Delusions of Heart

Simula I took a bite of my food as I surveyed my eyes around my friends. Medyo hectic ang schedule lalo't malapit na ang exam. I lazily darted my eyes to my notes. "Ang aga pa, Tanya. May ginagawa ka na agad?" sumilip si Kaz sa sinusulat ko. I gave her a small nod. "Hindi ako makakagawa pagtapos ng klase kasi uuwi ako sa amin." "I told you to fully move in my place," Heira rolled her eyes. I shrugged. We are friends for years but I still need to be independent. Nanatili ako sa condo niya malapit dito sa Gorostiza NHS lalo kung mahigpit ang schedule. "Ituloy mo na ang paglipat," nag-uutos ang tono ni Alexia. "I'll go too in your place," masungit na dagdag ni Heira. Tumango nalang ako sa kanila. It's an advantage for me too. I'm just a bit shy since Heira will carry all the expenses. Well, she doesn't even care though. This girl is wasting money. The thing I needed the most. "Right! Ituloy mo na para mapamura ka sa gastusin," dagdag ni Thalyra at tumango. "Hoy!" Napaangat kaming lahat ng tingin nang marinig ang sigaw ni Jethro. May kinawayan pa iyon sa isang mesang nalampasan bago tuluyang nakalapit sa amin. Kasunod niya rin si Von na diretso lang ang mariing tingin sa direksyon namin. "Ito kapag dumating mapapamura ka talaga," bungad na asar ni Kaz. "Tangina," gatong ni Alexia. We laughed at Jethro in sequence but he just returned a mocking smirk. "Ang aga-aga 'yan agad ibubungad mo sa akin Kaz, baby?" Jethro chuckled. Kaz gave him a middle finger. "Kadiri ka, pre." "Sus kunwari pa kayo," Alexia drawled lazily. Parehong napaamang si Kaz at Jethro sa kaniya. I smirked and shook my head. Tinawanan sila nila Thalyra. Kaz threw a notebook towards Lexi. She grinned and caught it expertly. My eyes roamed around the cafeteria. Maaga pa para sa oras ng klase kaya narito kami at nakatambay. Kami lang ni Thalia at Von ang may klase dahil school level presscon ngayon sa Gorostiza. Most of my friends are journalists so they were excused in their class today. Kami lang din tatlo ang hindi miyembro ng school publication, Ang Kalasag. Thalia is a member of dance troupe while Von is the captain of the basketball team here in Gorostiza National High School. "Your quiz bee is done. What's that?" Von asked and took a sight of my notes. "Activity na hindi ko nagawa tsaka reviewer." "Reviewer? Bakit? May quiz kayo?" Kaz asked. I lifted my eyes on them sarcastically. "Exam na sa Friday." "s**t! I forgot," Thalyra shook her head. "Huh? May exam pala?" Napailing ako kay Jethro bago niligpit ang sinusulat. Bukod sa kanila ay maingay na rin pati ang paligid. A group of boys beside us were very loud. "Review review pa babagsak din naman," humalakhak si Jethro. "Failing party," Heira laughed loudly. "Huwag na magreview, mae-excuse naman tayo," gatong ni Kaz. "Easy grades sa DepEd Memo." "Stupid, you should even get a good grades this first quarter for that DepEd Memo," tamad silang binalingan ni Lexi Tumango ako roon dahil ang grades nila ngayon ang pagbabasehan para sa second quarter. Ganoon lagi kapag wala sa klase or nasa training at ipinanglalaban ng school. I'm into academic contests and pageant. My Math quiz bee isn't actually over. Just a short time for activity completion and examination before the Division Level. Mas nahihirapan lang ako ngayon dahil bukod doon ay pinasok ko rin ang part-time modeling. Medyo puyat pa ako dahil sa modeling kagabi. "Jethro, that's your girlfriend last week right?" Thalyra whispered and pointed the girl who passed our table. "Nah, wala na kami," umiling si Jethro. "Oh? Ang aga niya namang nagising sa katotohanan," pangbabara ni Kaz. Binato siya ni Jethro ng nadampot na gamit. They broke in a laughter because of Jeth's irritated face. Ngumisi ako at napailing sa ingay nila. "You f****d up," Von mocked. Nang natapos silang mag-asaran ay napagpasyahan naming tumungo nalang sa Kalasag, journalism training room nila. Maliban sa umiingay ang cafeteria ay umiinit na rin dahil dumarami ang tao. "Sunod kami!" sigaw ni Jethro na sa covered court tumungo kasama sina Thalia at Von. "Kahit 'wag na!" Air-conditioned ang training room nila sa Journalism kaya masarap tumambay. Agad kaming humanap ng pwesto at naupo nang makarating. "Tara sa gilid, Tanya," tawag ni Kaz. Sumunod lang ako sa kaniya. Ilang beses lang ako nakapupunta rito dati kaya medyo pamilyar lang. Kaz opened the aircon as we seated on the table beside it. My eyes darted for a second on the opened bag above the table. "May