CHAPTER 12
4 am. Tasha is still wide awake and she’s pretty sure she’s still red as a tomato. So basically, seeing the girl she considered her rival, in her underwear, turns her on. Well, that’s something to think about
“What the fuck is wrong with me?!” Tasha shot up from her bed and messed up her hair in deep confusion
Tasha sighed heavily, “get a grip Tasha, you don’t like her. There are other guys and girls out there but not her, Got it? Now go to sleep and go get drunk tomorrow”
The next day, Tasha sat at the back of the class, sleepy as hell and complete with eye bags
“Hey Tasha” Brenda whispered while waving her hand in front of her face
Tasha just turned to her with her tired eyes
“Geez you look like a zombie, what happened to you?”
“I slept for only 3 hours last night” Tasha lazily answered
“Why? Did you masturbate for hours last night?” Brenda teased
Tasha raised her hand and smacked Brenda’s shoulders
“I was kidding! Although that would be a fun thing to try” Brenda snickered, “anyway, let’s ditch this class, it’s too boring”
Tasha looked at her watch, “we have 15 minutes left, let’s just wait for the class to finish” She then laid her head on the desk and closed her eyes, “wake me up when it’s over”
“You’re no fun when you’re sleep-deprived”
15 minutes later, students inside the room are walking out and students from another class are making their way in
“C’mon Tasha, let’s get some milk tea to wake your spirits up” Brenda stood, waiting for Tasha
Tasha lazily stood and the two of them headed to the door. On the way out, Tasha was not paying attention and accidentally bumped into someone. Tasha looked and saw the person she doesn’t want to see
“Uh...” Tasha blushed and averted her gaze
“Cat got your tongue?” Yuri teasingly asked as she looked at Tasha
The two of them stood in front of one another for a few seconds, mainly because Tasha is in Yuri’s way and it would have been longer if they weren’t interrupted by Gretchen
“Hey Yuri, come sit with me” She smiled charmingly at Yuri as she took her hand and pulled her inside, successfully passing by Tasha
Tasha turned as they passed by and Yuri just gave her a small smile
“Let’s go!” Brenda spoke as she pulled Tasha out of the classroom
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the unexpected event that happened yesterday between her and Tasha, Yuri, Kristen and Summer didn’t get to eat together ‘cause by the time Yuri and Tasha finished their conversation, Summer and Kristen already had classes. To make it up to them, Yuri invited them to go to “SerendipiTEA” a milk tea house inside the campus, all expenses paid by her. So when their vacant hours coincided with one another, they went to the campus tea house
The three of them sat at the table and as they waited for their orders to arrive, the conversation started
“So Yuri, what did you do yesterday that made you bail on us?” Kristen asked while Summer looked at Yuri as well with the same questioning and curious expression
Yuri looked at them and carefully planned out what she is going to say in her head. One wrong word and this could spark another fight between Tasha and Kristen and that’s never good
“I’ll tell you but you have to promise me you won’t freak out or go crazy mad and will not speak nor react until I’m finished ‘kay?”
“Now I’m more curious” Summer commented as she placed her hand on her chin, “okay then, not one word until you’re finish, go!”
And so, Yuri began to tell them about what had happened yesterday and what kind of conversation she and Tasha had and well…
“That bitch! How dare she do that to you?! She just assumed things and reacted on impulse!” Kristen spoke her mind
“I have to agree with Kristen on this one Yuri” Summer added with a more calmer tone, “she can’t just react like that because of an assumption! and what she did to you was harassment!”
“Whoa! Hey! You two promised you won’t freak out! Just breathe slowly and calm down” Yuri replied
Summer and Kristen looked at each other and was forced to do just what their friend ordered. They slowly took in and release a breath of air as well as a hint of annoyance and calmly looked at Yuri
“And besides, I don’t think she hates me anymore and I think we cleared everything up” Yuri added, with a reassuring tone “she can’t even barely look me in the eyes this morning, so just chill and let it pass okay?”
