Campus Royalties (Kingdom University, #1) | Published under Psicom Publishing

Chapter 38

"Steff, ready ka na ba?" sigaw ni Dad mula sa labas ng kuwarto ko.

"Yes, dad! Palabas na!"

I wasn't able to attend the first three dawns of Simbang gabidawns of Simbang gabi. Kahapon naman ay hindi namin nakasama si Dad dahil may business meeting siya for two days sa Cebu at tanghali na siya nakabalik. This Tuesday lang kami nakumpleto kaya mukhang excited si Ven.

Today was the fifth out of nine masses, and there were already a lot of people even if it was just 3 a.m. Pumuwesto kami sa right side dahil doon 'yong may vacant seats pa. We sat on the left end of the pew pero napatigil ako nang makita ko kung sino ang makakatabi namin.

Darryl met my gaze and we stared at each other for a few seconds, unsure of how to react. The one who broke the ice was Tita Inna.

"Hija? Oh, Steven," sabay tingin niya sa amin ni Dad.

Dad's eyes widened upon seeing her. "Inna, nandito rin pala kayo."

The two grew close when I was hospitalized before. Dahil sila ang nagligtas sa akin at si Dad ang nag-asikaso ng lahat ay nakapag-usap na rin sila ng ilang beses.

"Steff, aren't you going to sit down?" asked Mom.

Dahil ako na lang ang nakatayo sa amin ay wala akong nagawa kung hindi ang umupo sa tabi ni Darryl. I felt awkward when I saw him in the restaurant, and it felt more uncomfortable this time because we were with our families.

I could feel his shoulder brushing against mine, but I remained silent. Tahimik kaming nakinig sa misa pero nasira na naman ang concentration ko nang hawakan niya ang kamay ko noong kumakanta na ng Ama Namin. Pakiramdam ko tuloy ay nagkakasala ako dahil distracted ako.

Something inside me stirred when I felt his hand tightening around mine. He was warm, and I could feel the same heat rushing onto my cheeks. I maintained a poker face until the end of the mass, but in reality, my heart had gone haywire.

Ako ang unang lumabas nang matapos ang mass dahil ang init na ng mukha ko at ayaw kong mapansin nila iyon. After that incident in the restaurant, I had already accepted that he didn't have any romantic feelings toward me. That was the reason why I made that gift. I wanted him to know my feelings, so I could come to terms with them, and finally move on . . .

. . . yet a single act from him was enough to rouse and sway my emotions again.

Nakakainis. Akala ko ba hindi niya ako gusto? Why was he doing that? Tapos heto naman ako, biglang aasa na naman.

I thought that would be the last time that I would see him this year, but fate was playing a cruel game with me. Apparently, napagkasunduan ng parents namin na sabay um-attend sa remaining masses kaya lalo lang tumagal ang paghihirap ko.

He would always sit on the other end, so that we could sit side by side. I tried switching places, but Venice would always push me first when getting in the pew chairs, so I had no choice but to sit beside him.

Hindi pa rin kami nagpapansinan at iyon na lang ang pinagpapasalamat ko. Maybe he felt that I was uncomfortable, or he just didn't feel like talking to me at all.

"Ate, bakit hindi kayo nag-uusap ni kuya Darryl," tanong ni Ven nang matapos ang second to the last mass.

"Kailangan ba?"

"Para kasing ang awkward n'yo," she remarked. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

"Huh? Wala!" I intoned.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "May something talaga, eh. Do you like him now? Like for real?"

"N-no way!"