Wind and Sail

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Dayn’s PoV

Binuksan ko na ang makina ng motor ko. Iiwan ko na lang ang motor sa school parking lot habang mamimili kami. Hindi nasabi sa akin ni Sxan kung anong sasakyan ang dala niya. I am really hoping that he’s going to bring his pick-up. Sinunod ko ang plano ko na mag-park sa school.

“Oh, wala ka naman atang pasok, hija,” bati ng guwardiya.

Bumaba ako sa motor ko, hinubad ang helmet at ipinatong iyon sa upuan. Nilingon ko si Manong guard at nginitian. “Opo.” Kinuha ko ang net para i-secure ang helmet. “Paano niyo naman po nalaman?” tanong ko habang inaayos ang buhok ko.

“Ay nako, ilang taon na ako rito, halos kabisado ko na ang mga pasok ng estudyante. Hindi ba’t second year ka?” He checks on me.

He is not creepy, guys. He is actually very nice to me, I always say good morning to him whenever I see him, maybe that’s why he recognized me.

I lean back softly and chuckled. “Opo.”

“Oh, siya, ako’y aalis na, mag-iingat ka ha. Ako’y napadaan lang at nakita kita, salamat nga pala sa kape na binigay mo noong nakaraan, noong Martes ata iyon,” sabi niya. Nginitian niya ako kaya napangiti ulit ako sa kaniya. Nakalimutan ko na nga na binigyan ko pala siya ng kape noon, e. Hindi talaga nakakalimutan ng taong may mabubuting loob ang kabutihan na ginawa mo sa kanila.

Oldies are sweet, I wonder if he has a daughter. Pinagmasdan ko siya, he walked slowly, his winkled hands are placed at the back of his hips. His uniform is kinda old and rag-ish, it is still wearable though. I can see that his shoes are a little bit old, but you won’t notice that unless you take time to look at it, that’s because everytime I see him, his shoes are always well-polished.  

Kinuha ko ang phone ko sa sling bag na dala ko. I typed in a message for Sxan.

To: Sxan

I’m here na. Hindi ako naka-kotse, ha. I remind him.

Few minutes had passed, no reply. Siguro nasa biyahe na siya papunta. Muntik ko pang mabitawan ang cellphone ko nang tumunog ito. Sxan’s name is displayed on screen, he is calling me.

I slide the green gradient to pick his call up. “Uhm, hello?” I spoke.

“What the heck.” I was startled when I heard that. I can’t sense if he is mad or laughing on the other side of the phone. His voice is neutral that’s why it was hard for me to read. If he’s mad, then what for? “Oh, I am sorry,” he says. “I thought you were the one who’s going to bring a ride, that’s why motor ang ginamit ko ngayon. Mabuti na lang at hindi pa ako nakalalayo noong nag-text ka, Dayn.”

Miscommunication leads to this. “Ay ano ba?” I laughed. “Sorry, akala ko naman ikaw ang magdadala kaya nagmotor din ako. Nasaan ka na ngayon? Gusto mo ako na bumalik para kumuha ng sasakyan? Ayos lang naman sa akin.” No, hindi ayos sa akin, duh.

I hear his laughter on the other line. “Hindi na ako na, nakakahiya naman sa’yo, after all, nag-send ka sa akin ng text kagabi about sa details ‘diba?” he said sarcastically.

I scoff of disbelief. I forgot that he could hear it, he continues to laugh I clearly do not know what to say. He’s mocking me! Nagiging komportable na ata siya sa akin, aba.

“Hoy, Sxan, tigilan mo nga ako. Sorry na nga ‘diba. Ako na sige ang babalik sa bahay.” I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, I know you are rolling our eyes, stop it ha,” maarteng sabi niya. “Che.” I am baffled. My mouth went halfway open, he said ‘che’. ‘Che’. Nagpaulit-ulit sa utak ko ang pagkakasabi niya ng ‘che’. I purse my lips, trying to hinder my smile. “Ako na, andiyan ka na ata sa school.” Binabaan na niya ako ng tawag.

Para akong nasisiraan dito dahil sa kakangiti. I look up, side to side, then bow my head and simper. I brush it aside and just scroll through my newsfeed. I put on my earphone and play Sleeping with Sirens on shuffle. I slightly bang my head in rhythm with music. Blood almost went to my head when someone removed the left earphone out of my ear. I looked to see who it was.

