Villanueva Cousin 1: My Midnight Rain

Chapter Five

Nasa loob kami ng locker room nang marinig ko si Marco na nakikipag-usap kina Aaron at Chris.

"Pare, narinig ko kanina mula sa mga block mates ko, na nagkataon namang nasa parehong kurso ni Karina, na siya ang bet sa Tourism department para sa Miss Intrams," sabi ni Marco.

Nakaupo lang ako sa harap nila, tidying my shoes. We had just finished our practice, and there were upcoming USC days as well, usually held in October. It's been a while since I last saw Karina; our schedules conflicted, and she was busy too, especially after becoming the new vocalist of the USC band.

I kind of miss her, you know, but I need to keep this to myself, especially since I have to focus on my studies and sports.

"Talaga ba, pare? Grabe, ang galing naman! Siya nga 'yung Tourism Belle, at nakita ko pa ang pangalan niya sa school forum bilang isa sa Top 10 beauties dito sa ating unibersidad," sabi ni Aaron, habang nagta-type sa kanyang telepono, marahil ay hinahanap ang nasabing forum.

Hindi ako interesado sa anumang mga grupo o forum na meron ang aming unibersidad, ngunit mula sa narinig ko, baka tingnan ko rin ang forum mamaya. Si Levi ang aktibo sa tsismis at lahat ng nangyayari doon; I might ask him later.

"Wow! Ang ganda niya! Baka stolen shots? Maganda talaga ang mga kuha. May mga photographers ba sa paaralan?" sabi ni Chris, nakatuon ang kanyang mga mata sa kanyang screen.

"Captain, tingnan mo to." Wika ni Aaron nilapit pa talaga ang screen ng phone sa mukha ko. I acted like I'm not interested pero syempre tiningnan ko pa din, diko nga lang kinuha ang phone nito baka masabihan pa akong patay na patay kay Karina. Slight lang naman!

"Nah! Don't bother our captain; he's not interested. He already has Olivia," Marco said with a laugh.

I raised my brow! Oh! So, he knows about Olivia, as they were neighbors before Olivia's parents decided to migrate during our 2nd year in college.

"Olivia? The Miss Intrams during our freshman year?" Aaron asked. The three of us are now in our 3rd year, Marco and I having the same course, while Aaron is in Computer Science.

Marco just nodded. I didn't bother to answer, even though Chris and Aaron looked at me, perhaps waiting for my story. As if!

"I'll go ahead!" I said while grabbing my bag. I ignored their calls and went straight to the parking lot. But before that, I decided to buy a drink at the cafeteria.

Thankfully, there were only a few people around now, probably because it's already past 7 PM on a Friday. I didn't have any more schedule, and I heard my cousins were at the Proof Bar in streetscape, our usual hangout clubs.

"Guys, gusto niyo bang pumunta sa Proof Bar sa Streetscape ngayon?" narinig kong sabi ng isa sa kabilang mesa.

I looked over and saw Karina with her friends. There were five of them, one seemed to be gay. No judgment, but the way he talks and acts seems like it. Idk!

"It's Saturday, bitches, so let's go!" said the somewhat tan girl. I didn't know their names; I'm not good at memorizing names. I only know Karina.

"Pero super dollar naman don eh." wika nong isang kasamahan ng mga 'to.

"I'll pay for everything. Besides, this is our first time doing clubs," Karina said. I smirked upon hearing that.

"Bestie, Richton is there!" I heard the gay say to the group. He even squealed while telling his friends.

Luckily, they thought I was busy with my phone, even though the screen was black. I pretended to be occupied, tsinisikap na hindi nila mapansin na nakikinig ako sa kanilang usapan. Ngumiti ako nang kaunti.