Campus Royalties (Kingdom University, #1) | Published under Psicom Publishing

Chapter 26

There were a lot of thoughts floating in my head, but all I could do was stare vacantly at the wall in front of me.

Tricia and I went back to the rest house after that meeting. Dumiretso siya sa kuwarto niya para maghilamos dahil namamaga pa rin ang mga mata niya kakaiyak kanina. Nag-stay naman ako sa common area at naupo lang sa center couch. Everything that I heard and learned was just starting to sink in.

Hindi ko lang natanong kung ano ang purpose niya sa pagsama sa trip kung gusto niya talagang umiwas kay Darryl. I was thinking about closure, but why now?

My thoughts were pulled back to the present when I heard the girls calling my name. They were gesturing me to the patio. Mukhang ready na ang breakfast. Pushing the thoughts at the back of my mind, I headed toward them.

***

They prepared a simple breakfast: toasted breads, fried eggs, hotdogs, sausages, and fried rice. Nang makita ko ang pagkain ay agad akong nakaramdam ng gutom kaya kumuha na rin ako ng plato at utensils. Maya-maya pa ay nagsidatingan na rin ang iba at nagsimulang kumain.

Umupo ako sa pinakagilid matapos kumuha ng portion ko pero napatigil ako nang tumabi sa akin si Darryl. I could feel their eyes discreetly glancing at our direction, and that made me overly conscious. Binilisan ko na lang ang pagkain ko para makabalik na ako sa room pero bigla akong nabulunan.

I was about to ask for a glass of water, but it was already in front of me. Agad ko namang ininom ang tubig na binigay ni Patrick at makalipas ang ilang segundo ay guminhawa ang pakiramdam ko.

"Thank you," mahina kong sabi.

He smiled in return. "No worries. Dahan-dahan sa pagkain. Okay ka na?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Gutom ka pa ba?" sabay tingin niya sa plato ko. "Gusto mo pa ba ng egg?"

"No, I'm already full. But thanks."

Our short conversation earned suspicious looks from my friends, Ven, and even Darryl. Maybe because we didn't have any interactions in front of them before, yet we looked quite close, so this was a strange sight to them. Dahil tapos na rin naman akong kumain ay dumiretso ako sa room ko.

I plopped onto my bed as soon as I entered our room. Bukod sa kulang ang oras ng tulong ko, ang dami na agad nangyari kahit ilang oras pa lang ang nakakalipas kaya hindi maka-keep up ang utak ko. To sort out my thoughts, I typed everything that happened on my journal and expressed what I felt about them, too.

Bigla namang bumukas ang pinto ng kuwarto kaya napabangon ako. Pagtingin ko, nakapasok na sina Alice at Jess.

"Magsho-shopping muna kami saglit ni Alice. Sasama ka ba?" tanong ni Jess.

"Pass si Yna," dagdag ni Alice. "She said she's still tired."

"Pass din muna ako," sagot ko. "I want to rest."

Sabay na ngumiti nang nakakaloko ang dalawa. "Baka naman gusto lang mag-stay dahil kay bebe boy," pang-aasar ni Alice.

"Para kayong magnet kanina, eh. Dikit na dikit," commented Jess. "Akala ko ba break na?"

Kung hindi lang ako pagod ay magre-retaliate ako pero naubos na ang energy ko kanina. Mabuti na lang at nakaramdam sila kaya agad din silang nagpaalam pero bigla akong may naalala.

"Ah, Jess! Alice!" I called and they both turned around. "Baka puwede n'yo ring isama si Tricia? I think she's feeling out of place, so a little trip to the mall with you may cheer her up even just a little."