ESAIAH GLANCED at his Rolex watch. His first class would be this class in front of him now.
His not planning to discuss his lessons because that would be too harsh for the students.
What he was doing now was to give them the university's rules and regulations aside from orienting them about the lessons and such.
Today was their first day meeting with each other and he was expecting something not like this one.
What does he expecting then?
Automatically, his eyes went to search for someone, to a lady who was sitting right beside the window, in the last row of the room.
And as he roamed his eyes around the class, he couldn't take his look away from her. His student. My student...
Esaiah leaned his back on his chair and watched her every move.
Abala ito sa activity na pinapagawa niya. Well, it was just an essay. Kita niyang seryoso ito sa pagsusulat.
Napapikit siya ng mariin ng manariwa sa kaniyang alaala ang paglandas ng dila ng dalaga sa mga labi nito.
Kung hindi siguro niya pinigilan ang sarili na dumukwang palapit dito at halikan ng mariin, malamang usap-usapan na sila ngayon.
Or maybe, Esaiah and a freshman were already in a video, a scandalous one.
Ngunit sa kadahilanang ayaw niyang mapahiya ito, isinantabi na lamang niya iyon.
At isa pa, nasa matino pa siyang pag-iisip na estudyante niya ang nasa harap.
He has to stop himself from doing unnecessary things.
Mahirap na at baka kung ano pa ang mangyari. Hindi maganda para sa isang propesor na umakto ng ganoon.
Esaiah knew that it was an involuntary action but he felt like his whole body went rigid and it felt hot all of a sudden.
That woman was awakening something inside him, that he, himself, couldn't do.
And he also remembered how he leaned forward to her table just to smell her!
Hindi niya alam kung bakit parang may magneto sa pagitan nila ng mga oras na iyon at hindi niya napigilang lumapit dito at masamyo ang gamit nitong pabango.
She smelled like sweet strawberry! Too feminine but it really fitted her.
Parang naliliyo siya sa nadarama at wala sa isip na kumilos ng hindi naaayon sa kaniyang utak.
Unang kita niya pa lamang sa babae pero ginugulo na nito ang sistema niya. Paano pa kaya sa mga susunod na mga araw?
Hindi siya mapagparusa na tao, ngunit pagdating sa dalaga, hindi niya maiwasang takutin ito dahil nakikita niya sa mga mata nito na hindi ito magpapatalo sa kahit na sino.
Nakikita niyang kaya nito ang sarili.
Wala naman siyang intensyon na magbigay ng parusa kung hindi lamang ito sumagot sa paraang hindi niya nagustuhan.
Esaiah opened his eyes and stared at her again. Parang wala siyang kasawaan na pagmasdan ito buong araw.
Maganda ito, oo. Hindi niya iyon maitatanggi. Matangkad at balingkitan, morena at napakakinis ng balat nito.
Pinakatitigan pa niya ito at nang mapansin siguro ng dalaga na may nanonood sa kaniya, awtomatikong dumako ang paningin nito sa harapan—sa kaniya.
Esaiah gave her a smirked. But she just looked away and focused her gaze at her paper again, ignoring him.
Maya-maya pa ay napailing siya dito. Sino ito para hindi siya pansinin?
That very moment, he felt that this class would be extraordinary, not because of the class itself, but because of the woman who caught his attention after so many years.
But she's your fucking student! Sigaw ng munting boses sa isip niya.
Esaiah tilted his head. Ginawa naman niyang pantukod ang siko sa gilid ng mesa at doon idinantay ang ulong nakahilig habang pinagmamasdan ng matiim ang dalaga na tahimik pa ding nagsusulat.
"Kiera Eritrea..." he whispered, and as if on cue, she looked at him again with a creased forehead and this time, he couldn't promise himself if his life would be getting less exciting.
But Esaiah also felt danger around her. If what he felt right now would grow too strong and cannot be handled anymore, he was really in danger!
Not just his career would be in chaos but also him who would be in turmoil! And that would be the end of him!
***
"PLEASE SEND me all your information tonight. And also, I'll be making a group chat and a page for this class only. All the power points and documents that'll be used will be uploaded there aside from announcements of assignments, deadline of submissions and any reminders. You can email me if you have any questions. But for the meantime, pass your paper in the count of three."
