CHAPTER 5
2561 Words
Gaya ng inasahan ko ay kumalat nga ang balita patungkol sa naging date namin ni Joaquin. Usap-usapan na sa school.
"I heard that you dated in BGC," sabi ng isa kong kaklase.
Nasa classroom kami at pinapalibutan ako ng mga girls. I looked at Andria who is sitting beside me. Hindi siya nagsalita at pinanood lang ang mga kaklase namin na interesado sa usapan. Si Danna ay busy na ulit sa training. I already told her and Danna everything that they should know regarding what happened that's why they're no longer surprised.
"Uh, yes," sabi ko.
"Ang romantic niya!"
"Boyfriend mo na?"
I looked at Erika who was busy reading her book. Hindi pa kami nakakapag-usap. Alam kong naririnig niya ang pinag-uusapan kaya na-awkward ako. Wala pa sa tabi niya si Diego dahil hindi pa ito dumadating.
"No. Joaquin and I are just friends," sinabi ko na lang ang totoo.
Ang mga ngiti ng kaklase ko ay unti-unti naglaho nang mapagtanto. "Ni-reject mo?"
"Bakit?"
"I think it's none of your concern," sabi ni Andria sa kanila. I held her hand and shook my head, looking at her. Telling her to stop kasi baka magkagulo pa lalo.
"Well, what if it is!"
"Omg! I never thought that someone would reject a Monreal!"
"Who do you think you are?"
"Sa tingin ko first time 'to."
"Hayaan mo na sila," I told Andria.
"Are you fine with that, Erika?" anila at binigay ang atensyon kay Erika ka kanina pa tahimik.
Erika looked at them, still holding her book open. She wasn't smiling when she glanced at me. "I think there's nothing wrong with it."
Nagulat ako sa sinabi niya. Akala ko kabaligtaran ang sasabihin niya. Akala ko galit siya.
"But why? Ni-reject niya ang kapatid mo!"
"Rejecting my brother as early as possible is the better decision than making that kind of relationship longer with the knowledge of having no spark from the very beginning."
"What?" gulat pang sabi ng isa naming kaklase.
"Francine immediately took care of the wound and the problem that if she prolonged would only get deeper and worse. What problem do you see with that when she no longer lets my brother have his hopes up? She just saved his heart from getting into deep hurt. She didn't let my brother waste more time."
Wala agad nakapagsalita sa'min. Wala talaga akong nasabi. I can't believe she defended my decision and that she remained civil after what happened. Erika and I are not very close, but I'm very thankful to her, though I know she's also doing this for her brother and their whole family.
The girls couldn't do anything but roll their eyes at me before going back to their seats. I looked back at Erika. "Thank you for doing that," sabi ko sa kanya. "I'm sorry too." Without a word, she looked at me and gave me a nod.
Nang sumapit ang lunchtime ay pumunta kami ni Andria sa canteen. Even though Erika already gave her say regarding what happened, there are still people in the school who would look at me insultingly and talk behind my back.
Pagkarating namin sa pwesto namin ay nandoon na sina Azi at Hugo. May mga pagkain na rin sa table. Pagkaupo na pagkaupo namin ay agad na bumungad sa'kin ang tanong ni Azi. "What happened?"
I told them the whole story starting from the very beginning - when the Monreal cousins hosted the party. I suddenly remembered that Azi wasn't there because they had a family dinner with Andria's family. I wasn't sure if Hugo was there. He's a classmate of Elliyah. If he was there, I didn't notice. I was so busy hanging out with the Monreals. At tsaka hindi ko pa siya kilala noong time na 'yon.
"Nakapunta ka ba do'n sa party, Hugo?" Andria asked the question I wish I did.
"Hindi ako pumunta."
"Why not?" dagdag ko.
He looked at me with no smile, like his usual look. "I'm always busy."
He always gives short answers like those. I don't know but hearing that short answer already says a lot about him. So, palagi siyang may ginagawa?
While we were eating lunch, a guy approached us out of nowhere. He looks shy but still took the courage to do so. "For you, Francine." Nagulat ako nang bigla siyang nagbigay ng bouquet of flowers sa'kin. Akala ko kay Andria niya 'yon ibibigay. I looked around and notice that people are watching us.
Tinanggap ko ang bouquet niya. "Thank you." Mahina ang pagkasabi ko no'n pero sapat naman ang volume para marinig niya. I smiled at him too because he looks nice.
"I-I don't know if you recognize me but I always give you gifts and letters during Valentine's." I heard a sense of nervousness in his voice. I don't know but he looks cute. His features are of East Asian descent. I admit that I don't recognize him. I don't even know his name. But omg! How come I didn't know him?
"What's your name?" kuryoso kong tanong.
He smiled at me. "I'm Felix."
