LET LOVE FIND YOU

Chapter 3: First Impression

"Politeness is organized indifference.” (-Paul Valéry)

*****

AIKA



For years that I have been here in SouthFord University, wala akong pakialam sa mga nangyayari sa paligid ko. I wasn't aware of things that don't perk my interest and I don’t even give importance to the people around me.

Well, except na lang kung involve yung mga friends ko or something related sa academics at mga classmates ko. Other than that, my friends and I really don't care.

Some people think that we are snobs. We are not friendly, yes. Snobs... hmmm.. pwede rin.

Kasi, we don't socialize with others. Kaming apat lang ay sapat na.

It's not that we feel superior over those from lower social classes, education levels, or other social areas. It's just that... basta, hindi lang talaga kami pala- kaibigan.

Our squad have been called names din ng ibang grupo ng mga babae sa campus.

Spoiled brats.

Whipper-snappers.

Socialites.

Flirts.

Bitches.

Name it, madami pa yan. Alam namin how other girls talk behind our backs but do we care?

Nah! Wala kaming pakialam sa kanila at sa kung ano man ang iisipin nila.

Not one of us has a boyfriend yet, but we also never run out of suitors.

Ok, landi-landi lang but not one of us has been in a serious relationship.

Yan din ang isa sa mga reasons bakit maraming babaeng estudyante sa campus namin ang hindi kami gusto.

Yung iba kasi, iniiwan ng mga boyfriends nila to pursue us, or yung iba, nagseselos kasi nilalandi kami ng mga boyfriends nila.

But then again, do we care?

Wala pa rin kaming pakialam.

We all have strong personalities, rason kung bakit rin kilala kaming apat sa school. But among us four, ako talaga ang may pinaka malakas na personalidad, maybe because may lahi akong hapon and Japanese really have strong personalities. I was told na maraming guys, and girls na rin ang intimidated sa akin. Suplada daw ako at prangka. Totoo naman yun sa pagka straightforward ko, pero suplada, hindi naman? Hindi lang talaga ako pala kaibigan.

Next si Sophie na mahilig mang asar ng mga babaeng naiinis sa amin. The more na pinapakita ng iba ang inis nila, mas nag e-enjoy si Sophie na asarin sila. Pero si Sophie rin ang pinaka friendly sa aming lahat.

Then si Miel, siya yung pinaka outgoing at pinaka adventurous sa aming apat. In fact, may pagka rough si Miel, because sya yung palaban at mapagpatol. Mas straightforward pa nga sya sa akin. Sya yung tipong maarte pero magaspang... alam nyo yun?

Last, yung bestfriend kong si Rina. Sya yung pinaka sweet, pinaka maalahanin maybe because she has Ilongga blood in her at alam naman natin kung gaano kalambing ang mga Ilongga. Pero sa aming apat, sya rin ang pinakamaarte. Sya yung tipong alam mo na talaga na galing sya sa mayamang angkan.

Actually, my cousin Carmela would also hang out with us kasi magkaka-edad lang kami but then, she goes to a different University.

Tito Ted was entertaining us with his Iceland trip when there was a knock on his office door.

"Sir, andito na po sina President Torres at si Sir Dwayne." sabi ng isang student assistant.

"Oh good, let them in."

While we were waiting for them to come in, I fished out my phone from my tote bag and checked on my IG accounts.

It was only when Rina lightly nudged me when I notice na may dalawang lalaki na pala ang pumasok sa office.

I can almost recognize one of them, parang isa sya yata na nakabantay sa main entrance kanina. maybe, he is the president.

Yung isa naman, I have no idea kung sino, baka isa rin sa mga officers pero di naman nakasuot ng t-shirt nila. But he has this certain "air "in him na di ko ma pin point kung ano.

My first impression? Mukha syang hambog at mayabang.

Ok, I admit passable naman sila sa pagiging gwapo, though yung inisip kong mahangin ay mas gwapo keysa isa.

Well, it’s pretty obvious na may karapatan syang magyabang at kumulekta ng hangin kasi gwapo siya.

He has this certain malakas na dating na parang his presence is shouting "look at me!"

And shucks, that smell! Parang biglang bumango ang loob ng office ni Tito Ted. I recognized that the seductive and mysterious scent of Tom Ford Noir Extreme enveloped the entire room.

Di ko alam kong siya ba yung mabango o yung kasama nya pero I have fetish sa mga lalaking mababango.

Seriously Aika??? Naka ilang seconds ka nang tumitingin sa kanya ha!

