Chasing Boundaries (Parallel Rhythms Series 1)

Chapter 17

Pero ano pa'ng magagawa ko? Nandito na eh, hindi ko na sila matatakasan.

My brows furrowed as I heard a low chuckle from Archein. Humarap ako sa kaniya at nagtama ang aming mga mata. He was biting his lower lip, but the smile he was trying to suppress still found its way out.

"Let's join your friends then." saad nito.

I just clicked my tongue as I followed him into Sid and Faith's table. Makabuluhan at malawak na ngiti ang iginawad sa akin ni Faith.

"Hi Archein!" Sid immediately greeted as soon as we stood in front of their table.

"Hi Sid. Hi Faith. Can we sit with you?" Archein asked.

Sid playfully scoffed. "Siyempre naman, kasama mo bestfriend namin eh." mapaglarong tugon nito. She even used her hands to gesture us to sit down on the empty seats beside the table.

"Bakit parang nag-iba ang vibe mo, Archein?" takang tanong ni Sid nang pareho na kaming makaupo ni Archein sa bakanteng upuan.

Archein's forehead creased. "Hmm, what do you mean?" tanong naman ang isinagot nito sa tanong ni Sid.

"Wala! No'ng nasa may street food stand kasi tayo sa labas, parang iba ang aura mo no'n." Sid dismissively answered. She even laughed afterwards.

"Oh, that?" Archein apologetically smiled. "I'm sorry if I approached you in an unpleasant way." he trailed. He then faced my way slowly. "We just had a misunderstanding that time." He gave me a meaningful and apologetic look before looking back at my friends.

"Ah..," Sid faced me. "Parang knows ko 'yang misunderstanding na 'yan." she giggled before shaking her head sidewards.

"Bakit wala kayo sa library, Harley?"

Agad namang namilog ang aking mga mata nang marinig ang tanong na iyon ni Faith. My eyes darted her way, and I just saw her raising one of her eyebrows at me while showing off a teasing smirk.

I heard how Archein chuckled a little. I just ignored him and answered Faith's question dismissively.

"Wala naman." I answered nonchalantly. "Order muna kami ni Archein." I diverted the topic.

Faith chuckled. "Sige, hintayin namin kayo."

Tumingin ako kay Archein at sumalubong sa akin ang malawak nitong ngiti. I raised an eyebrow at him. Anong nginingiti-ngiti niya riyan? I just shook my head before speaking.

"Tara, let's order." aya ko rito.

Nauna na akong naglakad papunta sa counter at hinayaan na lang siyang sumunod sa akin. Nang makarating sa may counter ay nag-order na rin kami.

"Fried rice at ham sa 'yo, 'di ba?" he asked, confirming my order. I only nodded in response.

He urged me to eat a slightly heavy meal kahit health break pa lang naman, and of course, I agreed. He said it's to make up for the breakfast I missed earlier. Brunch daw pero kakain pa rin ako ng lunch mamaya.

I just waited for my heartbeat to stop as we stood in front of the counter, waiting for our order to be served.

"Your friends are really friendly and approachable." Archein stated as we waited for our food.

Humarap ako sa kaniya. Katabi ko siya ngayon at pareho kaming nakatayo sa harap ng counter. Buti rin at wala kaming kasabay na um-order dahil medyo late na kami dumating sa canteen.

"Yeah? I thought Sid had a slightly tainted reputation in our school?" natatawang tanong ko.

"Huh? How come?" he asked, confused.

I just stared at him in disbelief. Gano'n ba siya ka-walang-pake sa mga ganap sa loob ng school kaya't pati ang reputasyon ni Sid bilang isang war freak ay hindi niya alam? Oh, nevermind. He needn't mind any business he's not interested in.

"Wala. And yeah, they're really friendly." tumango-tango ako.

Dumating na ang order namin kaya't kinuha na namin iyon at bumalik na sa table nila Sid. Nang makaupo ay agad kong inilapag ang aking pagkain sa lamesa.

Hindi pa man binibigyan ng pangalawang tingin ang pagkain ay agad akong bumaling kay Archein.

"Paabot nga ng bag ko." Tinuro ko ang bag kong nakalagay sa gilid niya.

"What for?" he asked, but regardless, he still handed me my bag.

Hindi ko agad siya sinagot. Kinuha ko mula roon ang notebook ko sa GenMath at inilapag ito sa tabi ng pagkain ko.

"Gagawa ako ng assignment, next period kasi yung General Mathematics." tugon ko. Plano ko kasing gumawa ng assignment na hindi ko nagawa kagabi habang may oras pa. Kaya ko namang pagsabayin ang pagsusulat at ang kumain eh? Multi-tasking, ika nga nila.

But even before I could open my notebook, Archein suddenly took it away from me. Kunot-noo ko siyang hinarap. Ano ba'ng trip niya?

"Akin na." inilahad ko ang kamay ko sa harap niya. I demanded to get my notebook back.

He sighed. "Kumain ka na muna, you need it." he stated.

"Pero kailangan kong gumawa ng assignment." I argued, creasing my forehead even more.

He made a clicking sound with his tongue before sighing yet again.

"Oo, gagawa ka. At tutulungan pa kita. But first, prioritize your food first. You wouldn't want to go back to class with an empty stomach, right?"

I stared at him for a second as I bit my lower lip. I sighed as I finally surrendered.

Sige, tutulungan niya rin naman pala ako eh. Makakain na nga.

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