Venice T.

Delos Reyes
11 STEM AMETHYST
Oral Communication
‘Episode’
The earphone in her right ear fell off as she mixed the instant cup noodles while slowly walking
back to her table. She put down the hot noodles beside the bright screen of her laptop, turn off the music
playing in her phone, and put away the earphones. It was already two in the morning but Elisha seems
unbothered finding her pen to continue the draft for her research paper. The whole house was quiet, the
lights were off, and her dog sat beside her waiting for its owner to go to sleep. The fast and loud slurping
of the noodles was the only thing you can hear inside the four cornered room.

A deep sigh escaped from the pale lips of Elisha as she finished eating, then suddenly the room
was bombarded by a loud ringing from her phone, it was even louder than it was due to the silence
surrounds. The ringing was annoying that it made her panic without seeing the bottle of water beside her
elbow where the lid was not intact. A cold gush swept behind her neck as she saw the draft of her
research paper soaked because of her clumsiness. She bit her lips and swiftly picked up the bottle and
throw it in the trash then went back with a large towel to clean her table. It was a mess, everything is a
mess, Elisha said to herself as she grasped the wet paper.

She was breathing heavily and thought a rain will visit her eyes but she closes it immediately and
took a very deep breath. There was no copy of the research she was making in her laptop because she
plans to type it down when everything was accurate and done. The wet papers was placed in her bed
individually as she tried to direct the electric fan downward focusing on the surface of her bed.
Thankfully, the water left in the bottle was not much, but Elisha was still worrying.

Three consecutive knocks was heard coming the outside of her door.

“Lisha..” the voice of her mother.

She felt uneasy but ready herself for what will come.

“Ma.” she plastered a poker face to matched the serious expression plastered at her mother’s face
whenever she was the one talking to her.

“Why are you still up? Still reading the fiction books your cousin gave you?” there was a restraint
in her voice, Elisha was certain.

All she wants to do at the moment was close the door and focus on how to dry the papers faster
because she was tired facing this kind of conversation.

“Ma, I’m busy finishing my research and I don’t have time to read right now.” I don’t have time
to indulge myself in your always wrong accusations.

She raised a brow at her child and looked around the room.
 “Because you invested reading those books in the past few days that’s why your rushing
everything now Lisha. If I will see any marks going down in your - -“

“Ma, give me a break.” she gulped and clenched her teeth for a second.

“Can you spare me today?” Elisha tried looking directly at her eyes while looking for something
that she always seeks at her.

“I’m tired.” it came out like a whisper, something that she was afraid but wanted her to hear and
understand.

The mother only shakes her head and turn her back.

Ten seconds passed and Elisha was still at her door looking at the floor of her doorway. This
happens most of the time and it always felt the same. There was no communication that could satisfy
Lisha’s thirst for support from her mother in everything she wants and does.

The ringing was cause by the alarm she set for the submission of her video in Oral
Communication that she already submitted a while ago. She went inside her bathroom, locked the door,
splash cold water in her face and brush her teeth. Fixing her hair, she realized how sleep deprived and
hungry she was. The trembling of her lips was a sign of her tiredness. The shirt she was wearing was full
of paint she used last morning to finish the painting her brother asked for and the darkening below her
eyes was very visible.

The scheduled seven o’clock class she has in the morning doesn’t even bother her anymore, she
just wants a good amount of sleep. Elisha thought that this is just an episode of her struggles as a student
striving in this pandemic. Sure, this online learning set-up is stressful stated by majority of students, but
she believes that goes for each individual out there fighting to move forward in life. Everybody has a fight
to face and challenge their will to survive but Elisha already told herself that she was no loser.

Elisha cleaned up before focusing to fix the mess inside her room, it took her thirty minutes to
finish so as the papers to dried up. She turned off her laptop and set the volume of her phone to maximum
in order for to wake up later.

The silence and peace she felt as she lies down hugging her precious dog comforted her the most.
The raging proudness she has for herself contributed to the strong mentality which drives her more to do
better everyday. She always felt proud because no one knows better about her struggles and winnings but
herself. Believing she can pass every task before the deadline is included in her mindset, the research
paper she’s working will be submitted earlier than she expected because she works hard to calculate the
entire procedure as significant and correct, even if the deadline is still in a week.
 The struggles of any student out there is different than anybody else. Time is taking its precious
time to turn back everything in its place but life must definitely goes on. Take a break when you’re tired
and continue whenever you’re ready but never ever quit in aiming to succeed.