Silver Lining in the Clouds (Erudite Series #2)

Kapitulo 14

"No, Andres Bonifacio deserves to be recognized as someone trustworthy and ultimately a national hero because of the intent of every action he made inside the Katipunan—to free the Filipinos," I said before turning to the timer.

I was in the middle of a debate. I joined another organization this second term to distract myself from my parents' harsh words directed at me. I couldn't let my focus get lost along the way to reaching my goal. So, I tried to busy my mind with debates.

"Jose Rizal proved to us that you can fight for liberty without the need for guns and arms. So, were Andres Bonifacio's actions really something necessary at that time? He acted with violence, impulsively. His actions weren't meticulous unlike Rizal's, unlike a person who is our national hero. Additionally, he made his own movement without consulting the president of the Katipunan..."

For an hour, we spoke and debated with each other. The judges were some professors of the Liberal Arts Department of the school. Two were social science teachers while three were history teachers. The president of our club tallied the scores and announced the winner afterward.

"Team B!" everyone clapped including me, even though my group didn't win.

It was a good debate. The arguments of the opposition were quite intriguing. But my belief stands on one edge still—Andres Bonifacio acted, he didn't just spit out words. He created an actual effort to fight for our freedom, and for our lives during the late 1800s. I still consider him a national hero. Yes, Rizal was a magnificent writer who exposed the Spaniards for their exploitation of the Filipinos, but Bonifacio moved and spread the awareness he had about the Spaniards merely using the Filipinos as pets and slaves.

"You were great for a first-timer," our president told me before winking. He was a LegMa student and a senior. "Thanks,"

"Are you free after this? Want to grab lunch with me?" umiling ako agad. "I have plans with someone."

"Oh... I thought you were single?" again, I nodded. "I am, but I'm dating someone." Momentarily, our president stayed quiet, as if he was trying to remember something.

"Right! You're dating Abad," I didn't deny. Alam naman na ng halos lahat ng taong kilala si River, e. So, no point if I denied.

"Well, if it doesn't work out, call me." Then, our president left me.

He wasn't the first to say those words to me. And it was cringe whenever I heard it. It was like a line from a drama. I wasn't the biggest fan of cliche things.

Right now, it had been a week since Alexis and the student rep tried to make me a pageant candidate. They got another girl from Biology to join. And none of our batchmates won. For a whole day, Alexis made me feel like it was my fault. We fought because of that. After a day, she came to the realization that blaming me was wrong, so she apologized. I then asked her why she was so adamant about letting me join. 'Yon pala, sumali siya sa committe na nag-ayos ng pageant dahil gusto niya raw ng mga beauty queen things—I was apparently beauty queen material for her.

"How was your debate?" River asked me as he put his things on the seat beside his. "We lost, but it was a ton of fun."

We were at McDo near school right now. Some people glanced at him because of his... height and get-up, I'm guessing. Nakasuot lang kasi siya ng old jersey, e. Halatang varsity student.

"Wish I could've watched you," I smiled. "Next time. Let's order na, I'm super hungry."

He asked me what I wanted and lined up. Someone asked him for a photo when I was staring at him. Then, we talked for a few minutes again. When our food arrived, mabilis akong ngumuya dahil may klase pa ako ng 1:15 pm. On the other hand, River had training after this since he had a game on Friday, Valentine's day.