Not Me

CHAPTER TWENTY

"Garcia! Pasista! Diktador sa bayan, tuta ng Tsina! Garcia! Pasista! Diktador sa bayan, tuta ng Tsina!" Wala akong ibang naririnig papasok ng university kundi ang mga sigaw ng mga nagrarally.

Val gave me a worried look. I assured him that I'm fine and continued walking. Buti na lang din at may kasama ako ngayon dahil sobrang hirap maglakad sa harap ng mga taong posibleng kilala ako.

Pagkarating sa building namin ay dumiretso ako sa banyo. I will admit, I was really stressed out by those people. Pasista, diktador sa bayan, tuta ng Tsina... Everything that they chanted echoed on my mind like a broken record playing.

I wanted to defend my father. Why are they calling him that when in fact, wala pa naman siyang ginagawa sa bayan? He even served our province so well that tourists keep on going to see our beautiful landmarks.

Ang bigat makitang ganoon karami ang ayaw sa kanya. I know, for sure, na hindi lang 'yun 'yon. Not to say na hindi pa naman confirmed ang candidacy niya. People already reacted to rumours crying as if they are already oppressed.

"Hi." Symon greeted me as he entered the restroom. "Daming nagrarally, 'no?" He opened up the topic.

Funny how I went here to somehow shake it off pero ipinaalala na naman sa akin.

I just smiled as a response. Hindi ko rin naman alam kung anong sasabihin.

"Imagine, rumours pa lang 'yan. What more kung mag-announce na talaga ng candidacy, 'no? Smells like a revolution." He continued while applying face powder and lip tint on his cheeks. "Nakapag-aral ka for quiz?" Finally, he changed the topic.

"Yup." I answered.

Somehow, it was a lie. Buong araw ako walang gana noong Sabado. Maybe, that's what a dead kid feels like. Buhay ka pero you're not functioning. Kung hindi nga lang kumatok si Val for lunch, baka hindi na ako kumain that entire day..... yes, I skipped dinner. Sunday, I tried studying. May nabasa naman ako somehow so siguro, may maisasagot ako for today's quiz. But am I confident? That's another question to discuss.

"Baka maisagot ko mamaya, 'Garcia! Pasista! Diktador sa bayan, tuta ng Tsina!'" He jokingly brought back the topic about rally and laughed. Kung hindi nga lang ako anak ng taong involved, baka nakisakay na ako ngayon sa kanya.

"Delikado maisagot 'yan kapag Biology 'yung quiz." I awkwardly burst his bubble.

He got shocked of my answer. He looked at me weirdly while zipping his makeup kit and said, "you must be fun at parties."

He entered one cubicle after saying that. I even heard his piss sounding so loud that I couldn't believe it came from someone who just had his make up on. When he got out, he washed his hands on the sink and walked out of the restroom. Before leaving, he looked back at my direction and smirked while saying, "sabagay. Kung tatay ko ba naman 'yung rason kung bakit nagkarally, I really won't know how to take a joke about it."