"Oh, andito na kayo." I suddenly snapped back to my senses when I heard Tito Ted's voice.

Rina giggled and I know, pareho kami ng iniisip.

"Good morning, Sir Ted. Pinatawag mo raw ako."

Hmmm pangit ng voice niya but it sounds so warm and inviting.

"Oh yes. But first, I want to introduce you muna sa mga magagandang bisita ko. This is my niece, Rina Rodriguez. Her mom is my older sister. And, this pretty one here is Aika Hirano. " Tito said, referring to us. "And these gentlemen here are Dwayne Martinez, representative of the Business and Finance Dept. And Enzo Torres, the president of the Student Council."

Oh, so sya pala ang president. Bat parang ngayon ko lang sya nakita?

We shook hands, and I saw Rina's eyes twinkle when she took Dwayne's hand.

What the hell??? Nagpapacute ba tong best friend ko???

I couldn’t help myself when I rolled my eyes and I saw how the president raised one of his brows. I assumed he thought I rolled my eyes at them but it wasn’t intended for him. I rolled my eyes at my best friend!

It was my turn to shake hands which definitely made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

May problema ako with skinship, especially sa mga lalaki and with strangers in particular. I’m ok with slight touches or yung mga daplis lang but when you shake hands, kailangang mga ka kuyom ang palms!

I’m ok pag sina kuya or papa, but when it comes to others, I cringe.

And even if he is gwapo, he was not an exception.

In fairness, malambot hands nya.

After we shook hands, I unconsciously rubbed my palms (which I usually do) sa aking jeans. I was not really aware sa ginagawa ko na yun, feeling ko, parang habit ko na burahin ang feel of someone touching me.

Again, I saw the president raise his one brow kasi nakita nya yun, and he smirked.

I suddenly felt my cheeks flush.

"Enzo, these ladies here have concerns and suggestions, kaya't minabuti ko nang ipatawag ka para personal nilang masabi sayo."

"Ok, what is it?" He said but his attention was with Tito Ted and not us.

Gago! Hambog!

I didn’t know why I suddenly got annoyed. Rina nudged me nang makita niyang nakakunot na ang noo ko at dahil kilala nya ako, alam nya na masama na ang timpla ko.

"Well?" He asked again at ngayon, nakatuon na ang tingin nya sa amin ni Rina.

I spoke up, "I wonder why you didn’t open another window for different levels and other concerns of the students. That way, pwede sanang ma avoid ang long line in the queue ng mga students and crowding the corridors."

"May problema ba sa pagpipila miss?” He asked without batting an eye.

Ang hambog talaga!!!!

"If you are really asking for my personal opinion, then yes. Because you can do something about it. Why would you let them spend time queuing kung pwede namang hindi, di ba? It’s very doable. Mag-aassign ka lang naman ng isa sa isang window. It’s just a matter of having a plan." I retorted.

I saw him take a deep breath, maybe he was irritated... I don’t know. But when he squinted his eyes on me like he was challenging me, I rolled my eyes.

Then I saw Dwayne whisper something to him and then he smirked.

"Well, this is definitely the first complaint we receive, and it sounds a bit subjective for me, but we will do something about it.” He replied.

Aba!!!

"That’s good to hear, Enzo. I trust na magagawan mo yan ng paraan."

"Of course, sir.” He nodded at Tito Ted.

Dapat lang ano! Para may pakinabang naman kayo.

I wasn’t aware that I spoke my thoughts out loud at narinig nila yun.

I saw him smirked again and said, "kung pina-validate mo na yang ID mo when you enrolled, di sana di ka na sumabay sa mga freshmen..." he turned to Tito Ted, " so Sir, if you have no other concerns, may tinatapos pa po kaming trabaho sa office before my classes will start in an hour."

What was that????

“Sure, Enzo. You can go now."

He looked at me again and gave me a fainted smile before he turned around and left when Dwayne trailed behind him.

The nerve!!! ?

*****

ENZO



As soon as we got out of the office of Sir Ted, huminga ako ng malalim. I didn’t notice I was holding my breath pala.

"s**t bro! Finally, nakilala ko na rin sina Aika at Rina ng personal! Pwede na akong mamatay anytime. Mai-ingit si Robert nito. Sa kanya tapik lang, sa atin shake hands!" Natutuwang sambit ni Dwayne habang inaamoy ang kanyang kamay.

"Ang bango nila, bro. Shiiit!"

"Stop it, Dwayne. Hindi ako natutuwa. Dun pa talaga sila nagreklamo kay Sir Ted??? At ang petty ng complaints nila ha. Ang aarte."

