❝ No, Mr. Angeles. My eyes are fine, I can even see why you deserve to be here. ❞
I bit my lip when Kahel grimaced.
❝ You can leave your bags here temporarily and get it back after the school service. It’ll be for 1 and half hour. Don’t worry you will be okay. ❞
Malakas kong ipinatong ang sarili kong backpack sa lamesa.
❝ Follow me, ❞
Ma-awtoridad na sambit ko saka naunang maglakad palabas ng silid.
I can hear their complaints through the door but after a second they also came out one by one.
❝ Hey, your penalty won’t be gone by simply standing there like an idiot. Move the flowerpots to the wall. ❞
Madalas na gamitin ang pader sa likod na bahagi ng eskuwelahan para mag cutting. Sila rin kasi ang gumagawa no’n kaya sila rin ang pinagawa ng solusyon para hindi na ulit ito magamit.
Hindi na ako nahirapan pang pasunurin sila. Hindi ko nga lubos maisip na mahilig sa gulo ang mga estudyanteng ‘to.
❝ Kahel. You’re not an exemption, move, ❞
Umismid ito at ilang segundo akong tinitigan saka lumayo sa pader kung saan siya nakasandal. Tahimik ko siyang hinabol ng tingin nang magsimula na rin itong tumulong sa paglilipat ng mga paso.
The exact moment when I started to watch him from a distance was vivid. It was the day after he appeared in my very own dreamland. He was smiling there while holding my hand. Dream is only a seed of our imagination and desires but I never expected that it would lead as a trigger for an admiration to grow without inhibition.
And perhaps, what genuinely bothers me the most is the idea of him—who just doesn’t give a fuck to anyone.
He seems unbothered all the time—as if the world is solely revolving for him.
❝ Good work. Let’s meet again tomorrow, ❞
Nakangiting sambit ko.
Para namang nakarinig ang mga ito ng kung anong himala dahil mabilis silang nag-si-alis pagbalik sa guidance room.
Binuklat ko ang pahina ng memo at isa-isang minarkahan ang mga pangalan nila.
❝ I remember now. ❞
Kusang napako ang mga paa ko sa semento nang marinig ang pamilyar na boses ng lalaki na siyang nakatayo sa harapan ko. Akala ko ay umalis na siya katulad ng iba.
❝ It was you, right? You puked on my coat during our prom last year. I almost forgot that it was really you because you weren’t wearing your glasses that day. ❞
Nalukot ang mukha ko. I remembered accidentally puking to a stranger last year because I was drunk. But the face of that stranger is vague.
❝ That was embarrassing. If I were you I wouldn’t want to remember it either.❞
Nakangising usal nito at nakapamulsang tumalikod.
❝ You still owe me for ruining my tuxedo,❞
Dagdag na sambit niya bago tuluyang maglakad palayo sa’kin.
Gumapang ang init sa magkabilang pisngi ko. Hindi ko halos maigalaw ang mga paa ko upang maglakad.
I never imagined that it would be you of all people.
---
❝ Where is Arya Celestine Xavier? ❞
Malakas akong napadaing nang malakas na tumama ang ulo ko sa ilalim ng sarili kong arm rest. Halos hindi ko na nailagay nang maayos ang mga aklat sa ilalim ng upuan ko.
Kahit pa dinadamdam ko ang kirot ay pilit kong nilingon ang lalaking prenteng nakasandal sa pinto ng classroom namin. He is grinning while looking at me.
UNPRECEDENTED
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