'Hey, still up?'

I blinked my eyes twice and sighed abruptly.  Tinitigan kong mabuti ang notification ng aking cellphone.

Hmm... I-seen ko kaya? I giggled at my idea. I find it amusing that he's actually interested about my day, hindi naman sya ganito dati.

'Yup, maaga pa naman. Ang pangit nga ng araw ko eh, nalate pako. :((' 

'You should sleep early tonight para 'di ka na tanghaliin ng gising.'

'Okay, so anong oras dapat ako matulog?'

'Mga 9pm or so.'

'That's too early :(("

'Isn't that the point?'

'Okay fine, see you at school tommorrow then?'

'Yeah, see you.'

And that's how our conversation ended. A faint smile crossed my lips. Nakipagtitigan pako sa butiki na nasa kisame ng kwarto ko nang magdesisyong tapusin na ang natitirang assignments.

8:47 nang matapos ako. I watched a handful of kpop vids and then decided to sleep.

Nagising ako nang mag-aalasais ng umaga. Nagpacute muna ko sa salamin kahit ngarag na ngarag pa yung mukha ko.

I stood up, and did my morning routine. I parted my hair on the side and placed a barette. Ay wow, nag-fifeeling na naman si bossmadam oh! I shook my head and went off to school.

Pagkapasok ko ng room napansin kong iilan palang ang naroon.

"Claire, may assignment ba tayo?" Tanong ni Mika, ang maliit at cute kong kaklase.

"Ay oo ata, sa english. Vocab lang naman, isesearch yung meaning."

"Hehe. Pwede pakopya?" Tanong ni mika.

Ngumiti ako at kinuha ang notebook sa bag.

"Sure." Sambit ko. Hindi naman na bago 'to. Normal na samin ang mag-hiraman ng sagot basta't madadali lang yung context. Pagka-malalakihang assignment na, doon dina-draw yung line.

I wasn't like this in elementary school. I didn't care about studying at all back then, but I can always sense my parents' disappointment everytime they see my grades. Lagi akong napapalo noon dahil may mga line of seven at puro line of eight lang. I developed fear for my father because of that.

I was studying in a private school during elementary that's why I felt intimidated by my classmates. May mga mayayaman na matalino, mayayaman na bully at mga teacher's pet kasi popular, maganda o gwapo sila. I hated those groups especially the bullies.

But then... I grew out of that phase. I still get sensitive when someone tries to point out my insecurities but I learned to just shrug it off. Maybe cry about it one time and then move on.

I felt a tap on my shoulder so I looked at the same direction where the pressure struck me. A man wearing a charming smile.

Si Fjord. Umupo sya sa katabing upuan ko at  sinimulan akong kausapin.

"Oy, aga mo ah." Bati nya.

I raised a brow. "Well, obviously sumunod ako sa usapan."

He hold a finger up and put my arching brow down. It took me by surprise so I pinched his waist. Nakailag sya kaya inulit ko. Tumama sya sa bakal ng armchair at napa 'aray' dahil doon.

Natawa ko ng slight. Hehe. Tinignan nya ko ng masama at ngumuso.

"Ano yan, nag-papacute ka?" Pang-aalaska ko.

"Oo, bakit, gumagana ba?" Sagot nya.

"Hmm pwede na. Kamukha mo si Perry." He suddenly looked annoyed. The heck.

"Sino naman yon?" Tanong nya.

"Edi yung alaga ni Phineas at Ferb. Mahaba nguso eh."

"Sa dinami-rami ng ipagkukumpara mo, sa plattipus pa."

"Okay lang yon. Sabihin mo nga grrrrr."

"Ganon ba tunog no'n pang leon yan eh!"

"Hindi kaya, rawr kaya pag leon." I mumbled the latter phrase. He looked at me in disbelief.

"At bakit ganyan ka makatingin?" Angal ko.

"Isa pa nga, parinig nung rawrr." Asar nya.

Kinurot ko ulit yung tagiliran nya habang tinatawanan ako ng loko.

"Cute kaya!" Sabi ng bwisit.

"Nyenyenye."

"Apaka mature naman ng leon na'to." I just watched him laugh there. Like I don't even know what's funny. He's just that crazy.

The bell rang and morning class should start any minute now. Fjord realized that so he went back to his proper seat.

Our adviser came in and announced;

"Out Intramurals will happen three weeks from now."