Mine Forevermore

Kabanata 7

Confrontation

Nanatili ang tingin ko sa likod ni Appolo habang sumusunod sa kanya. I Slightly lost the joy I felt after seeing Henry.

Hindi ko makalimutan ang bahagyang kirot na naramdaman ng makita ang pagmamakaawa sa mukha niya na kausapin ko siya. Nangilid ang luha sa mga mata ko sa panghihinayang, lungkot, at galit para sa kanya at sa ginawa niya sa akin kanina at nung mga nakaraang araw.

How dare him!

Hindi ko na nga siya ginugulo siya naman itong nangugulo sa akin.

Natigil ako sa pinto ng faculty room habang nasa loob si Appolo. I leaned against the door as I watched him talk to a teacher before nodding and going straight to the teachers table and put the paper on it. Hindi ko alam kung bakit niya ako pinasunod sa kanya. Wala naman akong gagawin dito.

I straightened up as he turned to me and look at me intently. Biglang tumalim ang mga mata niya at tila iritado na ngayon.

What? What did I do this time? Tss. Buraot talaga ang isang 'to. Hindi ko siya maintindihan.

Naglakad siya papalapit sa akin. Ngumisi naman ako nang tuluyan siyang makalapit.

"Umuwi na tayo." Aniya.

"Huh?" Nagugulat na tanong ko at bahagyang natawa. "Anong uuwi na? ayaw ko pang umuwi."

"Tss." Iritado niya akong tiningnan. "and where do you think you're going?" Sarkastikong sagot din niya. "Uuwi ka na." Aniya at tumalikod na.

"Ayaw ko pa ngang umuwi. Bakit ba ang kulit mo?" Inis na sagot ko.

Diba may basketball practice pa sila? I plan to watch his basketball game. Nakasanayan ko na every after class I would go to his game para manuod.

Natigil siya sa paglalakad at mabilis akong binalingan at nilapitan. "And where the Hell do you think you're going? Tapos na ang klase kaya dapat umuwi ka na."

"Nasia!"

Sabay kaming napabaling sa likuran ng marinig ang malakas na pagtawag sa akin. My lips parted when I saw Henry again. Bago ko pa siya singhalan ay hinila na naman ako ni Appolo.

"Your not going anywhere. Let's go." He said firmly and quickly pulled me away.

"Nasia! Please, let's talk!" Sigaw ni Henry sa malayong likod namin.

Appolo stopped walking and quickly looked behind us. I saw him glared at Henry! I'm about to turn and look at Henry too but Appolo pulled me again!

I almost stumbled when he pulled my hand.

Bakit ba lagi nalang akong hinihigit ngayon? Ang sakit na ng braso at kamay ko sa ginagawa nila!

"Wait!" I called but he continue dragging me until we went outside the building.

"Teka! Appolo! Masakit!" Malakas ng sigaw ko dahilan para matigil siya sa paghigit sa akin.

He quickly turned to me and released me. I pulled back my hand from his hold, and hold my hand before I glared at him.

Mahigpit ang hawak niya kanina sa kamay ko kung saan may gasgas kaya masakit. Kita ko naman ang pagkakatigil niya at ang guilt duon. Tila ngayon lang natauhan sa marahas na paghila.

"I-I'm sorry. Let me see." Aniya at lumapit sa akin.

I stepped back and glared at him. "What's wrong with you? Why are we going home? Diba may practice ka pa sa basketball?" I said while frowning. "Manunuod ako ng laro mo."

Kita ko na natigilan siya at bahagyang nagulat sa sinabi ko. He closed his eyes tightly at bahagyang yumuko.

Nanatili naman akong nakatitig sa kanya habang nakakunot ang noo. He sighed heavily at iminulat niya ang mga mata at tinitigan ako. Magaan na ang tingin sa akin ngayon.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "Wala kaming practice ngayon. Pinalitan ni couch ang schedule namin."

Nangunot ang noo ko. "Bakit naman?" I asked curiously.

"May ibang gagamit ng gym. Couch decided to set a new schedule for our practice."

Ngumuso ako at tumango kahit nakakunot ang noo. It's a valid reason. Siguro dahil marami na ang sumali na mga players ngayon for different kinds of sports kumpara sa mga non-player.

