Jake's POV
It's always her. The first time I met her at Dreams Academy, I thought 'yung school lang ang dreams. Hindi ko naman inakala na pati mga estudyante rito pwede mo ring maging pangarap. She's a girl and many would probably look down her, but she's the world to me. Sobrang saya ko kapag nakikita ko siya tsaka nakakasama.
"Jake pasensiya ka na kanina ha? Babayaran ko nalang 'yung pinambayad mo rito sa ice-cream," wika ni Pauleen. Cute. Para siyang batang nahuling nagnanakaw ng cookie sa yaya niya.
"It's fine. Bakit ba wala ka ng pera? Nanakawan ka ba or something? Parang kanina lang nakita kita sa arcade. Namumuti na nga 'yung mga mata mo kasi wala kang makuhang ganito oh," pang-aasar ko sa kaniya. Winagayway ko pa sa harap niya 'yung mga stuff toy na nakuha ko. Kung alam mo lang. Kanina ko pa 'to gustong ibigay sa'yo.
"Eh di ikaw na," sagot niya sabay tingin sa kabilang direksyon. Nandito kami malapit sa dagat pero bakit parang mas maaliwalas 'yung paligid ko kapag siya 'yung tinitingnan ko?
Napatingin ako sa orasan ko. Saglit na lang pala sunset na. Hinatak ko si Pauleen at naupo kami sa isang bench na nakaharap kung saan lulubog ang araw.
"Gusto mo ba 'tong stuff toy?" tanong ko sa kaniya.
"Bakit? Ibibigay mo ba?" pagdududa nito. Bakit kahit ganiyan ang reaksyon mo ang ganda-ganda mo pa rin?
"Pagkatapos ng sunset..." sagot ko. Sisiguraduhin kong we'll get the conclusion to this love story.
Parehas kaming napatitig hanggang sa unti-unti nang lumubog ang araw. It's such a great scene. Both of us were purely caught in the moment. Hinarap ko si Pauleen. I must do this.
"Pauleen, I like you."
I'm scared. After everything na nangyari, hindi ko alam kung anong kahihinatnan nito. Pero one thing is for sure, she's worth it for every risk I take. Kahit anong maging sagot niya, I'll be cool and take it. She's staring at me. Forbid me pero konti na lang gusto ko na siyang halikan. Those eyes sparkle so much that it can melt and blind me at one glance.
"I... like you too."
And there. I hugged her and it felt so warm. I found the girl of my dreams in an academy that you would never dream about. To me, this is the greatest sunset I've seen in my whole life.
END
Author's Note
It has been years since I last updated. Honestly, I already decided to stop and never end this story. But I thought, it would be so bad not to end this. I had to stop because I can no longer remember the story. It's the same for my inspiration to write this. I can't feel it anymore. I originally intended to write this in formal Filipino. However, I find it hard to write in pure formal Filipino now (I really want to finish this in pure Filipino). I know the last part doesn't justify the whole story. But for now, let us close Pauleen and Jake's book. Although this is my seventh grade weird crazy yet funny dreams, I hope you had a great time reading this. Thank you!