My AI Romance

Episode 5

A Note

Every page on my journal has the name Nikkolas in it. It all started two weeks ago. Yesterday, I wrote his name here saying that I've been bothered at his real identity. Maybe I'm just being paranoid about that thought. I already saw it for real that he was a robot. My n***d eyes are already an enough proof that there are batteries and wires at his back.

He's not a human. I should always remember that.

But then, there are still some part of me wishing that he was real. Hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi ko maitago ang kagustuhang 'yon.

Classes are vacant because of the special event in the gymnasium. Everyone was invited to watch the battle of the bands. If it wasn't because of Primo, Drio and Meiko, I will not waste any chance letting myself lost in the sea of people. God knows how much I hate crowded and noisy places.

The Serpentine.

That was the name of their band. I actually arrived at the exact time. It was their band who is now performing.  Drio owned the stage by being a total performer and a band vocalist.

My gaze went to Primo who's the main guitarist, Meiko being the drummer and I have no idea about the names of their other two bandmates.

Primo's eyes went on me. Ngumiti ito ng mawalak sa akin kaya't naghiyawan tuloy 'yong mga babaeng nakapwesto sa likod ko. Napailing na lang ako dahil sa inasta ng pinsan ko.

A womanizer.

That's what they called him. I can't deny that truth. One of the main reasons kung bakit ayaw ko na may nakakakita sa amin na magkasama ay sa kadahilanang maraming mga mata ang nakatingin sa kanya.

The last time we went for a dinner together, one of his girls accused me for being a s**t without any valid reason. I used to hear those kinds of words pero masakit pa rin talaga sa tengang pakinggan lalo pa't alam mo sa sarili mo na wala namang katotohanan lahat ng 'yon.

"Hershey!" I heard Primo's voice after their performance on stage.

Pagkatapos nilang makapagperform kaagad akong pumunta sa locker area para kumuha ng pampalit kong shirt. I don't know why all of a sudden, bigla na lang s'yang sumulpot sa likod ko.

"Dinner later. I guess you didn't forget about it?" paalala niya kaya't tumango ako.

Panigurado wala na rin naman akong takas sa isang 'to kaya't pumayag na rin ako. I requested him if we can just go again to the place where we usually eat para tago at hindi masyadong matao.

"Sure. I'll fetch you later at 7 pm," dagdag pa niya bago ginulo ang buhok ko.

Buong akala ko ay makakauwi ako nang maaga pero nagkamali ako nang bigla akong harangin ni Vera. Based on her reaction, mukhang nagpa-panic na ito sa hindi malamang dahilan.

"H-Hershey, I'm s-sorry," she apologized. I don't know what is it for but I'm sure that she did a huge mistake which caused her to act this way.

"Bakit?"

"I lost the flashdrive where we saved our group report. I'm sorry talaga, Hershey."

I have still the drafts of their part on my phone that's why I'm not worried. Just a little bit. Matagal na proseso ang pagpoproofread, pag eedit at pagtatype ng ibang part.

"Don't worry. I'll be the one to finish it later. I'll just send you the copy and make sure you have the powerpoint presentation for tomorrow," after I said those, hindi pa rin napalitan ang ekspresyon ng mukha n'ya.

"Hersey kasi, baka di ko magawa yung powerpoint. Birthday kasi ni daddy," pagdadahilan n'ya pa.

Hindi ko maiwasang mainggit. I know how much important event birthdays are. Not until, I was left alone. It became useless for me to celebrate any other occassions.

"Okay. I'll just make it." I replied making her face lightened up. It was unexpected that she hugged me because of those. At some point, hindi ko maintindihan ang sarili ko kung bakit ko inako iyon.

"Thank you talaga, Hershey! Ang bait mo," halos magtatalon sa tuwang sambit n'ya.

"Just be careful next time, Vera," I adviced before heading my way to the library. I decided to skipped our last subject to finish our report.

All in all, 35 pages s'ya na kailangang itype, iedit at i-proofread isa isa.

