Remember Me This Way

Deleted Scene - 5

Hya

"Slut." I heard Kelsey said trying to conceal it with a fake cough. I heard na suspend din si Jude kasama ni Aric. I heard from Brent kung anong nangyari.

My guilt doubled when I heard that it was mainly because of me, dahil pinagtanggol ako ni Aric sa pambabastos ni Jude.

Kelsey was with her two friends inside the cafeteria at pinaparinggan nila ako habang sumusubo ako ng lunch.

Huminga akong malalim trying to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Wala rin naman akong pakialam sa gusto nilang isipin. I can't wait for Aric to be back in school. Kakain kame ng sabay, mag aaral tapos ihahatid niya ako tapos sabay kameng mag didinner sa dorm. I am looking forward for all of those.

Last subject na, ang subject na tinuturo ni Mrs. Padilla ang mama ni Aric. She ended the class 15 minutes earlier and everyone was happy about it. Paalis na ako ng classroom ng tawagin niya ako.

"Ms. Bernardo, stay for a while." she said under her breath. Na para bang labag ito sa kanyang kalooban.

Upon hearing that lumingon ako agad and walked closer to the the teacher's table and sat in one of the front row chairs.

"Kagabi, I asked Aric kung saan siya nagpupunta this past few days na suspended siya. Ang sabi niya nag aaral daw siya." his mother opened up.

Wala akong sinasabi ngunit nakatingin lang ako sa kanya.

"I assumed na sinabi Brent, or Kris ang pinupuntahan niya para manghiram ng notes until I saw your notebook in his desk." walang emosyon ang kanyang mga salita.

"Nililigawan ka ba ni Aric Hya?" diretsa niyang tanong.

I was confused whether to tell her the truth, kapag ba malaman niyang nag aaral kame at tinutulungan ko si Aric sa mga namiss niyang lecture ay matutuwa siya? Perhaps gagaan na ang loob niya sa akin. Makakalimutan ko rin ang narinig ko noon sa comfort room. So I decided to test the waters.

"B-boyfriend ko na po siya Ma'am.." matapang at matapat kong sagot.

May sinusulat siya na kung ano at bahagyang napatigil ng sabihin kong kame na ni Aric. Unti unti niyang tinaas ang kanyang mukha upang tignan ako.

I was expecting a violent reaction from her but she was way too calm when she started talking again.

"Have you read the school's manual Hya?" tanong niya as she gathered her things slowly. Tumayo na rin siya kaya tumayo na din ako.

"Po?" I was puzzled bakit naman niya natanong bigla yun. Wala naman sa rules and regulation na bawal mag boyfriend or girlfriend sa school for as long wala kayong PDA.

"Page 21...read it Hya." she was about to leave the room but she stopped for a while and said "Huwag mo ako gawing masamang tao iha. Bago ako maging teacher mo, isa akong ina." at tuluyan na siyang umalis.

Umupo ako uli saka kinuha ang student manual sa bag ko at agad na binuklat sa page 21.

It read,

Reasons for Expulsion:

A headteacher might expel a student for a first or one-off incident of appropriate severity. For a single case of one of the following, a pupil can be expelled permanently for:

▪A serious act of violence, including actual or threatened violence against a staff member or another student.

▪Possession of deadly weapon and drugs.

▪Plagiarism

▪Any forms of sexual displays (e.g.video, or photos)

Marami pang sinasabi doon tungkol sa mga grounds for expulsion. Saglit na naguluhan ako sa mga ito at sa kung ano ang kinalaman ko dito. Inalala ko rin ang sinabi niyang "Huwag ko siya gawing masamang tao..."