Strings of Memory

Chapter 22

"Tara na sa counter," aya ni Rive, kaya tumango ako.

We paid for the things we bought and went to Youssef's garage. Pagkarating namin doon, agad naming inayos ang mga gamit at nagsimula nang mag-practice.

Every morning, we would play different songs para masanay kami. After all, we needed to work on our synchronization. And every afternoon, we would focus on practicing the song we were going to perform at the festival.

"Break time muna!" Rive announced.

Nagsitigil kami sa pagtugtog, at gaya ng inaasahan, nag-unahan sa pagkuha ng pagkain ang deskmate ko at si Elliot.

Those gluttons.

Kumuha ako ng isang bote ng tubig at naupo sa isang sulok. Then, out of nowhere, biglang lumapit si Elliot na may dalang pagkain.

"Hey." Bati niya, sabay upo sa tabi ko.

I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

Nabalot kami ng katahimikan. Pinanood ko sila Rive na nag-uusap sa di kalayuan habang si Elliot naman ay abala sa pagkain.

Uminom ako ng tubig.

"Do you like Luna?" Biglang tanong ni Elliot, na nagpasamid sa akin.

Tumawa siya at marahang hinagod ang likod ko.

Fuck! Of all the things he could have asked, bakit 'yon pa? Ano na naman ba ang trip nito?

Nang umayos na ang pakiramdam ko ay tumigil na si Elliot. Tinitigan niya ako na para bang hinihintay ang sagot ko sa tanong niya, pero hindi ko iyon binigay.

Imbes ay tinanong ko siya pabalik. "Do you like her?"

I already knew the answer. I just wanted to steer the conversation towards him. I didn't really want to answer his question.

"Yes," he said, almost nonchalantly.

I was taken aback by his answer. Although alam ko na ang sagot, I never would have guessed na aaminin niya iyon sa akin. I didn't expect him to answer me directly. I thought he would beat around the bush or be flustered, but his straightforward answer and reaction were something I never imagined.

"Now you know. So, it's your turn. Answer my question," sabi niya, habang ngumiti.

Pero kagaya kanina, hindi pa rin ako sumagot.

His smile faded, and we stared at each other. He looked so serious, like he was trying to figure out what's going on in my mind, so I tried my best to keep a poker face. After a few minutes, he spoke again.

"You do," sabi niya, as if he was completely sure of it.

Hindi ako nagsalita at tinitigan ko lang siya. How can he be so sure about that? I always made sure not to make it too obvious. Or was I wrong about it? Was I too obvious? I mean, I'm pretty sure Rive already knows about it dahil palagi ko siyang nahuhuli na nakangiti habang nakatitig sa amin ng deskmate ko kapag nagkakausap kaming dalawa. At ilang beses na din niya akong nahuling nakatitig o namumula nang dahil sa kaibigan niya.

"I like her, and you're the same, right?" Sabi niya, nang walang nakuhang sagot mula sa akin.

Yes. I do like her. Matagal ko nang tinanggap sa sarili ko na gusto ko ang deskmate ko. I already stopped denying it dahil wala din namang nangyayari. Hindi ko pa din napipigilan ang puso ko sa pagwawala nito kapag nasa malapit siya.

Nagpatuloy siya, "Now that we both know we feel the same way about her, you should man up and confess."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Why would I do that? Why don't you do it instead?"