Challengers

18 : Fears and Flaws

My knees were still shaking when we got back to the waiting facility, but embarrassment transcended my fear after seeing the people glancing at our direction. Halos gusto ko nang lumubog sa hiya dahil alam kong narinig nila ang minu-minuto kong pagsigaw sa loob ng horror house.

"Elix! In fairness, natapos n'yo on time," said Lan while waving at our direction.

Hindi ko alam ang isasagot sa kanya kaya tumango lang ako. Good thing the rest of his teammates stopped him before he could add another comment.

I plopped on the floor and heaved a defeated sigh. Wala na. Sira na ang reputation ko. Not that I cared about it that much, but it was quite embarrassing for a mystery and thriller writer to be this afraid of a horror house. Besides, I had this mysterious image since I don't share much about myself on social media. I would only talk about my stories or any writing-related stuff. But now . . .

A shudder ran through my skin. Once this episode got broadcasted, I wasn't sure how I could recover from the humiliation. Iniisip ko pa lang ay gusto ko nang lumubog sa lupa. Nakakahiya ka, Elix!

Baka hindi na ako magpakita ulit pagkatapos nito. Sana talaga nagsulat na lang ako at hindi na in-accept ang invitation na 'to.

"Okay ka na ba?"

My thoughts were pulled back to the present when I heard Zion's voice. There was a look of concern on his face, and I suddenly remembered the things I did inside the horror house.

"Y-yeah, sure," I said as I tried to avert his gaze, but it landed on his shirt.

Dahil wala pa ako sa wisyo noong naglalakad kami pabalik ay wala akong sense of awareness sa paligid ko. Ngayon lang din nagsi-sink in lahat ng pinaggagawa ko at gusto kong sampal-sampalin ang sarili ko dahil doon.

Isang malalim na buntonghininga ang pinakawalan ko. "I'm sorry about that," I weakly said while looking at the state of his shirt.

Napatingin naman siya roon at hinawakan ang damit niya. "Ah, this."

A sheepish smile appeared on his face and that ticked me off. Gusto ko sanang magpasalamat sa kanya dahil kahit papaano ay tinupad naman niya ang sinabi niyang hindi niya ako iiwan sa loob, but I knew that smile meant he had thought of something to use against me.

"Hindi naman napunit," he sarcastically said while still holding the hem of his shirt, "but it's not my size anymore."

I had to bite my lower lip to keep myself from screaming. Paano ay halos malaglag na mula sa mga balikat niya ang collar ng damit niya at nagmistulang V-neck na ito. Even its hem had been stretched to its limit. Hindi ko in-expect na magiging gano'n ang estado no'n pagkatapos naming makalabas sa horror house. Did I cling to his shirt that much?

Bigla tuloy akong nahiya nang makita kong may iilan pa ring tumitingin sa direksyon namin. Pakiramdam ko tuloy may masama akong ginawa.

"S-sorry," ulit ko.

"It's okay," he replied. "That experience was . . . quite interesting."

Sinamaan ko naman siya ng tingin. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

He shrugged while flashing a teasing smile. "No, I'm not."

I was about to retaliate when his face turned serious. Hindi ko napansin na suot na pala niya sa kabila niyang tenga ang earphones. He was listening to Roi and Arin's challenge inside the horror house. Meanwhile, I couldn't wear mine because I didn't want to relive the experience I just had inside. Pero kahit wala akong suot na earphones ay naririnig ko pa rin ang pagsigaw nilang dalawa mula kay Zion dahil magkatabi lang kami. Were they okay?