The Fifth Son

Jyu

~10~

I was supposed to join Wolfpack for lunch as Paolo said but a voice calling my name sounded from behind.

"Niel Xander!" the voice called. Lumingon naman ako para makita kung sino ang tumatawag sa akin. It was Arthur, the second best in academics in our batch. Well, it's quite a surprise since we seldom talk to each other. How come he's calling me now?

"What is it?" tanong ko nang makalapit na s'ya.

"Tawag ka ni Ma'am Perez," he revealed. Ma'am Perez was our science teacher.

"For what?" tanong ko ulit.

He scratched his temple. "Mukhang ikaw daw ang ipapalit kay Clark sa inter-school quiz bee. Nagka-dengue daw kasi." Nagkadengue ang inter-school quiz bee? Pano? De joke lang. Wow. Just wow. Great. Pwedeng ma-shock sandali?

"Tara na. S'ya na ang magpapaliwanag sayo." Wala na akong nagawa kundi ang sumama sa kanya. I waved a goodbye to Paolo and his friends and excused myself.

After ng kung anu-anong explanations, ako na ang isa sa mga magki-quiz bee. Partner ko si Arthur. Ang saya. Note the big fat sarcasm. Feeling ko wala naman akong magagawa kundi ang sumali eh. Nagtanong nga if gusto ko ba daw sumali pero it's more like a command than a request. Since isa lang naman akong hamak na student, I conceded and agreed na sumali. Did I mention na in three days time na ang quiz bee? Nakakagulat, right?

I began over thinking about the event. Oh yes, here comes the string of worries like 'what if matalo ako', 'what if hindi ko mapaghandaan ng husto ang quiz bee', and several others. I don't want to lose. I hate losing, no, more like I am mortally afraid of losing.

The rest of the day was boring as usual. Walang major na nagyari maliban nalang sa mga kadramahan ng mga classmates ko at ang panghihinayang ni Paolo na hindi ako nakasabay sa lunch nila ng mga barkada niya. Seriously, naging classmate ko na naman siguro yung mga yun since may mga kinuha naman akong subjects sa ibang sections eh. The problem was I can't really recognize people's faces well and memorizing their names and matching them with their faces was even harder.

"Bakit hindi ka magpa-review kay Kyu. Naging quizzer yun dati sa science diba?" suggest n Kuya Kei habang nasa kotse kami pauwi. Uulan pa yata. Sana makarating kami sa bahay bago kami ma-stuck sa traffic.

"Seriously, Kuya? Ayoko. Ikaw nalang. Naging quizzer ka rin naman diba?" I begged with pleading eyes and puppy face. Ayoko kay Kuya Kyu. He's a monster and reviewing with him will be like spending a vacation in hell!

"Sa math ako naging quizzer, Sand. Isa pa, you have no choice. Busy si Kuya Jei mo about a feasibility study. Jyu was also doing some school projects. As for Kyu, he's, unfortunately, free. Yun ang pagkakaalam ko." Kainis. Bakit ba kasi sa Math pa naging quizzer si Kuya Kei? And bakit ba kasi ngayon pa naging free si Kuya Kyu of all the times?

I moved my vision to the car we're following. A few drops of rain already fell on the windshield, signalling the start of a wet weather and maybe signalling the start of my science review from hell too. I sighed in defeat. Wala na akong magagawa. Ayaw ko man, mukhang kakailanganin ko si Kuya Kyu.

"Sige na nga," I surrendered and not bothering to hide a disappointed face. Dapat na akong maghanda para sa mga panlalait ni Kuya Kyu sa mental capacity ko. Maybe the gods, whoever they maybe or if they do really exist, can be benevolent to me and help me get pass through roughly three days of review.

"Hmm? Science review?" Kuya Kyu clarified nang sabihin ni Kuya Kei sa kanya ang napag-usapan namin kanina sa kotse. Hinintay muna namin na matapos kaming kumain ng hapunan bago sabihin para nasa good mood ang narcissistic god of intelligence na kuya ko.