V2. CHAPTER 8.5 – Friend Request

ARIANNE'S POV

Midterm of grade 10 senior high school. That was the time when I transferred to my current school and like the other schools na napasukan ko ay alam ko na na hindi ako welcome dito.

I thought that studying in a girl school would bring me peace pero ganoon din pala. HATRED, JEALOUSY, ENVY & of course BULLYING. Lagi parin akong napapansin. Lagi parin akong pinagtitinginan. Kung pumayag lang sana si Mama na mag-homeschooling ako noon ay ayos na ang lahat.

Hindi ko na intensyon na magkaroon ng kaibigan kasi hindi naman talaga iyon uso sa akin. Sa unang buwan ko sa girls school ay sapat na para masabi ko na people are really scary... especially the girls, they are monsters.

"Hello! I'm Pristine, I'm the class president. One-week kang hindi pumasok so... gusto mo bang hiramin yung mga notes ko?"

Nakaupo ako no'n sa aking upuan at nakatingin sa labas nang may marinig akong magsalita. That's the first time that someone approached me in the school with a smile, an angelic smile, an innocent angelic smile. Normally ay mangi-snub ako pero sino ba naman ang gagawa no'n? If ever man siguro na ginawa ko 'yon ay for sure I will become a bad guy in the eyes of everyone and my hatred popularity will reach an ultimate level.

Nahilo ako, not because of her presence but because of the many eyes that were staring at us. I don't like attention and those staring eyes were my weakness.  It's the reason why I wanted a normal life. A peaceful life na hindi ako napapansin. Ayoko ng napapansin ako, ng nakikita, pero kabaligtaran lagi ang nangyayari.

The atmosphere was dominated by Pristine that time. Napatango na lamang ako dahil sa hindi ko alam ang sasabihin.

Lumipat ako sa SNGS noong Grade 10 midterm. Magkaklase kami ni Pristine, she's the class president of the class where I belonged and she's also my seatmate. As the class president, Pristine has the obligation to watch over her classmates so I think that's the reason why she approached me that day.

The student council called a meeting for every class president kaya napagusapan na lang namin ni Pristine na magkita sa lobby after their meeting.

♦♦♦

Malayo pa lamang ako ay tanaw ko na si Pristine. She's really noticeable... walang epekto ang dami ng tao noong panahong iyon. Even them, the people around the lobby were not ignorant of her beauty. You can see their eyes staring at the same person. Aside from the conversations about the grade school program, the whole place was filled with sentiments and praises about Pristine's looks.

Pristine had long straight-cut light brown hair at that time. She even had bangs that were styled to the left side and wears a ribbon-designed hairband over it. Lovely and refined, she looked like those royal princesses in fairytales, especially when she combined her beauty with a smile.

"Arianne!"

Nagulat ako ng bigla ko na lamang siyang makitang kumaway sa akin habang tinatawag ang pangalan ko. Para siyang bata habang ginagawa iyon. Paulit-ulit kahit na obvious naman na na nakita ko na siya.

It started to irritate me. I'm not irritated because she acts friendly towards me or anything even though we're not close. The fact that she called my name out loud is the main reason.

She caught a lot of attention. Nawala yung effectiveness ng camouflage ko.

Napansin ko na nalipat ng direksyon ang mga mata ng mga tao. Naglakad ako nang mabilis palapit kay Pristine dahil hindi ko maiwasang di maging komportable.

"Ang ganda niya naman. Para siyang manika," narinig kong sabi ng isang matandang babae

"Magkaibigan ba sila? Ang cute naman nila," sabi ng isang nanay.

Those are all compliments but still…

Pristine continued to call my name and waved her hand even though I'm already moving toward her.

Agad kong hinawakan ang kamay niya para magtigil siya.

"A-Ano... P-Pristine... p-please stop," I begged.

An innocent stare scanned me. Pristine's face became a paint of wonder before she flashed a charming smile.

"Baka kasi di mo ko makita eh."

Napakunot ako ng kilay sa dahilan niya.

Our situation... NO. My situation is really uncomfortable. Surrounded by people and their gazes, the anxiety inside me worsens and it began to obstruct me from breathing.

Gusto ko ng umalis ka agad kaya minabuti ko ng kunin ang pakay ko pero...

"Hmmm... notes?" Inilahad ko ang kanang kamay ko. Sinadya ko iyon hindi dahil para sa pag-abot ng notes niya kundi dahil napansin ko na wala talaga siyang dala ni isa.

"Arianne ang cute mo," she said then smiled.

WHAT?!

