MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 15

Tatlong minuto ang lumipas, nag-umpisang dumating ang mga tao isa-isa hanggang sa mapuno ang buong kwarto. Naiiba ang pwesto ni Sophia kay David dahil magkaibang guro sila ng gitara. Hindi rin siya makakapag-practice dahil may schedule siya para sa practice ng soccer. Kaya't pinayagan sila ng mga seniors na umalis nang mas maaga kumpara sa iba.

Pero bago pa sila makaalis, biglang pumasok ang pinto ng isang senior na may matigas na itsura. Si Mr. Tomas, na para bang sinamahan pa ng tunog ng trumpeta ang pagpasok niya. Pero hindi siya nag-iisa, may kasama siya. At...

Si Adrian! s**t!

"Mga bagong miyembro natin ito. Mula ngayon ay makikihalubilo sila sa ating practice ng gitara. Magtulungan kayo at wag maglaro sa isa't isa." Pagkatapos niyang magsalita, tinulak niya ang pinto at naglakad papalayo, iniwan ang mga nilalang na ito na magiging bahagi ng club nila. Hindi ba't sinabi nilang hindi tatanggap ng maraming tao?

"Magpakilala na kayo," sabi ni Kim ng may ngiti.

Tumingin si Sophia kay David at hinaplos ang bibig, parang nais magpakita ng awa.

"Hello, ang pangalan ko ay Adrian, mula sa Faculty of Anthropology. Pakisamahan at suportahan ako!" masiglang pagpapakilala ni Adrian. Mukhang masaya siya at friendly sa lahat, pero sa mga mata ni Sophia, nakakatakot siya, lalo na ang mga titig niyang parang gustong siyang kainin nang buhay.

"Hello! Ang pangalan ko ay Benjamin. Nag-aaral ako ng medisina. Pakisamahan po ako."

Wow!

Nagkaroon ng ingay sa paligid nang matapos magpakilala si Benjamin. Hindi tinanggal ni Sophia ang tingin niya sa batang nasa kabilang dulo ng stage. Naka-badge siya ng Faculty of Medicine.

Maganda ang itsura ni Benjamin, may magaan na ngiti at ang puti niya, parang ang langit at lupa.

Parang naiinlove yata si Sophia sa batang ito.

"Hello! Ako si Lyndel, nag-aaral ng architecture." Pagkatapos niyang magsalita, kinuha ang gitara at naupo nang may cool na attitude. Naka-uniform shirt siya at may punit na jeans, ibang-iba sa lahat, kaya’t nagsimula ang mga kalalakihan na magbiro, hindi pa banggitin na may magandang mukha siya.

"Okay, mga kaibigan. I-welcome natin ang mga bagong miyembro at huwag kalimutan magtulungan!" sabi ng isang senior. Tapos, si Adrian, sumunod na naman kay Sophia at hindi siya iniiwan, parang chewing gum.

"Hindi kita nakita ng dalawang araw. Miss na miss kita," ang unang nagsalita si Adrian. Siguro, nag-surrender na siya. Sino'ng mag-aakala na babalik siya nang mas malakas kaysa dati?

Ito na ba ang muka o materyales sa gusali? Parang ang semento ay mas makapal pa sa mukha niya.

"Pero hindi kita miss. Bakit ka sumali dito?" tanong ni Sophia, medyo naiirita.

"Gusto ko mag-gitara," sagot ni Adrian, ngunit malinaw na nagsisinungaling siya.

"Kung gusto mong mag-gitara, doon ka na lang at mag-practice malayo sa akin."

"Denise, Denise, alam mo ba kung anong 1+1?" Tanong ni Adrian, na ginugol ang oras upang i-eksperimento ang pananahimik ni Sophia.

"Pumunta ka na doon at mag-practice," sagot ni Sophia, na may kaboredan sa mukha.

"Ah... 1+1=2, pero ano pa ang ibig sabihin? So, Adrian + Sophia, ano yun? Pag-ibig? Eyyy!"

Si Adrian + Sophia? Ayun, mga paa ni Sophia na ready nang mag-kick sa kanya. Ayaw niyang magtagal dito kaya naglakad siya palayo at aksidenteng nabangga si Benjamin, ang medical student. Ngumiti siya ng sweet kay Sophia. Wow! Para siyang strawberry ice cream.