"One..." Sir Esaiah started counting and my classmates stood up, some just gave their paper to those who were already standing.
"Two..." he accepted the papers that were given already.
Kiera walked towards his table since she sat beside no one and she didn't have the guts to just gave it to somebody she didn't know. That would be too demanding for her part.
She handed her paper when she saw that all of her classmates already submitted their own.
"Three—"
Sir Esaiah was being cut off with his words while looking up and saw her standing in front of him. She glanced at him and looked away afterwards. She went to her sit the moment he grabbed her paper.
Nadaanan niya ang mesa ng ibang kaklase, partikular na ang mga lalaking nagsigawan kanina ng tanungin siya nang may narinig siyang sumipol.
Agad siyang napalingon kung sino iyon. Sinamaan niya ito ng tingin. That was cat calling!
Handa na siyang magsalita ng biglang may pabagsak na kamay ang tumama sa teacher's table at may dumagundong na boses sa buong klase na nagpatahimik sa lahat ng naroon at nagpaigtad pati na sa kaniya.
"Who the fuck was that?"
Unti-unti niyang nilingon ang pinaggalingan ng boses. Only to find out that his knuckles were balled into fists and his face, it has a dark and furious aura.
Nagngangalit ang buong hitsura nito. Magkasalubong ang mga kilay at parang gusto na niyang bumalik sa kinauupuan niya ng mga sandaling iyon.
Agad namang tumungo ang sumipol na kaklase niya. Sa pagkakaalala niya, si Joseph iyon.
"A-Ahm— s-sir—"
"Again. I'm asking you class, who the fuck whistled here?" He was clicking his tongue and brushed his inside cheeks while slightly tilting his head on the other side.
Nagbulung-bulungan ang paligid. Nagsimula ng magturo at magsisihan ang ilan sa kanyang mga kaklase.
"I-I'm v-very sorry, s-sir. H-Hindi ko po s-sinasadya..."
Napakasama ng tingin ng binata sa kaklase niyang iyon. Naawa naman siya dito bigla. Kahit siya ay natakot sa awra ng propesor niya.
"The next time that I'll hear something like that here inside my room, I'm gonna put you in detention! And I'm gonna give you a bonus of 2 weeks suspension. Plus a 200-item examination in all your majors and an additional failing grade for the semester. And if you think that I can't do that, oh well, I tell you this class, I don't bluff. It is just me, being generous." Sir Esaiah said effortlessly while clenching his jaw.
Kiera just stared at him the whole time. She felt butterflies flying in her stomach.
He walked near Joseph's table and told the latter to follow him.
Kaagad siyang naalarma. Mukhang totoo nga ang sinabi nito kanina. She needs to think fast!
Kiera grabbed his arm. She felt him caught his breath and stilled. The two men stopped midway. "What do you want, Miss Sebastiene?" Sir Esaiah asked, still frowning.
"Ah, kasi— maybe we could still let it pass, s-sir?" Alanganin naman niyang sagot dito, kapit pa din niya ang braso nito.
"What do you want me to do then?" Aniya saka hinarap siya, inilagay naman nito ang kanang kamay sa bulsa.
Napakurap-kurap naman siya at sandaling nag-isip.
She glanced at Joseph. Nangungusap ang mga mata nito. Marahil ay hindi naman nito iyon inaasahan.
Napabuntong-hininga siya. Wala din siyang maisip. Nanghihingi siya ng tulong na lumingon sa binata, sa kaniyang propesor.
"I will let this pass Mr. Reyes. But next time, I'll bring you in confinement." She heard him sigh. "Now, let's put it this way. Say sorry to Ms. Sebastiene. Sincerely. And if she'll accept it, then you're good to go. If not, I'm very sorry but I'll take you to where you're gonna be."
Keira saw how Joseph's begging eyes looked like. She could see it clearly. Nagsisisi nga ito. Hindi naman siguro nito alam na hahantong sila sa ganitong sitwasyon. Kahit siya man ay hindi makapaniwala. Mali nga ito, oo, pero masaya siya dahil pinagtanggol naman siya ng binata. Ayos na sa kaniya iyon. Huwag na lamang sanang umulit si Joseph dahil hindi na niya iyon mapapalagpas pa.
