The Case of Falling For You

Chapter 3

"May nakakatawa ba?" I asked, brow raised to the heavens like may audition ako sa soap opera. Kasi, excuse me, bakit mukhang aliw na aliw itong lalaking kaharap ko—half-naked pa, mind you—na parang wala lang sa kanya ang buong gulo na ginawa niya kagabi?

Nakakabitin pa ang kamay niya sa mga u***g niya, like sir, hindi po kami close para pasilip ka ng ganon!

André, the walking gym ad s***h neighborhood nightmare, shook his head, his damp hair looking like pinlantsa ng konting effort at maraming kahambugan.

"Nothing," he said, habang naka-ngiti pa rin. Grabe, may dimples pa talaga! Diyos ko, bakit ang dami niyang redeeming qualities? Nakaka-guilty tuloy mainis.

"Bakit ka naka-ngisi d'yan?" I snapped, because really, what is so funny about me almost throwing a lamp kagabi sa frustration?

He ran his fingers through his damp hair like he was in a shampoo commercial. His eyes? Locked sa’kin. As in intense, borderline creepy, pero annoyingly attractive. Ugh!

"Nothing, really," he said again, flashing me that dimpled smile. Parang sinampal ako ng Colgate ad.

"Saan naka-post ‘yung assignment?" tanong niya.

"Sa page," I answered dryly. Kasi baka kung ano pa ang itanong nito, like blood type ko or kung okay pa ba mental health ko sa dami ng destraction niya.

I turned my back para makabalik na sa unit ko. Kasi hello? Baka makalimutan ko na naman na may limang chapters akong kailangan basahin. Paalala lang: hindi ako nagbabayad ng tuition para lang manood ng Rated SPG gabi-gabi mula sa kabilang pader!

"Maricon, right?" I heard him call.

Ayoko na siyang pansinin. Naisip ko na lang yung isang tasa ng kape na naghihintay sa akin, kasi honestly, I deserved peace and caffeine. Shhh, inner peace. Shhh.

I closed the door.

I spent the whole night hanggang madaling araw na nagre-review like the nerd goddess that I am. Halos 4 AM na ako nakatulog, and then nagising ako around 11 AM feeling like a leftover pizza—cold, oily, at questionable kung puwedeng kainin pa.

Wala talaga akong gana magluto. Tapos kung mag-aaral lang din ako sa loob ng condo, malamang mahiga lang ako sa couch at gumising next week na. Kaya I packed all my reviewer stuff sa malaking bag ko—like pang-travel bag levels—at nagdesisyong mag-aral sa coffee shop.

Also? Ayoko nang marinig si André at kung sino mang bagong "babe" niya na nagmo-moan ng “Oh God, André!” sa kabilang unit habang ako ay umiiyak mentally sa hirap ng Constitutional Law.

Waiting for the elevator, I was minding my own business, humming Taylor Swift softly when—

"Good morning!"

My eyes widened. Guess who? Yep. My nightmare in boxers.

André.

Nakangiti na naman siya like life is just perfect and he doesn’t have a noisy s*x life that ruins lives. "Papasok ka na?" tanong niya.

I gave him a mute nod. Kasi nga, hindi ako pwedeng magalit openly—baka classmate nga kami, diba? Office of Student Affairs is shaking.

"Ang laki ng bag mo," he commented.

Naku, here we go again.

"Ano’ng laman niyan?"

"My book and notebook and pens," I answered flatly, secretly wishing na may kasama na ring pepper spray just in case this guy got more annoying.

"Oh," sabi niya. Ramdam ko pa rin ang ngiti niya kahit hindi ako nakatingin. Like, sir, bakit ka masaya? May nanalo ba ng loto? O napatunayan mo lang ulit na pogi ka?

I turned to him slightly, squinting. Is this guy powered by s*x and vibes? Is that the secret to inner peace and glowing skin?

"Tabi tayo sa class mamaya?" tanong niya bigla.

"No."

And instead of being offended, he actually laughed. Like full-on ha-ha-sarap-mabunggo kind of laugh.

"Bakit naman?"

"Ayoko lang."

Pagbukas ng elevator, sabay kaming pumasok. Nagsimula na ang countdown ng pagdurusa ko mula 34th floor hanggang ground floor kasama ang walking noise pollution.

"Bakit?" ulit niya.

"No particular reason." Pero sa loob-loob ko: kasi gusto kong peace. Kasi gusto kong hindi masira ang concentration ko. Kasi gusto kong hindi ma-trigger by your abs.

Then, with the nerve of a clueless golden retriever, he asked:

"Did I do something to offend you?"

Napalingon ako sa kanya. My eyes narrowing like sniper mode sa Call of Duty. Talaga lang ha?

"Are you being serious?" tanong ko, almost scandalized.

