(POV: Gabie)
"Putang ina. 'Yun na yata ang pinaka-hot na nakita ko."
Sabi ni Axel habang nakatunganga sa pinto ng classroom. I was halfway through taking a bite of my sandwich nang mabigla ako at muntik ko pa itong malaglag.
"Hoy, gago," I hissed, elbowing him. "Pang ilang beses mo na sinabi 'yan ngayong buwan?"
Pero when I followed his gaze, I understood why.
Standing by the door was a girl.
Not just any girl—an event, a glitch in the matrix, a real-life goddess na parang wala lang siyang pake sa mundong punong-puno ng malandi at insecure na teenagers.
She had on black slacks, an oversized black hoodie, and sneakers na mukhang mahal pero laspag na laspag na. Her hair was messy but somehow perfect, her skin glowed without trying, and her eyes—holy shit, her eyes—looked like they could slice your soul into tiny pieces just by looking.
At putang ina, she wasn't smiling. She wasn't doing anything.
She was just standing there like she was already so done with this school, this class, this life, all of us.
The room fell silent.
Even Miss Ysabel, our homeroom teacher who could yap nonstop for three hours about the civil rights movement, shut up mid-sentence.
(Yapperist pala si Ma’am oh)
No one dared move. Parang may dumaan na multo.
Or maybe hindi multo—mas malala pa.
Something dangerous.
And then, like it was a damn horror movie, the girl slowly walked to the empty seat at the back of the room, each step somehow louder than the last kahit carpeted ang sahig.
Kaming lahat, parang naka-hold yung breath namin.
When she sat down, slumped casually like a gangster boss attending a boring-ass meeting, that's when Miss Ysabel finally found her voice.
"Uhm. C-class, meet... uh, si—si..."
She looked down at her clipboard. "Si Samara Villareal. Our new student."
New student?
Tangina, baka Grim Reaper.
Axel leaned closer to me, whispering, "Pre, I'm scared... pero horny."
I smacked him so hard napaatras siya. "Ulol."
Everyone kept stealing glances at Samara, pero walang may lakas ng loob na kumausap sa kanya. Kahit yung mga lalakeng feeling pogi at makapal ang mukha, tahimik lang.
Parang may invisible wall around her, built from pure "don't-fucking-talk-to-me" energy.
Nag-shift ako ng tingin kay Miss Ysabel, expecting her to say something to lighten the mood. Pero si Ma'am mismo mukhang kinakabahan.
"Uh, Samara, you can introduce yourself if you like," she said weakly.
For a full, heart-stopping ten seconds, Samara didn't move.
Hindi siya nagsalita.
Hindi siya ngumiti.
Tumingin lang siya kay Ma'am na parang sinasabing, "Don't push your luck, woman."
Miss Ysabel coughed awkwardly.
"Or—or not! That's fine too! Welcome to class!"
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Sino ba 'tong babae na 'to?!
May pinatay na ba siya dati? Ex-convict ba siya? Assassin? Spy?
My mind was running wild.
The rest of the day, she just sat there.
Taking notes casually. Drawing something sa margins ng notebook niya
I swear mukhang dark magic symbols yun.
Answering quizzes without asking questions.
Ignoring everybody like we didn't exist.
LUNCHTIME.
Sa cafeteria, I caught Axel staring at Samara habang kumakain siya mag-isa sa dulong table.
"Pre, dare mo ako," sabi ni Axel, wild-eyed.
"Dare na ano?"
"Dare mo akong kausapin ko siya."
I stared at him. "Gusto mo mamatay?"
"Pre, ano ba. YOLO."
Against my better judgment, I dared him.
"Fine. Lapitan mo siya. Pero dapat upuan mo pa katabi niya."
"GAGO. 'Wag naman ganon ka hardcore."
"Eh yun nga dare eh."
And like the absolute dumbass he was, Axel stood up, fixed his hair, cracked his knuckles, and marched over to Samara's table.
I watched with morbid fascination, already preparing my eulogy.
He sat down beside her.
Samara didn’t even blink.
Axel cleared his throat. "H-hey... uh, mind if I sit here?"
Samara turned her head slowly, very slowly, towards him.
Ang lamig ng tingin niya. As if just one wrong word, and she'd stab him with her plastic spoon.
Axel chuckled nervously. "I-I'm Axel, by the way. Nice to meet—"
Samara lifted one brow.
Just one.
And somehow, that tiny movement said, "Get the fuck out of my sight."
Axel froze.
Then, without a word, he stood up and walked back to me, his face drained of color.
I stared at him.
"Pre?"
He sat down, trembling.
"She didn't even say anything," bulong niya, voice shaking. "Pero...pero...parang naramdaman ko yung kaluluwa ko na hinila palabas ng katawan ko."
I laughed so hard na na-choke ako sa fries ko.
After that day, Samara Villareal became an urban legend.
No one dared approach her.
No one dared talk about her too loud.
Parang kasama na siya sa mga school horror stories.
Some said she once killed someone with just a look.
Some said she was a genius hacker na hinahanap ng FBI.
Others swore na nakita raw nila siyang nag-teleport sa hallway.
Pero walang makakakaila:
She was terrifying.
She was beautiful.
She was untouchable.
And she hadn't spoken a single fucking word.
Until one day...
When everything went to absolute hell.