One of the Boys 1 & 2 (Published by Pop Fiction)

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Past

6 years ago...

Every single day, Apa would take pictures of himself, stressed man o hindi. Iniipon niya 'yun para may mailagay siya sa scrapbook na balak niyang i-bigay kay Agatha as his present to her. 

Isang beses, habang naglalakad sa Banff National Park mag-isa para magpahinga, may nakita siyang pamilyar na babae na nakaupo at umiiyak.

"Lizzie?"

Tiningnan siya ni Lizzie. "Yuki!" Napakunot noo ni Apa dahil naalala niya yung aso na binigay niya kay Ags. "Why? Did I say something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No, you did not. What are you doing here alone? Where's David?" David was Lizzie's boyfriend. Classmates sila ni Apa sa med school kaya magkakilala sila.

David is a Canadian-German, while Lizzie's a Filipino-Korean-Canadian. She was born and raised in the Philippines, but transferred in Canada at her second year of college. She actually knew Ags, but Ags didn't know her. School mates sila dati noong highschool, pero mas matanda siya. Since pre-school, sa Manila na siya nag-aral, pero sa Batangas ang probinsya nila.

"David broke up with me, Yuki. At first, I thought he was going to ask me to marry him, but I was wrong. He fell in love with Feline, my supposed-to-be-best friend..." She trailed off. He didn't know what to say. Naalala na naman niya si Ags. "Yuki?"

"Sorry, Lizzie. It's just that you reminded me of someone."

She smiled sadly. "You remember her again, don't you? I mean, si Agatha. Kasi diba I heard Marcus cheated on her with Kar- I'm sorry. Medyo chismosa lang. Sobrang sikat kasi si Agatha noong high school kami. Ang ganda niya kasi at sexy tapos ang gagwapo ng mga kaibigan pati ng boyfrie- sorry ulit." Yumuko siya.

Napangiti si Apa dahil sa kadaldalan ni Lizzie. "Okay lang." Umupo siya sa tabi ni Lizzie. "David and Feline will regret leaving you, that I'm sure of. Sa ngayon, iiyak mo muna yan. Everything will be fine, Lizzie, trust me."

She nodded. "I know. It's just that I love him too much." She hugged him kaya sobrang nagulat si Apa. Ni hindi nga niya nayakap si Ags bago siya umalis dahil maayos hiwalayan nilang dalawa. Isa pa, baka pag nakita niya si Ags, magbago pa isip niya at hindi siya tumuloy papuntang Canada. 

Matagal rin nag kwentuhan sila Lizzie at Apa sa Banff. Si Lizzie nga ang nag suggest kay Apa na i-edit si Ags sa tabi niya para hindi naman isipin ni Ags na self-centered siya.

"She thinks I'm the selfless man in the world."

Lizze nudged him. "Oh come on, you're not! You're selfish."

Tumawa si Apa. "Yeah, I'm not. I'm actually really selfish."

"I know right?!"

"And I was possessive. Hindi nga lang niya alam at ayokong malaman niya. I didn't want to disappoint her. Until now, I trust her, but I hate seeing her with men, especially those who obviously like her."

"Pero puro guys friends niya, right? And according to you, friends mo rin sila?"

Apa nodded. "They all liked her. Lahat ata nagkacrush sa babaeng 'yun. She's beautiful, but they liked her mainly because of her personality."

"Kahit ngayon?"

"Syempre, hindi, pero yung isa, oo."

Tumawa si Lizze. "Pinagseselosan mo kaibigan mo?"

Apa sighed. "Parang ganun na nga."

Bago umalis si Apa ng Pilipinas, kinausap niya lahat ng kaibigan ni Ags including her band mates, high school friends, and their friends. Syempre, hindi kasama si Marcus. Mabuti na lang, hindi siya nagtatanim ng galit dahil kung oo, hindi niya talaga palalagpasin si Marcus.