Natigilan ako. It sounded almost like... Oh, stop it, Francine. He's not him. Don't be so dumb. Maraming beses na akong nagkamali ng akala noon. I should stop repeating it because apart from embarrassing myself, I will only get hurt because of my stupidity.
"Do you wanna sit with us?" pag-iiba ko ng usapan. Naramdam ko ang biglang pagbagsak ng enerhiya ko. Kanina ay nakakaya ko pa pero iba na ngayon.
I don't wanna reach to the point na iiyak na naman ako dahil nami-miss ko siya. Wrong timing kapag umiyak ako ngayon. I'm with my friends and we're in a public place. We still have classes after we finish our lunch. And I don't know why this guy in front of us is still here. I don't wanna be rude but I just want to continue to eat my lunch and go back to the classroom and continue our classes for the day to be done already. I just wanna go home and sleep as I get tired from crying, like what usually happens to me when remembering him.
"No, it's fine. I just wanna ask you something." Felix slightly scratched his head, still shy and smiling. "Do you wanna go out with me?"
I bit my lower lip and looked at my friends. Azi and Andria were looking at me while Hugo is staring darkly at Felix. He's also got his arms crossed. He looks annoyed. Medyo iba sa resting expression niya. Siguro dahil naaabala ang lunch namin.
Felix seems nice. It's my fault that my energy dropped because I almost mistook him for Alex due to his name. It almost sounded the same. Mahirap naman na husgahan ko siya kasi hindi ko naman siya ganoon kakilala. Unfair sa kanya kung ire-reject ko siya dahil sa maling akala sa identity niya.
I tried my best to flash my genuine smile despite the sudden change in my mood. "Sure." Naisip ko rin na hindi naman siguro masama kung bigyan ko siya ng chance.
"Is it okay if I get your number? I'll text you the details."
"Okay." Then I took my phone out and we exchanged numbers.
His smile widened. Nahalata ko na nawala na ang kaba niya. "Thank you!"
Nang makaalis siya ay nagpatuloy na ulit kami sa pagkain. It felt awkward, actually. A lot of people especially my friends saw how someone asked me out! Hindi ko na lang masyadong pinahalata na nahihiya ako.
"Malapit na ang monthly exam natin. Pwede ba tayo mag-review nang sama-sama?" sabi ni Andria.
"Pwede naman. Maganda na ang maaga. Kelan niyo gusto magsimula?" si Azi.
"It's best if we start tomorrow," si Hugo. I looked at his plate and saw that he's already finished eating. I was speechless as I watched him drink in just one gulp from his bottle. After drinking, he even clenched the empty plastic bottle with his hand to the point that his veins showed up. Tumayo siya at kinuha ang kaniyang tray. "See you later." Without further goodbye, he left us there. Parang nagmamadali.
But I didn't help but be amazed. He did all those things so smoothly. Walang kahirap-hirap.
"Babalik na siya sa room niyo?" tanong ko kay Azi. Nagkibit-balikat siya sa'kin.
Andria pouted. "Ang bilis niya. Sana all."
Pagbalik namin sa room ay nakita ko na pinag-uusapan pa rin ako ng mga girls. Ang bilis namang kumalat ng balita. Mas lalo lang akong nahiya kasi nasa room na din si Erika at tapos na mag-lunch. It turned out na absent pala si Diego for personal reasons.
Nakakahiya kasi kung iisipin ay hindi pa naman nagtatagal mula nang ni-reject ko ang kapatid niya at ngayon ay may new potential date na agad ako. Nahihirapan naman akong tumanggi kay Felix kasi gusto ko rin naman siyang bigyan ng chance. And I admit, he's cute and handsome. Gwapo din naman si Joaquin but Felix is like those guys in highschool k-dramas. Joaquin's handsomeness is much more different. Parehong gwapo pero magkaiba ng aura. I don't want to compare and contrast them between each other but that thought didn't help but come to my mind.
I sighed. Malaking kasalanan ba 'tong ginagawa ko? Is it a sin to date a new guy after rejecting someone just a few days ago? Is it a big mistake to date someone new too soon?
"Our exam is now less than a week," sabi ni Andria noong na-dismiss na ang classes namin. It was just announced that we'll take our exam earlier due to our upcoming intrams. Bale ang mangyayari ay mag-e-exam muna kami bago mag-enjoy. It's kind of alarming because we were already overwhelmed with a lot of things to do the moment the sudden change in our school schedule was announced. Our teachers just finished giving us a lot of tasks and the deadlines are exactly right before our exams!
"Bakit ang bilis?" Nakakaloka. Kung hindi nabago ang sched ay sana mas marami pa ang time namin. Our exam was supposed to be on the last week of the month but it's now earlier. Though hindi naman ganito lagi ay ramdam ko na na magiging fast paced na ang pagre-review namin.
Sa paglalakad namin sa hallway ay nakasalubong namin sina Hugo at Azi na papunta pa lang sana sa room namin.
