My Handsome Katipunero

KABANATA 7

"Ah, sige po. P-puntahan ko lang siya."

" 'Di ka ba muna mag-aagahan?"

Umiling ako, " 'Di na po. Sanay na kong 'di nagb-breakfa- I mean, nag-aagahan."

Wala ng nasabi si Aling Isay kaya lumabas na ako ng bahay. Agad namang hinanap ng mata ko si Antonio. And there he is, under the mango tree (Special mention, UMT).

Tumakbo ako palapit sa kanya. "Good morning, Antonio!" I greeted. Nakapagpagdesisyon na ako, I'll befriend everyone here. Magpapakabait ako. Hindi ako magmamaldita. Kahit inis na inis na ako, pipigilan kong hindi mabulyawan ang kung sino mang mang-iinis sakin. Kahit nabubwiset na ako sa kagwapuhan ni Antonio, titiisin ko. Para makabalik sa hinaharap, I have to behave. Because if I do this, baka ibalik ako ni Karlos sa hinaharap.

I'm good at pretending, so this will be a piece of cake.

"Ah? A-ano?" nagtatakang tanong niya.

Great, 'di nga pala siya marunong ng english. 1896 na 'to, 'diba? Wala pa ang mga amerikano? Wait. Ano bang nangyari sa 1896? Saka sa 1897? It's something about the KKK. I can't really recall it. Was I spacing out nung diniscuss nung history prof namin ang tungkol dun?

I shook my head lightly. Pakialam ko ba sa mangyayari ngayong 1896? I'm not from here, 'di ako makikialam. All I have to do is get my ass out of here.

"Sabi ko, magandang umaga." ulit ko.

Napangiti siya, "Magandang umaga rin, binibining Kristin."

"Anong ginagawa mo?" tanong ko. Great, Kristin. Stop asking the obvious. You see, he's having a good time with his pet the carabao. Being nice means being dumb. Tsk.

"Ah, naghahanda. Pupunta ako ng bayan ngayon, ipapagbili ko itong kalabaw namin."

"Pwede ba kong sumama?"

Lumapit siya sa may puno ng mangga at tinanggal ang pagkakatali sa kalabaw, "Sigurado ka ba? Mahaba-haba ang lalakarin pababa ng bayan. Aabutin ng mahigit dalawang oras."

What? "Wala ba kayong sasakyan dito?"

Natatawa siyang napailing, "Naku, wala. Saka mas tipid kong maglalakad ka nalang papunta ng bayan."

"Ganun ba? Sasama pa rin ako."

And then. napahawak siya sa batok niya. Yup, I'm right. It's his mannerism. "Hindi naman sa pinapaalis kita, pero, hindi ba nag-aalala ang iyong pamilya? Dalawang araw ka ng nawawala."

Here we go again. I crossed both my arms in front of my chest, "Nagpaalam ako sa kanila na mawawala ako saglit. So really, there's no need to worry." I sighed. " 'Wag kang mag-alala, 'di ako masamang tao. 'Di rin ako pabigat. Just... Hayaan niyo kong makitira sa inyo." I don't have anywhere to go. At hindi ko alam kung hanggang kelan ako mananatili dito. It's better to have a place to stay.

"Ganun ba? Maaari kang manatili dito hanggang kelan mo gusto." saka siya nag-umpisang maglakad palapit sakin habang hawak ang tali nung kalabaw. Ngumiti siya habang hinihila ang kalabaw, "Tiyak na ikagagalak ng aking lolo't lola na mananatili ka pa ng mas matagal rito. Ikinagagalak ko rin na pinagkatiwalaan mo ako. At," then his eyes landed on me. "masaya akong makakasama pa kita ng matagal."

I felt my cheeks heat up. Agad naman akong napatakip ng mukha. Gosh! What the hell was that? Mas lalong umiinit ang magkabilang pisngi ko, my heart beating fast. I think I look like a red tomato right now.

Why am I reacting like this? He just said he's glad that I trust him. He just said that with a genuine smile on his face. It's normal, so why?

I looked at him between my fingers, he's looking at me with a worried expression on his face. Bloody hell, why do I find it cute? My God, anong nangyayari sa buong sistema ko?

I closed my eyes when he started walking towards me. Gosh! My stomach's fluttering as if they were waving. My heart races even faster. What the fuck! This is freaking me out. What's with this weird feeling?

"Kristin, ayos ka lang ba?" nag-aalalang tanong niya.

"O-okay lang ako." saka ako tumalikod. I can't face him. He would see how red my face is.

"Ika'y namumula. May lagnat ka ata."

"Wala! Sandali lang, may kukunin lang ako." This is freaking embarrassing! This is the first time I acted weird in front of someone.

"Sigurado ka ba, binibini?"

"O-oo!"

"Binibini-"

"Ayos lang nga ko!"

"Pero-"

"Aish! You shouldn't say stuff like that to someone you just met!" He looked at me like I've grown a head. Great. He doesn't understand me, "Language barrier, biggest problem in time travelling!" I hitched my breath, "And please stop looking at me like that!"

Tinalikuran ko siya. This is not me. This is so not me. I am composed when talking to guys, I don't freak out. But with Antonio, I'm acting really weird. Ano bang meron sa kanya for.me to act this way? He's too ordinary, he's too plain, too simple. He's not a hollywood actor. He is handsome, but not worth swooning over.

Why am I feeling like this? And it's creeping the hell out of me.

Naibaba ko ang kamay ko when I heard him laughing. I looked over my shoulder to see him laughing his ass out.

Howndare he laugh at me.

"Problema mo?" mataray kong tanong. My heart still beating fast, and my cheeks still red.

But no matter how much I try to act like a bitch, seeing him laughing like an angel, all the bitching aura was all washed away in an instant.

And darn it.

-

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