Calle Maganda Series: Mitchelle Laguarda

Chapter 4

     MITCHELLE WAS FIDGETING IN THE CAR SEAT. They are parked a few blocks away from her house. She was able to pass the main gate just in time to stop Manong Paeng from blurting out anything upon seeing her company. Halos lahat ng tao sa Calle Maganda ay kilala kung ano si Nathaniel sa buhay niya.

Perhaps bringing him today wasn't a good idea. But he insisted on sending her home safely.

Kailangan niyang mapakiusapan ang mga kapitbahay at ikuwento ang estado ni Nathaniel. If she wants to help him remember then she needs to expose him of the things he usually do before, minus their real status. And that means, him being in Calle Maganda.

Pero bago iyon, kailangan niya munang kausapin ang mga kaibigan. She is sure they won't be delighted to see him. They'd be furious. They saw how devastated she was when he was gone. Kahit pa sabihing hindi ito dapat sisihin dahil sa naaksidente din naman ito. She remembered how they all promised not to let her go through all that, again. But here she is, with Nathaniel. At paniguradong alam na nang mga kaibigan na nasa village na siya at kasama si Nathaniel.
Sana lang ay pakinggan siya nang mga ito.

"May problema ba?" Pukaw ni Athan sa kanya.

"H-Ha? W-wala naman. K-Kaya ko naman ito." aniya at pilit na ngumiti.

"Was I that bad that even your and my friends would hate me?" malungkot na tanong nito.

She immediately reached out to him. "No! Hindi ka masama, A. You're very kind, playful and helpful, Nathaniel. You are far from being bad. It's just that.." she sighed as she tried to look for the right words and how to put it. "A lot of things happened after you left. And well, they.. They kinda hated you." Halos pabulong na niyang sabi sa huli.

"Why? What happened after I left?"

Tinitigan niya ito. Calculating if she could tell him already. "My... My parents died in an accident." Maingat na saad niya dito.

His eyes widened and she could see his tight grip on the wheel. Nag-iwas ito nang tingin sa kanya. "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry I wasn't there at that time--"

Pinigilan niya ito, "Stop, Nathaniel. You're not at fault."

"But still.. I was your best friend." insist pa nito.

"And you are. Kalimutan mo na yon, Athan. Naaksidente ka. Sapat na rason na iyon para patawarin ka." Inalis niya ang seatbelt. "Ako muna ang papasok sa loob. Tatawagin nalang kita pag okay na."

Akmang bababa na siya nang pigilan nito. "I'm really sorry, Chelle." He said sincerely and hugged her lightly.

  Just as expected, the girls were waiting for her inside. Their all attention was on her the moment she entered. "Uhm.. Morning."

Si Reggie ang unang nagsalita. "Morning? Morning? Yan pa talaga ang una mong sasabihin? You were out the whole night Mitch! Ni hindi namin alam kung saan ka pumunta. And you left your damn phone which is such a great idea!" sarcasm in her voice.

"Tama na yan, Gie." pigil ni Grazzle dito.

"No! She has to hear this! She. Has to put in that big brain of hers that there are people who worry over her!" Pasigaw na saad nito. "Hindi mo ba alam kung gaano mo kami pinag-alala? Brianne can't stop crying last night blaming herself if something would even happen to you! We can't even call the police because it isn't twenty four hours yet! And you come home saying 'morning'? That's unacceptable!"