"Nasabi na ba sa inyo?" si Dylan.
"Oo," si Andria. "Magbabago na din ba ang plano natin?"
"We have tasks to complete in all subjects. Kayo?" si Hugo.
"Ganun din kami," ako. "Tapos before exam pa mismo ang deadline."
"Gusto niyo na bang umuwi?"
"What do you mean?" tanong ko pa. Of course I wanna go home. Pagod na ang diwa ko at damay na rin ang physical do'n. Pero paano ba ako makakapahinga sa lagay na 'to kung tambak kami ng gagawin at saktong before exam pa ang deadline?
"Kung hindi pa kayo uuwi ay pwede naman namin kayong tulungan sa mga tasks niyo na kung saan kayo nahihirapan," si Azi.
Andria and I glanced at each other and by just doing that, we immediately knew what we should answer. "The only subject we struggled the most with is Math."
Our task in that subject will surely take me ages to finish alone. That thought made me realize that we need all the help we can get.
So napagdesisyunan namin na pumunta sa isang cafe at doon gumawa ng activity namin sa math nang may tulong nilang dalawa.
We were sitting in a long sofa with the long table in front of us. Magkatabi sina Andria at Azi habang magkatabi naman kami ni Hugo. Habang tinuturuan ako ni Hugo sa gagawin ay naramdaman ko ang pag-vibrate ng phone ko mula sa aking bulsa.
I took my phone out and opened it to see that I received a message.
From: 09*********
Hi, Francine! This is Felix. Is it okay if we go out before our exam?
Nagulat ako sa nabasa. Bakit before exam pa mismo? We have a lot of things to do right now.
It didn't take long before he added another message.
I'm aware it's not the perfect time but I think you'll understand why once you realize where I'll be taking you.
Nag-reply ako.
Why? Where will you take me?
Bigla akong napaisip. Saan kaya kami magde-date? Out of town ba?
"Franci."
I felt like I lost my breath for a second when I heard Hugo's voice.
"H-Huh?" Para akong natameme.
What did he just called me? Or nagkamali lang ako ng narinig.
"You're on your phone right now when you shouldn't be," he said strictly before raising an eyebrow. "Mag-focus ka."
I pouted. Alam ko naman 'yon. Pero hindi ko na napigilang mag-reply kay Felix dahil sa tinanong niya. The timing just feels so risky. Tambak ako ngayon ng gagawin at for sure ay tambak rin ang tasks niya. Malapit na rin ang exam so talagang mahirap. It really made me curious about what we'll do on our date.
Did Felix prepare something big?
"Gets mo na ba ang gagawin?" tanong pa ni Hugo.
"No, honestly. I'm sorry." I looked at him again. Wala siyang sinabi nang sabihin ko 'yon. He just looked back at me. "Did.. you just called me Franci?"
"Yeah, why? Ayaw mo ba no'n?" walang alinlangan niyang sinabi 'yon.
"It's okay. I-I was just clarifying if I heard it right."
He nodded at me and started teaching me again what to do. He took out his pen and wrote down the formulas I needed. Pati yung steps ay nilagay na rin niya. Pagkatapos niya akong turuan ay pinanood niya akong i-solve 'yong mga given problems na task namin sa math.
"Don't forget to write the conclusion."
I was about to go to the next item/problem when he said that. I almost forgot! Buti na lang pinaalala niya.
When I finished all the given items, I showed them to him so he can check them. "May mali ba akong nagawa?" tanong ko pa.
He scanned the whole paper before answering. "Wala. Tama naman lahat."
I smiled at him. "Thank you!" I glanced at Andria and Azi and realized they were unfinished. "You can order any food you want. Treat ko na," sabi ko kay Hugo nang tinignan ko ulit siya.
"No, it's fine."
"Please?" pagmamakaawa ko pa. "Just treat it as a token of appreciation for your help."
"I won't take that."
I pursed my lips. "What do you want, then?"
"I want you to pass your exam."
Natigilan ako nang marinig iyon. Hindi ko alam kung magagawa ko iyon.
Lagi akong bagsak sa math. Getting a line of 7 in that subject is no longer new to me. Noon pa man, lagi na akong bagsak.
"I'll help you with your review. And that's the only thing I want in return."
Medyo kinabahan ako. More like na-pressure.
He said that he'll help me out, right? So medyo malaking bawas na 'yon sa kabang nafe-feel ko. Kung handa naman siyang tulungan ako, sa tingin ko naman medyo iba na ang magiging resulta ng exam ko. Baka mas iba na kesa sa dati. Ang galing kaya niya magturo.
Pero...
"What if mag-fail pa rin ako?" Hindi ko naiwasang tanungin 'yon dahil sa kaba.
He gave me a small smile. "You won't. Because I'll be the one teaching you."
- Writer
