PENTA BROTHERS SERIES III - The Last Basketball (GEOFF)

Chapter 9 - Bulls-eye Realization; Whose Room Will She Stay?

Kanina pa nakaalis ang grupo nina Zeb. Kanina pa rin hindi makapagsalita si Marianne.

"W-What was that just now?" sa wakas ay tanong ni Marianne.

Kumibit-balikat si Geoff saka agad na kinuha ang bolang nasa lupa.

"At any rate, are you sure you're okay?" sa halip ay sagot naman ni Geoff.

"I don't feel anything," anas ni Marianne. Eh, sa wala nga siyang naiintindihan. Those guys knew Geoff, and Geoff didn't seem to care!

"Y-You were a-amazing right there," hindi mapigilang sambit ulit ni Marianne. Napatingin sa kanya si Geoff.

"Hmm?"

"Tell me, you know how to fight, right? Alam kong parang wala lang 'yon sa 'yo, pero--"

"Psh, I just happened to learn about Jeet Kune Do when I was little."

Jeet Kune Do? Umawang ang bibig ni Marianne. Jeet Kune Do or JKD is Bruce Lee's own martial arts style. It is a blend of martial arts such as fencing, boxing, karate, etc. and is still practiced today.

"Really?" manghang tanong ni Marianne.

"Whatever," malamig na saad ni Geoff saka tiningnan si Marianne. "Anyway, why did you deny that you knew me?"

Nagsalubong ang mga kilay ni Marianne. Hanggang ngayon ba naman ay iyon pa rin ang isini-sintir ng lalakeng 'to?! Kuuh!

"I-It doesn't really matter if I know you or n-not," mahinang saad ni Marianne.

Geoff clenched his fists. "It matters to me."

Napayuko si Marianne saka ngumiti.

"That's so nice of you," she said then sighed."B-But... besides, I'm useless and pathetic. You might not want to be seen with me or else magiging katawa-tawa ka lang."

"Tch, ewan ko sa'yo," tila naiinis na sambit ni Geoff na ngayon ay hindi na nakatingin kay Marianne. "Eh, kung sinabi mo agad kung sa'n ako, eh di ako nalang sana ang inatupag nila at hindi ikaw."

"But..."

"Why don't you just think what will really happen? If I wasn't around, you--"

"Exactly," malamig ang boses na sabat ni Marianne na ikinagulat ni Geoff. "Eh, b-bakit ba naman kasi bumalik ka agad? Nakita ka tuloy nila. Magpapabugbog ka pa nga yata."

Natigilan si Geoff. Now, he seemed to understand. "Ginawa mo ba 'yon para hindi ako masundan at mabugbog?"

Marianne sighed heavily. So, ngayon lang nito naintindihan kung bakit gano'n ang ginawa niya? Ang manhid nito! Napayuko siya.

"Stupid," malamig na saad ng lalake. "What were you thinking?"

Hindi sumagot si Marianne.

Katahimikan.

Maya-maya, biglasiyang may naalala.

"H-Hey, a while ago you said about ruining your date and stuffs like that. I-I mean, me...and you...uh, like..."

Geoff rolled his eyeballs.

"Psh, wala namang mali do'n sa sinabi ko. This is a date, whatever you think about it kasi magkasama tayo, right? We don't have a relationship, so it's just nothing," kunot-noong paliwanag ni Geoff. "Don't make a big deal about it."

Bulls-eye! Again. Aray.

"Y-Yeah. I w-was just, uh, a-asking," kandabulol na saad naman ni Marianne. Totoong napapahiya na siya sa mga pinagsasabi niya!