin ni Yoseph kaya nakita kami sa loob.
It seems some teachers were in their class for the first and second period already so most of them are out of the faculty room.
"Pero si Ma'am Helena ay pumunta lang saglit ng canteen kaya babalik rin 'yun maya-maya. Hintayin nyo lang'" paliwanag sa min ng maliit na lalaking yun.
Now that I think about it, it was that short guy who keeps on talking to us while his partner has not said a single word since we arrived.
Matangkad siya 'di tulad nung isa kaya halata na mas matanda siya sa amin. Medyo malago ang kulay itim niyang buhok na parang may buntot. Manipis ang labi niya at matangos ang kanyang ilong. Isa pa sa una kong napansin sa kanya ay ang napakalalim niyang tingin.
His gaze is so strong, I thought it would pierce us. He looked at us when we first entered but then proceeded to look down on the paper lying on the table. He was twirling his pen. I guess he's starting to solve some math problems.
Maya-maya ay dumating na si Ma'am Helena na may hawak na sopas sa kamay nya. She's a math teacher who mostly teaches 1st year students. All our upperclassmen went through her and she's known to be strict but she's really a good teacher. Na-aabsorb ko nang madali ang mga tinuturo niya at laging maaga ako sa klase n'ya kahit na kadalasan ay late akong pumasok.
"Ezekiel, Yoseph. Andito na pala kayo. Mabuti na maaga kayo. Sandali at bibigyan ko kayo ng test papers na sasagutan nyo." Binati kami ni Ma'am nang makita niya kami. Matapos ay pumunta na siya sa kanyang desk at ibinaba ang sopas na nasa paper cup na hawak n'ya. Hinanap n'ya ang mga test papers na ibibigay sa'min at habang naghihintay kami...
"Ezekiel? Yoseph? Parehas kayong lalaki? So bakit ka naka-palda?" pang-aasar sa'kin ng kutong-lupa na 'yun. Mas maliit s'ya sa'kin kaya ang sarap niya tirisin.
"Ezekiel EDEN ang pangalan ko. Eden rin ang pangalan ng Mama ko kaya Kiel o Kel ang tawag ng iba sa akin. Ezekiel is my first name so Ma'am Helena calls me that and I'm fine with it. But I'm not fine with you making fun of my name that was given to me by my parents," bwelta ko sa kanya.
"Kalma lang. Nagbibiro lang naman ako. Chill ka lang," paliwanag nya sa akin.
I admit that I lost my chill a little bit. Ofcourse, I know he was joking but I still couldn't stand jokes like that at this point of my life. Pero nasanay din ako sa katagalan sa paulit-ulit na pag-aakala ng iba na lalaki ako at paglalagay ng pangalan ko sa boys' roster imbes na sa girls' every single time.
'Di ko maintindihan kung bakit napaka-impatient magbasa ng mga tao. May Eden naman na kasunod yung Ezekiel ah. Lagi na lang sila agad-agad nag-aassume. I don't blame my parents for this tho because I actually like my name.
Anyways, Ma'am Helena found those test papers and handed them over to me and Yoseph.
"Oh, heto. Sagutan n'yo munang dalawa 'yan pagkatapos ay che-checkan natin tapos yung mga mali nyo, pwede n'yong itanong dito kina Paul at Ethan kapag wala ako mamaya.
Feel free to ask them if you have trouble understanding anything. Second years sila. They were 1st place last year in our division and were Regional qualifiers."
Ipinakilala sa amin ni Ma'am Helena ang mga sophomore na kanina pa nandito sa faculty room.
The competition we're joining is composed of two rounds. The first round is a written exam and the second round is Group Quiz Bee. Last year, Ethan got the highest score in the written exam while Paul got the third highest score. Because of their combined scores, our school placed first in the written exam and they proceeded to ace the group quiz bee and became the overall 1st place.
They're literal monsters in math, it seems. And so that short little guy is Paul and the one who doesn't talk is Ethan, huh? I wonder how I can ask them for help when I already argued with one of them and the other one isn't saying anything.
After Yoseph and I answered the test paper, we scored 39/50 and 37/50 respectively. I asked Yoseph for the 2 questions that I missed but he answered correctly and I understood my mistake. We were answering within a time limit and my carelessness got in my way again. It also doesn't help that my handwriting is straight-up 'hieroglyphs'. It's just that awful but I'm continuously working on it para naman maintindihan nila ang solution ko.
May klase si Ma'am Helena ngayong 2nd period kaya naman sinabi niya na i-review namin 'yung exam at pinaalalahanan kami ulit na magtanong kina Paul at Ethan doon sa mga problems na 'di namin alam.
Paglabas ni Ma'am ng room, nagkatinginan kaming apat na nakaupo sa magkabilang dulo.
I was feeling awkward with Paul kasi medyo napikon ako kanina kaya 'di ko sure kung paano magtanong sa kanya. I'm also curious about Ethan since he got highest score in the written exam pero matuturuan niya ba ko kung sobrang tahimik siya?
Habang malalim akong nag-iisip kung sino at paano ako magpapaturo ay biglang tumayo si Yoseph at tumungo kay Paul para magtanong. Paul was enthusiastic and answered his questions cheerfully. Now that this happened, I guess I should ask Ethan.
Biglang nagtagpo ang mga mata namin, pero bigla rin siyang umiwas ng tingin. Tumayo na ko at lumapit sa kanya.
