A love so cold

Prologue

"Hi! I'm Claire."

Napa-angat ako ng tingin, it was around 9 o'clock am. Nasa school cafeteria kami ni Diane, my best friend. We waited for Dustine at hindi pa man ito nagtatagal dumating may lumapit na sa kanyang babae. Napapailing na lang ako. Maraming tao ngayon sa cafeteria dahil maraming nagtake ng entrance exam.

Monique University was a dream school for the students. From the ideal school environment, professional teachers, staff, and facilities, everything was too good. I really like their library too. Dinaanan na namin ni Diane Kanina, pero sumilip lang kami, hindi pa kasi kami puwedeng pumasok since di pa kami official students.

Tinignan ko ang seryosong mukha ni Dustine. He's definitely every girl's dream. He's tall. His face was serious but attractive. He has almond-shaped eyes, the same shape as Diane. His nose is well defined, with a slight hump. His lips are reddish.

"Oh, Hi Claire! I'm..."

Sinipat nito ng tingin si Claire, his expression never changed. The eyebrows didn't even move. You'll never guess what's going on in his mind. Claire is the cheerleader of the cheerleading squad at our school. She's famous and pretty, too. Prettier than you? Tanong ng kabilang bahagi ng utak ko. "Nah!" sagot naman ng kabila, pero di ko namalayan na nasabi ko pala at narinig ni Diane.

"Huh?" Tanong ni Diane sakin, pero mahina lang at pabulong.

"Nothing." sagot ko

Binalik namin ang tingin namin kay Dustine na ngayon ay nakatayo na at inabot ang kamay ni Claire. It's not you, Dustine; how can you do that to me? As in, sa harapan ko pa ha? As if naman may karapatan ka Ely. Nagtatalo ang utak ko ngayon.Kung puwede lang talagang ipagkait ka Dustine ginawa ko na, pero sino ba naman ako diba?

"I'm not interested." sabi ni Dustine sabay ngumiti at ibinalik ang atensyon sa amin ni Diane.

He's not interested. He's not interested. YES! That's the Dustine I know—not interested in women but interested in books, in his studies, and in his computer.

Napapahiya naman na tumalikod na lang si Claire. Nagtinginan kami ni Diane, we decided to ignore her since she'll be more uncomfortable if we notice her. I think it's not the time to say hello. Magkikita din naman kami if ever na dito din siya talaga mag-aral. I heard her family is pushing her to pursue her studies in America.

"Magtetake na kayo ngayon ng entrance exam? What department?" tanong ni Dustine sa amin.

Hindi ko alam, pero parang tumigil ang mundo ko ng magtama ang mga mata namin. I'm not really used to it; the interaction was too close.

"Sa Engineering ako Dust." It's Diane talking to his brother; she didn't call her Kuya. She said it was weird to do so, and Dustine was fine with it. He knows that Diane respects him even though she's not addressing him. It also applies to me. I mean, how can I call him Kuya? I can't address my future husband like that.

"I see, so ikaw Elinon anong dept ka?" Nagulat ako, he was talking to me.

"Ahhhh--- uhmm... anoo..." hindi ako halos makasagot

Pasimple naman akong siniko ni Ely.

"A-Accountacy." sagot ko

"Okay, ihahatid ko muna si Diane hindi kasi magkalapit ang department, nasa magkabilaang side, but you can go with us, ihahatid kita after."

I nodded. I can't even utter a word, so yeah, I just smiled.

Naglakad na kami at magkasabay kami ni Diane.

"Come one, Dust, why don't you call Aydon? I want to see him."

Nangungulit ito kay Dustine, Aydon Khlael Graeman is Diane's Ultimate Crush. He was Dustine's friend.

"Diane, behave. You're not a high school student anymore. You will be in college. Act like a lady."

"I'm acting like Dustine; maybe it's about time to have a boyfriend."

Hindi naman ako magugulat, Diane told me stories about Aydon and how much she wants to be his girlfriend. According to Diane, she was so vocal to Dust about Aydon. She asked him a favor to set them up together, but Dustine declined. .  What's shocking is that Dustine didn't allow her to keep her feelings with Aydon.

"No." Dustine seems determined to say no to Diane.

"As far as I know, Aydon is single, right?"

"He is, but no," he said.

"Well, if he's single and I'm single, maybe we're destined to be together." Sagot ni Diane kay Dustine

"Diane!" saway naman ni dustine kay diane.

"We're going to pass the exam, and then we'll have the man of our dreams, Ely." Baling sa akin ni Diane

Tinignan ako ni Dustine. That look, those eyes... That's something I can't bear to look at any longer. It's melting and penetrating my heart.

"You also like someone?" Tanong nito sakin, his eyes were directly looking at me; hindi ako makakatagal sa ganyan.

"Oh, come on, Dust, don't you know what Ely really likes?"

"Diane." Mukhang may balak pa ata si diane na ilaglag ako sa kapatid niya. It's actually not a super secret, and I don't mind if he knows, but I don't want things to be awkward.

"Oh, my bad." Diane acted like she zipped her lips.

Like that, good girl. It's not the right time for Dustine to know. I'm not sure what level this feeling is. All I know is that, I think, I can't stop liking him. I just can't.

Pinilit ko si Diane na ako na lang muna ang ihatid nila kaya naman sumama siya kay Dustine sa paghatid sa aakin sa designated room ko. Hindi ko pa talaga kayang magkasolo moment with Dustine. Hindi ko alam paano siya kakausapin, paanong approach, anong paguusapan. It's better to have Diane around.

Well, I think I will do well in the exam since I received good luck from Dustine.

Nakaupo na ako ngayon at maya maya pa nga ay dumating na ang proctor for the exam. Nagtake na ako ng exam.