#PTG13 Chapter 13

"You know, before, may nabasa akong blog na sabi, 'if you love yourself, don't go to law school?'" I said while my head was resting on the table in front of me. Tomorrow's the first day of the midterm week, but I still wasn't confident. I have read the book thrice now, and have memorized all the requisites of the crime, but still, kinakabahan pa rin ako.

Jax's eyes never left his book. Kanina pa medyo naka-kunot iyong noo niya. Kanina ko pa rin siya gustong kulitin, pero kanina ko pa rin pinipigilan iyong sarili ko dahil mukhang sobrang hirap ng pinag-aaralan niya.

Kung nahihirapan na ako ngayon, baka patay na ako kapag nagsecond year ako.

"Simula nung nag-aral ako dito, araw-araw akong stressed. Naka-develop na ako ng takot sa index card. Alam mo 'yun? Nilalabas pa lang iyong stack ng prof ko, napapa-dasal na agad ako deep inside," I continued. I knew he was listening. Dati kasi, akala ko 'di na siya nakikinig sa akin kaya nainis ako sa kanya. But then, he recalled everything I said. As in literal na inulit niya lahat ng sinabi ko just to prove his point na nakikinig naman talaga siya. After that, shut up na ako sa kanya. Talino talaga ng manliligaw ko, e.

"Tapos last week, confident ako na okay naman 'yung grade ko sa recit tapos pagkakita ko, 78 lang 'yung average ko for the whole midterm... Nakaka-lungkot lang kasi alam mo 'yun? You exert maximum effort just to get minimum results?"

Akala ko patuloy lang si Jax sa pag-aaral, but I was quite taken aback when he put his highlighter down to look at me.

"You can still stop."

I frowned. "Nagrarant lang naman ako."

He shrugged. "No one's forcing you to stay. Kung hindi mo na gusto, pwede ka namang umalis. Kung nahihirapan ka, pwede ka namang tumigil. You don't have to stay if you're not happy."

Umiling ako. "I'm happy... it's just tiring."

"You rest when you're tired. You only stop when you're done," he said. "But do you really want this?"

Hindi agad ako naka-sagot. I knew I wanted this... but the hardship wasn't a joke. Minsan, naiisip kong magdrop na lang dahil sa sobrang hirap... but then, nasasayangan ako sa mga nagawa ko na. I was still torn about it.

"Ikaw ba, gusto mo talaga?"

He nodded. "I want to make a change."

I smiled. "What kind of lawyer do you want to be?"

"Criminal lawyer," he said. "But it's too dangerous. Ayokong madamay sila Mama."

I bit my lower lip. I love how he loves he family. Jax knows his priority. He's so responsible. Kahit sobrang pagod na 'yan, basta nasa bahay iyong parents nila, he'd make sure na may kasabay silang kumain. Lalo na ngayon na nasa Cavite si Joey, parang double time si Jax sa pagiging anak.

I yawned again. God, I was so sleepy. Feeling ko may maleta na sa ilalim ng mga mata ko. Forever na yata silang nandun.

Jax extended his hand to brush the stray hair from my face. He was looking at me softly while he was doing that. Mabilis akong napa-ngiti. He's so soft. He's my soft boy.

"Take a nap. I'll wake you up later."

"Okay lang? Baka sabihin mo, pinapunta na nga kita dito, tinulugan pa kita..." I said, then I yawned. I was only able to sleep for 3 hours last night tapos dire-diretso iyong ginawa kong pag-aaral. I had to make sure na kabisado ko down to letters iyong articles. Because the thing with law, may maka-limutan ka lang na isang salita, it would change the entirety of the provision. Kaya swerte talaga 'yung mga may eidetic memory.

"It's okay. Gisingin kita in 30 minutes. Tulog ka na," sabi niya bago ibinalik iyong atensyon sa binabasa niya. I was weak, so I fell asleep quickly. A few moments later, I felt Jax calling my name.

"Katherine," I heard him whispering against my ear. Medyo nakiliti ako dahil ang lapit niya masyado. I fought the urge to smile because know what? I liked being woken up like this. Masyado na akong nasasanay na bine-baby ako ni Juan Alexandro.

I groaned. "30 minutes na 'yun?"

"Water," he said, pushing a glass in front of me. "Para magising ka."

"I want coffee..." I begged. Para kasing caffeine monitor ko si Jax. Hanggang 2 cups lang iyong pwede kong inumin. After that, pinapainom niya ako palagi ng tubig. Feeling ko nga secretly mine-make sure niya na pasok sa 2 gallons iyong iniinom ko bawat araw! But not gonna deny, my skin looked better dahil sa dami ng tubig na iniinom ko!

While I was chugging down the glass of water, agad na kumunot ang noo ko nang mapansin ko na may yellow paper na may table sa harap ko.

"Ang kulit mo," I said, frowning when I noticed that he made a table of the penalties for me. Kanina pa kasi niya naririnig na nagrarant ako dahil litung-lito talaga ako sa pagcocompute! Ang dami kasing considerations.

He ignored my comment, and began to tell me kung paano mas magiging madali iyong pagcocompute ko.

"You memorized Article 63, 64, and 65?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, pati 'yung definition sa first parts."

"Memorize the penalties for the common crimes," he said, and then he looked like he was trying to remember kung ano pa ang sasabihin niya sa akin. I rested my hands under my chin, and gave myself a reward by watching him think. God, I love him. I love everything about him.

"When answering, be careful with the justifying and exempting circumstances. Minsan, nakaka-lito kaya dapat basahin mong mabuti," he said, then his forehead creased. "Are you listening?"

I grinned. "Pogi mo talaga."

His ears quickly turned read. "Tsk. Be serious."

