Warriors Within

Chapter 11

Veda's P.O.V

ANOTHER week passed, ang bilis ng oras. I never imagined a week passing by so smoothly, given the earlier events. Akala ko magiging super awkward and weird ang interactions namin, but it's actually the opposite.

Bihira namin silang makasalubong, kind of weird since we're literally classmates, pero di nga lang din pala sila ordinaryong estudyante. Everytime na magkakasalubungan kami, batian lang, mini talks ganun, casual lang. I guess, I'm the only one who's worried about nothing.

Wala kaming pasok today, weekend, lahat kami nakatambay lang ngayon sa bahay. I just sighed, nandito sila ngayon sa kwarto ko, specifically sa balcony. Ang tahimik nila, di ko alam kung maninibago ako o ewan.

"Guys, I'm bored," Lau said.

"Hello, bored," pilosopong sagot ni Kye. I guess, I spoke too soon.

Nagsimula na naman silang magbangayan, iiling-iling ko na lang silang tinignan. I glanced at Khali, nakatingin na rin pala sakin ang babaita, parehas kaming bumuntong-hininga. "Shopping, guys?" Pagpigil niya sa mga ito nang mapansin na hindi na yata sila matatapos.

Agad na natigil ang dalawa at sabay na lumingon kay Khali, kapwa nanlalaki ang mata. I laughed at them, they didn't even mind me so I laughed more. In a blink of an eye, the two were already rushing to their own rooms, so they could change. "I suddenly regret it," tinawanan ko na lang siya.

After changing, bumaba na rin ako. Halatang excited ang dalawa dahil andun na sila sa pinto, nag-aantay. I looked at Khali's room and saw that she just got out as well, muli na naman akong natawa. She was shaking her head when she approached me, "Tell me why did I even suggested this?"

"You don't love yourself apparently," tatawa-tawa kong sagot sa kanya. Sabay kaming bumaba, hindi pa nga tuluyang nakabababa ay hinatak na kami ng dalawa, masyado raw kaming mabagal. The car was at the front of the house already, so hindi na namin kinailangan pang umikot.

I talked to Mang Jose and told him na ako na lang ang mag d-drive, alanganin naman niyang binigay sakin ang susi. "Basta ey, tawagan mo lang ako kapag kinailangan niyo ng tulong," sinabi niya sakin nang malaman kung san kami pupunta. Natawa na lang ako sa sinabi ni Manong bago siya tinanguan as a form of assurance.

We got into the car and drove off. The ride was quite short, 15 minutes lang lumipas nang marating namin ang mall. Nanguna na ang tatlo habang naghanap pa ako ng mapa-parkingan. After I parked, I got out of the car and was about to follow them when I thought I saw a familiar faces.

I decided to just shrug it of after a while, kanya kanya na kami pagpasok kaya hindi ko na rin tinanong kung nasaan sila. Dumeretso na lang ako sa bookstore, I strolled around hoping to see the book that I have been wanting to get for a long while.

Ilang oras na akong nag-hahanap pero wala pa rin akong nakita, I saw some other books which piqued my interest but none of them was the book that I'm looking for. Para hindi na lang sayang ang punta ko roon, kinuha ko na lang din ang mga librong yon. As well as, some other stationaries and journalling material.

I ended up spending more time than I thought, kumuha at naghanap na rin kasi ako ng ilang supplies for school and some big refillable notebooks na rin. When I checked out, I took out my phone to call Khali and the others. Nag lalakad pa lang ako palabas nang may makabangga sakin.

"Aray!" Sabay naming sabi. Medyo napalakas kasi ang pagkakabangga namin, napuruhan pa yata ang balikat ko. I almost dropped everything, pati na rin ang phone ko. Buti na lang hindi ko pinalagay sa paper bag yung mga libro.