Shades of Kagan

Chapter 4

"Wait! Wait up!" Someone shouted at my back, but I didn't dare to stop. It's already morning, and I'm on my way to attend my first class. Nagpatuloy lang ako sa paglalakad habang tumitingin sa aking wrist watch. I still had fifteen minutes to spare before my morning class started. After my shift in the hospital, dumiretso na ako agad sa University. I only slept for thirty minutes at the dorm, and I looked like shit right now. I already see this coming, so I'm not complaining. Umaga pa lang pagod na ang aking katawan. I want to sleep.

"Please, wait." May malambot na kamay ang bigla na lang na lang humawak sa aking braso. I flinched from it and distanced myself.

"I'm sorry for touching you. Do you remember me? I'm Nadia from weeks ago." Of course, I remembered her. She's the most beautiful person that I have ever set my eyes on. No wonder why Klaude fell in love with her.

"Napansin ko kasi na ikaw and madalas kasama ni Klaude. I just wanted to ask how is he?" She looked at me with her dreamy eyes. Hindi ko lang akalain na lalapit siya sa akin. Dahan-dahan akong napatingin sa aking wrist watch bago tumingin sa kanya. I only have the gist of their story. Nadia is a beautiful heroine who has a male best friend, Klaude. They've been together for years, and the heroine doesn't know that her male best friend is in love with her. Suddenly, Dan showed being a new character. This new character piqued the interest of our lovely heroine. Klaude confessed his feelings before it was too late, not realizing that the heroine liked the new character. Nadia chooses Dan. Nadia and Dan are now together. Ngayon ay lumalayo na si Klaude sa dalawa para hindi na siya masaktan. But Nadia is trying to approach Klaude. Trying to hold two things: friendship and her love life. I don't think you can hold both two things. In my case, I've thrown it all away.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but why don't you just ask him directly?" I muttered but easily regretted it when I saw the sadness in her eyes.

"I tried, but he doesn't want to talk to me." She said in a low voice. I have this feeling to stay and comfort her, but I'm not in a position to comfort someone right now.

"Klaude is fine, I think. Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you because he's trying to move on. Give him some time, Nadia." All I know is that Nadia rejected Klaude's feelings. Wala naman nasabing iba sa akin si Klaude. To be honest, I don't want to concern myself with their love affair. If Nadia is trying to save her relationship with Klaude, it doesn't really matter to me.

Nadia is wearing a long sleeve paired with skinny jeans. I can see her almost near to tears. Mukhang pinipigilan niya lang ang sarili niyang hindi maiyak. Agad akong napatingin sa aking relo at tiningnan ang oras.

"I'm sorry but I really need to go. I still have my class." Sabi ko sa kanya pero agad niya naman akong pinigilan.

"Wait. I wanted to talk to you for some reason. Your name is Avian, right? Here's my phone number. Call me when you're free." She flashed a smile at me and started walking away. Napatigil naman ako at tumingin sa phone number na binigay niya sakin. When I decided to go to the class, I expected Klaude to be there, but when I scanned my eyes to the entire room, he wasn't there.

Guess I'm back to being alone then. I whispered to myself and sat in my favorite spot near the window. I didn't bother texting Klaude to know where in the world he was.

Nang matapos na ang klase ay hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin nagpapakita si Klaude. I couldn't wait to tell him my encounter with his love of his life but for now, I badly needed a sleep. I applaud myself for not sleeping in the middle of the class.

I started putting all my things inside my backpack when something bumped on my head.

"Ouch," I exclaimed, pag angat ko ng aking paningin ay bigla na lang may lumitaw na nakabalot na lunch box sa aking desk. All I could see was his left hand, and when I tried looking at him, he had already turned his back at me and left the room. I stared at his retreating back. He was wearing a gray hoodie, but he was not wearing the hood. The first thing that I saw was his hair. It's no longer long, and his hair is not tied into a top knot. It was short and cut to the length of his upper nape.