"Ang pangalan ko ay Sophia, mula sa Faculty of Law," pagpapakilala ni Sophia.

"Umm, ako si Benjamin, o pwede mo akong tawaging Benj. Nice to meet you."

"So bakit..." Bago pa makapagtanong, hinawakan ni David ang pulso ni Sophia ng mahigpit.

"Tapos na ang football selection process. Mabilis, maghihintay na ang seniors."

Hinila siya palabas ng kwarto ni David, at hindi nakapagsalita si Adrian.

"Anong ginawa mo?" tanong ni Sophia.

"Sinusunod ang business mo."

At iniwan siya ni David.

Nag-umpisa na ang faculty cheerleading training. Pinayagan ng seniors ang mga first-year students na magpractice ng standard postures ng kalahating oras. Nakatayo sila ng matagal kaya’t nagsimulang magpatak ang pawis mula sa katawan ni Sophia. Nang in-announcement ang lunch break, halos gusto niyang umiyak. Para siyang gagapang sa pagod. Uupo siya, kinuha ang lunch box at nagsimula maglagay ng kanin sa bibig niya, para makapag-recharge ng konti. Narinig niya ang mga cheer at hiyawan mula sa seniors na nagpahinto sa kanya. Tumingin siya kung saan nanggaling ang tunog at nakita ang matangkad na katawan ng isang pamilyar na tao, papalapit na may malamig na itsura.

Si David.

"Bakit si David nandito sa Law school?" tanong ng isang senior na nanginginig.

"Pumunta para makita si Sophia."

"Chismoso! Pumunta para hanapin ang partner niya. Hahaha!" Umupo si David sa kabila ni Sophia at tinitigan ang lunch box niya, tapos ang mukha niya.

"Anong tinitingnan mo?" tanong ni Sophia.

"Wala."

"Bakit ka nandito?"

"Sabi ko sa'yo, magpapa-bisita lang."

"Tapos na ang football selection process?"

"Umm."

"Sana hindi ka napili."

"Tingnan mo ang mukha ko bago ka mag-insulto."

"Sigurado akong matatalo ang team mo."

Hindi alam ni Sophia kung bakit gusto niyang magbiro kay David. Nang una siyang humingi ng tulong kay David, naiisip niyang magpasalamat. Pero ngayon, galit na lang ang nararamdaman niya. Kung hindi dahil kay Adrian na parang lumalapit na kabit sa music club, baka hindi na lang pinansin si David.

"Sophia, dito ka muna, gusto naming humingi ng tulong," tinawag ng isang senior si Sophia. Tumayo siya at lumapit sa grupo.

Sophia checked David's i********: account again. He still hadn’t set his profile to private, probably because he didn’t know how to. She was shocked by the thousands of followers he already had, even though he hadn’t posted any pictures yet. Did he buy followers or something? And his bio was just... weird. The words were spelled correctly, but it felt like someone else wrote it for him.

"My friend created this account. I don’t know how to post pics."

The door suddenly opened, breaking the silence. Sophia looked up, her eyes immediately landing on David, who was dressed in a football shirt from the Political Science faculty. She raised an eyebrow. Was David really someone who played football? She’d always seen him in his neat uniforms, never in anything casual.

"You look weird today," she said, trying to break the silence.

"How? Am I riding a magic carpet? So, you think I’m weird?" he teased, his voice playful.

"Damn! I’m sick of you," Sophia muttered, shaking her head. David laughed softly, and then the sound of plastic bags crinkling caught her attention.

"Someone sent it for you."

"Who?"

"I don’t know. Maybe your fans?"

Sophia raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Wow! So excited!" She reached out and grabbed one of the bags from his hand. It was filled with food and sweets, but what bothered her was that the note on each one had both her and David’s names on it.

"What’s ‘Nat-Den’?" she asked, confused.

"Wow! Barramundi sandwich! I’ve never seen this before," she commented as she pulled out the sandwich.

"Umm."

"It looks delicious! But she wrote our names on it." Sophia glanced at him, her tone a little annoyed. David, however, didn’t seem to care.

"So what?"

"I know you won’t eat it, so... I’ll take it!" She reached for more bags from his hand, spotting some chocolates.

"You definitely don’t like this one either," she commented, taking another bag from him.

