Still You

You?!

Nasa isang apartment na kami. Nalaman kong pagmamay-ari pala to ng anak ni Lola Cycy.

I am shookt. As in.

Ang ganda ng hotel. Well, given na 5 star hotel to, i think its more than just that. Ang yayaman ng mga tao just by looking at them.. I think di ako pwede dito.

Nagpumilit si lola cycy na libre nalang ang stay ko for 2 weeks sabi ko hindi pwedeng libre. Kahit anong pilit ko, she still insisted.

She is too nice to me.

Nasa baba pa siya making some agendas. Habang ako, walang magagawa kundi tanggapin nalang at magmukhang presentable mamaya pag pinakilala ako sa apo niya.

Pag upo ko sa kama para lumulubog ako sa ulap. Sinubukan kong humiga and shiiiiiz, ayoko nang bumangon.

Then I remember. Di ko pa pala natatawagan si Jenna.

Nagrring pa rin yung phone niya. And at last sinagot niya

"Nandito na akoooo!" I tried to make it sound so excited. Which is what im really feeling right now

"Talaga?! Open camera!!!" Excited din siya

I opened it and we squeeled both ahahahaha.

5:30 na pala btw.

I showed my room and the glass wall "Shaks te! Sobeang ganda!"

Kinwento ko sa kanya yung nakilala ko hanggang sa mapunta ako dito

"omg nasayo na ang lahat ng swerte hahahaha!"

"Siguro sinwerte nga pero nababaon ako si hiya. Sobrang bait niya"

"Well, you just to be grateful kung wala siyang hinihiling sayo"

"Actually.... gusto niya ako ipakilala sa apo niya"

Sabi ko and she squeeled again. Shaks sakit sa ears nilayo ko yung phone.

Nung tumila na siya dumaldal na siya

"Hey, quiet. Its not like that. Sadyang mabait lang talaga si lola cycy. Quit imagining" sermon ko

"Weh pero nakangiti siyaaaa" umiling ako

"Mukha ka kasing eng eng hahahaha. Anyways, kamusta ka diyan? Kumain ka ba ng tanghalian?"

"Oh yeah, ininvite ko pala si ishie para sabay kami magreview. Dito muna siya habang wala ka"

"That's nice!" May kumatok na sa pintuan ko

Shems di pa ako nagreready

"I think you should go, dont mind about me! Ienjoy mo lang vacay mo! Byeee! Love youu!"

"Love you more!"

Agad kong binuksan yung pinto. Ah, kinabahan ako. Butler lang pala "pinapababa po kayo ni madam Cynthia after 5 mins"

Tumango ako at nagthankyou. Shiz why am I being nervous??

Nagmadali akong magpalit ng dress at nag-ayos ng mukha. Tinignan ko sarili ko sa salamin. Wow, di ko namalayan na sumexy ako ahahaha. Well, its good i guess.

One last check sa likod. Ok im all set.

This is one of my fave dress, red jumper dress tas black long sleeves. Lamig din mga mamsh kaya sakto lang suot ko.

Nag elevator ako kasi nasa 5th floor ako. Nakakahiya maging late hahaha.

Medyo nakakatakot kasi glass yung isang side so meaning kita mo yung ganda ng sight at the same time terrifying para sa mga aerophobic tulad ko. Kaya todo kapit ako sa handle.

Nung nasa baba na ako, i steady myself. I feel a bit nauseous. Pagbukas ng elevator, poker face agad.

"Miss AJ po diba?" Tanong ng isang babaeng attendant. Tumango ako and she led me to a room with a few guests in suits and dresses. Why here?

Pumasok pa kami sa isang kwarto kung nasaan si lola Cycy tsaka isang babaeng mga nasa early 30s. She has porcelain skin, mahaba at wavy brown hair, plump lips, and sexy. Gosh.

Tumayo si lola Cycy "Ah AJ! Halika" pinaupo niya ako mas lumamig pakiramdam ko. Teacher ako I should be confident pero di pa ren ganun kataas confidence ko.

"Siya yung sinasabi ko sayo" sabi niya kay ateng nakaupo

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Im Charlize. Apo rin hehe" tumayo siya para makipagbeso and I tried being casual.

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Charlize" ngiti ko

And she urged me to sit. So i did.

"Sobrang makwento si lola tungkol sayo, and I know kakakilala niyo lang but it seems she really likes you!" Banggit niya

"Oh shush, Chacha. We just clicked"

Tumawa kaming tatlo

"Well, same taste of style except that im not fond of jewelries"

"You know what, may mga kaibigan akong designer and next week nandito sila. I'll introduce you to them" I AM SPEECHLESS

Medyo napanganga ako at natameme "Ah- Owemji, di ko alam sasabihin ko"

"Oh you dont need to-" out of my control I squeeled and hugged her then she giggled and hugged back

"THANK YOUUUU!" Then I realized what I just did and immediately evacuate. Inayos ko buhok ko "Gosh sorry, nadala lang" namumula siguro ako ngayon

We all laughed "I see why granny loves you. Now you hooked me too girl" ngumiti siya sakin at saktong may pumasok na lalakeng naka grey armani suit. And I am surprised.

"JC my apo!" Nagmano siya kay lola at bineso si

Charlize.

"Sorry, made some few greetings" its him??

No it cant be..

"Oh hey, we want you to meet AJ" tumayo ako and im still confused at what im seeing right now.

So is he. He narrowed his eyes at me "you look familiar..."

I bit my lips and looked at the side. At biglang lumaki mata niya

"JADIE?!" I breathed out as he recalled.