Sxan slides in front of me. I rolled my eyes at him, he turned his head slightly and grins, while wiggling his eyebrows. He says, “Hello, Miss Marsilion.” He winked.

I scoff and chuckled. “Oh, shut your face.” I turned around to see what car he brought. “Oh, a pick-up. Good, let’s go.” It is a black Ford Ranger.

I walk to the car with hands in my pocket. He ran to the passenger side of the door and opened it. I stopped walking and just look at him. He’s holding the door, Sxan opened the door, y’all, he opened the door, for me? I am shocked. Why the f**k is he so nice?  

“Dayn!” he yells, sineniyasan niya ako na pumasok na. Naglakad-takbo na ako papunta sa kaniya.

I glanced at him before getting in.

“Saan ba tayo?” he asks, still by my door.

“Uh, sa dry market muna tayo, then department store,” I answer.

He nods then proceeds to close the door. I watched him walk to the driver’s seat.

“Have you eaten lunch before coming here?” He fixes his seatbelt, he pointed to mine. I put on my seatbelt and put my bag away.

I shake my head no. “No, how about you?”

He starts the engine then put his hand on the steering wheel, the other on the car gear. He looks at me and shakes his head. “Nah, let’s eat lunch first.”

He talks calm and steady, his voice is deep and when he laughs, his eyes squint a little, and his teeth shows. That’s my observation of him since we have been spending time together because of schoolwork.

“Parinig naman ng pinatutugtog mo, connect mo sa stereo,” he spoke.

I nod, I removed the earphone, turned on the Bluetooth. “What’s your car’s Bluetooth name?”

I see a lot of paired car Bluetooth on my phone. I refresh it occasionally to see if there will be a new one.

“Hindi pa kasi bukas, ikaw talaga, oh.” We stopped in red lights. He extended his arm and turned it on. “Iyan na, boss,” natatawang biro niya.

Inirapan ko siya. “Ano ngang pangalan kasi?” masungit kong tanong.

“Love Celestine.” Napatingin ako sa kaniya. I’m Celestine, it’s my second name. Hindi ko na lang iyon pinansin at ni-refresh ang phone ko. Siguro girlfriend niya iyon, or baka someone special.  

 “Naks naman. Bakit naman pambabae?” tanong ko.

“Secret,” sagot niya, napansin kong tinatago niya ang ngiti. Pabiro kong sinundot-sundot ang tagiliran niya.

Ang lakas ng kiliti niya, ang lakas ng tawa niya habang inaasar ko siya. “Yie, sino ‘yan? Sino ‘yan ha?”

“Tama na, tama na---” putol-putol ang paghinga niya dahil sa katatawa. Tinigil ko na ang pagsundot sa tagiliran niya. “Tangina naman,” mura niya habang tumatawa. Napatingin ako sa likod namin dahil may bumusina.

“Green ha, hoy gagi ‘to.” I slightly slapped his shoulder.

He changed gears and pressed the accelerator. We stopped again because there’s traffic. “Aray ko, grabe ka naman.” Inilagay niya ang kamay niya sa brasong sinampal ko at hinimas-himas iyon. Napataas ang kilay ko sa reaksyon niya.

“Hoy, napakaarte mo. Late reaction ka pati, kanina pa iyon, e,” I said. One Direction is playing on speakers.

He laughs. “Kahit na!”

Laughs faded and I am just slightly banging my head while listening to What Makes You Beautiful.

I am containing myself not to go crazy while listening. I really want to let it out and sing from the top of my lungs. It’s one of my favorite songs when I was younger. Luke and I always dance and sing to this song. I don’t know if I can still hold it kapag pangalawang chorus na.

Shit, s**t, s**t. The second chorus is coming up…

I gave up. Nagulat ako noong si Sxan ay kumanta rin sa second chorus at sumabay sa akin. I went crazy, shyness left my body. I am me.

“The way you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,” he sings while looking at me. His body is also moving with the song. I bit my lip and flipped my hair and feel the song creeping inside of my body. It’s like an ecstasy.

