The Nerd I Never Noticed

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Nerd and The Fear of Falling

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"Pero marunong ka magbasa at magsulat ng Mandarin?" tanong ni Eleanor kay Yohan. They were currently talking about what happened during Adela and Yohan's lunch with Adela's parents last Saturday.

Umiling naman si Yohan. "Hindi na rin, pero naiintindihan ko pa rin 'yung characters. Like, I can read the words but I don't understand what they mean."

"Of course Yohan can't speak Mandarin. This idiot speaks horseshit," biro naman ni Harper, side-eyeing him, dahilan para matawa si Eleanor.

Si Adela naman ay nagpigil lang ng tawa, as she currently had something troubling on her mind—planning to end their fake relationship—which was why she couldn't act natural.

Meanwhile, Yohan could sense her being distant. He tried to act as if he didn't notice it so as not to ruin the mood. But in his mind, he thought, Why does it hurt when you're silent like that?

Yohan threw a side-eye at Harper while they were all walking, about to leave the campus. "The only idiot around here is you, Harper."

Harper playfully pulled Yohan's hair. "Aray!" reklamo ni Yohan.

"OA, 'di naman malakas," natatawang sabi ni Harper.

Yohan then playfully pulled Harper's hair too.

"Ba't ka nananabunot ng babae?!" reklamo ni Harper habang nakahawak sa likod ng ulo niya.

"Wow, ano 'yon? Pag ikaw, pwede? Pag ako, hindi? Grabe, ang unfair. Gender bias," Yohan replied playfully. Natawa na lang sina Eleanor at Adela sa bangayan ng dalawa.

Eleanor cleared her throat. "Anyway, balik tayo sa pinag-uusapan natin kanina. So, 'di ba, Yohan, singkit ka nga. Pag ba tumatawa ka, may nakikita ka pa ba?"

Napatingin naman si Yohan kay Eleanor, 'di makapaniwala. "Bakit, El? Umaalis ba mga mata ko pag tumatawa? Saan sila pumupunta?"

Natawa naman sina Harper at Adela sa pilosopong sagot niya. Si Eleanor naman ay umirap lang.

"Si Jimin kasi, wala raw nakikita pag tumatawa, kaya akala ko gano'n ka rin," paliwanag ni Eleanor, medyo inis.

"I don't squint my eyes when I laugh," sagot ni Yohan.

"You rarely laugh, Yohan," chimed in Harper.

"Correction—you rarely see me laugh. Ibig sabihin lang no'n, boring kayong kasama," biro niya.

"Hoy!" "Woy!" sabay na reklamo nina Harper at Eleanor.

"Adela oh, boring ka raw," sumbong ni Harper kay Adela. Nakangiti lang naman siyang napapayuko.

"Shut up, Harper. Adela's an exception," inis na sabi ni Yohan at mahinang tinulak si Harper.

"Yuuuu! Exception, exception! Daming alam!" pang-aasar ni Harper habang mahina ring tinutulak si Yohan.

Bigla namang nahiya si Yohan kaya sinamaan na lang ng tingin si Harper at hindi na umimik. Si Adela naman, mas lalong bumigat ang loob dahil sa pang-aasar na ginawa nila, lalo na sa sinabi ni Yohan.

Maya-maya, nakalabas na sila ng gate.

"Mauna na kayo, Adela, ni Eleanor papunta sa inyo. Bibili lang ako ng 24 Chicken," sabi ni Yohan, saka bumaling kay Harper. "Samahan mo 'ko."

Mabilis na kumunot ang noo ni Harper. "Luh?! Ba't ako? Ayaw ko! Imbes na diretso na, eh!"

"Ang arte mo naman! Ayaw mo no'n? Mas may time ka para pumili ng flavor," inis na sagot ni Yohan.