Hello, (Not) Almost Lover

89

Ang cute din nitong mag-chat dahil laging may smiley face. Ghoster John never used emoticons. Sanay naman siya sa ganoon dahil ganoon din siya mag-text at mag-chat. But she had a penchant for people who use emoticons because she likes imagining them doing the same expressions. And it was more fun. Kaya nga lihim siyang natutuwa kapag nagbabasa ng group chats dahil halos lahat ng kaibigan niya ay mahilig doon.

Hindi rin nakatulong ang pang-aasar ng mga kaibigan nito lalo na noong nalaman nilang magkapangalan ang dalawa. She tried not to pay him attention but his character was just too interesting for her.

Napatanong din siya sa sarili niya kung interested din kaya ito sa kanya? At bakit? She already knew that she wasn't pretty. Sa grupo nila, siya siguro ang least attractive at interesting kaya bakit naman sa kanya magkakagusto?

However, Elle and Ianne said people have their preferences and standards, and beauty is subjective. Hindi rin naman dapat pagbasehan ang physical features para lang sabihing hindi ka deserving magustuhan.

Okay, happy crush lang, she thought, but everything changed and shifted when she drunk-texted him one Friday night.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed as Elle told her what she did last night. "Ang kalat-kalat mo, self."

She tried recalling what she had said to him but her brain wouldn't even cooperate. Ayaw naman niyang tanungin ito dahil nakakahiya, kaya noong ito ang nag-open ng topic tungkol doon ay nag-panic siya. Gusto na lang niyang magpalamon sa lupa.

She promised herself na hindi na ito muling iinom pero sino nga bang niloko niya? Isa na namang drunk-calling session ang nangyari. She blocked him after realizing what happened because she couldn't face him anymore. Pakiramdam niya ay wala na siyang kahihiyang natira.

She consulted Elle about it dahil ito ang "big sister" ng grupo at kadalasan ay tama at may sense ang mga sinasabi niya.

Marami siyang na-realize pagkatapos no'n kaya agad itong nag-sorry. She thought he would be disappointed and would probably dislike her now kaya laking gulat nito nang nagtanong siya kung pwede bang tumawag.

She could feel the awkwardness and tension the moment she answered the video call. Hindi nito pinakita ang mukha dahil nahihiya siya. Meanwhile, he looked cute in his hoodies. His kind eyes and soft smile made her heart flutter.

She could feel her skin tingling while listening to him talk. They recalled things that happened that night at hindi siya makapaniwalang ikinuwento niya ang tungkol kay John, the ghoster.

"Akala ko nga noong una, sa akin ka galit," he chuckled while she winced in embarrassment. "Pero ang cute mo magalit."

"S-sorry," she said in an almost muted voice. "Kaya ba ang daming removed messages noong unang beses?"

Muli itong tumawa nang pahapyaw. "Yup. I was so confused that time. Tapos naisip ko, ah, baka nga may nagawa talaga akong mali. Then came the second one."

Napakagat ito sa labi niya. "Nakausap mo pala si Elle."

"Oo. I remember her kasi nandoon din siya noong unang beses. Siya 'yong tumulong sa'yo sa banyo, 'di ba?"

Hiyang-hiya na ito sa mga pinag-uusapan at gusto na niyang i-end ang tawag, but at the same time, she wanted to hear his voice more.

"You were talking about him again," he added, a hint of concern on his tone. "Siya ba iyong sumusunod sa inyo noong nakita namin kayo?"

In the end, she told him about what happened. It was hard to talk about it but him listening attentively somehow made it less distressing. Hanggang sa nagkayayaan nang magkita.