Beanie Girl

Chapter 25

Parang ang gulo lang kasi. Ayaw niyang mag-practice, pero kailangan. Kaya nga tinawag na practice! Practice makes perfect ika nga, sa kanya, practice makes no sense! Nang makarating na ako sa fields...

Halos lumuwa ang mata ko ng makitang wala siya roon!

NASAAN NA YUNG BABAENG YUN?!

Halos mangati na ko sa kakaisip nasan siya. Alam ko mag-tetext naman yun kung nasan siya, kaso wala pa akong narereceive ni isang message sa kanya.

Kahit yung 'Sure' pa niya yon, o hindi.

Halos umikot ang mata ko, hinahanap hanap sya.

“You're too early.” may narinig akong boses mula sa likuran ko. Bigla akong napangiti ng sobra, at lumingon.

The same beanie, uniform, bag and face... Yup. There she is.

“I had to do something.” she says, sitting on the grass, literally sumarizing the things she really did.

Just nice.

I sat beside her, just as she placed her bag on her left, letting me sit on her right. I nudged her arm, which made her head turn to me.

My god, her stare made the hairs on my skin stand! Fck.

“A-Ah-uhm, Magpractice tayo mamaya ah? Para doon sa mga steps na binigay na talagang isasayaw.”

“Sure.”

Seriously?

Atleast, she answered a yes for that!

And last night, I really had the time to practice my dancing skills at home in my own bedroom, playing a classical music, trying to dance with an imaginary partner. I looked liked a total idiot doing it but I got the steps that way. For that, I had the confidence to dance with her.

Imaginary's better than having to dance with Manang. Baka mabigyan ko pa siya ng osteoporosis.

And there goes that long silence again. Nakakaramdam ako ng awkwardness kahit papaano dahil sa mga ganoong pangyayari na minsan eh hindi ko gusto. Hindi tulad niya, ay hindi naman ako laging tahimik. Kaya nagulat naman ako at may mga so called 'friends' rin siya kung ituring. Which makes me think...

“Kinakausap mo rin ba sina Jamiel and... Chris?”

Lumingon muli siya sa akin. The eyes! Damn! “They talk to me.”

“Kailan mo sila nakilala? Buti na lang pala, nag-transfer sila rito.”

“It's a long story.”

“...Then tell me. I'll listen.” I say, getting her full attention. Pansin ko iyon ng bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata niya.

Then, again, silence emerged. Lagi na lang naming kasama ang katahimikan.

She took a sharp breath and once again, looked at the vew before her, before she spoke. “June 10, 2013, first day of class for my 7th year. I chose to sat at the farthest seat of the room, just as I started to look at my new classmates. Then, class started. With the usual introduction, we had to introduce ourselves, as well as the teacher, and the lessons that will be discussed for the whole grading.

But, this particular girl came late. She came 30 minutes late. The teacher looked at her, and asked “Since you are late today, can you introduce yourself to us, kindly?”

She then, plastered a sincere smile, looking at us with glee, “I'm Jamiel L . Patrimonio. 13 years old, I'm actually a transferee here, so sorry for the lousy introduction...”