Her Last Wish

Chapter Three

Chapter 03

Unlike Aia, Jane focuses well on her studies. Nakauwi na si Aia pero nasa school library pa rin si Jane.

“Yes, Mommy. I’m on my way home.” Kung hindi pa siya tinawagan ng kanyang ina ay hindi mamalayan ni Jane na mag-a alas-otso na pala. She got too busy making the final revision of her research manuscript. She would have camped in the school’s library if it weren’t for the call.

Jane then started to pack her things and place them inside her bag. Saglit niyang inikot ang tingin sa kabuuan ng library para i-check kung may ibang estudyante pa ba. Luckily, she wasn’t the last one. Jane spotted her classmates, Benj and Sarah, sitting at the table a few meters from her. She’s guessing that they were also fixing their manuscripts.

“H’wag ka munang lalabas sa school gate n’yo. You wait for Manong Cris to arrive.” bilin ng ina ni Jane bago ibinaba ang tawag.

By the time Jane stepped out of the library, the sky was already dark. The janitors have already turned classroom lights off since students had already gone home. The only light source in the area was the lamppost near the covered walks and the decorative series lights wrapped around the tree trunks. Those lights were put up in preparation for the week-long celebration of the university’s founding anniversary.

In her twelve years of stay in this university, ang foundation week sa pinakamasaya at enjoyable events. Maraming booths and it is the only time when the school gates are open to all the visitors. Plus! According to the program, the Jam ‘til Dawn band will be performing live at the auditorium. 

Jam ‘til Dawn is Beaumont University’s exclusive boy band. A band made of four equally talented and good-looking members who mostly came from rich and prominent families. They are very talented to the point that their songs could easily enchant one’s heart. Every piece was soulful and meaningful.

“Ay unggoy!” Muntik nang kumaripas ng takbo si Jane nang bigla siyang gulatin ng binatang si Jameson.

“Aray! Masakit!” daing ng binata habang inihahampas ni Jane ang hawak nitong file case sa braso nito.

Pinakaaayaw ng dalaga na ginugulat siya lalo na sa madilim na lugar. As a kid, Jane loved having horror movie marathons pero napakalaki nitong duwag. There was one time when she tried to go inside a horror house only to end up running back to the start kahit na wala pang five minutes na nakalipas.

“Ya! Bakit ka ba nanggugulat?” Jane hissed and glared at him. “You know how much I hate that!”

“I hate you na!” inis nitong saad.

“Sorry naman na . . . I thought you saw me,” pangangatwiran ni Jameson habang halatang nagpipigil ng tawa. 

“I was not aware that you were already spacing out.” He pouted.

Jane then rolled her eyes at him, and then he chuckled.

“Ewan ko sa ’yo! ’Di na tayo bati!” Pagtatampo ng dalaga. 

Akmang hahakbang na sana ito palayo nang agad siyang niyakap ng binata. He hugged her from behind and caged her in his arms.

“Bitiwan mo ’ko, Jameson!” Pagpupumiglas ng dalaga. 

“I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Jameson spoke as he leaned his chin on Jane’s shoulder.

“Bitiwan mo ’ko!” Jane resisted again, but Jameson continued to hold onto her. 

“I won’t do that . . . not unless you promise me that you won’t walk away from me without us being on good terms,” he stubbornly replied.

Jane secretly bit her lower lip to suppress the smile that was forming on her lips. Minsan kahit ano’ng inis at pagtatampo niya sa lalaking ito ay hindi niya pa rin mapigilang maging marupok. 

Sino ba naman kasi ang makakatiis kapag sinuyo ka ng isang Jameson Cruz?

Jameson Cruz — Jane’s long-time crush and boyfriend. They first met each other in fourth grade. He was a transferee, and she was the class president. The teacher asked Jane to take care of him. At dahil masunurin si Jane, sinunod niya ang sabi ng teacher nila. Tinotoo niya ang pag-care sa binata. 

It all started as a simple crush, and eventually, she realized that she was slowly falling in love with him. 

Well, you can’t blame her for that, lalo pa’t Jameson was more than just talent and looks. Mabait din ito at palakaibigan. Sometimes he does get a little too friendly with girls, at dahil siguro likas na sa tao ang mag-assume, marami-rami din ang napaiyak niya.  But unlike other men, he did not tell those girls to wait. He was pretty frank about his feelings for them. He would instantly give them a reply after they finished making their confession. 

And within that period, Jane learned that being close to your crush had no advantage, especially when she unintentionally witnessed how he rejected each of those girls.