gamit na, Kaz. Pwede ba tayo rito?" "Ako bahala, pwede 'yan," Kaz winked. Mataas ang mesa nila kaya komportableng yumuko at mamahinga. Dahil sa kapuyatan ay naramdaman ko ang pagbigat ng talukap ng mga mata. I slowly dozed off but a scene in my brain started playing. A nightmare... A sudden rush thrummed my mind. Blangko ang nakikita ko pero ramdam ang galit sa loob. I instantly opened my eyes before the image of that person pop up. He's the only one I truly loathed. My eyes instantly widened when I heard a ear-breaking sound. Dahil iyon sa bigla akong bumangon kasabay ng pag-inat mula sa halos bangungot. At first, I thought it's a bag only, but I heard a freaking crack. I gulped. What the f**k? "Gago ano 'yon?" gulat na tanong ni Kaz. Natigilan ako bago unti-unti akong tumingin sa baba ng table. Halos manlumo ako nang makita ang DSLR camera na nakalabas sa camera bag at halos basag na basag dahil sa taas ng mesa. Mahina akong napamura. Hindi ko alam dahil malayo iyon sa pwesto ko kanina. I cursed inside my mind. Kaz walked towards me. My brows furrowed. She's beside me earlier? "Hala yari ka Tanya," Kaz laughed at me. Tiningnan ko ng masama si Kaz bago nasapo ang noo. Tumawa pa talaga. Heira's eyes widened when she glance on it. "s**t," Alexia cursed. Napahilamos ako sa mukha. Itinukod ko ang siko sa mesa at sinapo ang mukha. Mariing napapikit sa inis at kaba. "Hala 'yong may-ari," bulong ni Kaz kaya lalo akong kinabahan. "Hindi ko sinasadya, okay?" Agad akong tumingin sa baba at yumuko. "Anong hindi sinasadya?" I heard the familiar voice. "What the f**k, Tanya?" It was Jethro with Thalia, walking towards us. I immediately glared at Kaz who's laughing hard now. Masama ko siyang tinitigan dahil sa katarantaduhan niya. Halos matawa rin sila Thalia pero natigil agad nang makita ang pinalilibutan namin. "s**t, what happened?" kabado rin si Thalia na nagtanong. "I didn't know..." "Sus, barya lang 'yan," ani Jethro at ngumisi. "Ikaw magbabayad?" Heira's brow shot up. "Hindi ah, ayan si Alexia!" Sinabayan p ito ng halakhak ni Jethro. Umiling ako nang seryosing tumango si Lexi. "I'll pay-" "What's happening?" Alexia didn't finish her sentence when someone interrupted us. We all looked where it came from. My brows knitted. He's familiar, I know this guy. "Zairo," Jethro greeted and pursed his lips. His face was confused while looking in our situation. I got irritated when his eyes darted to me. Nagtagal ang tingin niya bago bumaba sa sahig. "What the f**k?" he was left open-mouthed. "Who did that?" His voice was menacing. I can hear my heart pounding so hard out of my chest. s**t. Lahat sila ay napatingin sa akin maliban kay Alexia. He concluded it immediately. At isa pa, halata na iyon sa pwesto ko. Sinundan niya ng tingin ang mga kaibigan ko. His brows rose when his brooding eyes darted to me again. "You're the one who did that?" he asked, looking straightly to my eyes. "Ako," Alexia blurt, trying to save me. Agad siyang tumingin na nagbabanta kila Kaz. Pero mukhang hindi sila makaramdam dahil nagpipigil ng tawa. "What?" he asked perplexedly. "Why?" "Nainis ako kay Kaz kaya hinagis ko tapos nakailag siya," Levior Alexia drawled lazily. Kaz bit her lower lip to hold a laugh. I shut my eyes in irritation. "Tama," Kaz nodded. "Angas 'di ba? Levesque nailagan ko?" Agad siyang tiningnan ng masama ni Alexia dahil doon. Nasapo ko ang noo sa kanila. Humalakhak sina Jethro. "Do you expect me to believe it? Its position tells that it obviously fell down from the table," he drawled lazily. "Malayo pa sa pader, kaya bakit d'yan saktong babagsak?" Alexia plastered a smirk. I took a deep breathe, looking at her. My pulse continued racing. "Great observation," she nodded impassive. "How much? I'll pay it." "Bakit ikaw?" he asked again and looked at me. "You are not at fault, Alexia." "I don't need to explain. Too much talk." He shrugged on Alexia. Nanigas ako nang bumaling ang tingin niya sa akin. He tilted his head like observing me. "Babayaran na ni Alexia, ayaw mo ba?" anang ni Kaz at ngumisi. "I won't accept it since it's not her fault," he answered without looking at her. Nanatili ang mga madilim niyang mata niya sa akin. I knew him since he transferred here last year. We've encountered each other a lot. Tss. He smirked like a wicked man taking a revenge. I leered irritatedly and clenched my fist to control myself. His smirk faded when he turned to Alexia and the group. "Can you leave us? I want to talk alone with Arthana."