"Hi Jace... Long time no see" I smiled awkwardly

Everyone in the room was confused and quiet hanggang sa nagsalita si Lola Cycy "You know each other?"

"Ahhh Highschool batch-" pinutol ako ni Jace

"My first ex" and I sighed at what he just said and just shrugged

The two ladies are open mouthed. I just smiled awkwardly.

"Ah, lola, I think we need to welcome our guests" sabi ni Ate Charlize

"OH YES! Charlize and I will talk to some guests-"

"Sasama po ako"

Tumakbo palabas yung dalawa at tumawa si Jace.

Jace Christian Buenaventura. This explains everything. The hotel name. JC. Math major.

He sat down

"What brings you here?"

"Ahh, kasi yung kapatid ko-"

"Ayaw mo umupo?"

Oh yeah I didnt notice "Jenna booked me for a vacay here. Then habang nasa flight ako nagkausap kami ni lola Cycy" he chuckled at that

"Sorry, keep going"

"Then nagustuhan niya ako. Nagtanong siya kung may pagtutuluyan ba ako, sabi ko wala. Then she offered me here and wants me to meet her apo. Which I didnt know it was YOU"

Medj hiningal ako sabay ng kaba.

Tumaas mga kilay niya "Well, thats a coincidence"

"Definitely"

"So.... Kamusta ka na?" He asked.

This is so awkward for me although alam kong highschool lang naman kami nun. Its just infatuation.

"I-im doing fine. Got a nice job. Pursued English education"

"Thats good. Eh love life?" I looked at him with my death stare. "What? Nagtatanong lang eh"

"You first"

"I asked you FIRST" Umiling ako "Still stubborn are we?"

Uminom ako ng tubig "I... Its none of your business"

"Hmm... Well Ok. Di mo kailangan sagutin yun" tumayo siya "I have a lot of things to do right now"

"Laki ng pinagbago mo" i blurted out. He raised a brow at me "In a good way"

"Paano?" He asked

Tumayo ako "Thats all I have to say" Im kind of a bit angry at him kahit alam kong past ma yun tsaka ano ka ba self, highschool lang kayo nun.

Bago ako lumabas i paused to say "Nice to see you again too"

At dumeretso palabas nang makasalubong ko si Ate Charlize "Oh AJ, ayos ka lang?"

"Ahh opo, mukha po kasing busy siuang tao so I let myself out of his way. Magpapahinga po muna ako sa taas" she squeezed my hand and let me go.

I guess she understood my alibi.

Humiga ako sa kama. Wow, what a coincidence.

Mas gumwapo siya at tumangkad from the last time I saw him. Dati totoy na totoy yun tignan pero ngayon batak na batak na.

Naalala ko dati nung umamin siya sakin mukha siyang eng eng na nagpaabot ng letter kahit magkatabi lang kami ng room.

Nakasulat sa letter kung gaano siya nagagandahan sakin pati kung paano ko naakit puso niya kuno hahahaha. Kinilig naman ako. Grade 7 palang kami nun.

Pero nagpakipot muna ako ng isang taon bago ko siya ientertain. Then mga summer noon, sinagot ko na siya. We lasted up to 3rd year college. Lumipat na kasi siya sa ìbang school dahil sa kagustuhan ng parents niya.

Eh di kinaya ang LDR. Wala. Siya unang sumuko eh, wala naman akong magagawa kundi mag move on.

Masakit oo, it still does a bit. He should've hang on. One year nalang tapos na kami. Sadly, may bumitaw.

Aaaanyways, it was kind of funny how our paths crossed today. Dahil kay lola Cycy nagkita ulit kami. Libre pa akong pinapatuloy dito. And I think sa pagkakarinig ko sa mga guests kanina, siya yata ang magmamana netong hotel and resort.

Im happy that he's successful.

I kept on reminiscing our days. It was fun and childish. Even cringey, but when you're in love, di mo maiisip yung mga ganung bagay. You just do whatever the hell that makes both of you happy.

May kumatok sa pintuan. Actually may doorbell naman tsaka techy doorlock, di ko maintindihan kung bakit kumakatok sila.

Binuksan ko yung pinto, si lola Cycy.

"I just came here, and since may nakakagimbal na revelation kanina, why dont you two try again?" Nabigla ako sa sinabi niya

Pinapasok ko siya. Wouldnt want someone to hear our past.

"Ahh lola, im really grateful dahil sobrang bait niyo sakin. Pero bata pa kasi kami nun, we didnt know what we were doing back then" pagpapaliwanag ko. Umupo siya sa may couch at umupo ako sa harap. Tensed.

"Mhmm, yes you were kids. Gaano kayo tumagal?" She questioned

"Grade 8 up to 3rd year college" I said without having eye contact

"Thats long!"

"Opo pero-"

"Were you happy with him?" Why am I in a hot seat? Kahit sobrang lamig ng aircon.

Napalunok ako "Yes we were"

"How do you feel about him now?" I looked at her and she just shrugged and pouted.

"W-wala po lola hahahaha" tinawa ko nalang yung tense

"Mhmmm, I see" she doesnt look convinced

"Look hija, nakilala mo na si JC. Youve known him more long than anyone else he's been with. He needs someone, so do you. Give it a shot"

Of course he dated someone else already, but why do I feel a teeny tiny bit of jealousy? I pushed the thought away.

Ayoko naman idown si lola kaso iba tong nirerequest niya.

"Its not that simple lola, pero.... susubukan ko po" what the freak am I saying. She smiled and went over to pat my back

"Thank you darling, I want you for my grandson" I chuckled then she left.

Holy shet.