Will You Ever Notice? (Bad Girls Series #2)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I made sure to wake up early the next day. Sa sobrang aga ko, naabutan ko pa ang ilang mga kasambahay na nagpe-prepare ng almusal para sa aming magkapatid.

My sister is still in elementary. Sa SAU rin nag-aaral at mas maaga parati ang uwi kaysa sa'kin kaya hindi ko naisasabay. We're not that close. Hindi kasi ako ang madalas kung sumama sa kan'ya. It's either her yaya or our Mom. Pero mas madalas ang yaya dahil abala sina Mommy sa trabaho.

I decided to not take my breakfast. Puwede namang do'n na lang sa SAU. Nando'n na kaya si Lael? He's not texting me yet to remind me.

Mabilis akong naglakad palabas ng bahay pero nang makalabas na at nakita ang papasikat na araw, bahagya akong natigilan. I cleared my throat and stood up properly. Inayos ko ang neck tie ng uniform ng St. Agatha University at inayos ko rin nang kaunti ang gray na palda na hindi lumagpas sa tuhod ko. I fixed my longsleeved polo too. 

It was exactly 6:30 in the morning when I arrived at the café. I figured na kung mas maaga akong darating, it might be weird, so I decided to just go in time. I was kind of hesitating kung makakapunta pa si Lael nang gano'ng oras dahil hindi s'ya nag-text kanina. Pero hindi naman ako nagulat nang makita ko s'ya sa tapat ng café, tulala sa mga sapatos n'ya at mukhang naghihintay.

Tinanaw ko ang loob ng café at wala pang halos na estudyante ro'n dahil maaga pa. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pa kami nagkikita ni Lael nang ganito kaaga. When did it even start? Dahil niyabangan n'ya ako?

I smiled at the memory. Or maybe it was just my wounded pride.

Nang makalapit ako sa kan'ya, no'n ko lang napansin ang mga papel na hawak n'ya sa isang kamay. I looked at it and I realized that it is a reviewer.

"May quiz ba?" I asked him.

Napa-angat ang tingin sa akin ni Lael at mukhang nagulat pa s'ya sa presensya ko. He's too lost in thought. May problema ba s'ya?

I observed him keenly. He looks fine. Mukhang may malalim lang talagang iniisip.

Lael blinked and looked down at the papers he's holding. I can smell his perfume from where I am standing. Mabango 'yon pero parang mas mahalimuyak ngayon kaysa sa mga nakaraang araw.

"Oo," he said, and he looked at me again. "Hindi ka nakapag-review?" He asked.

I shook my head. I never review.

Napangiti si Lael at pinaningkitan n'ya ako ng mga mata. Inilapit n'ya nang bahagya ang mukha sa akin at pinagmasdan ako nang may pagdududa. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"And yet your grades are still passing?" He asked.

"But not high," I shrugged.

My grades are average. Hindi bumabagsak pero hindi rin naman matataas. Compared to Ynna, I do better in school. Her grades are flopping, kaya nga laging mainit ang ulo ng mga teachers sa kan'ya.

"Still," iling ni Lael at umatras ulit. He chuckled and looked at his reviewer. "Tara. Rereviewhin kita." He shook his head and opened the café's door for me.

I shrugged and decided to just follow him inside. Wala rin naman talaga kaming pag-uusapan o gagawin kaya pumayag na rin akong mag-review kaming dalawa.

Lael's a really good company. There were no awkward silences between us. Kung hindi s'ya nagku-kuwento, nagbibiro naman kaya halos hindi ko na rin napansin ang oras.

He also has creative ways to help me remember the terms we need to memorize. Ang dami n'yang naiisip na kalokohan; he would write letters on my fingers, make a funny story out of the vocabularies, and name the people around us with the terminologies.