“Break na kayo?” the sincere surprise in his tone shocked me. All this time…?
“We were never together romantically, Sir. Magkaibigan lang po talaga kami ni Andreau.”
“Weh? Seryoso ba talaga?”
Panalo rin ‘to sa kakulitan, ano? “Oo nga po! Nakamove on na kami sa couple issue dati, Sir. Sana kayo rin po.”
Nakuha na rin ni Sir TJ ang sarcasm ko kaya napatango na lang siya. “Fine fine. Sorry naman ha,” sabi niya na parang nahihiya na ewan. “All along akala ko kayo, okay? Thank you for clearing things up. Sige… iwan na kita dyan. Thesis prop—“
“Sir.. busy?”
“Okay okay. Sorry again!” Kumaripas siya ng takbo pabalik sa kitchen, sa takot na sigawan ko siya. Hay, ang kulit talaga! Ibang klaseng pasensya rin ang meron si Kesh at natatagalan niyang maging boss ‘tong si Sir TJ! Okay, why am I still calling him sir? TJ na lang siya sa’kin simula ngayon. Sobrang nakakairita!
Hindi lang si TJ ang weird sa drama kong Alone ngayon. Pati sina Kesh at Kuya Rico, wagas makabato ng meaningful looks sa’kin. Mas malala naman ang roommate ko, sinasadya pa na ibigay sa’kin ang laging inoorder ni Andreau sabay sabi ng Oopps sorry, girl. Nasanay kasi akong siniserve yan. Kainin mo na, tinatamad na akong palitan at kikindat pa! (Takot ko na lang gumanti, ano. Kesh could be pretty scary sometimes.) Dumagdag pa ang ibang frequent customers ng café na hindi magaling magtago ng gulat nila na makitang mag-isa lang ako sa usual table ni Andreau. The other day may tumigil sa harap ko para magtanong kaso nahiya ata siya kaya umalis na lang.
Weird people making things weirder for them. Hay, life.
I was about to open my laptop nang may narinig akong mabigat na footsteps sa likuran ko. That’s definitely not Andreau kasi hello, the guy’s quiet as a cat. Lagi niya akong ginugulat! Si TJ talaga, ang kulit!
Not looking up, I cleared my throat and said, “Naku Sir TJ! How many times do I have to te—“
“Whoever that guy is, I’m sure it’s not me.”
Whoa. Who the hell was that?
Napatingin tuloy ako bigla and.. whoa.
Beside me stood a guy, an attractive guy. He’s wearing a plain gray shirt, dark jeans and.. black shoes. Damn, his prominent jaw line was kinda familiar. Parang nakita ko na siya somewhere kaso hindi ko matandaan kung saan.
He cleared his throat, and that was enough for me to stop ogling at him. Nakakahiya ka talaga, Pascual! “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” I said in a rush, fighting the urge to run away. “Sure akong hindi ikaw yunng sinisigawan ko because whoa you look better than him. Oh shit, I’m so sorry I don’t mean to make you feel uncomforta—“ I immediately shut my eyes and bit my tongue to stop talking. Way to humiliate yourself, girl!
Of all things, he laughed. That’s a good sign, ‘di ba? He wasn’t creeped out or something? “It’s okay. I’m completely fine. Can I sit here?” he pointed at Andreau’s chair in front of me. All I can do was nod.
(And I must stop referring that chair as Andreau’s ‘coz he won’t be spending his time here anymore. Drama ko talaga minsan nakakairita!)
Okay.. marami namang bakanteng upuan dito sa café pero bakit sa’kin pa siya tumabi? Wala naman siyang dalang laptop so hindi siya makikisaksak sa outlet sa tabi ko. Hmm.. hindi kaya member siya ng isang networking agency?
The guy stared at me for a moment before speaking. “So.. you’re Zade Pascual, right?”
“How’d you know my name?” Triple shit, stalker ba ‘to? O baka naman isang rabies-infested Dreauster? Or taga-Minutes With Beau Perez!?! Is this an ambush interview!?
[38] Possessive Pronouns 101
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