Chapter 2. Impressed

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CHAPTER TWO: IMPRESSED

LOVE ANDRE LEE

“Kumusta ang pagtuturo mo?” tanong ni Dad sa ‘kin habang kumakain kami ng dinner. Kaharap ko sila ni Mom at katabi ko naman si Summer.

Simula no’ng nag-asawa ang dalawang kakambal ko madalang na lang namin silang makasabay sa hapag-kainan. Only during the family dinners Mom made sure to organize at least once a week.

“It’s going well, Dad,” I replied with a small nod.

“Aren’t you getting bored, Kuya?” Summer chimed in, her tone curious.

I paused for a moment, her question making me reflect. My mind wandered back sa isang linggo kong pagtuturo sa College of Medicine. Initially, I thought I’d find it dull—just another routine in my already packed life. Pero simula nang ma-encounter ko ang estudyante kong si Aria, things had taken a different turn.

Bored? No. In fact, her presence in my class had become something I looked forward to. Her sharp tongue, her unapologetic demeanor, the way she seemed unimpressed by me—it was refreshing, almost challenging. It made every session more interesting, something to anticipate.

“It’s not boring,” I finally said, almost to myself. “Actually, I look forward to it.”

Too bad, though, I only had their class three times a week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, kaya tatlong beses pa lang kaming nagkita ni Aria. Bukas ang ikaapat dahil Lunes bukas.

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“Good morning class,” bati ko sa lahat pagpasok ko sa loob ng lecture hall. Placing my laptop and phone on the desk, my eyes instinctively darted to Aria’s usual spot.

It was empty.

Hindi ba siya papasok? Or late lang siya?

I brushed off the questions swirling in my head and decided to skip the attendance for now. Starting the lesson seemed like the better choice—after all, if I do the roll now and Villaflor didn’t make it in time, she’d end up marked absent.

Saktong ikakinse minutos ng pagtuturo ko nang bumukas ang pinto. Siya ang sumilip do’n at hinihingal na pumasok, halatang tumakbo papunta rito.

“Morning, Dr. Lee. Pasensya na po, may inasikaso lang sa registrar.” Dumeretso siya sa upuan niya. May hawak siyang papel na nakatupi sa gitna. Without missing a beat, she pulled out her book and immediately focused on the material I was discussing, already displayed on the screen.

“Okay. Let’s continue,” I said, returning to the topic at hand.

Pagkatapos kong mag-discuss, naisipan kong magpa-quiz dahil may kalahating oras pang natitira. “Do you have any questions bago tayo mag-quiz?” tanong ko sa lahat.

“Dr. Lee.” Bigla siyang nagtaas ng kamay. Si Aria. “P’wede pong pakibalik sa mga slides na na-missed ko?”

Hindi naiwasang tumaas ang kabilang bahagi ng kilay ko. Seriously? Ilang slides na ang nalagpasan niya at kung ibabalik ko pa ‘yon para sa kaniya at hihintaying basahin niya ang kada slide, mauubos ang oras namin.

“Saglit lang po. Saglit na saglit lang. Five seconds per slide,” hirit niya, tila nabasa ang nasa isip ko.

Hindi ko naiwasang ma-challenge. Five sec per slide? Genius ba siya para matandaan ang laman ng mga slide sa loob lang ng limang segundo?

I glanced at the watch on my wrist before giving in to her request. Tutal hindi lang siya ang may gusto no’n. The entire class seemed to be waiting for me to flip back through the earlier slides. Probably hoping for a quick review before the quiz. Though I made sure to stick to what Aria suggested: five seconds per slide, no more.

“Let’s start,” sabi ko matapos kong patayin ang projector. Blangko na ngayon ang screen sa harap ko. Naging abala na rin silang lahat sa kani-kaniyang papel. “Number one.”

Hanggang thirty ang ginawa kong quiz at sa bawat bitaw ko ng tanong, hindi ko naiwasang sulyapan si Aria. She was utterly focused, her pen moving steadily across her paper with every question I asked. Wala man lang pag-aalinlangan sa kaniya. Hindi rin siya tumitigil para tumulala at mag-isip ng sagot. Every answer she wrote seemed deliberate, confident.

Pero mamaya ko pa malalaman kung tama ba lahat ng sagot niya o niyayabangan lang ako, lalo na sa five seconds per slide niyang request kanina.

After the quiz, I decided to record their scores alongside the attendance. I called each name, they stated their score, and then they were free to leave.

“Villaflor, Aria?” tawag ko sa kaniya no’ng siya na lang uli ang naiwan dahil siya ang pinakadulo sa record since letter V ang apelyido niya.

“Thirty over thirty.”

My head shot up at her response, but she was already walking toward the door, calm and unbothered.

“Wait, Miss Villaflor.”

Agad siyang huminto at nilingon ako, her expression neutral. “Yes, Dr. Lee?”

Inilahad ko ang palad ko sa direksiyon niya. “May I see your paper?”

Walang alinlangan siyang lumapit at binigay ‘yon sa ‘kin. I scanned her paper carefully, my eyes trailing from her answer to number one all the way to the last. Every single answer was correct. Alam ko rin na walang pandarayang naganap sa pag-che-check dahil nagpalitan naman silang magkakatabi ng papel bago kami mag-check.

So how? How did she manage to recall the content of the earlier slides when I only gave them five seconds to review each?

“Bakit, Dr. Lee? Iniisip mo bang nandaya ako?” May panghahamon sa boses niya habang nakatingin sa ‘kin.

“No,” maagap kong sagot. “I’m just… impressed. You were late, but you still managed to memorize the content of the earlier slides in just a few seconds.”

For the first time since I started handling their class last week, she smiled. Not just a polite smile—it was genuine, and she even let out a soft laugh.

And that laugh...

F*ck.

It was brief, quiet, and yet it hit me like a melody I hadn’t realized I’d been waiting to hear. Something about it made me feel like I’d just witnessed a rare moment, one that didn’t happen often.

Bago pa man ako makapagsalita ulit, agad na siyang tumalikod sa ‘kin at tuluyang humakbang patungo sa pintuan. Pagtapat niya ro’n muli siyang huminto at bumaling sa ‘kin na may bahagya pa ring ngiti sa labi.

“Your tie suits you, Dr. Lee. Bagay mo ang light pink.” ‘Tsaka siya lumabas sa lecture hall, leaving me standing there with her perfect quiz paper in hand and the echo of her laugh lingering in my mind.

F*ck. I’m done for.