Leading Risk

CHAPTER 4

After cooling down at Uncle John's, they decided to buy some shakes near Rins' place.

After buying, they strolled around for a while.

"What the heck?"

She glanced at the three of them, all clutching their heads.

"Brain freeze?" she asked while sipping her avocado shake—although she regretted it a little because it didn't taste like avocado at all. Sixty pesos down the drain. Great.

"Yeah. You didn’t get one?" Rins asked, making her pause to check if her head would start hurting too. After a moment, she answered.

"Nope," she shook her head, continuing to sip her shake. The three of them stared at her, so she tilted her head curiously at them.

"Proven and tested: Leyie has no brain," Rins teased.

Leyie choked on her drink and glared at them, flipping them off, but they just burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes, unbothered.

"Maybe my teeth just got sensitive, you idiots." She muttered while staring ahead, their feet leading them down Pigeon Alley Street.

"Just orientations this week, right?" Line asked while sipping her buko shake.

Leyie nodded. "Yeah, the start of every semester is like that. Nothing new."

Mayue added, glancing at her friends as a random thought crossed her mind.

"I wonder what the universe has in store for us," Leyie said out loud, staring up at the sky. It was already dark, and she shivered as the cool breeze brushed against her bare legs.

The three of them sighed in sync, making her glance at them and smile when she saw them all looking up at the night sky. But then she pouted when she realized they’d all be busy this semester. Ugh, how sad.

"My feet hurt. Let’s sit there," Line pointed to the barangay hall.

They all agreed, settling at one of the marble tables and setting down their food. Leyie sighed deeply, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion.

"My feet are killing me. Why did we walk around this whole area again?" Rins complained.

Leyie smirked and popped open the bag of potato chips Line had bought earlier at Uncle John's.

"Don’t put this on me. I know your house is walking distance from here," Mayue quipped, giving Rins a knowing look.

Of course, Rins wouldn’t back down. She smiled at Mayue, but it was one of those annoying smiles. Leyie just raised an eyebrow at the two of them, amused as they started bickering about who lived closer.

She silently watched them while cleaning her slippers, which were now all muddy from the walk. Her mouth and hands might be tired, but apparently, so were her feet. The two of them were still going at it, though.

"Oh please. You're close too. Don't come for me," Rins fired back, but before Mayue could respond, Leyie shoved Mayue’s mango shake into her mouth.

Mayue glared at her, but Leyie just grinned and flashed a peace sign.

"Stop it, you two. I swear, if you don’t quit, I’ll have both of you admitted to the barangay hall," Line warned, looking exasperated. The two idiots just glared at each other.

Leyie rolled her eyes. "Line and I are just over here, watching you guys act ridiculous. Hello, we live in another barangay and had to ride a tricycle just to get here."

The other two ignored her and kept bickering. Wow, so much for being noticed.

"I want water, you airheads. This shake is way too sweet," Leyie complained, suddenly feeling parched. She took the last sip of her supposed avocado shake, but really, she was convinced they put chocolate in it instead. What a scam, these shake vendors. You’re getting 3 stars from me, ladies. I’ll find your f*******: page for sure.

"I think they have free water here at the barangay hall. Ask the tanod if you can still get some," Rins said.

Leyie glanced around, spotting the water dispenser near the public restroom. "Girl, I’m not asking. You ask since you live around here."

"Why would I ask when you're the one who’s thirsty?" Rins shot back sarcastically.

Leyie looked at the surroundings again. They were the only ones there, along with a couple of barangay tanods. She snickered. "Wow, we’re really turning this place into our hangout spot."

They all laughed, and Leyie watched one of the tanods who was busy talking to a family, probably settling some kind of problem.

When her thirst got the best of her, she stood up and ran to the water dispenser, nearly tripping in the process. Instead of helping, the three idiots laughed at her.

After filling her cup, she rushed back to their table, drinking as she went. As she passed the tanod, she smiled sweetly at him, thanking him. He just nodded in response. Okay, snobby tanod, I’ll report you to Kagawad for sure.

"In fairness, the water’s cold and free!" she happily announced, sipping her water.

"Seriously, Leyie? You’re drinking from your shake cup? I bet it doesn’t even taste like water anymore," Line said, eyeing the greenish tint in Leyie’s water.

"Don’t worry, Line. Water always tastes like water," she joked, then glanced at Mayue when she started taking pictures.

"Include me, Mayue! Tag me in your MyDay, okay?" Leyie chimed in.

Mayue nodded, but instead of just the two of them, the other two idiots jumped in too. After taking a couple of shots, they all started choosing which ones to post.

"Wow, Rins. You posted on MyDay so fast!" Line said, scrolling through her feed.

Leyie, meanwhile, opened her phone to check if her mom had texted her to come home since it was getting late. Seeing nothing, she switched over to i********:. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw a recent post from someone.

It was Kai.

She hesitated but ended up opening his update. He’d posted a photo with his architecture classmates. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes drifting to the girl standing beside him.

"Isn’t that the girl we saw with Kai at McDo?" Line asked curiously.

Leyie had forgotten her friends were still with her. She put her phone down as the three of them started glancing at Kai’s post. Suddenly, she felt deflated but wasn’t sure why.

She shifted her focus to the Christmas lights hanging from the barangay hall's roof. In fairness, the ambiance is cute. But it's only August, so why the Christmas lights already? She shrugged, distracted by her own thoughts.

Then she spotted a tuxedo cat and giggled, remembering her own cat at home. She got up to pet it, but the cat ran away, leaving her disappointed. I thought you'd comfort me, rude cat.

Before sitting back down, she dusted off her shorts.

"Leyie, look at the caption," Mayue said, holding out her phone.

Leyie just sighed and nodded, not even looking. She took a deep breath, feeling the cool breeze again. She glanced at her cup and realized the water wasn’t cold anymore.

"Yeah, I know," she muttered, not wanting to engage. But when she felt her friends’ concerned gazes, she bent her head down on the table, staring at her phone.

"With future architects... and HER."

She rolled her eyes at the caption. Sure, whatever. Like I care. She stood up and gave her friends a reassuring smile.

"I just realized, you guys, maybe I’m destined for engineering after all," she joked, but they only stared at her.

She smiled again to show she was fine.

When the truth was, she wasn’t.