"Okay. I'm going home." I answered and walked ahead of him.

Hindi naman siya agad nakasunod. Humakbang lang ng isang beses kaya nagpatuloy ako sa paghakbang palayo. Nang tuluyang makalayo ay muli ko siyang hinarap.

"Bye! See you!" I shouted and waved at him. "Baby." pahabol ko at humagikhik.

Nanatili naman siyang nakatanaw. Madilim na naman ang mga mata. I smiled as I turned my back on him before going straight to the parking lot to go home.

After our last conversation, I noticed that he was no longer cold to me, unlike before, he seemed so aloof and not even wanted to see me or even let me to watch his games. Nakikita ko na this past few days ay magaan siya sa akin. Yung tipong pinapansin niya na ako at kinakausap at hindi masyadong suplado at laging galit ang mga mata.

Napangisi ako sa naisip. Parang ang bilis ko naman ata siyang nakuha.

Though, sometimes I am also confused with his behavior, because even though he is nice to me, I can still see that he is annoyed with me sometimes, so I am a little bit confused with his behavior. Hindi ko nga alam kung pinaglalaruan niya lang ba ako o nagpapanggap lang na mabait.

That was what happened for the next days. I always watched his game after class and he always glared at me everytime I smiled sweetly at him and called him a baby husky. He was really annoyed by it.

"That was a nice game baby Husky." I smiled at winked at him but he just glared at me.

Nasa labas na kami ng gym at kausap ko siya ngayon. Akala ko hindi na kami mag-uusap dahil mukhang busy siya sa loob but then I was shocked whe he followed me outside.

"I said don't call me that. I'm not your baby dog."

Natawa ako sa sinabi niya. "Your not but I like it. My baby Husky."

He sighed heavily again at nameywang na ngayon sa harapan ko. Feeling ko ay nauubos na ang pasensya niya sa kakulitan ko. Kaya tumahimik na ako.

"Why are you alone. Where's your friend? and why are you wearing that p.e. uniform?" iritadong aniya at galit na sinulyapan ang damit ko.

Ngumuso ako. "She has something to do kaya ako lang mag-isa and what's wrong with my p.e. uniform? Your also wearing your Jersey shirt. I like your Jersey shirt. I want one with your name and number on my back." ngumisi ako. I bit my lip to suppressed a smile especially when I saw how he close his eyes tightly while bitting his lips.

"I don't know what to do with you." he shook his head repeatedly. Ngumisi naman ako.

Lumingon ako sa labas ng bintana ng classroom namin, at bigla ay naalala ko si Henry. The last time I saw him there, was the day when me and Appolo walked out of the classroom together. I don't know what happened to him after the day, but after that day, I didn't see him much. Hindi katulad nuon na lagi niya akong nilalapitan at pinipilit na kausapin siya.

"Hi, Nasia!"

Umirap ako. Charllot's and her chipmunks are here again.

"Aren't you going to buy a snack?"

"I'll buy later." I lazily answered.

"Want us to buy you a snack? Bibilhan ka namin." She volunteered.

Napabaling ako dahil sa sinabi niya. I saw Eloise beside me turn to us as well. My eyebrows rose.

"No thanks. Busog pa ako."

It is so tempting to accept something when it's free. They say grace should not be denied. But I don't want to accept anything from them, kahit pagkain pa yan. Because sometimes when you started to accept what they give, iisipin nila na we can finally be friends, and I would feel indebted, so I feel like I have to pay them back.

Hindi ko alam. Gan'to talaga ang mindset ko. Ayaw kong magkaroon ng utang na loob kahit kanino man. Minsan kasi, ginagamit nila ang kadahilanan na yan para magkaroon ka ng utang na loob sa kanila at sa huli ay gagamitin yang dahilan para kalabanin ka.

Ngumiwi si Marcia at naiilang naman na ngumiti si Sienna sa akin. Bahagyang nagtagal ang tingin ko kay Sienna.

Tiningnan ko ang suot ni Sienna pati ang dala niya. The bag she was carrying and the accessories she was wearing is somewhat expensive. She's not as rich as I am, but I can tell that she's rich enough to wear that expensive things. And ... I know that she's not like them, though, I noticed that she looks younger than me. Actually, younger than us.

