THE SOUND OF SILENCE (TO BE PUBLISHED UNDER TDP PUBLISHING HOUSE)

Chapter Three: Remnants of the Past

I.

Pagbati sa inyong lahat! Naging kasiya-siya ang inyong pagtupad sa mga gawaing akademikal ngayong semestre!" Sir Lendon's smile reached ear to ear as he displayed the ranking of the elite class on our television in the room.

This was it! The day for which we had been waiting. This was the reason why the elite class worked tirelessly. This was the reason why we had been in the elite class all along.

Agad kong itinuon ang aking sarili sa listahan. The list was as followed:

1. Elise Montreal

2. Charisse Domagoso

3. Sylvia Ramirez

4. Bryson Brooks

5. Hyacinth Henderson

6. Afiqah Kamarulzaman

7. Dylan Alvarez

8. Gianne Rodriguez

9. Yla Rivera

10. Fraulein Elizabeth Albertson

11. Ludwig van Griswold

I excitingly approached one of my best friends, Elise, as she flashed a joyful smile dahil nakita niyang nangunguna sa listahan ang pangalan niya.

Elise, I think, was one of the people that I truly admired the most. She really deserved her rank because she burned the midnight oil to get those grades, while holding down a job, and attending to her ailing father. She found precious little time for rest, but never for complaint. Another thing, she was also very humble and dedicated her time to tutoring me in the subjects that I found difficult. She was truly a friend in my time of need.

"Yey, sissy! You nailed the top again! Congratulations!" I said at the girl who was standing in front of me. "Dapat may libre iyan, ha?"

I clung to her arms and smiled sweetly.

Her round, grey eyes sparkled and glimmered as she looked at me. "A date between us three?" she giggled. "I really waited for this moment para naman mailibre ko kayo. Game! Basta ba mapasama mo iyong isang asungot diyan."

She looked at the direction of Ludwig and burst out a laugh, and then she hugged me tightly as she could.

"Sabi ko naman kasi sa iyo, e, you can nail it without doing that," I said with a proud tone. "Don't risk yourself by playing with fire again, huh?"

"No worries, sissy," she said as she pouted. "Please, Hyacinth, pasamahin mo na iyong asungot na iyon, o!"

Agad ko namang siniko si Ludwig na tila ba'y nagbibingi-bingihan at hindi narinig ang isinabi ni Elise. "Ang killjoy mo talaga, Lulu. Porque ba ikaw ang last sa rank natin, hindi mo na pagbibigyan ang rank one natin?" saad ko nang may halong pangongonsensya at pangangasar.

Napabuntonghininga na lang si Ludwig. "Okay, fine!" He looked annoyingly at us. "But I can only spare an hour for you two, you understand? And, I didn't care if I was the last man in the rank, hindi ko naman gustong mapunta rito. Mas nanghihinayang pa nga ako sa isang oras na mapupunta sa gala natin kaysa grades ko. Pasalamat talaga kayo, Elise did well in this semester, so I could feel some kindness flowing through my veins right now."

Nanghihinayang siya sa isang oras dahil kung 'di naman siya inaya ay malamang magbabasa na naman siya. Isa rin iyan sa dahilan kung bakit ayaw ko siya pahiramin minsan ng book sa collection ko, e. He would rather spend his time with books than spend it with us. Tapos minsan, kung kasama naman namin siya ay may bitbit-bitbit pa rin siyang libro. Well, never mind – reading was his hobby after all.