Scarcity of Chances

Chapter 39

For the following weeks, I got so busy studying for our midterms. Bukod doon, ang dami pa naming ibang requirements at major projects na kailangang tapusin. It was a good thing that I like this college program because if I don't, I think I'll have a difficult time.

Taking a degree that is against your heart is like walking barefoot on a floor filled with scattered shards of broken glass. I guess for some, it's a battle between passion and practicality.

Ang buong akala ko nga na dahil advance ako pagkatapos ng nangyari ay hindi ako ganoong mahihirapan. Unfortunately for me, my professors' teaching skills and work ethics here are quite different from the other bubble. Iba rin ang level ng exam kaya parang gano'n din. Idagdag mo pa na hindi naman ako gano'n kagaling at katalino.

Amidst the busy schedule, Kylo still finds some time to message me at siyempre, tumutugon ako. Noong may free time, pumayag ako ulit manood ng laro niya kahit hindi na sumama si Gelsie.

Who am I to refuse if I have feelings for him, huh?

"Apelanio..."

Kabado akong tumayo at lumapit sa harap upang kunin ang papel ko nang matawag ang pangalan. Judging from my blockmates' faces a little earlier, most of them seem down.

Pinilit ko talagang hindi tignan ang papel ko hanggang makabalik muli sa upuan. Doo'y dahan-dahan ang ginawa kong pagbukas kahit pa may parte sa akin na gusto na kaagad makita.

I released a deep sigh when I saw my score. The passing score was half of the total score or fifty percent. And here I got 46 out of 100.

Damn, I messed up the derivatives of inverse trigonometric function so bad!

Imbes na magmukmok ay ibinuntonghininga ko na lang ang pagkabagsak. I am pretty sure that attaining this kind of score is normal in the life of a college student. Babawi na lang sa finals kung sakali man. Tutal ay ito lang din naman ang nabagsak ko.

I congratulated Gelsie because she's one of the seven students who passed the exam. She just thanked me and didn't actually ask for my score which I highly appreciated. Iyong iba kasi, kung makatanong ng score ay parang sa kanila iyong papel.

"How're your exams?" nakangiting sambit ni Kylo habang binabagtas ang daan palabas ng University. He invited me for lunch today.

"I passed all except differential calculus. Short ng four points."

"You passed all except for just one? Congrats, Van! And because of that, I'll pay for our meal!"

Napangiti ako nang mapagtanto na hindi niya pinuna iyong bagsak ko. Maybe I was just used to people noticing your single failure rather than your four achievements. It's like pinpointing that a piece of paper is clean regardless of the existence of one tiny dot in the center.

"Thank you. How about yours?" I replied.

"It was fine. The truth is, I don't really like my program but still took it because my mom asked me. She did not really force me but no one would help her manage the business—the branch soon to be built here so..." he shrugged. "I have to help her because no one would if I don't. My brothers are too young for that responsibility."

I blinked when I suddenly remembered that Kylo once shared that story during our first few days in the other universe. Originally, he wanted to be a doctor but because of his reason, he can't.

"Being a doctor is just a childhood dream of mine anyway. I'm sure I'll get by since my program is still interesting. And I guess, we cannot get everything we want, right?"

My lips slightly protruded. "I'm sorry."

He laughed profusely. "Silly, it's okay. I just wanted to share something with you again."