CLASS WITH A MISFIT: Along with the Beauties

Session 18

-LABELS AND VULNERABILITY-

CHARRE

Binalot ako ng katahimikan sa labis na pag-iisip. And not too long, it dings to open.

Wala sa sarili ko ang makipagtitigan sa mga mata ng taong binunyag ng nagbukas na elevator.

A student of Class A.

"Yoonho..."

The entrance between us was wide open. At hindi ko rin alam kung bakit bigla akong nawalan ng ganang pumasok na sa loob sa mga sandaling iyon.

'Mag-ingat ka, mainit ka pa naman mga mata ng ibang miyembro ng Elite Five.'

Sa pagkakataong ito'y napagpasyahan ko na ngang hindi pumasok, and end up having a silent eyecontact with him in between our distance.

I stepped back a little and waited for the elevator to close again.

Until...

It dings to close, but to my surprise, bigla na lamang akong hinila ni Yoonho papasok sa loob and end up getting caught off guard. Magkadikit ang mga katawan namin at sa tangkad niya'y napatingala na ako.

"Y-Yoonho..." Kasabay nito ay ang pagsara na nga ng elevator, having only the two of us inside.

'Yoonho Santos, Class A's leader. An international genius who wears a pleasant K-idol vibe and frugal yet charismatic smile.'

At this rate, hindi ko alam kung paano gumalaw lalo na't nakatungo siya sa akin with all the seriousness in his face.

'Pero ibang Yoonho itong nakatitigan ko ngayon.'

"Excuse me, but what are you doing?" I asked him, with all the politeness in my face and my voice.

Sa sumunod na sandali ay kaagad naman niya akong binitawan.

"Intentionally, I aimed at dragging you inside to just let you in before the elevator closes. Unintentionally, I end up hugging you tightly instead," he said, fluently.

"Don't you think it was a little bit exaggerated?" I asked him, may reasonable distance na sa pagitan namin. Hindi namin tinignan ang isa't isa.

"No." Napataimtim ako ng tingin sa blurry na repleksyon namin sa salaming elevator. Hindi ko man lang siya matignan nang diretso, nor even at the side of my eyes. "I think it was just the right amount of endorphins to relieve you from stress, to get you out of your second thoughts, and to make you feel that I'm harmless... Charre."

At that rate, napalunok na ako ng laway.

'He just read me that quickly.'

"Nakikita ko sa mukha mong nagdalawang isip ka bigla nang makita ako," sabi pa niya. Hindi pa ako kaagad nakasagot, because he hit me real hard.

Hindi ko man nakikita ng diretso, alam ko namang nakapinta sa kaniyang mukha ang kaseryosohan sa nararamdaman ko pa lang na presyon dito sa pagitan ng distansiya namin.

'Now how could I defend myself from an international schoolboy like him?'

"I already heard about you even when we're still outside this school, Charre." That was too out of the blue.

"Everyone was already talking on the social media about this certain girl who passed the PAMA qualification even when she deserves to be rejected and be labeled as a misfit. And when I saw you at the bus, I already had a feeling it was you these net people are pertaining at." Napakuyom na ako ng kamao at lihim na nagtiim-bagang. "But I don't see you that way."

Nang marinig ko iyon, ay simula na rin ng pagluwag ng pagkakakuyom ko at pagtiim.

At hindi ko alam kung bakit.

"You are not a misfit, Charre. And no one deserves to be labeled like that." That left me quite dumbfounded. Hindi ko iyon inaasahan mula sa isang Class A student who perfected the beautimetric test.

"I also don't believe that you are an error, as everyone believes."

Nanatili akong tahimik sa kinatatayuan ko.

And somehow, the pressure that once filled my entire silence slowly fades away.

'Y-Yoonho...'

"I believe, the AI system isn't absolute, therefore, telling you you're unreadable and be on Class E doesn't automatically mean you are an error, because..." Muli akong napalunok lalo na't nakikita ko ang mga blurred figure naming dalawa sa repleksyon kung saan nakita ko ang pigura niyang tumingin na sa akin nang diretso. "Maybe, you're more than what this new society used as 'labels.'"

Hindi ko man siya tinitignan nang diretso, I know, during the proceeding seconds, he gave me his smile, the smile that I saw in his lips back when he saved me at the bus. "You are simply just... you, Charlotte Red Luna."

Eksakto, the elevator finally dings to open. Nasa ground floor na pala kami ng naturang gusali.

"And just like you, I'm also simply me, Yoonho Santos." He walked out of the elevator first. Sumunod naman ako sa kaniya. "So please don't look at me as if I'm a proud and harmful leader of Class A."

He stopped and moved his head to the side, just at a sufficient angle that will give him a sight of me. At this instance, hindi ko na naiwasan ang pagkakataong matingnan siya.

"Just you know, never in my entire life, I wanted those labels that this society is patronizing. Hindi ko hinagad ang maging isang perpektong tao. Hindi ko ginusto ang maging miyembro ng tinatawag nilang Elite Five." Tipid niya akong nginitian before he walked ahead first.

Hindi pa rin ako nakakibo hanggang sa sandaling ito.

Nanatili akong nakatingin sa kaniyang pag-alis hanggang sa napagtanto kong nanghihina na pala ang tuhod ko.

'That guy...'

Hindi ko alam kung bakit, but at this rate, ang alam ko lang ay may kung ano sa mga salita niyang tumatak sa puso't isip ko.

'Class A's leader, Yoonho Santos...'

Pilit ko mang itulak sa isip na maaring kasinungalingan ang lahat ng iyon, pero...

'The international schoolboy who perfected the beautimetric test.'

Pilit ko iyong tinutulak sa isip, pero... damang-dama ko ang sinseridad at katotohanan sa kalmadong boses niya.

'Yoonho...'

Nanatili akong taimtim na nakasunod ng tingin sa kaniya.

'You said so, that we could be more than just what the society wants us to be labeled with...'

Hindi nagtagal ay tuluyan nang tumalim ang tinging ginagawa ko sa kaniya.

'But could you keep that up, if, in the real world, the society wants you to live your life with those labels? If the real world is all about which label is winning and which label is losing?'

Napalaro na ako naman ako ng sariling buhok.

'Indeed, sometimes, a good mindset becomes someone's asset...'

He finally walks out of the building; I kept doing what put me fixated.

'But in your case, it becomes your weakness that makes you and your class a bunch of vulnerables.'