LORENZO ELRIC GARCHITORENA

HINDI KO tuloy malunok ang kinakain kong potato chips habang ini-i-skim ko ang pages ng mga sinend sa aking reviewer ni Jyrah for the Quiz Bee. But at least, condensed version ng ibinigay ni Ma'am na pagkahaba-haba ang sinend sa akin through Google Docs. I think Jyrah really put her efforts for this. I am also busy listening through random songs on my PC just to motivate myself for reviewing my notes: from the entire album of cast recordings from Hamilton, to different English covers of anime OSTs.

After that, she sent another message through Facebook.

Jyrah:
Mag-review ka na!
Review well. :)

Shoot! Naririndi na ako kapag naririnig ang salitang "review". Kaninang pag-uwi ko pa galing school ako magre-review for our Prelim exams starting tomorrow. Tapos ay may ire-review na naman ulit ako for the Quiz Bee. And my brain cannot process any information right now; the screws in me are starting to loosen up.

It's already 8:00 PM, pero isang subject pa lang ang nare-review ko. How productive am I, at inaantok na talaga ako.

I sighed before another song automatically played. I should prepare myself for this bloody battle I am facing tomorrow.

---

I am in my usual seating "arrangement" inside the classroom. Of course, mas gugustuhin ko nang maupo sa dulong part at tumunganga kaysa makipagdaldalan sa mga classmate ko sa harap.

English 1 ang first subject na ite-take namin for today. And 7:30 ang start ng exam, pero hanggang ngayon ay wala pa rin ang proctor. Ang classroom namin for Introduction to Philosophy ang ginawang examination room namin. Inilayo rin ang desks sa isa't isa to avoid students to easily peek up answers from their seatmates.

Different set-up, but it's the same scenario. Rinig ko na naman ang usapan nina Arlo at ang mga kaibigan niyang nakatayo sa harapan. And they're talking about where they are going to dine later after the exams. Well... instead of giving focus on reviewing for the exam today and the following days, they only prioritize their gallivants and Epicurean way of living.

Some of my classmates don't even bother to review at mas inuuna ang paglalaro ng Mobile Legends.

"Uy, Lorenzo!" one of my classmates called me. Then, I gave him an annoyed face.

"Lorenzo, doon ka sa harap, 'no?" Oh, it's a miracle! He approached me. Well, isa lang siya sa mga classmate kong hindi masiyadong nakikipag-usap sa akin. Actually, most of them.

"Para may source kami ng sagot mamaya sa exam." Okay? Iyon pala ang dahilan niya. Out of necessity kaya ako in-approach. They only need me, kaya ang bait sa akin. If I'm not mistaken, his name is John Michael. And his name fits on his personality--nan-John lang 'pag Michael-angan.

But I'm overfed with this. Been there, done that. So, they think that I am their Messiah that will save their grades from their own incompetence?

So, as an answer, I visualized myself as Bugs Bunny from a meme I found online. I released a deep breath and said the word "No."

"Ang sungit mo naman, sige na kasi," he insisted. I am usually invisible to them, pero ngayon ay naging necessity na ako sa kanila? And kung magpapakopya man ako ay hindi ko rin naman alam ang ite-take naming exam.

Pero nagbago ang ihip ng hangin nang pumasok na ang proctor namin. John Michael even returned from his seat. At napalumbaba na lang ako habang dini-distribute ni Sir ang test papers at bubble cards.

Upon answering the test questions, pansin ko na rin ang ninja moves ng ilan kong classmates sa pagkopya ng sagot. Even Arlo's friends that surrounds him are constantly peeking for answers from him. At talagang eager pa siyang ibigay ang sagot, huh?

And one more thing, our proctor didn't even care to scold these people. Harapan na nga siyang niloloko, wala pa rin siyang pakialam; and he's just busy using his cellphone while sitting at the chair. Mukhang in favor pa nga siya sa pangongopya ng classmates ko.

But instead of focusing on other people's crap, I just continued answering. 

Our society is totally screwed up. And I really don't have time for their drama; I have my own business, so I don't give a damn to them. I'm so tired of being used for their own good.

-30-