In fact, she was a little traumatized by those events. Kaya natagalan din bago siya nakapag-confess. Jane had to muster up courage and prepare herself for the possible rejection. Kahit kasi close sila ay hindi niya alam kung ano ang gusto nito sa isang babae. And at some point, she did have ‘what if’s’. Kagaya ng ‘What if prince charming din pala ang hanap niya?’

“Bakit ba kahit ano’ng inis ko sa ’yo hindi pa rin kita matiis?” Jane pouted.

She then turned to face him only to see a smug and proud smile plastered on his lips. “Ganyan talaga basta mahal mo ang isang tao – hindi mo siya kayang tiisin,” Jameson replied before planting a kiss on her forehead.

“’Di ka naman masyadong confident ’no?” Jane asked and he chuckled. 

“Of course, I’m confident that you love me. ’Di nga ba you even sing on the stage for me?” He reminisced.

And with that, Jane’s cheeks immediately turned red as she was reminded of what happened three years ago. Napatingala siya habang binabalikan ang lahat.

Three years ago…

“Gosh! Gagawin ko ba talaga ’to?”

“Sure na ba?”

“Wala ng atrasan?” sunod-sunod na tanong ni Jane sa kanyang isipan.

Hindi halos siya halos mapakali. She couldn’t bring herself to calm down, not when she was aware of what will be happening a few minutes from now.

“You’re lucky that I’m not the type of friend who loves documenting things,” Aia spoke as she made herself comfortable on the bean bag chair. “Or should I snap a picture of you so I can use it to remind you of this day?” She mischievously grinned.

Agad naman siyang sinamaan ng tingin ni Jane. “Ya! Kita mo nang kinakabahan ako rito, eh!” 

Bahagya namang napatawa si Aia at nagtaas ng kilay. “Why does it sound like you’re blaming me?” 

“Let me remind you that before you signed up for this, I made sure to tell you about the pros and cons,” pagpapaalala niya.

Nabuntonghininga na lamang si Jane. “Can I still withdraw?” kinakabahang tanong ni Jane.

Aia lazily shook her head and replied, “Nope, because you’re up in five minutes.” 

“Goodluck! I wish you success, and if you ever get rejected, my offer about camping at an Ice cream parlor is still open,” she casually said.

Jane couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded after listening to her best friend’s ‘encouraging’ words of wisdom. She sighed. 

"Minsan hindi ako sigurado kung supportado ba ako nitong best friend ko,” bulong ng dalaga sa kanyang isipan.

Today is the day that Jane will be confessing her feelings for Jameson, and she’s doing it in public. 

At first, she thought of just writing everything inside a love letter. But every time she tries to write down her thoughts, her mind immediately goes blank.

A few minutes later, the event organizer informed them that it was almost time for Jane to perform. 

“Oh gosh! Oh Gosh! I just want to run away!”  Jane’s subconscious screamed.

Aia then looked at her best friend and sighed. It was evident that Jane was nervous. “You don’t have to be so nervous, though …” she spoke.

Then Jane slowly looked in her direction. 

Aia sighed again. “You’re my best friend and so far, the greatest person that I have met,” she said. “And I’m sure that Jameson knows that too. So, if he ever rejects you, it’s his loss, not yours,” she added.

“Waah! You really are my best friend!” naiiyak na wika ni Jane habang nakayakap sa kaibigan.

Ilang sandali pa ay lumabas na si Jane sa backstage. Habang naglalakad siya paakyat ng stage ay hindi niya mapigilan ang malakas na pag-tambol ng kanyang puso at panlalamig ng kanyang mga kamay.

Nang makarating sa stage ay pinakalma muna niya ang kanyang sarili.

“Uhm . . .  Hi!” nahihiya niyang bati sa madla. “Most of you may know me, but for those who don’t, allow me to introduce myself to you.” As Jane started her introduction, her eyes were searching for someone in the crowd - Jameson. 

A few moments later, she spotted him. He was standing beside his teammates, holding a cup of blue lemonade with one hand with his other hand resting inside the pocket of his trousers. It did make him seem cool. 

Also, he looked dashing in his outfit – nakasuot siya ng isang black turtleneck na pinaibabawan ng isang gray-colored coat na pinarisan ng gray-coloured din na trousers. Jane couldn’t help but blush the moment her eyes met with his.

“I am going to sing the song ‘A friend of mine’ by Odette Quesada. And I am dedicating this performance to a friend of mine that I have grown feelings for.” Jane gazed straight into his eyes with hopes that he understood that she was talking to him.

Halos mabingi si Jane sa malakas na tunog ng pagtambol ng kanyang puso nang nakita niya ang unti-unting pagguhit ng ngiti sa labi ng binata kasabay ng dahan-dahan nitong pagtango.

For Jane, everything felt like it was going into a slow-motion as she read how his lips mouthed the words: 

‘I like you too, Jane.’