He nodded. "Yeah... I mean, you look like you want to wring my neck," sabay turo pa sa mukha ko. "There. You're making the face again."

Oh, he did NOT just—

"Hindi mo talaga alam kung ano ang ginawa mo?" I asked, resisting the urge to scream ‘SILENCE MEANS WAR!’

He looked so genuine. "No. But whatever it is, please tell me so that I can properly apologize and promise not to do it again."

Sana sincere nga siya kasi ang ganda ng delivery. Napaisip tuloy ako kung worth it pa bang magalit or mag-pray over na lang for emotional healing.

Pero bago ko pa siya masermonan, the elevator opened and a girl walked in.

College girl. Denim shorts. Oversized shirt. May aura ng t****k star.

And what did she do? She checked out André like he was a limited edition buy-one-take-me-home kind of guy. Kung maka-tingin siya, parang gusto niya nang i-book si André for the next available timeslot.

Sa isip ko, Good luck, sis. May kasamang surround sound ang package niya.

"Maricon?" tanong ulit ni André, clueless pa rin.

I gave him the classic irap + silence combo. Bahala ka sa buhay mo, kuya.

Pagdating sa lobby, may nakasalubong siyang kakilala kaya finally, tumigil na rin siya sa kaka-interrogate sa’kin na para akong suspek sa krimen.

Thank God. Emotional battery ends here.

From lunch hanggang hapon, nasa coffee shop lang ako. Reading, memorizing, questioning my life choices. Dumating ako ng 20 minutes before class, dahil gusto kong makaupo sa unahan. I’m that kind of nerd.

Pagpasok ko ng classroom, I was shooketh. Half-full na! Para bang lahat ng tao ay nag-time travel at sabay-sabay dumating ng maaga.

"Hi, is this seat available?" I asked this girl who looked like she would not bite me.

"Yeah, sure," she said, inalis ang bag sa upuan.

"Thank you," I smiled. "I'm Maricon. You are?"

"kaye," sagot niya. Pretty Chinese girl. Probinsyana meets Manila Elite kind of vibe.

Paglingon ko sa paligid, ang tahimik ng mga tao. Like, sobrang serious. As in, walang nagchi-chismisan, walang t****k, walang pa-cute. Parang biglang naging Hogwarts exam week.

Nakaramdam tuloy ako ng academic anxiety so I opened my book and pretended I was a law school goddess.

"Hey, Maricon."

OH NO. He found me.

I immediately frowned.

Mukhang totoo nga.

Gagong André is really my classmate.

“Vacant ba ’to?” tanong niya sa bakanteng upuan sa tabi ko, smiling like we were in some cheesy sitcom and I was the punchline.

Instead of answering, I picked up my bag na nakalapag sa sahig and placed it firmly on the empty chair beside me.

Boom. Reserved.

André laughed—again. Tangina 'tong lalaking 'to.

Was he enjoying this? Nakaka-bwisit! Parang libangan na niya ang manira ng peace ko. Panira ng pader, panggulo ng katahimikan, tapos ngayon, professional inisin ako?

Thankfully, umalis rin siya.

He walked toward the other column at naupo sa tabi ng isang maputlang lalaki na parang hindi pa nakatikim ng sunlight for years.

Mabuti na lang! I didn’t want him anywhere near my column. Kahit boses niya, nakakakilabot. Every time he speaks, I could hear “Oh god, André!” echoing in my head like a cursed ringtone.

An hour passed.

Still, wala pa ring dumadating na prof.

Nang bumukas ang pinto, sabay-sabay kaming tumayo—hopeful, expectant. Atty. David, let’s gooo.

But nope.

It was just André.

I glared at him so hard I was hoping magka-cavity siya sa eyeball.

Pumunta siya sa gitna ng classroom na parang siya ang host ng evening news. He casually placed his hands on the table, like some hotshot professor.

Putik, papansin talaga!

“I went to the Dean’s office,” he said, in that smug announcer voice, “and as it turned out, our prof won’t be coming to class tonight.”

Collective groans. As in sabay-sabay kaming napa-ugh. Even the ghost of our academic motivation left the room.

“But Atty. David gave us a list of cases that we need to digest,” he continued. “It should be written in yellow paper, one page only, and to be passed tonight.”

TONIGHT?

André, the self-proclaimed bearer of bad news, started writing the list of cases on the board like he was drawing a treasure map. Meanwhile, everyone around me became possessed by the spirit of hardcore law students, furiously scribbling.

Ako?

Nagpa-panic hunting ng yellow paper!

I looked at Kaye. She just shrugged and mouthed “Wala rin ako, sis.”

I thought about asking the girl behind me, pero sobrang seryoso ng mukha niya. Baka kainin ako ng libro niya pag inabala ko siya.

