All About Blues

Chapter 11

“Someone saw your car earlier leaving around six in the morning” said Drew.

“Yeah I went back to the downtown” replied Klay.

“Why didn’t you just get straight here uh?”

“Someone called, it’s an urgent errand.”

“Really uh” Drew nodded his head slowly while smiling maliciously, doubtful about Klays reason and then he asked “Who is that?”

monotonously, “Who is that?”

“To be a bit specific, who is she?”

“Who is she?” He responded sounding like he does not have any idea what Drew was talking about.

“Oh come on!” He groaned “I have my eyes everywhere in this village, Klay.”

Klay rolled his eyes away, clicking his tongue “Why does it even concern you?”

“Why won’t it concern me, Klay?” he exclaimed “Why won’t it concern your friend?”

Klay just then faked a smirk. He is entirely oblivious what to respond, what to tell him, how to explain, how to even react. His situation was unsettling but he managed to play things as cool as he could that he afford maintaining that stern stoic expression that he used to show people.

Klay was never showy, he was never transparent. One could not tell what he was thinking or what he was really feeling. He can hide everything, he was all capable of hiding everything in his stoic expression. But he was no antisocial, he was good at socializing, at talking and regaling people. Yet what he is really good was deceiving them. As much as he’s good at pretending he’s as much good at making them totally believe.

That’s the most of his trait that makes him more suitable on the field of law. He could be a great professional liar.

“But seriously, Klay” Drew turned serious “Who is that girl? I’m not asking about her name or her profile just who is she in your life”

“Who is she in my life?” he silently retorted “That’s exaggerating.”

“It can’t be just a friend, or a relative— or Consuelo?” Drew started reenforcing his assumption “Well that couldn’t be her, she’s known around town as well. People would recognize her.”

“How certain are you?” Klay turned to Drew “How certain are you that it is not Consuelo? or that how certain are you that I am with a girl inside my car?”

“Oh come on!” and Drew again groaned upon realizing that Klay commenced turning the tables “Don’t be always like that, that would not work to me anymore.”

“What do you really want me to tell you?”

“I don’t know” Drew walked to the railings and leaned over “But I know that you and Yngrid settled in long distance for almost a year by now, and I as well knew that you don’t have that constant connection with each other since she went to England. It seems really that what’s connecting you two is only the—“

“Engagement” Klay cuts him off. He knew Drew, they’re childhood friends and that Drew witnessed how his friend falls in love with Yngrid. And that as much as Drew knows a lot about Yngrid and Klay, Klay also knew how much Drew dislikes Yngrid for him.

“That came from you” he chuckled “Yngrid is a nice woman. Came from a wealthy family, intelligent and smart, is raised well, and has great views in life— but I never like her for you, my friend.” he emphasized and even chuckling upon saying the last two words.

“You don’t have to like her for me, Drew.” Klay retorted.

Drew clicked his tongue and said “She just happens to be so incompatible to you. I mean she’s great, but she doesn’t really seem trying to reciprocate everything that you offered and did.”

“She don’t have to” Klay simply respond as he looked outside the windows. “I am not asking anything from Yngrid and she might not show it but I can totally feel it. And I appreciate how she’s trying to make things even, I see it— but she just don’t have to.”

“Preciesely” Drew instantly averred “She is trying—if she is indeed sincere about your relationship she doesn’t have to even try, she’d make if effortlessly. She would do it her own way, she would make you feel love—“

“She is making me feel loved.”

Drew dropped his shoulders and sighed “Fine; but what I’m trying to point out here is that— even still in the beginning of your relationship I could see that she isn’t really quite sincere about you.” He walked closer to Klay “Her parents likes you for her, her whole family rather— but you know a lot of guy has been after her since then, a lot has been courting her— she is so close with a lot of guys.”

Klay met Drew’s gazes responding to him wordlessly. He is dismissing Drew’s motion. Drew was never into Klay’s relationship with Yngrid, and Klay respects his view.. But he rationally thought about why, and it’d make more sense considering the silent feud between Drew and Yngrid’s family. The both influential and political family Yet, the matter is— it’s not just Drew who has that kind of dislike but also almost all his friends and even his younger sister doesn’t seem to side with Yngrid— more like to Yngrid’s family, actually.

Klay did not take much long talking to Drew, he also began feeling pissed about whatever he was saying that he just bid his goodbye. He went back to their house in the village and prepared for his class in the afternoon, around 12 in the midday he decided to leave and headed in the University.

“Where have you been last night?” Leonel asked to him as they met in the cafeteria. An incident that is quite strange, consider that Leonel has dropped out the University months ago and is not really someone who’d prefer visiting the school or going other place that he’d not have fun, also he was a human vampire— he is asleep at daytime and partying all night.

“What are you even doing here?” Klay questioned him with knitting brows, indeed suspicious about his presence around.

“Can’t I be here?”

“Yes” straightly, “There is no reason for you to be here, Leonel.”

“Why?”

“Cause you just dropped out and you’re supposed to be asleep right now.”

“Woah! And that takes away my rights to get in here. Klay there were people who came in and out this university—“

“And how did you even get in the campus?”

“I drove my car from my apartment through here—“

“Okay, Okay— shut up now, Leon.”

“You’re so obscure.” he clicked his tongue “You always are.”

“Are you just here to piss me off?”

“Ew no! Do you really think I’d be wasting my gasoline for you?”

“Why won’t you?”

“Why would I?”

“You know what— I would not also prefer wasting my time for you” Klay reparteed and started picking up few of his stuffs above the table and dumped them to his backpack, stood and left.

He strode his way through his next class, he was lying earlier— he still want to blabber with Leonel but he has to go. He would not really bother wasting time with him, as what they used to since they were still so young. They are childhood friends, and among all of his childhood friend he would more likely consider Leonel as his closest one— someone who is like a brother to him.

Leonel has always been on his back, always one call away, and he knows Klay a bit well than anyone else. Among all Klay’s friends— or any person who plays significant role on his life, it was only him who never questioned or has told something about Klay’s relationship to Yngrid. Although he also have almost the same notion like the rest regarding Yngrid and it’s family he chose to keep it to himself as he was complacent that Klay could handle things. He is clever enough to know how to handle a certain situation.

Hours passed and Klay has already attended all his classes— but he found himself still inside the university, walking through the gravel empty sidewalk of their campus heading through the dormitories. It was nearly six and he knew he might not enter the dormitory building at all, but he is all hoping; just in case.

“Nepomuceno?” The lady guard instantly recognized him as soon as she sought her.

“Oh hey Miss Grillard” Klay greeted her as he walked through the stairs.

“Oh it is you!” The lady guard, Miss Grillard went out the guardhouse to encounter Klay. “It’s been quite while, my dear!”

“Indeed” he responded, chuckling. “Where have you been Miss Grillard?”

“I went back to my hometown and took a leave for a couple of month— my mother has been sick.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah”

“How is she now?”

“Well she didn’t make it. She passed away in the first week of this month.”

“I am so sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine; why are you here anyways?”

“Oh! Well I will be checking a dormer here— a friend of mine. I’m expecting she’d be getting back at these hours so I was to wait for her.”

“I won’t bother asking who but I suggest you better just be knocking on their doors instead.”

“You’ll be letting me in?”

“Why not?!” She exclaimed “I know you, Klay. And I know you won’t do something there.”