With her eyes close, Summer replied “okay fine, I will” she then turned to Kristen, eyebrows up in a questioning matter, “You too right?”
“Hm? What?” Kristen looked at her friends questioningly as if not hearing what Yuri had said, “I’m sorry I didn’t quite hear you. I was thinking if some evidence-free ways of shaving Tasha’s hair off”
Yuri’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, “Kristen!”
“I’m kidding! Okay, I’ll-we’ll let this one pass” Kristen pointed between her and Summer, successfully giving reassurance to Yuri
“Thank you” Yuri spoke with content
Summer and Kristen started to chat about other things while Yuri became silent as thoughts started filling her mind
“Maybe there’s more to her than meets the eye” Yuri spoke out of the blue, causing a reaction from her friends
“Who? Tasha?” Kristen reacted, “Yeah, there is. She’s a devil in disguise, waiting in the dark to steal your soul!” insert Kristen’s evil “muhahaha” laugh paired with her wriggling fingers at Yuri’s face
Yuri laughed as she swiped away Kristen’s hands, “But seriously though, maybe we’re looking at Tasha and her friends at the wrong angle”
“I like that you look at things differently Yuri” Summer smirked then sighed “but the thing is, they don’t let you see other angles Yuri, they’re perfectly okay being bitches and we’re perfectly fine treating them like one” Summer raised her hand for a high-five which Kristen automatically does, an influence they got from watching “How I met your mother”
Yuri just smiled slightly, I guess this is just how things are and turned away, If Kaley was here, she would have already befriended Tasha…
And again Yuri was entangled with the thoughts of Kaley and the longing for her came rushing back. Overwhelmed by her thoughts, Yuri briefly closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh
Yuri was pulled back to reality when Summer suddenly poked her shoulder, “You okay? That sigh doesn’t sound good”
Yuri smiled and nodded slightly “I’m okay, just tired”
“I’m okay” and “just tired”, two of the most known lies a person tells to hide what she really feels inside. And these past days…this past year, these are the two words that often came out of Yuri’s lips. It’s one thing to be sympathetic but it’s a different thing when you’re the one that’s involved. It’s difficult to just let everything out and know that people never really understand what you really are going through…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s 10 in the cold evening. Out of boredom and her inability to fall asleep, Tasha in her favorite jacket, sat at the railing-protected verandah sill outside of her room. She sat, tightly grasping a pencil, carefully scanning the view from her floor, trying to find scenery she could draw
“Same old stuff” Tasha sighed, “I should’ve changed rooms when I had the chance”
Tasha stared at the dimly lighted town outside her university while playfully twirling the pencil in her hand. The consistent feeling of emptiness rushed to her once again, “Why am I like this?”
A few minutes later, Yuri suddenly went outside her room, already in her pajama pants and a long sleeve with a hoodie covering her head.
A thick-rimmed, clear eye glasses covered her eyes as she had just finished typing an essay on her laptop. Yuri felt the exhaustion of typing for hours and decided to take a break so she carried her medium-sized acoustic guitar and went outside of her room to feel the cold air.
She sat at veranda sill, ready to strum a few notes when she noticed Tasha, also sitting on the veranda sill a few feet away, staring blankly outside
“Hey!” Yuri called out, waving a little to get the other girl’s attention
Yuri’s attempt proved to be successful, as Tasha’s attention went from staring outside to looking at the person who called her. Tasha looked and stared for a bit, unable to recognize the person who got her attention
Noticing a typical body figure and hairstyle of a boy in a hoodie, Tasha replied “What?!” showing annoyance from being disturbed. It never surprised her when she see boys around the supposedly all-girls dorm since some of the tenants’ boyfriends have went here to hang out, herself included
“Mind if I play for a while?” Yuri asked with a smile, showing her guitar
“If you think you’re voice is okay then go ahead, knock yourself out but if your voice sucks, I’m gonna throw a pencil at you and it is newly sharpened” Tasha smirked, playfully showing the pencil in her hand
Yuri chuckled, “I’ll try my best not to be a bull’s eye” Her finger started strumming the strings of the guitar, letting out a soft tune
“♫Minsan di ko maiwasang isipin ka...
