Chasing Boundaries (Parallel Rhythms Series 1)

Chapter 19

"Isa lang sa'yo?" he asked.

I faced him, confused. "Yeah?" patanong kong tugon.

He giggled. "I thought you'd reward yourself a bit more since you worked so hard today." nakangiting anito. "It's my treat, kumuha ka na ng dalawa." he insisted.

"There's no need." sagot ko naman.

"I know!" he trailed, like an idea popped out of his head. "Bibilhan na lang kita ng ilang piraso para madala mo sa bahay niyo. That way, may makakain kang ice cream kapag nagki-crave ka at hindi mo na kailangang lumabas."

I blinked multiple times, that was a lot to process. Napangiti ako dahil sa sinabi niya. How did he know that I crave those cones even when I'm at home?

But I too, had thought of doing that before. "'Wag na." I smiled at him.

His forehead creased, his lips were formed into a small pout. "Bakit naman?"

I chuckled at his reaction. "Uubusin lang 'yan ng kapatid ko, 'no." napapailing kong sagot.

I too had thought of that idea before. I actually did it. Bumili ako ng tatlong matcha cone no'n, but the next day, all of them had gone missing. I asked Chelsea about it and she confessed about eating all of them. Nagalit ako, siyempre. Pero anong magagawa ko, si Chelsea 'yon. All of the anger I had that day subsided without me even noticing it.

In the end, I just stopped bringing matcha cones home.

"You have a sibling?" takang tanong naman nito. "Anong pangalan niya?" he added.

"Ah, yeah. Chelsea ang pangalan niya." I answered.

Archein faced the cooler before putting his hand inside of it. "She's in grade 10, right?"

My forehead creased, bakit alam niya? I was about to speak, but he caught me off.

"I think Liz knows her. She mentioned her to me before." saad niya. Inalis niya na ang kaniyang kamay sa cooler at ngayon ay may hawak na siyang matcha cone.

So, kaibigan siya ni Liz? That explains why he knew my sister.

"They're in the same section, apparently." he added. He slid the cooler lid close before facing me again. "Liz mentioned her real name and I noticed you have the same last name so I suspected you two were siblings. Tama nga ako." he trailed.

I just smiled. I hope they become good friends. Since pareho naman sila ng section, baka maging magkaibigan rin sila. Speaking of Liz.

"How's Liz pala?" I asked Archein. The last time I saw her was in the coffee shop. I never had the chance to see her again since then.

"She's okay." Archein just shrugged. It seems like he didn't want to talk about it or it does not interest him so I just stopped asking questions.

Naglakad na kami patungo sa counter at binayaran niya na ang ice cream na binili namin. Matapos ay sabay na rin kaming naglakad palabas.

"Why did you buy a matcha cone?" tanong ko sa kaniya habang naglalakad pauwi.

He chuckled. "What do you mean?" natatawang tanong nito.

"I thought you switched to strawberries." As far as I know, he's been chugging down strawberry flavored food these past few days. Why did he suddenly come back to matcha?

His soft laughter turned into a little smile. "I still love matcha, you know?" tipid nitong ani. I thought his statement ended there, but it turns out, I was wrong. "Just like how I still love matcha lovers." he added.

My heartbeat leaped from his sudden remark. Iniwas ko ang tingin sa kaniya nang makitang nakatitig siya sa akin. I gulped as I felt myself heating.

Why does he have to do this to me every single fucking time?!