Queue

Chapter 7

It wasn't supposed to be a special day.

I was just killing time between classes. I had no plans, no thoughts, no expectations. Kaya ayun, diretso ako sa café sa tapat ng building namin the one with the unstable WiFi and the perfect lighting for pretending I had my life together.

Pagbukas ko ng pinto, sakto may palabas. It was him. Elian. White shirt, black joggers, tumbler in hand. Headphones on, but not plugged in. Parang background character sa pelikulapero ako 'yung nag-pause ng buong eksena. Hindi niya agad ako nakita. But I definitely saw him. He looked up. We made eye contact. Not dramatic. Not lingering. Pero enough para may manginig konti sa chan ko.

I smiled automatic. He didn't. Pero hindi rin siya umiiwas. He just nodded. Slight. Almost nothing. But it hit harder than it should've. Ayun. That's it. That's my main character moment. And I didn't even rehearse. He walked past me like he wasn't quietly breaking my peace.

Minutes later, I sat near the window, drink in hand, pretending to scroll. I replayed the last ten seconds in my head about ten times.

And then I saw him again. He was still outside. Leaning against the rail, sipping his drink, scrolling through his phone. I swear hindi ko siya tinititigan. I just... happened to glance that way. Every 5 seconds.

Ano bang ginagawa nito? Wala bang klase ang mga tahimik? Then my phone vibrated.

Elian: "Are you the girl earlier? I blinked. Twice.

Klea: "Saan?"

Klea: "If you're talking about the one you ran into at the café earlier, Oo. Ako 'yun. Cute 'no?"

Typing...

Elian: "What?, I was just looking at your drinks."

Klea: "Wala HAHAHA joke lang, kala ko napansin moko na mala main character"

Elian: "Yung cup kasi may sticker. Ikaw wala."

My jaw literally dropped. Was that... was that a joke?

Klea: "So you did notice me."

Seen.

Elian: "A little."

BOOM. Internal screaming. Silent fireworks. Zero recovery. I looked out the window again. He wasn't there anymore. But somehow, this time, it didn't feel like nothing.

That night, I was just in bed, doom scrolling through peoples stories. Most were foods, cats, memes,. travels. And then-

Elian.

One story. No caption. No filter. Just a photo. A messy desk, scattered rulers, scratch papers with formulas, a hal done plate and a coffee cup.

I was hesitating but I replied.

"Feel ko need mo ng architect student para mas mapadali plates mo"

Elian: Baka lalong lumala.

Klea: Ouch! Disrespect sa future architect to. #Unfollow

Elian: Okay lang ikaw naman unang nagfollow

Then I stared at the screen for a few seconds.

I typed.

"May free time ka ba this week?. Same topic naman tayo sa load analysis. Sabay na tayo gumawa ng plates para atleast di ako naghihirap magisa, dun ulit sa café last time."

Seen.

Elian: Let me think of it.

That was it. No follow-up. Ididn't message again. Maybe he was busy. Maybe he had a lot on his plate. Or maybe he didn't want to feel like he owed anyone time. And that was okay at least he read it and somehow that was enough for tonight.