A Fairytale's Mishap

CHAPTER 17: Threatened

Pero maya-maya lang ay narinig ko ang pagtawag ng isang pamilyar na tinig ng babae.

"Kairi! Kairi, wait!"

Sa paglingon ko ay kita ko si Hershey na papalapit sa akin.

"Hey!" Nakangiti ko namang bati sa kanya.

"Where did you guys go? Hindi kayo umuwi sa bahay kagabi." Mahina lang ang pagkakasabi niya. Trying to make sure no one's gonna hear about it.

Nagkibit-balikat ako. Trying my best to act naturally. "Ewan ko jan sa kuya mo. We went at the cabin house near the lake."

Napakunot siya at tila bahagyang nagulat, "Really? You went there? Ano namang ginawa niyo dun? I didn't know that place is still livable."

Muli akong nagkibit-balikat. "I think you better ask him about that." Magpapaalam na sana ako para umiwas sa patuloy niyang pagtatanong. Pero mula sa di kalayuan ay natanawan ko si Jake na kasama ang mga grupo. That didn't bother me though. What bothered me was there's a girl talking to her right now. And he's smiling!

"Uhm, Hershey... Do you know who that girl is?"

Sinundan naman niya ang tinitingnan ko. Saka umikot ang mga mata na tila naiinis. "That's Sharyn. Obviously, she's interested in him. Mula nang dumating si kuya, she keeps on getting his attention."

Napakunot ako, "Kabilang din siya sa grupo niyo 'di ba?"

"Yup. But she's one of my least favorites. She feels too entitled."

"But why is your brother smiling at her?" I wasn't able to control my tongue before saying that out loud.

Natawa tuloy siya, "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Higit akong kumunot, "No. I'm just... I'm just asking."

Higit siyang natawa. But I ignored her. Nakatutok ang atensyon ko sa dalawa. That Sharyn girl is obviously saying something that's making Jake smile. Of course, I'm jealous. But I'm also curious. It's something that I haven't seen DJ do before. All his attention was on me. And I'm too secured by that. Now though, I feel like any minute someone's going to steal him away from me. Siguro kailangan kong luwag-luwagan ang pagpapakipot sa kanya. Right?

"Don't worry about her too much. Tingin ko ikaw naman ang gusto ni kuya."

I looked at her, "What made you say that?"

"Sharyn's been doing anything just to get a date from him. And she keeps on failing. But you, you even managed to spend the night with him. And you just met like a couple of days ago."

Pakiramdam ko ay namula ang mga pisngi ko sa sinabi niya.

"Omg! You're blushing. I'm curious what you guys were up to last night. But thinking about it now, grosses me out. He's my brother, for Chrissake!"

Natawa ako sa sinabi niya. Sa muli kong paglingon sa kinaroroonan ni Jake ay nagtama ang mga mata namin. He's not smiling anymore, but he's seems curious as to why I'm laughing. Agad namang nawala ang ngiti ko pagtingin kay Sharyn. I don't even want to describe how she's looking at me right now.

Humugot ako ng malalim na paghinga, "Seems like there's another Lavinia that I need to handle."

"What did you say?"

Binalik ko ang tingin kay Hershey, "Nothing. I said I'm late. Got to hurry up now. See you later."

Hindi ko na siya hinintay sumagot at mabilis nang tumalikod. I need to gather my thoughts right now. I need to make another plan. Maging sa ibang mundo ba naman ay meron pa ring Lavinia. At ilang Lavinia ba sila? This time I feel more threatened. Because there's a big possibility that he could fall in love with other girls.

_______________________________________

"I need to see your schedule." Buti na lang ay napigilan ko ang pagsigaw. Sa pagsara ko ng locker ay mukha agad niya ang bumungad.

"God, Jake! Can you at least spare me from having a heart attack." Siniguro kong nakalock ang locker bago tumalikod at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad. Naramdaman ko namang sumunod siya.

"I said I need to see your schedule."

"What do you want it for?"

"Para alam ko kung saang room ka at kung kelan ka bakante."

Tumaas ang isa kong kilay, "At bakit mo nga kelangang malaman?"

"Paano ako makakapangligaw kung hindi ko alam, di ba?" Balik niyang tanong. Well, he's right. That makes sense. But it doesn't mean I should easily give my schedule to him. I'm happy that he's still interested in me though. Kahit na kanina ay may isang Lavinia na tumutukso sa kanya.

"So do you still have a class?" Muli niyang tanong.

I looked at my watch. It's 4:30pm. "Wala na."

"Good. I'm starving. Let's go eat now."

Bahagyang naningkit ang mga mata ko. He's so bossy. "Ganyan ba ang nangliligaw? You're not even inviting me properly."

"Oh jeez! I forgot!" sabi niya habang eksaheradong hawak ang ulo. Mabilis siyang pumwesto sa harapan ko saka bahagyang nag-bow katulad ng isang gentleman noong sinaunang panahon, "My lady, would you mind accepting an invite from this silly old beggar?"

Bagamat natatawa ay pinilit kong pigilan. "What kind of invite would that be, old man?" pagsasakay ko naman.

"A supper I prepared only for the most beautiful girl I've ever met." Nakatingin siya sa akin na tila seryoso pero halata ang itinatagong pilyong ngiti.

Kunyari ay mataray kong itinaas ang isang kilay, "Hmm, seems like I am not convinced and would gladly decline the offer."

"But... But... may I dare ask why, my lady?" Kita ang pagkagulat sa mukha niya. Pero alam kong umaarte pa rin siya.

"Because I simply do not like to be in the company of those who are old and frail. It's not hidden from my awareness that they're about to perish soon."

"Well... Well... would you at least kiss an old dying man?"

Natawa ako ng pasarkastiko saka umirap, "No." maiksi kong sabi at agad ng umiwas sa kanya. Kahit ba naman sa role playing, manyak pa rin?

Mabilis naman siyang nakahabol. "So would you accept the offer?" tila napagod na rin siya pag-arte.

Gusto ko sanang tumanggi. Pero sinabi ko sa sarili kanina na kelangan ko ring luwag-luwagan ang pagpapakipot. Sumulyap ako sa kanya saka nagkibit-balikat, "Yeah, it's fine. Sure."

Ang akala ko ay sa canteen lang kami kakain. But he drove all the way to a pizza parlor downtown. I objected at first but he said we're heading home anyway so might as well go to a much decent place.

We sat at a corner near the glass windows. Habang kumakain ay nagsimula na siyang mag-open about different topics. Obviously, he wants to know more about me. And he's the one who do most of the talking. Hindi naman sa nagpapakipot ako. It's just that I'm trying to be careful. I don't want to get caught up with my own web of lies.

"What are your hobbies?" Muli niyang tanong.

"Nothing much. I'm boring, okay? Kaya bago ka mangligaw, siguraduhin mo muna na handa kang pumasok sa isang napakaboring na relasyon."

Natawa siya. I looked at him. Nakatingin lang siya sa pagkain. "What's funny?" I asked.

"You? Boring? I don't know. But I kind of doubt that."

Napakunot ako. "And why is that?"

"You should've seen yourself this morning... while I was inside you." Bahagya siyang nakayuko but I could see him closed his eyes like he's trying to remember it. Bumuntung-hininga siya saka binuksan ang mga mata at tumingin sa akin. His brown eyes looked lighter and brighter accentuated by the rays of sunset reflecting from the glass window of the shop. "You were so fvcking hot. I could assure you, Kairi. You are sincerely not boring."