"Seryoso naman ako. Pogi mo talaga. Kaya crush na crush kita, e," sabi ko kaya pati ilong yata niya namumula na dahil sa akin. Ang sarap talagang tuksuhin nito! Ang daling magblush, e.

"Katherine," he said.

"Juan Alexandro," I replied.

He rolled his eyes. "San ka pa nahihirapan?"

"Hmm... Okay na ako sa territoriality. 'Di ba basta hindi sa Pilipinas ginawa, walang jurisdiction?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but be careful because there are always exemptions to the exemptions. If it's done inside an embassy, we don't have jurisdiction because an embassy is an extension of the territory of a country. If done in the international waters, it will depend. Alam mo na ba 'yung rules doon?"

I nodded. "Yes, Sir. Natanong sa akin 'yun nung recit, so alam ko na 'yun," I said. "Ikaw ba? Okay ka na sa nirereview mo?"

He shrugged. "Nabasa ko na lahat 'to; inuulit ko na lang."

I eyed him. "Naks naman, nakaka-proud," I said, then leaned in and rested my head against his shoulder. "Inaantok ulit ako... inom akong coffee? Ha?"

Iniisip ko pa lang iyong French pressed coffee ko sa ref, nauuhaw na ako. Ayoko ring matulog ulit dahil kawawa naman si Jax na nag-aaral mag-isa. Nakaka-inggit kaya kapag iyong kasama mo natutulog. Kaya ayokong kasamang mag-aral sila Simon dati, e. Tinutulugan lang ako nung mga 'yun.

Ugh. Namimiss ko na 'yung mga bwisit na 'yun! Puntahan ko nga after midterms.

"Fine," Jax said. Agad na napa-tingin ako sa kanya dahil sa tinagal-tagal kong nagrerequest na gawin niya namang maximum of 3 cups a day, ngayon lang siya pumayag. "But answer this first."

He slid a paper in front of me. Kumunot ang noo ko, at mabilis na binasa iyong papel.

'Ross, a security guard, arrived home late one night after rendering overtime. He was shocked to see Rachel, his wife, and Joey, his best friend, in the act of having sexual intercourse. Ross pulled out his service gun and shot and killed Joey. The court found that Joey died under exceptional circumstances and exonerated Ross of murder but sentenced him to destierro, conformably with Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code. The court also ordered Ross to pay indemnity to the heirs of the victim in the amount of P50,000. Did the court correctly order Ross to pay indemnity even though he was exonerated of murder?'

"You have 7 minutes," sabi niya. Nanlaki ang mga ko. I protested, but he was back to studying! Ugh! Ang hilig talaga nito mambigla!

I quickly grabbed a yellow paper, and began to answer the question. Tatlong beses kong binasa iyong tanong bago ako nagsimulang sumagot. Hindi pa ako tapos magsulat nang hatakin ni Jax iyong papel ko.

"Di pa ako tapos!"

"Usually, 10 items with sub items sa exam. You only have 90 minutes. You have to maximize your time."

I gritted my teeth. "Di pa naman exam 'to."

But he ignored my words—again. His eyes scanned the paper. I could see him shaking his head. Gusto ko siya biglang i-headbutt.

"Ang haba ng sagot mo."

"Bawal ba?"

"Not really, but it's a waste of time. Just get straight to the point. The prof knows if you're just blabbering non-sense," sabi niya.

"Mali ba sagot ko?" I asked. "Di ba iba naman 'yung criminal responsility sa civil liability?"

Jax got his pen—iyong Pilot V5 na lagi niyang gamit. Meron siyang color blue, black, and red. 'Di nga ako makakuha ng ballpen niya kasi bilang niya. Bumili daw ako ng sarili ko. Damot.

"No. Wala dapat civil liability. The general rule is if there's no crime, there's no need for indemnity. The destierro's more for the protection of the husband against the family of the wife. It's not really a penalty," he said while writing it down para 'di ko malimutan. I kept all the papers Jax gave me. Malapit ng maging isang box. Lagi niya kasi akong tinuturuan. He saved my ass a lot of time already dahil sa mga alam niya. Na-a-amaze na nga mga classmate ko sa 'kin kasi may mga basis na ako from higher subjects. Galing talaga ng tutor ko.

"Basahin mong mabuti," he continued. "For the exception to apply, they should be in the act of intercourse. Kapag hindi, hindi applicable 'yung batas."

I nodded. "What if nung pumasok sa room, kakatapos lang?"

"Still won't apply."

"Paano kung papunta pa lang sa moment na 'yun? Ano'ng gagawin? Maghihintay lang 'yung asawa na gawin? 'Di ba parang tanga 'yun?"

He nodded. "There's a dissenting opinion about that, pero 'wag mong ilagay. The controlling jurisprudence is if it's not in the middle of the act, then exception wouldn't apply."

I pouted. "Unfair."

He shrugged. "It's the law."

"Thank you," I said.

He just nodded. "Just answer shortly. Lagay mo agad kung yes or no ang sagot mo. Then always put your legal basis. Walang points kapag walang legal basis. It won't matter kung mahaba o maigsi iyong sagot mo, basta tama. And don't forget to summarize in the last paragraph. Usually 'yun lang ang binabasa."

I beamed. "Yes, Sir. Thank you talaga," I said, but he just nodded.

"Date kita after the midterms."

He clicked his tongue. "Katherine."

I raised my hands in defeat. "Fine, 'di na kita haharutin. Ang rupok mo talaga pagdating sa akin," I said, then went back to flipping the pages of my book. God, I wouldn't know what I'd do kung wala si Jax sa buhay ko. He's just making everything not only bearable, but a whole lot better.