I just feel a little bit disappointed for her, for choosing a friend like them. Even for Marcia, I know that Marcia is not that bitchy but she was influence sometimes by her best friend Charlotte, that's why I notice how her attitude change sometimes, and it seems like they're just using Sienna for their own benefits.

Naiilang akong tiningnan ni Sienna at tipid na ngumiti. Napatalikod siya ng akbayan siya ni Charlotte at pilit na hinila palabas ng pinto. Sienna then look back at me and it seems like I saw the sadness in her eyes. Nangunot ang noo ko sa nakita.

When they left, I turned to Eloise who was reading her romance book again. Ngumiwi ako. Sometimes I noticed that people rely on what was written in the book, and thought that it would happen in real life too. Tss.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit gustong gusto niya na magbasa ng romance book. I don't see any good from reading one. It's kind of unrealistic and a bit of a bad influence for me.

Readers started to become lazy especially when they become addicted to it. They don't even use it as their past time anymore, they just keep on reading and reading until they finish the chapter. It doesn't even matter if they spent most of their time to read, than of using their time for more important things. So for me, It's just a waste of time and sadly they lost the discipline.

"Let's go grab some snack?" Pagyaya ko sa kanya.

She turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Ikaw nalang. Tapusin ko lang 'to."

Ngumiwi ulit ako. "Baka next day mo pa yan matapos. Hanggang next day ka din hindi kakain?" Tumaas ang kilay ko.

Umikot ang mga mata niya. "Akala ko ba hindi ka gutom."

"I'm just making excuses. I don't want to go with them." Sagot ko sa obvious niyang tanong.

"Sige na. Kumain ka na. I'll buy when I'm hungry." Aniya at muling ibinalik ang tingin sa binabasa. Umiling ako at umalis nalang na mag-isa.

I was about to buy a food in the cafeteria and was already on my way, but I stop from walking when I meet Henry's girlfriend. Ay...hindi pala. Ex-girlfriend niya.

Kita ko na natigilan din siya sa paglalakad. Suddenly her eyes turned red. Akala mo ay iiyak sa harapan ko. Nagulat nalang ako ng bigla siyang humakbang papalapit sa akin at tila galit ngayon.

"Naging girlfriend ka ba talaga ni Henry?" Salubong niya sa akin. Nagulat ako sa pagiging agresibo niya. "Kaylan pa naging kayo?" Tanong niya ulit kita ang galit sa mga mata.

"I'm sorry? Stacey isn't?" Tanong ko muna. Medyo naguguluhan sa reaksyon niya.

I'm just wondering if she's Henry's ex-lover who I saw back in the cafeteria. Dahil parang hindi siya ang nakita ko. She looks so different the way she talked to me. Hindi inosente. Her eyes were sad but the anger didn't escape from her eyes.

"It's me. His real girlfriend, so I was surprised to know that you are also his girlfriend." Aniya pero pansin ko ang panginginig sa kanyang boses.

My lips parted and I almost laughed at what she said, especially the word she use that cought up my attention.

"Real girlfriend? Seriously?..." muli akong natawa at nangunot naman ang noo niya sa akin. "Excuse me lang, huh. Ako ang unang girlfriend niya bago pa maging kayo. Ako ang t-in-wo-time. Hindi ikaw." Sagot ko.

Galit niya akong tiningan. Mas namula ang kanyang mga mata.

Napabuntong hininga ako. Trying to calm myself para hindi siya umiyak ng tuluyan. Isipin pa ng iba na pinaiyak ko siya. Samantalang siya itong unang sumugod sa akin. Tss.

"Actually, I don't blame you either because we were both deceived by that ash*le. But you should have thanked me because you finally found out the truth behind that ash*les mask. Believe me, I didn't know that he hide this from me eve from you." Sambit ko.

"Thank you?" Hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya habang nakakunot ang noo na tinanguan ko naman. "I just suddenly broke up with him because of what you did!--"

"Then that's good." Natutuwang sagot ko. "Why are you even mad at me? Ano bang ginawa ko. Sinabi ko lang naman sa lahat ng Tao kung gaano siya ka-gag* at sinabi ko rin lang sayo ang totoo. Bakit? Nahihiya ka dahil naging kabit ka? That's why you suddenly broke up with him. You should be, but you should be happy by now because you made the right choice."