“Oh.”

I turned. André was right beside me, offering yellow paper like a fairy godmother of legal digests.

“Laki-laki ng bag mo, wala kang yellow paper?” he asked, his grin permanently plastered on his face like it was super glued.

I grabbed the paper like it owed me money. “Thanks.”

“Ang sungit mo talaga,” he said, laughing again before going back to his seat like he just delivered Christmas to the classroom.

The room fell into eerie silence. The only sound was the faint scratch-scratch of ballpens on yellow paper.

I felt the pressure. Literal. Parang may elephant sa likod ko.

Seryoso masyado mga tao dito! I shouldn’t have told anyone I graduated with honors. Hay nako. Tuloy napadpad ako sa star section ng mga future Supreme Court Justices.

Almost everyone had passed their papers na. Ilan na lang kami natira.

Soon… ako na lang.

Great. Me and my sad, unfinished digest. Yay.

I looked up.

Guess who’s sitting on the teacher’s table like he owns the place?

Yep. Si André.

Holding a stack of papers in one hand, watching me like I’m a Netflix series.

“Kanino ba ipapasa ’yan?” I snapped. “Ako na. Mauna ka na umuwi.”

Still, he didn’t move.

“Nah, hintayin na kita. Tapos uwi na tayo.”

Napa-taas ang kilay ko. “Excuse me?”

He smirked. Again with that "aren’t-I-so-cute-while-being-annoying?" expression.

“What? Same building naman tayo nakatira, di ba?”

I gave him a dirty look before going back to reading. I could feel him watching me like a telenovela.

Thankfully, may nag-text yata sa kanya. His attention shifted to his phone. He started grinning.

Naglalandi na naman siguro. Typical.

“Ganda ng sulat mo,” he commented.

I ignored him.

’Di ko kailangan ng validation mula sa kalandian mo.

Sa totoo lang, dapat pala sinabi ko kay Papa na huwag muna bilhin 'yung unit. Sabihin ko kaya ibenta na lang? Baka sa tagal ko sa tinitirhan namin, hindi si Kassy ang pumatay sa akin kundi si André—sa kunsomisyon!

Since it was already late and medyo madilim na sa kabilang daan, I had no choice but to walk with the pest.

“Pass ko lang ’to sa Dean’s office,” he said, pointing to the hallway.

“Diyan ako,” I said, pointing to the opposite direction.

“Hintayin mo na ako,” he insisted.

“Ayoko.”

He chuckled. “Binigyan naman kita ng yellow paper.”

I glared at him. “Papalitan ko. Isusuksok ko sa ilalim ng pinto mo.”

Instead of passing the paper, he leaned on the post and crossed his arms like he was about to interrogate me.

“Tell me… why are you so irked at me?”

“You seriously don’t know why?” I asked, fuming.

Umiling siya, eyes wide and suspiciously innocent-looking. “Nope. I don’t. And I want to know why. I don’t like people being mad at me. It bugs me.”

I stared at him. He looked genuinely confused. Like a golden retriever who accidentally stepped on your foot.

“My problem is…” I said slowly, building the drama, “…hindi ako makatulog sa gabi. Dahil. Sa. ’Yo.”

“What? Why? Iniisip mo ba ako?”

My jaw dropped.

The audacity.

“Hell, no!” I roared.

He burst into laughter again. “Grabe ka naman tumanggi, Maricon. A simple no would've sufficed.”

I fisted my hands. “NAIINIS AKO SA ’YO DAHIL HINDI AKO MAKATULOG DAHIL SA INYO NG MGA BABAE MO!”

He froze.

“Ano ’yung unit mo, André? s*x den?! Hindi ka na nauubusan ng inuuwing babae!”

His mouth parted slightly. For once, wala siyang comeback. Win!

“Puro na lang ‘Oh god, André! Oh god!’ ang naririnig ko gabi-gabi! Wala ka bang rest day?! Hindi ba napapagod 'yan?!” turo ko sa—well, area.

“May nilalabas pa ba ’yan sa araw-araw na kalandian mo?!”

He blinked.

And then… that damn amused look came back.

“Complaint noted,” he said, brushing his wavy hair with his fingers like some sexy shampoo ad model. “I’ll try my best to take my activities… elsewhere.”

He paused, grin widening. “Didn’t know you were listening, though.”

“I DID NOT WANT TO LISTEN!”

“But you did,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I feel much closer to you now, Maricon, knowing that you already heard me having s*x and all that.”

I groaned. “You’re seriously annoying. Uuwi na ako!”

“Fine,” he said, still grinning. “But I’ll see you tomorrow, neighbor!”

I walked away as fast as I could, determined to put as much distance between me and the man whose voice—and moaning groupies—haunt my every attempt at sleep.

Dear God, give my ears peace.