All Up In My Head [Completed]

33 Redemption

Redemption

With her palms all sweaty, she stood behind the podium with a strong facade. She almost forgot this kind of feeling. When she worked with a lot of people, she had to overcome her fears and anxiety. She used to chant to herself, 'they're not going to eat you, Lila' just to calm down.

Experiences molded her. The long self-talks in the mirror every single night were worth it. She conquered her fear, threw herself in a jungle and survived. But this time, it's different. Magkahalong galak at kaba ang nasa puso niya habang pinagmamasdan ang mga matang nakapako sa kanyang mukha.

"Good morning, class! I'm Lila Cornelia Javier. I'm going to be your Foreign Language professor in Japanese for this whole semester."

They greeted her in chorus. Not long after, several students raised their voices.

"Ma'am! Ma'am!"

"Yes?"

"Ano raw po ibig sabihin ng ore wa ochinchin ga daisuki nandayo?"

Everyone chortled on their seats. She pursed her lips suppressing a laugh. These silly kids. She remembered her classmates back in the day. They used to be this lively as well.

She shook her head while grinning. "Okay, everyone, settle down."

This is going to be a long day, she thought.

"Hi, I'm Sin. Bago ka dito?" bungad sa kanya ng isa babaeng may mahabang buhok.

Agad siyang tumango. "Ah opo."

Umiling ito. "Naku, huwag mo na akong i-opo. Bago lang din ako. Ngarag na ngarag ako dahil sa doctor's degree na requirement ng SUN. Bwiset. Anyway, gutom ka ba?" sunod-sunod nitong sabi.

She didn't know what to say.

"Medyo." Hindi niya maiwasang mapangiti.

"Tara kain tayo. Pag-usapan natin mga reklamo mo."

"Huh?" She led her outside the faculty room.

"Alam kong marami 'yan."

Sin's personality was so infectious. Madali silang nagkasunod nito. Hindi rin nagkakalayo ang kanilang edad. Although Sin is older than her and far more experience in the university.

“Wow. Ang ganda dito ah," ani Shane nang papasukin niya ito sa loob ng kanyang apartment. Inabot nito sa kanya ang isang wine at basket ng prutas. Mukha tuloy pasko.

“Salamat. Nag-abala ka pa.”

“Oo naman.”

They sat down on the couch as she prepared food for the two of them.

“Sinong bago mo?” tanong nito habang nilalapag niya ang kakahain lang na chicken nuggets at burgers na binili niya sa isang fastfood. Kinuha niya rin ang cork saka binuksan ang wine. This used to be so hard for her.

“Anong bago?”

“Boylet ‘ka ‘ko. Hay, simulan na nga lang natin 'yan.”

And they drank little by little, catching up with things, filling in every gaps.

“Ang workaholic kaya ng boss ko noon. Pero mabait naman," kuwento niya pa sa dati niyang trabaho.

“Ilang taon ba?”

“Mga 50 plus?”

“Pwede pa ‘yon, Lila.” Shane nudged herm

Halos mabilaukan siya. “Sira ka ba?”

“Wala bang anak?”

Napailing na lamang siya. She doesn't have a plan to have her boss as a sugar daddy. Dumako naman sila sa kanyang bagong trabaho. It has been weeks since she started as a college professor. It was intimidating at first. Good thing, Sin is there to accompany her.