The Bucket List

Chapter 4

"Flash fiction?"

"A style of fictional literature of extreme brevity. Six words minimum."

Tumango ako. "Dystopian?"

"Denotes an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."

Tumaas ang kilay ko nang kabisado niya 'yong meaning lahat ng mga tinanong ko. He literally just read these two hours ago.

Mahinang tumawa si Dexter habang nakatingin sa akin kaya sinara ko ang binder ko.

"Tanong ka lang, sweetmate. Masasagot ko 'yan!"

I smirked and showed him our Pre-Calculus book. "Perhaps this one..." nakita ko 'yung panlalaki ng mata niya at bahagyang pagnguso.

"...would take your breath away, sweetmate."

His mouth slightly hanged open, a look of horror mixed with amusement is plastered on his face and he placed his right hand on his chest. "Sweetmate? Tinawag mo akong 'sweetmate'?"

I placed the book in front of him. "OA mo. Basahin mo 'yan tapos may sasagutan ka after."

"'Yong binder mo na lang. Mas madali intindihin 'yon eh."

Inabot ko naman agad sa kaniya kasi nag-message 'yong Pre-Cal professor namin. Hindi ko pa nabubuksan ang message niya ay parang ayaw ko na agad sagutin.

I massaged my temples before typing a reply. She wanted me to represent the STEM strand in Math Wizards. Of course I refused. I'm not fond of joining any contests, dagdag lang sa expectations ni Papa, dagdag responsibilidad.

I stopped typing on my phone when unusual silence invaded my ears. Dumapo ang tingin ko kay Dexter na hindi binubulong-bulong ngayon ang binabasa niya.

Tutok siya sa binder habang nakakunot ang noo. Leaning forward to see what he's reading, I almost choked on my own breath when I saw on what page he is.

Short sentences labeled with numbers that are listed at the back of my binder. My heart started to beat faster when he looked at me, his eyes full curiosity. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin dahil sa hiya na nararamdaman.

"May nagawa ka na rito, sweetmate?"

Bahagya akong umiling bago kuhanin ang binder sa kamay niya. "Mag basa ka na ulit para makauwi na tayo. 'Yong libro na lang gamitin mo."

Pagsapit ng alas singko, mabilisan akong nagligpit habang si Dexter binalik lahat ng libro na ginamit namin. I was about to walk away but he stood in front of me.

"Hazel."

I looked up at him. Kumunot ang noo ko nang makita na ngiting-ngiti siya sa akin kaya nawala na 'yong mata niya, parang may gusto siyang sabihin. Dumapo ang tingin ko sa leeg niya at may nakitang mga kulay pulang nakaukit doon.

Hindi pa malinaw 'yong nakita ko ay inayos na niya agad ang hoodie na suot.

"Bakit?" isinukbit ko ang bag sa balikat. "Uwi na 'ko."

Just as I started walking away, he said something that instantly stopped me in my tracks.

"Gawin natin 'yong bucket list mo, sweetmate."