David just sighed and said nothing. It wasn’t long before she had taken most of the bags. Then, he finally spoke again.

"If you wanna take it all, would you like to take me too? I’m giving myself to you."

Sophia quickly dropped the bags and raised her fist in playful threat. "Do you want to get hit? Besides, you won’t eat any of this. I don’t understand why you’re even taking it."

"When did I say that?" David asked, his voice low and teasing.

Sophia continued to grab the bags until she found herself sitting beside him, munching on the sandwich. The practice hadn’t even started yet, and it seemed like she was already bored.

"So, you only made i********: yesterday?" she asked, her mouth full of food.

"Umm."

"Who made it for you?"

"My friend, Roble. But he refuses to set it to private. Can you help me?"

"Nope. I don’t want to interfere. I’ll just feel bad for all the people following you. But your friend is pretty nosy, causing a lot of commotion. Lucky for me, my friend helped me clean it up."

"Sorry," David muttered under his breath.

Sophia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his response. "But did you tell your friend to tease me? Is that why he posted those comments?"

"No," he answered briefly. He didn’t want to elaborate any further, and Sophia decided not to push it.

She threw the plastic bag next to him and grabbed her guitar, starting to practice. David, on the other hand, didn’t bring his guitar today, so he just sat there, laying back in the room. They were waiting for the seniors to arrive, but Sophia wasn’t going to waste any time.

"Do you think someone who has never been in love can write a love song?" David suddenly asked.

Sophia stopped for a moment, looking at him before answering. "I don’t think so. You need to feel it, to experience it to write it well. If you’ve never felt something, how can you express it?" Her response came from personal experience.

"Is that so?"

"You’ve been writing songs lately?" she asked, changing the topic.

"Umm."

"You should write a song about your bad life. About how to escape from all your fans," she teased, laughing.

"Why are you laughing at me?" His tone dropped, and she could see his sharp gaze directed at her.

"Well, have you really been writing songs? For real?" she asked again.

"Not really. But… you could say that."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "So you’ve been writing love songs? Is that why you’ve been flirting with me?"

David’s smirk grew wider. "Something like that."

Sophia sighed. "Well, if it’s that special, trust me, I’m not the usual type. I’m a complete package. I even have a banana and eggs. See? I’m special!"

David chuckled, his expression more amused than before. "Yes, you are special. That’s why I decided to flirt with you."

"Damn! I got goosebumps," she teased. "But seriously, don’t fall for me. I’m a rare item!"

"..."

Silence fell between them. Sophia silently prayed for someone to walk in, ending the awkward tension. She grabbed her guitar again, playing for a few minutes. After a while, she decided to sing a song she’d been listening to recently.

"If you saw me cry, it’s just dust in my eyes, I didn’t cry. Don’t look back. Don’t worry."

"Are you singing a song? I thought you were chanting at first," David commented with a grin.

"What’s that got to do with you, David? I like the song, so what?"

"Give me the guitar. I’ll play it for you."

Sophia smirked. "So, where’s your guitar?"

"I didn’t bring it. I have a meeting with the football team later," he replied nonchalantly.

"I have cheerleading practice later," she shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Let me visit you later, then."

Sophia shivered slightly at the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes. For a second, she couldn’t control her emotions, and her heart raced. His hand reached for the guitar, and she tried to ignore the strange feeling it gave her.

David started playing, but it wasn’t a song with lyrics. It was a melody, simple yet beautiful, one that filled the room with a sense of warmth. It was smooth and sweet, like syrup.

When the music stopped, she felt a strange mix of emotions she couldn’t explain.

"Was it good?" David asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

"What song was that? I don’t understand it."

"Music is the only language in the world that everyone can understand. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, you can feel the emotion it carries."

"But what emotion are you bringing with that?" Sophia asked, genuinely curious.

"When you listen to that song, what do you feel?" David replied, a playful challenge in his voice.

"Hungry," Sophia joked.

"..."

"Okay, okay, no more jokes."

"..."

"Okay, but seriously, what am I supposed to feel after hearing that song?"

David leaned closer, his eyes locking with hers. "You should feel love. Because it’s a love song."

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. Was it really a love song? Or was it something else entirely? She couldn’t tell anymore. The trembling in her hands and the pounding of her heart didn’t help either. Maybe it was because she wasn’t used to his jokes, but something about him was making her feel… something.