Nakakatawa dahil parehas sila ni Henry ng sinabi sa akin. He also said that...They broke up because of what I did. Ako pa talaga ang sinisi nila.

"Paano ako magiging masaya?" Nakakunot na tanong niya at tinitigan akong mabuti. Nawala ang ngiti ko. "Were you happy when you found out that you have been cheated by your boyfriend? Hindi ka ba nasaktan ng malaman ang totoo? Didn't you cry too, when you broke up?" Sunod-sunod na tanong niya.

Natahimik ako at biglang nagbalik ang ala-ala nung nag break kami ni Henry at nung nalaman ko na niloko niya ako. Though, that's not what I'm trying to pointed out to her.

"At masaya ka pa na nagbreak kami?" Nakakunot na tanong niya at sa huli ay naningkit ang mga mata. "Did you just planned all of this in the first place para maghiwalay kami, para maghiganti. Gusto mo na mag break din kami, dahil nag break din kayo." naiiyak na tanong niya.

What? What is she saying? Nababaliw na ba siya?Hindi ako makapaniwala! Mas lalo lang din akong natawa, dahilan para matigilan siya.

"Stacey girl, naririnig mo ba ang sarili mo? your talking nonsense here. at anong Naghihiganti?... I would never waste my time." I answered and smile at her sarcastically habang nakakunot ang noo.

Who am I to waste my time on such a pity thing. Gumanti? it's not even my thing even if I have been hurt. I will stand and resist, yes! But to retaliate? No! I will never do that. Ako na nga ang umiiwas diba?

Unti-unti akong nagseryoso at tinitigan siya. Wala na ang sarkastikong ngiti ngayon. "I'm just telling you that you should be happy by now because you've lost a relationship that will make you unhappy in the end. Bakit? Would you rather stay in a relationship while your partner is cheating on you? You think that kind of relationship will make you happy?" Seryoso at medyo galit din na tanong ko. "Then why the hell did you break up with him?! kung diyan ka naman pala masaya?!" I added. I almost shout at her.

Nakita ko ang pangingilid ng luha sa kanyang mata nang hindi siya sumagot.

My forehead furrowed and look at her tears angrily. "How pathetic." I gritted my teeth.

Nanatili pa din siyang nakatayo at hindi na nagsalita hanggang sa tumulo na ang luha niya na mabilis naman niyang pinunasan.

"So...yan lang ba ang sasabihin mo kaya mo ako nilapitan dito?" Tanong ko pero mas lalo lang nangunot ang noo niya habang pinupunasan ang luha.

"How sad. I thought you will going to thank me." Malungkot na sabi ko at disappointed siyang tiningnan. Nag-angat naman siya ng tingin sa akin habang nakakunot pa din ang nuo.

Humakbang ako ng isang beses dahilan para mas magkalapit kami. Napaatras siya sa ginawa ko. I also saw the shock and fear in her eyes, even her own tears stopped. My hand went up and she immediately closed her eyes tightly.

My lips parted at her reaction. She thought I was going to slap her! I didn’t even think of that! I smirked.

My hand dropped to her shoulder as I move closer to her ear and whispered.

"Learn to know your worth. You deserve someone's better." I whispered.

Umatras ako at binaba ang kamay mula sa balikat niya. I saw the shock in her eyes as she stared at me. Ngumiti ako bago gumilid para daanan siya.

She's trying to look strong in front of me but the innocence hide from her eyes. She was trembling even though her eyes were angry. Obviously, she's not used to confrontation. She couldn’t even push me or hurt me. Siguro, nadala nalang din ng galit at sakit sa nangyari sa kanila ni Henry, kaya kung ano ano nalang ang sinasabi at nagawa pang sugurin ako at pagsalitaan, Kahit na hindi naman sanay na sumugod sa laban.

She could not cover up her innocence with her aggressiveness. Her action is not that aggressive to intimidate me. Her words are not that strong to hurt me. It's the other way around. Or maybe...somehow, she did. But my words affect her the most, and that's what I wanted to do. To open her eyes and see what I mean.