Wait. What should I call him? Kuya? Ethan? Senpai?
"Ahmm, alam mo po ba kung paano i-solve itong number 23? Sinabi ni Ma'am Helena na magtanong daw sa inyo kung may 'di kami alam so pwede mo po ba kong turuan?" I approached him cautiously and asked him politely.
"Sige, alin ba? Titingnan ko." He spoke for the first time with his deep raspy voice and reached the paper in my hands with his long limbs.
"Ito pong number 23. I was doing it manually pero napakalaki ng number na hinahanap. I don't think I can solve it this way kung lumabas po itong problem sa quiz bee kung saan halos 1 minuto lang ang time limit," magalang na pagpapaliwanag ko.
"Ah, arithmetic sequence. Madali lang ito kung alam mo ang formula. Umupo ka at i-try mo i-solve gamit itong formula na it."
Pagkakita pa lang nya sa tanong ay alam na agad nya ang gagawin, as expected of a math wizard. Umupo ako sa tabi nya at dali-daling sinubukan gamitin ang formula na binigay niya.
"Ganito po ba?" tanong ko habang nag-sosolve ako.
"Oo. Ganyan nga. Nakuha mo. Tapos palitan mo lang 'yung 'n' kapag ibang number ang hinahanap."
"Ah. Gets ko na po."
"Ah. Mabuti naman pero okay lang kahit di ka mag-po sa kin. 'Di naman ata nagkakalayo ang edad natin." He made his request but I guess he's too shy because he keeps avoiding me whenever our eyes meet.
"Ah. Sure ka bang okay lang talaga, Ethan? Ah, wait. Sorry, kahit di mag-po lang nga pala ang pwede. 'Di mo sinabing okay lang kahit walang 'Kuya'."
Biglang tumawa si Ethan sabay sabing "Okay lang na walang Kuya. Ethan lang, sapat na. Uhm, Kel?"
"Huh? Oo. Okay lang na Kel ang itawag mo sa akin, Ethan." I was surprised to see him laugh and smile at me. Also, did he just call me 'Kel'? That must mean he was listening while I said my piece to Paul earlier. It's making me embarrassed when I think about it.
"Buti naman," bulong na sabi ni Ethan.
"Uhm, Ethan. Ito namang problem na ito about age. Ayos na 'yung age problem nating dalawa kaya ito naman i-solve natin."
He chuckled again on my lame joke. 'Di ko alam na napakababaw ng sense of humor nitong si Ethan at lagi syang tumatawa kahit napaka-corny ang joke ko. Akala ko kanina, snob siya pero hindi naman pala.
But it turns out that I'm actually right, Ethan actually doesn't laugh so much or even smile a little as he is usually quiet and reactionless. Iyon ang pagkakakilala ng iba talaga sa kanya.
Hmm, nakapagtataka na tuwing kausap ko lang siya kung kailan malakas siya tumawa at napakadaldal pa.
During our break, Paul asked me what Ethan was laughing earlier about so I told him what I said to him. And he said, it was his first time hearing Ethan laugh that much. Wow. Ganun ba talaga ako magaling magpatawa? Mag-comedian na lang kaya ako.
Ma'am Helena went back and trained me and Yoseph together for the group quiz bee. After that, we answered again a different test. Our first day reviewing went on like that.
Araw-araw nagpupunta kami ni Yoseph pati na rin ang mga upperclassmen namin sa math faculty room para magreview. Kaya araw-araw ko siyang nakikita. 'Di ko namalayan pero isa siya sa naging dahilan kung bakit ginaganahan akong magreview. Kapag wala si Ma'am Helena, nagpapaturo ako sa kay Ethan.
Napansin naman nina Paul at Yoseph pati mga upperclassmen ang closeness namin kaya hindi namin naiwasan na paminsan-minsan ay asarin nila. Pati mga teachers namin ay nakikisali sa pag-shiship sa aming dalawa.
"Alam kong sinabihan kayo na magpaturo sa mga 2nd year pero bakit parang iba na ata ang tinuturo mo Ethan kay Kel ha."
Inasar kaming dalawa ni Kuya Drew na isang 3rd year student. Tinaas pa niya ang kilay sa aming dalawa at halatang curious sa status namin.
Binatukan naman siya ni Ate Rachel na partner niya. "Huwag mo ngang asarin sila, baka dahil sa'yo di pa magkatuluyan 'yang dalawa. Pagpasensyahan niyo na itong si Drew. Just continue your review."
Nagulat naman kaming dalawa ni Ethan sa ginawa ni Ate Rachel kay Kuya Drew. Nagkatinginan kaming dalawa at palihim na tumawa.
Kuya Drew and Ate Rachel are childhood friends from what I know so they mostly act as siblings. Tinuturuan din nila kami pero mas madalas kasi naming kasabay mag-review sina Ethan kaya sa kanila kami nagpapaturo.
Ethan is a great teacher. He's really good at explaining things and he teaches me even those that I wasn't asking but he thinks that will help me. He gives tips on how to save time while answering. Like giving up those problems that are too much for me and just focus on the things I can handle during the written exam. After solving those, then I can try on those again if there's enough time. He gave me a note full of important formulas to memorize too.
He's so dedicated that I might cry. I was thinking that I better win this given all that he's taught me.
At oo, mukhang tama si Kuya Drew. Hindi lang math ang tinuro niya sa akin dahil natuto ko na rin siyang mahalin.