He turned the volume max. We both dance to it. He’s keeping his eyes now on the road but glances at me occasionally. “Right now, I’m looking at you and I can’t believe, you don’t know. Oh-h, you don’t know you’re beautiful.” He looked at my eyes directly while he sings it. It added a splash of rush of adrenaline I am feeling right now.

I can’t believe we are singing together. His voice is beautiful, he rocked Louis Tomlinson and Harry Style’s part.

“Are you a directioner too?” I shout, dancing to the song while sitting. He nods and keep on singing.

We both laugh when the song came to an end. “You like them too?” he asks, smiling from ear to ear.

His eyes are on the road. “Yeah, I went to their concerts abroad and went to their fan meetings and all,” I stated.

“Really? That’s so cool. I used to go to their concerts,” he turns to a Lomi house. I haven’t been here before. I didn’t know that there’s an eatery here. “Do you eat Lomi?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course, Dad loves to make one for me, hindi ko naman alam na mayroon palang kainan niyan dito.” I answered. I get ready while he parks the car.

Pagkababa niya ay naglakad-takbo siya papunta sa akin pero hindi ko na siya hinintay pa na pagbuksan ako ng pinto. Bumaba na ako at inayos ang jacket na suot ko.

Alfresco ang kainan at kakaunti lang ang kumakain. Maganda ang puwesto nila at napapaligiran ng mga puno at halaman kaya mahangin at hindi mainit.

He walks beside me. May lumingon sa amin na babae, siguro nasa forty’s na ito. Nakangiti ito, nagpunas ng kamay sa apron na suot niya at nakangiting lumapit sa amin. Kay Sxan muna siya tumingin bago sa akin.

“May kasama ka na ngayon ha,” sabi nito kay Sxan. Tumingin ulit siya sa akin, nginitian ko na lang siya at tinanguan. “Oh, siya, maupo na kayo at ihahanda ko na kayo ng makakain.”

Umalis na sa amin ang babae at naglakad pabalik sa puwesto niya kanina. “Oh, nanay, nandito na ang suki mo, oh!” sigaw nito. May lumabas na matandang babae sa pinto, may hawak itong sandok at nakangiti kay Sxan. Kumaway si Sxan, tumayo siya at lumapit sa matanda at nagmano roon.

Kinakausap ng matanda ni Sxan habang naglalakad pabalik sa akin. Katabi niya ang matanda, palakas nang palakas ang boses nila habang papalapit sa akin.

“Nay, si Dayn po. Kaibigan ko po,” pakilala niya sa akin. Ang tingin ko ay nalipat kay Sxan.

“Naku, kay gandang dalaga, hane? Baka naman ka-ibigan, hijo,” biro ng matanda. Natawa ako ng kaunti at umayos sa pagkakaupo.

Tumawa lang si Sxan sa sinabi niya. “Opo.”

Napataas ang kilay ko sa sinagot niya. Nakakalito at nakakagulat ang mga salitang sinasabi nito ni Sxan.

“Nanay, huwag mo na nga silang asarin,” sabi ng babae kanina, naglalakad ito papunta sa amin, may dala-dalang tray na may lamang dalawang mangkok ng lomi at may dalawang baso.

Lumapit si Sxan para kunin ang tray na hawak. Ibinaba niya iyon sa mesa, kinuha ko ang dalawang baso samantalang inilagay naman ni Sxan ang isang mangkok sa harap ko at ang isa’y sa harap niya. Ibinaba niya sa tissue na nasa tabi ng mangkok ko ang kutsara at tinidor. Pinanonood ko lang siya na gawin iyon habang nakikipaghuntahan sa dalawang babae.

“Oh, siya, kayo’y akin nang iiwan ha,” paalam ng matanda. Iginaya ng babae---siguro ay anak niya iyon---pabalik sa loob.

“Pasensya ka na sa kanila ha,” sabi ni Sxan pagkaupo niya.

I waived his apology off. “Hindi, ayos lang, ano ka ba.”

Hindi lang talaga ako siguro sanay na nakikipag-usap.

Susubo na sana ako pero pinigilan niya ang kamay ko. “Mainit,” paalala niya.

Tiningnan ko ang kutsara na sana’y isusubo ko at nakita na umuusok pa iyon. Natawa ako nang marahan. What the heck? He observes well despite being occupied with something. That’s so… pleasing.