KAYLE
On our way home, nagpaalam ako kay Cal na magc-cr muna saglit.
Tumango siya at umupo sa isang bench habang diretso naman akong naglakad papunta sa pinakamalapit sa comfort room.
Pagkatapos kong pakalmahin at ayusin ang sarili ko, agad akong lumabas dahil gumagabi na rin. Pagdating ko sa bench, may kasama na si Cal. Isang grupo ng mga lalaki, at sigurado akong hindi sina Wade 'to.
"Cal?" tawag ko, nakatalikod siya sa akin.
"Nandito na pala siya bro," sabi ng isa.
Nang mamukhaan ko sila, saka ko lang naalala na sila 'yung bandang tumugtog nung nasa Cebu kami.
"Kamusta kayo?" natutuwang tanongng isa.
Ngumiti naman ako, "Okay lang naman. Wait, I thought sa Cebu kayo nakatira?" bigla kong tanong.
"That's the thing, doll," sabi ni Cal. "They moved here."
"Really?!"
They nod. "Mas marami kasi ang hiring ng bands dito kaysa sa Cebu," sabi ng isa.
"And I told them, to make you and Jax join the band," Cal smiled.
My eyes widened in shock. "Talaga?!"
They nod. "Oo, wala namang problema 'yun. Kinwento na rin ni pareng Cal ang ginawang pag-iwan sa inyo ng manager niyo."
"Masaya kami at matutulungan namin kayo."
Bigla kong niyakap si Cal. "Thanks," I whispered. I turned to them, "Sigurado ba kayo?"
Tumango naman sila. "Oo naman. Ikaw na ang magiging vocalist namin."
Ngumiti ako ng malapad, "Salamat ah."
"No problem. Ako nga pala si Jake," sabi ng isa.
"Ryan."
"Jb."
"Miko," sabi ng huli, naalala ko siya 'yung napakakulit sa kanila eh.
"I'm Kayle," sabi ko. "And, kilala niyo naman si Cal," natatawa kong sabi.
"Naman!"
"Sige na bro, mauuna na kami. Magkita na lang tayo bukas, isama niyo si Jax. Mag-practice tayo, okay lang ba 'yun?" tanong ni Jake.
"Sige bro," sagot ni Cal.
"May napuntahan kasi kaming gig ngayon, tapos kinausap kami ng manager at tinanong kung pwede daw ba kaming tumugtog sa family event nila," paliwanag ni Ryan.
I can't help but smile. Nabuwag man ang bandang napakahalaga sa akin, nakabup na rin naman agad kami ng bago sa parehong araw.
Tumango ako. "Sige, sige. Ingat kayo."
"Ingat rin kayo."
"Babye!" sabi ni Miko at iwinagayway pa ang kamay.
Pagdating namin sa kotse, niyakap ko ng mahigpit si Cal.
"Thank you, thank you so much Cal!" nanggigigil kong sabi.
"Aray dahan-dahan," reklamo niya habang pinapaandar ang kotse.
"Sorry!"
"Sabi ko naman sa'yo doll. Lagi lang akong nandito," sabi niya habang nakatingin sa akin.
We are few inches away.
"Thank you," sabi ko.
"I love you," sabi niya at ngumiti.
"I love you too," sagot ko at naramdaman ko ang pag-init ng magkabilang pisngi ko.
***
The following week, maayos na ang lahat. Nakapag-practice na rin kami para sa up-coming event ng banda.
Mag-isa akong kumain sa canteen since may date sina Cielo at Wade habang pinatawag naman ng principal si Cal.
I'm midway on my lunch when Cal popped up.
"Doll!" tawag niya.
Napabalikwas naman ako at tumingin sa harapang upuan.
"Oh?" sagot ko.
"Guess what?" masaya niyang sabi.
"Oh anong nangyari sa'yo?" I asked and took a sip on my drink. "Guess what "what"?" tanong ko.
Pinakita niya sa akin ang I.D. lei niya at dalawa na ito, isang identification card ng school at isang I.D. that says "Student Journalist Creed's President".
Lumaki naman ang mata ko at natuwa. "Congratulations Cal!" masaya kong sabi.
"Thanks, doll."
"Finally, you're back on the creed," masaya kong sabi.
Tinanggal kasi siya this year since nagkaproblema nga. He was the SJC's President since our Junior High.
He smiled and sighed. "Yeah. I'll do better this time."
"You always do best, Cal, don't worry," sagot ko.
Nilagay niya naman ang kamay niya sa noo ko. "May sakit ka ba?"
"Huh? Bakit?"