My eyes widened when I heard her say that. Kinilabutan ako sa tinuran niya.

What's with this girl?

My face reddened a bit because of embarrassment. I don't know how to react on what she said. Bigla-bigla na lang siyang nagsalita ng kung ano saka hindi niya naman sinagot yung hinahanap ko.

Huminga ako ng malalim at nagpakahinahon.

"Ehem, ehem. A-Ano... P-Pristine yung notes," I ignored what she said then repeat myself.

"Yah, you ignored my compliment," she said with puppy eyes.

Napaatras ako.

"Hehe a-ano... ah, t-thanks," I responded to her just to end that conversation.

Ngumiti siya at kinuha ang kamay ko.

"Uhmm. About the notes... bibigay ko na lang sayo mamaya," she said playfully.

I observed Pristine as a refined and composed person. Also, an approachable one pero... kahit na ganoon ka-positive ang first impression ko sa kaniya ay hindi ko naiwasang magduda. Parang may mali lalo na sa tuwing ngumingiti siya.

"Ah, a-ano kasi e... l-lilipat na kasi ako sa dorm dito and k-kailangan ko pang hanapin 'yon ano baka kasi m-maabutan ako ng curfew kaya sa tingin ko mas m-mabuti kung makuha ko na," I insisted.

I wanted her reply but instead, she just tilted her head and smiled.

CUTE.

She's cute when she did that pero hindi 'yon ang kailangan kong sagot.

Gusto ko ng umalis.

"A-Ano, okay, sige mamaya ko na lang k-kukuhain pero pwede bang umalis m-muna tayo dito? Kasi eh... a-ang daming tao."

Umalis kami sa lobby. Maraming tao noong araw na iyon dahil sa kakatapos lang ng program ng mga elementary school students. Nakatambay doon ang ilang mga estudyante pati na rin ang kanilang mga magulang at kakilala na nanood ng programa.

Pristine was infront of me while we were walking. Malayo-layo na rin kami sa lobby at hindi ko alam kung saan niya balak pumunta kaya ng makakita ako ng bench ay niyaya ko muna siyang maupo.

"P-Pristine dito kaya muna tayo."

Sa tingin ko ay di niya ako narinig dahil nagpatuloy lang siya sa paglalakad kaya binalak ko uli siyang tawagin.

"Pris— "

"Ayoko."

Nanahimik ako. Nagulat ako sa biglaan at straightforward niyang sagot. Nakatalikod siya at saka umikot paharap bago niya sabihin iyon. Still,she ended her sentence with a smile.

A sly smile.

Maybe I was wrong to say that she always ended her sentences with a smile because I realized that her smile is already part of her face.

"So... Sa'n ba ta— "

"Di ba hahanapin mo pa yung dorm mo? Since I'm your class president I'm oblige to assist you kaya sasamahan na lang kita," she insisted.

"Okay, thanks. Pero kay— "

"This school is really big baka maligaw ka. Saka do'n ko na rin ibibigay yung notes ko."

Eeek! Kahit isang pangungusap ay hindi ko natapos. Pristine just decides on her own! Hindi ko naman sinabi na tulungan niya ko.

"Acting friendly," I whispered to myself. Pagkatapos kong sabihin iyon ay napansin ko na bigla na lamang tumigil si Pristine.

She looked me straight in the eyes. Her warm cheery aura unexpectedly vanished and her face turned serious. She walked a bit closer to me and stopped. Pristine then placed both of her hands on my shoulders.

EYE to EYE.

I was a bit shy because her face was close to mine. Suddenly my shyness was replaced by confusion when her serious eyes turned again into puppy's eyes which I thought were soon to release tears.

She then started to cry.

"Ayaw mo ba sa'kin?"

Napaatras ako.

Ano? Wait! Ba-Bakit siya umiiyak ? This is weird. How is she? BEST ACTRESS! YEA! No way! I don't understand! What should I do?!

"S-Sorry. H-Hindi ko sinasadya," I quickly apologized to her.

"Yay! Just as I thought! I really wanted to be friends with you kaya nalungkot tuloy ako ng sabihin mo 'yun. Nabigla ka lang di ba?"

Her mood changed immediately. She reverted to what she is lately. The hands that were both placed on my shoulders swiftly moved down to my back. Pristine hugged me tightly as if we were already close friends.

"Yeah, nabigla lang ako," tugon ko na lang bago marahan siyang itulak.

"Friends... okay, but... we just met this day so... I suppose that an acquaintance would fit for both of us right now."

"Oh, I see," she nodded.