"Sus, parang di mo nabigyan ng bulaklak noon ah!” He teased.

"Shut up, Dwayne! That was a very long time ago. She didn’t even know or remember that it was me. Kahit kelan maarte talaga!"

"But I remember, bro, Aika was your first heartbreak. Di ba umiyak ka pa nun sa mommy mo?"

"What the hell? We were what? 7? 8? Pucha, di ko na nga maalala yun!"

"Di nga??? Ako nalala ko yun. Pinatawag ako ni Tita Margie para laruin ka kasi umiyak ka nang tinapon ni Aika ang flowers na binigay mo."

"Bilisan mo na dyan kung ayaw mo na ikaw ang uupo sa bubuksang window dyan."

"Awit bro, eto na nga oh. Nagmamadali na."

"Patawag mo na rin please ang mga junior representatives at kunin ang schedules nila para may ia-assign tayo dun."

“Ok, boss."

"Haisst, unang linggo pa lang may mga pasaway na. “ I mumbled.

"Di bale, bro, beautiful disaster naman." Patuloy na pag bibiro ni Dwayne.

"Corny mo. Halatang fan ka ng KathNiel sa mga linyahan mong yan."

"Hahaha, bakit, ikaw ba hindi? Bat mo alam na linya nila yan sa Crazy Beautiful You?"

"Gago, pano naman hindi eh ilang beses kayong nag binge watch ng KathNiel movies sa bahay. Natural, malalaman ko."

"But seriously speaking, bro ha, grabe ang gaganda pa rin nila hanggang ngayon ha. Pero bat kaya wala silang boyfriend?"

"Tsss, sino naman ang maglalakas loob sa mga yun, eh ang aarte!"

" Eh di ikaw! hahaha. Peace bro!"

At bago ko pa mabatukan si Dwayne, tumakbo sya away from me at dumeretso sa Student Council office.

Alam nya na ayaw kong malaman ng iba na kilala ko ang grupo nila Aika so Dwayne really knew where to hide.

"Patay ka sakin mamaya!" Sabi ko sa loob ko.

Dwayne and I have been friends ever since we were young. My mom and his mom were best friends and our dads were teammates in basketball.

Kung tutuusin, parang cousin ko na si Dwayne kasi 2nd cousin ng daddy ko ang daddy nya.

We used to go to the same school too mula elementary and obviously, hanggang ngayon na nasa college na kami.

Ewan ko sa mga nanay namin, parang trip nila talagang ipagsama kami ni Dwayne.

Not that we complain about it kasi maituturing na namin na parang kapatid ang isa't isa. We always got each other's back kaya walang problema yun sa amin.

Yun nga lang, sa tagal na naming magkasama, alam na namin ang baho ng isat isa.

Pagpasok ko sa loob ng office, I saw Dwayne and Robert at Natalie's table.

I knew Dwayne is using them as his shield kayat pinagwalang bahala ko na muna.

"So bakit kayo pinatawag ni Sir Ted?" Robert asked

"Oh, he wants us to open another window for another year's level of concern. I need to assign some representatives to do it."

"If I know, nagsumbong na naman ang Aika at Rina ano? Mga feeling privileged talaga. Inuuna kasi muna ang paglalandi bago ang pagpapa validate ng ID!" Natalie blurted with disgust.

"Watch your language, Nat. Buti na lang walang freshmen reps dito ngayon. It’s not good for a representative like you to criticize other students." I scolded her.

"Eh sa totoo naman eh. Inuuna ang paglalandi at pagna-night out kesa mga kailangan gawin. Yan tuloy na late. Tapos tayo pa ang gagawa ng paraan ngayon para lang mapansin ang pag rereklamo nila." Natalie added.

"May karapatan naman silang magreklamo. At privileged nga kasi privileged naman talaga sila. That’s a hard pill to swallow but we couldn’t deny that fact, Nat. So chill. Don’t take it personally." Dagdag naman ni Calvin.

"I said stop it! Tapusin nyo na yan ang mga ginagawa nyo. We only have 25 minutes left before our classes. Dwayne, don’t forget to inform the junior representatives. We will have a meeting at lunch break."

"Yes, Pres."

I gathered my things on my table to prepare for my class.

As a short silence took over our office, I couldn’t help myself but think about her.

And I’m starting to feel annoyed again.

What’s wrong with you Enzo??? You have avoided her for so many years, and you were doing great. Bakit ngayon parang apektado ka na naman?

I uttered a curse before I hastily left for my class.

?????