"I'm so sorry, Kiera. I'll not do that again, I promise. Sana paniwalaan mo ko," and then he looked his eyes to Sir Esaiah and then he spoke, " sorry din po. Pangako, hindi ko na po uulitin." Bahagya pa itong tumungo habang humihingi ng tawad.
She smiled quickly and hold his hand. "It's okay. Apology accepted."
Narinig niyang tumikhim ang propesor at dumako ang tingin sa mga kamay nila. Kaagad niya iyong binawi ng magtiim-bagang na naman ang binata.
Bumalik na silang pareho sa kanilang mga upuan. Kaagad siyang lumayo dito at hindi na nilingon pa ito. Naiwang nakatayo naman si Sir Esaiah sa harap.
"On this day forward, treat every woman nicely, guys. Isipin niyo nalang na kapag nambastos kayo, nababastos din ang kapatid niyo at mga nanay niyo. That hurts a lot. And if ever I hear news about you guys being disrespectful, sorry to say but you're not welcome to my class anymore. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we do." Ani ng buong klase. Ang iba ay tumango-tango lang, senyales na naintindihan din nila ang ipinupunto nito.
Lumingon naman ito kay Joseph. "You should be thankful Mr. Reyes, if it isn't for Ms. Sebastiene, I'll force you out of my class. So you should mean your sorry."
She felt great. Sino bang mag-aakala na napakagalang nito pagdating sa pagtrato sa kanilang mga babae?
She sat quietly and fix her table.
Nang mapatingala siya at gumawi paharap ang kaniyang paningin, nakita niya itong nakatiim-bagang at nakatingin sa kaniya kapagkuwan ay ibinalik ang tingin sa mga papel nitong hawak.
Napakunot-noo naman siya at tahimik na nagtaka. Bakit kaya? Kaagad din itong nawala ng humarap ito sa kanila.
"You have 30 minutes break. Do whatever you want to do. We still have a long hour to go."
Tahimik itong nagliligpit ng mga gamit sa mesa ng biglang may dumungaw na isang babae sa pintuan. Katulad ni Sir Esaiah, nakabihis ito ng kaparehong uniporme.
Kaagad siyang napakunot-noo at napahinto sa pagtayo sa kaniyang upuan.
Akala ko ba wala siyang girlfriend kasi 'I don't do girlfriend ' din siya?
Ipiniksi niya ang ulo sabay napailing-iling. Sino naman ba siya para mangialam? Estudyante lang siya. Kakasimula pa lang niya dito kaya anong alam niya hindi ba? Baka nga matagal na ang mga ito na magkarelasyon.
Kung titingnan, maganda naman ang babaeng pumasok ng klase nila. Ang ilan sa mga kaklase niya ay naiwan. Ang iba ay lumabas muna at sinabing mag-iikot sa campus.
Siya man ay niyaya ni Joanna ngunit hindi niya maintindihan ang sarili kung bakit siya nagpa-iwan dito.
Siguro kasi panonoorin mo sila?
Kaagad naman siyang napasimangot sa naisip.
Ayaw niyang masaksihan ang landian ng mga ito. At parang may anong kumudlit na kirot sa kaniyang dibdib.
Napataas agad ang kaniyang mga kilay ng makitang masyadong malapit ang babae sa propesor. Aba, nasa loob pa din sila ng silid. May mga naiwang mga kaklase niya pero wala sa dalawang guro ang atensyon nito. Tanging siya lang yata ang nakakapansin sa mga pinaggagagawa ng mga iyon.
At ang hudyo, hindi man lamang matulak-tulak ang babae! Mukhang nasisiyahan pa ito sa ginagawa ng babaeng propesor.
Inis na napairap siya sa hangin. Nagdadabog siyang tumayo at umalis ng silid. Sinadya niya iyon para naman malaman ng mga ito na ang sagwa nila tingnan at maraming estudyante ang nakakakita sa mga ito.
Padabog niya ding binuksan ang pinto at dali-daling bumaba sa limang palapag na iyon gamit ang hagdan.
Hmp! Bahala kayo diyan. Magsama kayo.
_notborntoimpress©