Honestly, Pristine's action gave me a chill. I'm already certain that day that there's something wrong with her. Though it's too early for a conclusion sa tingin ko mas maigi muna kung mag i-stick ako sa kasabihan na "Don't judge a girl by her cover..."

"Dorm House A Room 106 right?"

"Ye—s" I answered hesitantly, "Pa'no mo nalaman?"

"Of course, I know that... I'm your class president eh."

Yeah, she has a point. She's the class president so maybe she has some information about her classmates.

Bigla na lamang huminto si Pristine sa paglalakad noong marating namin ang isang house like structure na may signboard sa gilid ng pinto na merong "A" na nakasulat.

Pumasok kami sa loob.

Sa pagpasok namin ay isang babae ang sumalubong sa amin. 35-40 years old. Nakasuot ng salamin. Maiksi ang buhok na umaabot lamang sa baba... apple cut.

Maybe she's the dorm master.

"Oh Pristine? Hindi ka uuwi sa inyo ngayon?"

I assumed that they were close.

"Hindi po. Uhmm... by the way po this is Arianne. Bago lang po siya sa school and dito raw po siya magdo-dorm," Pristine explained before introducing me to the woman.

"Arianne this is Mrs.Santos, she's the dorm master."

"Hello po," nahihiya kong bati.

The dorm master's eyes scanned me from head to toe so I just smiled and lowered my head a bit to avoid eye contact.

"Napakagandang dalaga. 106 di ba? Ms. Arianne Mari Fernandez, nandoon na lahat ng gamit mo sa room. Pristine paki-inform na lang siya about sa rules and regulations ng dorm."

Dumeretso na kami patungo sa room ko. Napansin ko na walang taong iba maliban sa amin.

"Friday kasi ngayon. Yung iba umuuwi sa bahay nila," Pristine explained although I didn't ask her. Maybe she saw the question through my eyes.

May dalawang floors lang meron ang bawat dorm houses. Ground floor at 1st floor. Kailangan namin umakyat ng hagdan para marating ang room 106.

Tumigil bigla si Pristine.

106

I looked for the key inside my bag but I was surprised to see Pristine opened it with the key she was holding. She has the same key as mine.

We both entered the room.

Inside are two beds, two cabinets, two drawers, two study tables... EVERYTHING INSIDE IS BOTH FOR TWO PERSONS.

She has the same key as mine!

I then realized what kind of horror welcomed me.

"Alam mo ba sobrang saya ko kasi magkakaroon na ako ng roommate. We will be roommates for our entire highschool life!" she cheerfully said.

Naupo ako sa kama na sa tingin ko ay unoccupied. Kagaya nang sabi ni Mrs.Santos ay naroon na nga ang mga gamit ko. Nakalapag ang mga iyon sa sahig. Dalawang dambuhalang maleta at isang back pack. Kung maaari nga lamang ay gusto ko ng buhatin ang mga iyon palabas.

"Okay. I'm SUPER HAPPY for you," I sarcastically congratulated her.

Medyo nagtaka din ako kung bakit noong panahon lang siya nagkaroon ng roommate dahil kung tutuusin ay one-year na rin siyang nagi-stay doon.

"Ako kasi yung mamimili ng roommate ko." That's what she told me when I asked about it.

Ako yung pinili niya kasi cute daw ako.

I glared at Pristine.

Big time. Iyon ang pumasok sa isip ko.

Pristine is a granddaughter of the person who owns the school. Room 106 is solely for her pero ayon sa kaniya ay nabo-bored daw siya kaya gusto niya ng kasama.

Good, I didn't sign up for this.

"Huh, so, ginawa mo kong roommate para lang ma-entertain ka."

She then became my roommate, acquaintance, friend, close friend, and eventually my best friend at katulad nga ng inaasahan ko, her face is merely a facade.

Don't really judge a person.

Behind those lovely smiles and charming looks is a witch-like girl! She's mean, playful, and weird, the epitome of an angelic devil.

Ilan lang ang nakakaalam kung ano talaga ang ugali ni Pristine, most of the people around her ay kilala siya bilang... iyon, REFINED, LOVELY, CUTE and KIND. Sigh, and for cat's sake ay kasama ko siya sa room para lang maging no.1 victim niya. Pero kahit ganoon, I'm glad that a person like her became my roommate. She shows her true self in front of me and I'm happy just for that reason.

We're in grade 12 now and I'm used to who she really is. Pristine is the reason why I'm still staying at our school. She opened me up to others and because of her, I gained a couple of friends I never imagined.

♦♦♦