My GirlFriend Is A Hacker

FRANKS’ POV Kung may isang bagay na hindi ko kayang tanggihan, ‘yun ‘yung kape. Kaya kahit late na ko sa first class, dumaan pa rin ako sa café sa tapat ng university. “Franks, bro, bilis!” sigaw ni Matt sa labas. “Prof natin terror ‘yon!” “Wait lang, naglo-load pa order ko!” sagot ko, habang tinatype sa kiosk. Pero bago pa lumabas yung resibo, biglang nag-glitch yung screen. Tumigil sa “Processing…” tapos nag-blackout for two seconds. Weird. Pagbalik ng display, may lumabas na text: > ERROR: System hacked. Please try again. 💀 “Ha?” napabulong ako. The cashier blinked. “Sir, sorry po ah, parang naghang yung kiosk—” Pero bago pa niya masabi ang iba, gumana ulit. The screen flashed: > Hello, Mr. Latecomer. Watch your back. 😉 I froze. “What the heck was that?” Matt looked over my shoulder. “Bro, nag-order ka ba ng ghost with your coffee?” Napailing ako. “Ha-ha. Funny.” Pero kinabahan ako. Sino ‘yon? Joke lang ba ‘to or… hacker talaga? --- Pagdating sa campus, parang normal lang lahat. Until napansin ko ang isang babae — nakaupo sa pinakadulo ng hallway, naka-black hoodie kahit tanghaling tapat, nakaputing earphones, and eyes glued to her laptop. Tahimik. Parang ayaw maistorbo ng mundo. “Bro,” sabi ni Matt habang tinitingnan namin. “Siya ‘yung transfer student, ‘di ba? Sabi nila genius ‘yan sa computer science, pero cold daw. Walang kinakausap.” Tumingin ako sa kanya saglit. “Cold?” “Yup. Like frozen hard drive cold.” Ngumisi ako. “Challenge accepted.” Matt groaned. “Here we go again.” --- Lunch break. Pinili kong umupo sa harap niya sa cafeteria — kunwari casual lang. Nakatingin pa rin siya sa laptop niya, may coding lines sa screen na parang alien symbols sa akin. “Uh, hi.” No response. “Ano ‘yan? Programming project?” Still no response. Sinubukan kong silipin yung screen — pero bigla siyang nagsalita, malamig na malamig ang boses: “Curiosity kills, Mr. Manuel.” Nanigas ako. Wait—paano niya alam pangalan ko? “Uh… I—how did you—?” Tinap niya lang yung keyboard niya nang mabilis, tapos lumabas sa phone ko ang notification: > ‘Battery 12%. Maybe charge it before it dies — like your social skills.’ Napanganga ako. “Wait—did you just—hack my phone!?” Tumingin siya sandali, one eyebrow raised. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re just… easy to read.” At bumalik siya sa laptop niya, parang walang nangyari. --- “Bro, what happened?” tanong ni Matt habang nilapitan ako. “Dude,” sabi ko, halos bulong. “She’s the kiosk hacker.” “Ha? Anong hacker?” “Yung nag-pop up kanina sa café! Same vibe, same words—parehong may insulto.” Matt smirked. “So anong plano mo ngayon? Ireport sa IT department?” “Hindi,” sagot ko, sabay ngisi. “I’ll find out who she really is.” --- That night, pag-uwi ko sa dorm, binuksan ko agad laptop ko. Gumawa ako ng trace program — para ma-track kung saan galing ‘yung code sa café kanina. Pero habang nagta-type ako, biglang nag-flicker ulit yung screen. No way. Lumabas ulit yung same font, same black background: > Stop following my trail, Franks. You’ll just get burned. 🔥 Napahinto ako. My heart skipped. “She’s watching me.” Tumingin ako sa paligid ng kwarto ko, parang may CCTV sa loob. “Okay, this is officially creepy—and kinda hot at the same time.” May sumunod pa sa message: > You’re persistent. I like that. Then, nawala ulit. --- Kinabukasan sa class, nakita ko siya ulit. Same black hoodie, same poker face. Pero this time, nung tumingin siya saglit sa akin—just one second— parang lahat ng tunog sa paligid tumahimik. She looked away right after. Pero that one-second stare? Boom. System error. Heart.exe has stopped working. Matt tapped my shoulder. “Bro, wag mo na ituloy ‘yan. Dangerous ‘yan.” “Yeah,” sabi ko, half-smiling. “But maybe that’s the fun part.” “She’s watching me.” Tumingin ako sa paligid ng kwarto ko, parang may CCTV sa loob. “Okay, this is officially creepy—and kinda hot at the same time.” May sumunod pa sa message: > You’re persistent. I like that. Then, nawala ulit. --- Kinabukasan sa class, nakita ko siya ulit. Same black hoodie, same poker face. Pero this time, nung tumingin siya saglit sa akin—just one second— parang lahat ng tunog sa paligid tumahimik. She looked away right after. Pero that one-second stare? Boom. System error. Heart.exe has stopped working. Matt tapped my shoulder. “Bro, wag mo na ituloy ‘yan. Dangerous ‘yan.” “Yeah,” sabi ko, half-smiling. “But maybe that’s the fun part.” To be Continued....