Tomorrow is the deadline that's why I need to finish it. I didn't bother to tell it to my groupmates because I know, they will blame Vera for this. Another thing, baka ako pa ang pagbuntungan ng galit ng mga 'yon.

I was the assigned leader. Pihadong ibabaling nila ang sisi sa akin dahil sa lahat ng mga nangyayari nitong mga nakaraang araw.

Medyo nangangawit na yung leeg ko kasi hindi ko namalayan na medyo matagal na pala akong nakatutok sa screen ng laptop dito sa library. I am also feeling hungry at nagulat na lang ako ng may maglapag ng pagkain sa table kung saan ako gumagawa ng report.

"Avoid skipping your meals." A familiar voice said.

Nang mag angat ako ng tingin, tama nga ang hinala ko na si Nikkolas ito.

My gaze went to the wallclock. Halos mapamura ako dahil hindi ko namalayan yung oras. It was already 6 pm and I remember that Primo is inviting me for a dinner.

Dali dali kong kinuha yung phone ko sa bulsa ko. I'm not still done on our group report. Nasa 23rd page pa lang ako. I was about to dial Primo's number pero naunahan ako nito.

"I'm sorry, Hershey. Can we cancel our dinner next time? Something came up."

I sigh in relief. Mabuti na lang.

"Okay."

"I'll hang up the call. I'll text you later."

After he said those, namatay na yung linya. I am thinking if I'll call Drio because I want to know what's that important matter Primo is doing. I just decided not to dahil baka sabihin naman n'ya iyon sa akin mamaya.

When I went to my spot earlier, I saw Nikkolas sitting beside the chair where I sat ealier.

"Are you done?"

Hindi ko alam kung ano na naman ang ginagawa m'ya dito.

"Not yet. I'll just finish it at home," I answered bago ko isa isang iniligpit yung mga gamit ko.

"Are you going home alone?" I stop moving right after he asked those. Why is he interested by the way? He's becoming more human because of acting this way.

"Primo will fetch me here," I lied only to cut the conversation between us.

"You mean your boyfriend?" he asked again. Our eyes met that's why my heart skipped a beat again.

"Y-Yes," I lied for the second time leaving myself clueless with his reaction. I didn't look back instead, I head outside the library.

While I'm walking along the campus, I felt droplets of water in my skin. Mas lalo kong binilisan maglakad ng ma-realize ko na wala nga pala akong dalang payong. I was waiting for a taxi nang biglang bumuhos ang malakas na ulan. I immediately run to look for a waiting shed when a car stopped in front of me. Noong una akala ko'y masasagasaan ako kaya't mabilis akong tumabi.

My hair and uniform are wet at kung patuloy akong mababasa ng ulan, baka masira din yung dala kong laptop.

Mabuti na lang nakahanap ako ng pwedeng masilungan. I was about to go there not until I saw the guy who went out the car.

It was Nikkolas Parker again.

"I'll drive you home," he offered but I refused.

"P-Primo will fetch me."

"If I am your boyfriend, I will not keep you waiting here."

Boyfriend? Why does I felt something strange after hearing that word from him?

Maya maya pa ay nagulat ako dahil sa biglaang pagkulog. Sa sobrang pagkataranta ko ay hindi na ako nagpakipot.

"I'll send you home," he offered again for one last time and I just found myself riding inside his car.

While I'm already beside him, I can't stop myself from taking a secret glance at him. From the way he talk and act, you can't conclude that he's hiding something. His creator is such a great one for inventing a robot that is almost a 99 percent human.

He's just looking at his way while driving. Napatingin lang ito sa akin ng bigla akong napabahing. This is what I hate about my body. I easily catched flu and fever whenever it's cold. Pakiramdam ko tuloy ay medyo nilalamig na rin ako dahil sa panahon.

Habang papalapit kami sa bahay ko, biglang bumuhos ang malakas na ulan. Mabuti na lang at hindi masyadong kalayuan ang bahay namin kaya't nakarating agad kami. The bad thing is, I don't have my umbrella with me. Sa ganitong panahon ko pa talaga nakalimutang magdala ng payong. Why did I forgot that there's a signal of typhoon here in our place?