"You complimented me."
Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. "Why not? I rarely have sweet bones, enjoy while it lasts."
He laughed. "I love you so much, doll. I'm excited on being the President again."
I smiled. "I'll support you on that, Cal, of course."
He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Thanks."
***
Sure, being the President again is a long work and demands effort. Ang nag-take over kasi as president ng creed is a very irresponsible one. Lately lang nalaman ng committee nung binalik na si Cal dahil nakita nila ang tambak na articles na nakatabi lang sa sulok.
"Naku Cal, pasensiya ka na talaga. 'Wag kang mag-alala, tutulungan ka naming mag-cope up," paliwanag ng Vice President which is Jane. For the first time, medyo mahaba ang sinabi niya.
Nandito kaming tatlo ngayon sa office ng creed.
Tumango si Cal. "Thanks, I know we can do this before the school year ends," sabi niya.
"I'll let the secretary stay with you here tomorrow para may kasama kang gawin ang mga 'yan, that's her work anyway," sabi nito.
Cal nod. "Thanks."
Tomorrow is Saturday and Cal needs to have an overtime work to accomplish this.
Nagpaalam na si Jane dahil may dadaanan pa daw siya.
I decided to stay with Cal even though it's already 6 o'clock in the afternoon.
My phone suddenly rang.
"Ate Tess?" sagot ko nang inilagay ko ang phone sa tenga ko.
"Ma'am Kayle, gumagabi na po. Saan na po kayo? Wala naman po ata kayong nabanggit na may pupuntahan kayo ngayon 'di ba? Baka hahanapin na po kayo ng mommy at daddy niyo," nag-aalalang sabi niya.
"'Wag na po kayong mag-alala, ate. Kasama ko po si Cal. Nandito kami ngayon sa school at tinutulungan ko siya sa paper works nila. Pakisabi na lang rin po kina mom," paliwanag ko.
"Ahh sige, okay po ma'am. Mag-iingat po kayo."
"Salamat po."
At pinatay ko na ang tawag.
Bumalik ako sa tabi ni Cal sa isang pahabang mesa, at nakaupo siya sa dulo nito.
"Hey, doll, ipapasundo na kita sa driver niyo okay? Gabi na, ayokong---."
"No," sabi ko. "I'll stay with you. Wala kang kasama dito."
Umiling siya. "Kaya ko naman eh. Ang hindi ko kaya ang 'yung mapagod ka."
I chuckled. "Hindi naman ako napapagod dito. I just proofread your works anyway."
"C'mon doll, I'll drive you home," sabi niya at akmang tatayo na nang pinigilan ko siya.
"Cal," tawag ko. "I'll stay, okay? Let me, please. I want to help," I pleaded.
He raised his hands in defeat, he knew he can do nothing about it now.
"Alright. Just tell me if you're already sleepy okay? Our food is on the way, too. Alam kong gutom ka na," he smirked.
I laughed and punched him. "Mas matakaw ka sa akin!"
We both laughed and as if on cue, Jollibee delivery is here.
Kinuha ko ito at binayaran naman ni Cal.
Kumain muna kami at nagpatuloy sa paggawa.
It was almost 8 nang napagdesisyunan naming umuwi.
When we reached home, he kissed my forehead goodnight before walking straight to their house.
"Thanks for today, doll. Sleep well."
"My pleasure. I'll always be here too, okay? Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
I watched him entered their gate before finally locking our gate up.
Dumiretso ako sa kwarto, naligo, nagbihis, at natulog na nakangiti.
It was a tiring day, but it was worth it. Helping my guy in his works feel really good. Not to mention, it's his passion too.
***
Tomorrow came and I insisted on going with him.
Of course, he declined.
"Stay here and rest, okay?" he says.
Nagdabog ako. "Ihahatid lang kita. Then I'll go straight with Jax sa meeting place ng band," paliwanag ko, remembering na may practice kami ngayon.
"Fine, is Jax going to be at school?"
I nod. "Yeah, he told me he'll wait for me there."
At last, he finally said yes.
When we reached school, Jax isn't there yet so I texted him that I'll be around and that he should just call me when he already arrived. For the mean time, I walked with Cal towards their office.
As we entered the room, we noticed someone sitting on the swivel chair beside Cal's seat. Nakatalikod ang tao sa amin kaya hindi namin ito nakilala agad. But we assume it's the secretary.
"Good morning?" Cal's eyebrow met, confused that the secretary didn't notice us.
Lumapit kami dito at parehong nagulat nang makitang ang secretary ay si...
"Crystal?"
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