Steven Rivas, period.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" Aniah asked habang pina-pat ang likod ko.
"Anyare?" Tanong ni Nyllet.
"First blood." Bulong naman ni Nylipp.
Tumayo ako bigla at lupamit sa lalaki na halos nakahawak sa tiyan niya na animo'y sumasakit na sa katatawa.
"Wow, nice shot! Hahah" asar pa niya.
Ikinawit ko bigla yung kamay ko sa leeg niya, and I drag his head down, hard. I started choking him too.
"Bwiset ka Rivas! Mamatay ka na!" Hinigpitan ko pa lalo ang pagkakahawak ko sa kanya, nakakagigil eh.
"Aray! Aaaray! Oy! Tama na! Masakit na! Ughh! Uy Salvacion!" Hiyaw at daing niya habang pilit na tinatanggal ang pagkakahigpit ko sa leeg niya. I saw the rushed of blood into his face up to his ears, at tsaka ko siya pinakawalan.
"Hindi ka babae, halimaw ka!" Bulyaw niya sa akin. 'Tong lalaking to siya na nga nauna, siya pa 'tong galit, Haaamazing.
"Sino ba kasing may sabing lagyan mo ng popcorn ang bibig ko! SERVES. YOU. RIGHT! " Sigaw ko pabalik.
"Matrona kang babae ka, mas lalaki ka pa sa lalaki." Dagdag pa niya habang hinahagod ang leeg niyang sinakal ko.
Don't believe him. Hindi ako matrona, medyo lang.
"Kaya walang nagkakagusto sa'yo, mahilig kang manakit" Nainis lalo ako sakanya, and I crossed my arms and asked,
"Naghahanap ka ba ng away, Rivas?"
Then I heard murmurs around us.
'Who's that girl bullying Steven? 'Kilala ba siya ni Steve, they seemed close? 'Sino yan?' at ang nakakarindi sa ears,
'Hey, she's Steven's bestfriend- si Celes Real Salvacion.'
"Bestfriend,my foot." I like living a low profile pero tuwing kasama ko ang annoying toad na 'to, nagigimbal ang katahimikan ko!
Ow, I forgot. Sikat nga pala tong mokong na 'to. He's Steven "Reel"Rivas. What makes it great is that magkasound ang second name namin "Real at Reel". What a great coincidence, bwiset.
He's one of the campus heartthrob here. Yikes, naco-corneyhan talaga ako when it comes to title. He has this good lean body, moreno siya at matangkad. He has good features, matangos na ilong, makapal na kilay at gwapo siya ngumiti. Gwapo siya. Period.
But I had been immune to his charms for almost 7 years. He has been my classmate since grade 7 until now. We usually call each other by surnames. Kilala ko 'tong mokong na'to mula ulo hanggang paa.
And I am very serious to say, I do really appreciate his handsome face, thank you very much. But really, hindi sumagi sa utak ko na magkagusto sa kanya or kahit katiting na crush man lang. Kasi nga kilala ko siya, kung gaano siya ka gago. First impression lasts, sabi nila. Baka totoo yun. When we first met, we were freshmen and then he's my first ever seatmate. He sat beside me and he looked at me sheepishly and shamelessly asked,
"Marunong kang makipag-sex?" .
Unang araw pa lang namin when I hit him with my pencil case at dineretso kami sa disciplinary office. For the seven years of being his classmate or sometimes unluckily ,"seatmate", nasanay na ko sa kanya. He's a first class jerk anyway.
Grade 8 kami, he prefers to date older girls with much experience, so he dated senior high students or higher graders. He tried "children" or lower grades, mga bata on my point of view when we were were in grade 10. Pinalayawan ko siya ng pedophile that whole year. At ang malala, he courted our practice teacher, when we were in grade 11. I don't know kung pinatulan siya, but I can say hindi malayong magka- STD or HIV siya with his lifestyle. But the perks of having a jerk classmate/ seatmate for a long time, is that I learned to stay away and sense jerk like him, you know, he's my basis. But set aside that manyakis side of him, matino naman siyang tao, he's also the intelligent-like. He loves to compete with me but I hate competitions. I like exchanging views of life with him, but hindi rin nagtatagal at nagtatapos agad ang usapan dahil sa manyakis niyang bibig.
Though, we had one thing in common - we enjoy life seriously, but in different ways. Kaya nagtataka ang mga classmates namin na kahit matalino kami, bakit hindi kami mapromote sa Science section. They thought we are lazy or loves to slack off, well, we let them believe it that way, but I know, pareho kami.
Alam naming life is more interesting if you live it your way. Let live and let live interestingly, ofcourse, not what they wanted for us but our own ways.
"Nagagalit na yung mga fans ko sayo, "bulong niya.
"Ang yabang mo, mukha kang aso!" I told him and the bell rang. Bwiset, hindi man lang ako nakapagrecess ng maayos. Tumapon ang tingin ko sa mga pinsan ko na kumakain ng Popcorn, grinning ear to ear while watching us. Umirap ako sa kanila, heavenwards.
"Gwapong aso" Sambit niya bago umalis at nauna sa classroom.
"Mukha kang frog at walang gwapong frog, gago."
'Isang taon na lang. Last year. Ito na ang huling taon namin. I keep reminding myself.
Patience. Peace. Harmony.' I breathe out at sumunod na rin sa classroom namin.