CHAPTER ONE

Breathe in, breathe out Lienne... breathe in... breathe out.

I do my usual breathing exercises sa tuwing umaandar ang panic attacks ko. Then, I gently
massaged my chest to calm my racing heart.

"Are you okay, Miss Alvarado?" nag-alalang tanong ng guro namin.

Most of the times, my panic attacks just strike out of the blue... at a wrong timing too. Humarap
ako muli sa kanila at tipid lang ngumiti saka ipinagpatuloy ang ginawang reporting sa klase na tila
bang walang nangyari.

Pagkatapos ng klase sa Surveying ay nagligpit muna ako ng gamit bago tumungo sa susunod na
klase.

I'm in my 2nd year in college yet I still don't have any friends- college friends to be exact. People
find me boring and nerdy, dahil puro pag-aaral lang ang inaatupag ko. Well, mas okay na rin yun,
walang distractions, and I'm better off alone. My introverted ass don't match their wild lives.

May mga kaibigan naman ako, but they're far away.

I sat down on my usual seat. While waiting for our next professor to come, I fished out my phone
and earphones in my bag and played my favorite Coldplay playlist.

After a few minutes, I felt a presence near me. I raised my left eyebrow nang malaman kung sino
yun. Tinanggal ko ang isang earbud para marinig siya.

"Hi Lienne," ngiting bungad niya. "pwede maki-upo?"

Naghiyawan ang mga lalaking kaklase nang marinig ang sinabi nito. I scoffed. This is what I hated
the most. Yung gagawin kang trip. Killjoy na kung killjoy. Funny to them isn't funny to me.

"Marami pang upuan diyan." sabi ko sabay balik ang isang earbud sa tainga.

It's lunchtime, and I have three hours straight vacant. Napag-isipan kong pumunta sa malapit na
cafe para doon muna mag-aral habang naglunch break pa ang library. Kailangan kong mag-
advance reading, mahirap na baka may pa-surprise quiz ang prof. I have standing to maintain and
I can't afford to fail even just one subject. I don't want to disappoint my parents.

I just bought a blueberry cheesecake and iced tea. Then, I looked for a seat na hindi ako
maistorbo. Luckily, I found one.