Hardest Goodbye [ON-GOING]

Page Four

Page Four

Rumors

Two weeks had passed at mas napapadalas yung pagkikita namin ni AL every dismissal. It's either we play LOL or eat somewhere. Minsan kasama namin sina Brix, minsan kaming dalawa lang. Just like today, dalawa lang kami since umuwi na raw si Brix. We're eating in a cafe malapit lang sa terminal nang jeep na sasakyan ko.

"nga pala AL, alam mo ba ba't hindi ako pinapansin nila Bea? Saka napansin ko na parang awkward yung mga batchmate natin kapag kausap ako, well except the boys, tapos si Tin Grace naman hindi ko pa nakakausap since busy din yun" i asked him.

Nakita kong medyo natigilan siya. Nag iwas siya nang tingin at nagpatuloy sa pagkain.

"Nega ka lang siguro" maikling sagot niya.

Hanggang matapos kaming kumain ay hindi na namin napag-usapan yung tanong ko sa kaniya kanina. Medyo tumahimik din siya. Ano kayang problema? Hinintay niyang makaalis yung jeep na sinsakyan ko bago siya sumakay sa jeep din. I felt my phone vibrate kaya kinuha ko ito.

Aiden:

I'm sorry.

Ako:

Sorry? For what?

Napaisip ako kung may nagawa ba siyang mali sakin, pero wala naman eh. Why is he saying sorry?

Nakarating na ako sa bahay pero hindi parin siya nagrereply sakin. Hinayaan ko nalang. Baka wala nang load. Baka bukas na yun magreply.

A week had passed at hindi na nagpaparamdam si Aiden sakin. I wonder why. Naging busy din ako sa school kaya hindi ko siya natetext.

I was eating my lunch with Yanna when I felt my phone vibrate. Mabilis ko iyong kinuha. Baka si AL. But I was a but disappointed when I saw that it was Tin Grace.

Tin Grace:

Hoy babae 'san ka? Naging busy lang ako sa school tapos eto na pala yung nangyayari? Call me!!!

Huh? What does she mean na nangyayari? Agad akong tumayo sa kinauupuan ko at pumunta sa labas nang cafeteria bago ko siya tinawagan.

"Pinagsasabi mo?" tanong ko sa kaniya.

"Hindi mo sinabing kayo na pala ni AL! Kakatampo ka na ha!" sigaw niya sa kabilang linya.

Nabigla ako sa sinabi niya. Ba't magiging kami ni AL?

"Gaga ka ba? Ba't magiging kami?"

"Bakit hindi ba?" nagtatakang tanong niya.

"Hindi! Duh? Saka ba't mo nasabi yun?"

"Totoo? Sinabi kasi sakin ni Mikee na usap usapan daw relasyon niyo ni AL. Sobrang naglandian daw ka'yo nung birthday ni Hope at sobrang galit si Nicole sayo kasi nga diba ex niya si AL?"

Natigilan ako sa sinabi ni Ting. Agad nag flashback yung mga times na hindi ako pinapansin ni Bea at yung pagpunta nila sa Mall na hindi ako kasama. Naalala ko rin yung madalas naming pagkikita ni AL. It all makes sense kunv bakit awkward yung treatment nung mga batchmate namin sakin. And it make sense kung bakit natahimik si AL sa tanong ko. Maybe he knows. Is that why he's been ignoring mw for a week?

"I have to call AL. I'll call you later again! Bye"

"Wait wha--" hindi ko na narinig yung sunod na sinabi ni Ting since inend ko na yung call.

I tried to call AL but he's not answering so I texted him instead.

Ako:

I know about the rumor. Magkita tayo.

Binulsa ko na ang phone ko after I texted him at bumalik na sa table namin ni Yanna.

"Anong oras nga next class natin?" I asked her.

"3:30pm. May 20 mins pa tayo. I'll just finish my food" she said.

Nang magdismissal na ay agad kong tinignan ang text ni AL kanina na hindi ko naopen dahil nasa klase ako.

Aiden:

I'm sorry. Kita tayo mamaya @6pm okay lang ba? 5:30 pa kasi yung dismissal ko.

I looked at my wrist watch. 5pm nanaman so okay lang.

Ako:

Okay sure. Sa Piermont nalang?

Aiden:

Sige. Ingat ka.

I still have an hour but I decided na pumunta nalang nang Piermont. I'll study there habang naghihintay sa kaniya. Piermont is the cafe where we always eat.

At exactly 6pm, AL arrived.

"Hey..." he greeted me at umupo na sa harap ko. "Have you ordered na?" he asked

"Coffee lang, kakaubos ko lang" i replied

He called the waiter and ordered the barkada bundle. It's a 4 burger, nachos and fries, then 1 pitcher of iced tea. It's what we always order, kahit dalawa lang kami, we could still finish it.

He looked at me awkwardly. Agad kong iniwas yung tingin ko and he took out his phone to play ML para hindi kami magkatinginan.

"Okay this is awkward" i finally said. Totoo naman, and I'm not used to it. We always talk loudly at each other. Tumawa siya at binulsa na ang phone niya.

"Oo nga. I'm not used to it"

"Alam mo yung about sa rumors right?" I asked him.

"Yeah, tinanong ako ni Wade last week if may something ba satin since you frequently post in your ig story na magkasama tayo" he told me.

"Oh ba't parang kasalanan ko? Saka Brix is with us! Rumors nga naman" I said and rolled my eyes.

"Nagkausap na ba kayo ni Nicole?" he asked

Nicole is his ex. My bestfriend since grade 4.

"Hindi pa. I wanted to talk to you first to clear things out. Saka pano natin matitigil yung rumor?" I looked at him while I was asking him.

Biglang sumeryoso yung mukha niya. He looked at intently pero agad niya rin iyong iniwas.

"There's only two ways. First, we'll stop talking to each other.. or we'll make the rumors truw. And What if I'll tell you na I don't want those rumors to stop? What if I want it to be true?" He looked at me again. "I like you Dee. Kahit anong pigil ko hindi talaga mawala. " he honestly said. "I want you to give me a chance Dee. We've been friends for a long time and I want to end it and start a new relationship with you as a couple"

"What?" I didn't know what to say.

Thankfully biglang dumating yung order namin kaya agad na nawala yung titigan. We ate and when we finished we stood up na. Kinuha ko narin yung bag kong nakasabit sa sandalan nang upuan ko.

"Tara I'll walk you kahit hanggang terminal lang."

Nang makarating kami sa terminal ay agad akong humarap sa kaniya.

"I'll think about what you said. Thanks for today AL. Ingat ka. I sincerely said at tumalikod na para sumakay sa jeep.

***