Lalo na sa t'wing nag iisa... ♫“
(ROUGH TRANSLATION (RT): "Sometimes, i can't help but think of you, especially whenever I'm alone")
The sweet angelic voice stopped Tasha from returning to her thoughts, “That’s his voice…?”
Tasha found herself sitting comfortably, staring at the “boy” playing the guitar who seems lost in his own world
“♫At hihiling sa mga bituin...
Na minsan pa sana ako'y iyong mahalin...
Hihiling kahit dumilim...
Ang aking daan na tatahakin...
Patungo sa iyo, patungo sa iyo.. ♫”
(RT: And I'll wish on all the stars, that someday you'll love me again, I'll wish even as it gets dark, the path that i'll take, towards you, towards you)
And so Yuri kept playing and singing unaware of the dark brown eyes staring intently at her, seemingly caught under the spell of her voice
“♫Ipipikit ko ang aking mata dahil...
Nais ka lamang mahagkan...
Nais ka lamang masilayan...
Kahit alam kong tapos na
Kahit alam kong wala ka na..♫.“
(RT: I'll close my eyes because, all i want is to feel you, all i want is to see you, even though i know that it's over, even though i know that you're gone)
The song ended and Yuri found herself teary-eyed from the song as the lyrics somewhat reflects what she truly feels inside. Having the feeling of being watched, Yuri peeked around and caught the gaze of the girl on the veranda sill
Yuri smiled, “Guess you liked it”
“What?” Tasha replied, snapping out of her trance
“You didn’t throw the pencil”
Tasha looked at the pencil still in her hand, “I guess I did, it was decent” she answered with a little lie at the end, “but I didn’t understand one single word of that song”
Yuri chuckled, “of course you wouldn’t, the song’s in Filipino, unless you speak Filipino, I doubt you’ll understand that”
“And you understood it?”
“Every single word, I am half-Filipino after all” Yuri answered then stood and stretched her arms, signaling her body’s need to rest, “I’m finally sleepy, I’ll go now, goodnight!”
“Wait!”
Yuri was stopped by voice of the girl who was seemingly filled with deep thoughts
“Who are you?” Tasha questioned
Yuri turned and chuckled, “Seriously? You don’t know me?”
“No, that’s why I’m asking!” Tasha reasoned as she stood
Yuri then walked towards Tasha, reducing the length of space between them until they are at least 10 steps away. Tasha, on the other hand, just stood still and waited for “him” to get closer
“Still can’t recognize me?” Yuri asked
Tasha stared for a bit and it finally hit her. Wide eyed and feeling embarrassed, she spoke “You’re...”
Yuri smiled, pulled down her hoodie and removed her glasses then walked closer to Tasha until they were face to face
“Yuri Valdez” Yuri answered finishing Tasha’s words, “I just moved into that dorm room over there, nice to meet you” then offered her hand
“Tasha Hwang” Tasha instinctively answered then took Yuri’s hand
And once their hands touched each other, an unexplainable connection happened that caught the two girls off guard and left them speechless for a few moments
Overwhelmed by the mysterious emotion, Yuri gently pulled away, “um, goodnight” she smiled slightly
and Tasha replied, “Yeah, goodnight”
Yuri turned around and walked back to her room, unable to look back at Tasha. Tasha, on the other hand, followed Yuri with her gaze as the girl closed her door. When Yuri had disappeared, Tasha looked at her hand as she was filled with wonder, “What was that I just felt?” then placed her hand on her fast but lightly beating chest
On the other side of that door, Yuri stood with her hand on her chest, “What was that I just felt?” she wondered as she looked down at her hand where the feeling of Tasha’s hand still lingers. The two of them was left pondering what had caused the feeling of heaviness yet lightness within their chests