"I have my umbrella with me." Nikkolas said.

Sa sobrang lakas ng buhos ng ulan, muntik ko pang hindi marinig kung ano yung sinasabi n'ya.

He immediately went out of the car to open the door for me. I was about to ask him, pero mabilis na n'ya akong hinatid papasok sa gate ko. When we're already inside our house, I can't help but to feel worried at him.

Medyo nabasa kasi s'ya. Will it not affect any of his parts?

"You should worry yourself. I'm alright," he exclaimed seeing me with this kind of worried face.

At dahil wala pang balak tumila ng ulan, I invited him to get inside para magpatila muna. Hindi ko tuloy maiwasang mamroblema kasi I can't offer him anything.

I almost forgot that he doesn't need a drink or any food to eat.

"I'll just change my clothes," paalam ko sa kanya.

He's just sitting on the sofa while observing what's inside my house. Binilisan ko na lang ang pagpapalit ng damit kahit na paulit ulit na akong bumabahing. Damn this fever! Huwag muna sana ngayon kasi marami pa akong gagawin.

Mabuti na lang din at nagtake out si Nikkolas kanina kaya't hindi na ako namroblema pa sa pagluluto. I went outside my room and I saw him busy looking at his phone. I don't want to disturb him kaya't nilabas ko na rin yung laptop ko habang kumakain at nagsimula ng gumawa ng mga kailangan kong tapusin. Hindi pa rin tumitigil ang ulan sa halip, mas lalo pa yata itong lumalakas.

At the middle of doing my report, napabahing ulit ako.

"Do you have any medicines here?" Nikkolas came closer to me. I'm a bit shocked when he touched my forehead. Speechless and surprised, I looked at him.

"O-Okay lang ako," sagot ko at pagkatapos bigla ulit akong napabahing. I suddenly felt awkward because of our close distance.

"Okay. I have to go to somewhere," paalam n'ya. Tumayo naman ako mula sa kinauupuan ko bago ako sumilip sa labas.

"Umuulan pa. B-Baka mabasa ka," I reminded him. I wish he wont forget the fact that he's not like us.

"Robots don't get sick when it rains."

After he said those, hindi na ako nakapagsalita pa. He doesn't understand my point. Nag aalala lang kasi ako sa pwedeng mangyari sa kanya. There's a possibility na mas lalong magkaroon ng malfunction sa systems n'ya kapag nangyari 'yon. This is not the usual Nikkolas I know in the first place. If he's the old Nikkolas I met, he won't offer me a drive just to send me home.

Tinanawan ko na lang s'ya hanggang sa makasakay s'ya ng kotse n'ya at makaalis. After that, I went to see my medicine kit but there's nothing inside it. Mas lalong sumama yung pakilasa ko.

Despite the heavy feeling, I still continue doing my report. I look at my cellphone and it's already 10:00 pm. Sobrang sakit na ng ulo ko kaya umidlip muna ako ng ilang sandali at nag alarm para tapusin ang powerpoint ko mamaya.

Napahawak naman ako sa ulo ko mg biglang may tumunog. I thought it was my alarm pero nanlaki ang mata ko dahil sa nakita ko. A reminder flashed on my screen saying thag today is the deadline of our group project!

Dali dali kong kinuha yung journal ko para magbasa kung ano yung nangyari kahapon.

Nag-panic kaagad ako ng mabasa kong hindi pa tapos ang report namin. Nakatulog ako habang gumagawa kagabi. It was still mysterious for me because I'm now here in my bed. Mabilis akong lumabas para icheck yung laptop ko.

Nakita ko iyon na nakapatong sa table sa may receiving area kung saan ako gumawa kagabi. What caught my attention is the flashdrive and note beside it. There's also medicines and food and I wonder if Primo went here last night.

Kinuha ko yung flashdrive at sinalpak sa laptop ko. I was surprised seeing my completed report and powerpoint.

I was about to text Primo to ask if he did this when I saw a note with a familiar handwriting.

Don't forget to drink your medicine. Goodluck for today's presentation.

It was from Nikkolas Parker.