Naging mabilis ang takbo ng oras and now I am down to my last class which is Physical Fitness and Dance.
It'll be just a lecture period so hindi na'ko magpapalit ng PE uniform. And throughout my classes there are some of my classmates from my other subjects asking me kung ano raw status namin ni Juan. And sabi ko naman sa kanila na magkaibigan lang kami. Tapos ayaw naman nila maniwala.
"Magkaibigan lang ba talaga kayo?" My classmate asked me habang hinihintay pa namin iyong prof namin for this subject.
The same question that I have heard throughout the day.
"Oo nga. Magkaibigan lang" Sambit ko sa kanya kasi I don't want din naman to drop anything kasi wala naman talaga. Though Juan asked me on a date walang assurance parin yun.
I mean, yes, Juan and I talked about the 'date' and parang yung pinag-usapan namin ay about na rin sa feelings namin where he would wait for me and dahan-dahanin muna namin.
But then wala namang nabanggit na gusto namin ang isa't-isa so yun nga wala parin assurance. Kahit sa tingin ko ay pareho kami ng nararamdaman. Asa na'ko e.
"Andaming nai-intriga kaya sa inyo ever since kahapon nung game nila. Sabi nila magboyfriend and girlfriend daw kayo" Aniya and I wasn't surprised.
Kasi alam ko naman na they would assume talaga na magboyfriend and girlfriend kami kasi nga dahil sa exposure ko sa TV kahapon and sa exposure rin ni Juan sakin sa social media. But still I wasn't really used na pag-usapan ng mga tao especially talking about me involving in a relationship.
That's a first.
"And talaga ba walang something sa inyo? Suot mo nga rin yung T-shirt niya oh.... may pa Gomez de Liaño, number 1 pa sa likod..."
I shook my head. "Nope. There's nothing going on in between us talaga. Pinahiram lang niya 'ko, kasi nabasa ako kanina ng ulan"
"Sus, you're just saying that but we all know na magiging kayo rin naman... and aabangan talaga namin yan"
Wala na'kong sinabi at napailing lamang ako na nakangiti.
Dumating na rin yung prof kaya tumigil na rin sa pagku-question iyong kaklase ko. Our PE class was just short kasi may pinasulat lang si Prof and dinismissed na kami pagkatapos. There's still like almost an hour before his dismissal time and that's amazing.
Birthday daw kasi ng wife niya and he has to come early for her. Napa awww naman kaming lahat kasi ang sweet.
Lumabas na'ko ng classroom and napatingin ako sa oras. 4:13 PM. Nagpunta nalang ako sa Mass Communication building kung nasaan yung media center. Doon din kasi yung napag-usapan kung saan ang team magmi-meet.
Sumakay na'ko ng UP ikot and it just took me less than 10 minute to arrive there. I went inside of the building at dumeretso sa Media Center. And since nakawindow glass naman yung office, nakita ko sa loob na andiyan na rin din pala si Alyssa at Aiko, yung makakasama ko.
"Good afternoon guys" I beamed when I went inside giving them wide smiles.
"Oh, andito na yung girlfriend ng iinterviewhin natin" Kantyaw ng mga kasama ko pagpasok ko sa office instead of getting a greet back.
Sinamangutan ko naman sila at umupo sa isang bakanteng upuan. Ipinatong ko rin yung gamit ko sa mesa. "Ano ba kayo, we're just friends"
"Too late. Hindi na nasama sa video" Sabi ni Anthony na natatawa, isa sa mga kasama ko dito. I furrowed my eyebrows at him, feeling confused.
"Anong video?" I asked.
"Ay, hindi mo pa nakita? Eto oh..." Kinuha naman ni Anthony yung laptop niya and nakadisplay na doon yung Youtube.
Maysinearch si Anthony and after a few minutes, ay ipinakita na niya sakin.
l look at it and the name of the channel is UAAP Update. Ito yung channel na parang Titas of Manila na nagfe-feature ng kahit ano related to UAAP. It's a popular channel.
I look at the title of the video and ang nakalagay ay UAAP: With UP's every winning game, there's Juan Gómez de Liaño. Tapos it has over 26K views already.
Nagsimula na rin yung video at sumama sa panood yung mga kasama namin.
"I bet all of you know this guy. 19 year old sophomore and 6'1 point guard of UP Fighting Maroons..." Panimula ng babaeng nagsasalita, host ata or news anchor.
"...Everyone, that's Juan Gómez de Liaño. Who dropped a new career high last night with 30 points, 4 blocks, 3 steals and 8 assists that helped the team to advance to the title series of the UAAP Season 81 men's basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night"
"...The thrilling triumph sent the third-seeded UP to the finals for the first time since 1986. And that was still the time of our PBA legend, Benjie Paras"
" 'Well, I just had this mindset that I should give my all, my everything. [you know] especially it's a do or die game. It's either you make it or you break it' Said the reigning rookie of UAAP Season 80 during the post game interview"
" 'And I'm just really also thankful to God of course, because without Him, we wouldn't be here. To the UP Community, [the] fans, parents, we're also blessed for the continuous support they have for us. It just an amazing feeling to see that they're out there cheering for the team' He added"
Biglang kumunot naman ang noo ng nagsasalita and she began speaking again.
"Well, wait, I think Juan GDL forgot to mention someone too. He didn't mention the girl last night who's always been spotted in the big screen every time Juan shoots. Could she be the girlfriend of the point guard? Or just a fan like any other"
Ohmygosh. She's talking about me. Eto ba yung sinasabi ni Anthony?
"...but according to some sources, the girl that've been cheering for our point guard is just a close friend of him, so, don't worry ladies! Her name is Eva Gonzales, a stunning sophomore of UP Diliman taking up Broadcast Communication"
"...She is really stunning if you would look at her Instagram photos. No wonder that she does modeling too"
Finlash naman sa video yung mukha ko, mga photoshoot pictures ko from Instagram.
"Ang ganda mo talaga Eva. Kainis" I heard my friend told me
"But are you really going to believe that Juan and Eva are just close friends? Because if you would ask me, I don't think so. Like look at Juan's post on Instagram with her" Sabay pakita naman sa Instagram post ni Juan na kasama ako
"....they're so cute. Like c'mon ladies, admit it or not, they would make a great couple"
"But again, to make bawi sa inyo guys, our Juan GDL didn't say anything naman so let's just do finger cross together and hope he would just stay single forever. Jk. Let's just be happy what makes our man happy. If happy is her, we're happy for you Swish"
"So, that's it for today guys! See you on my next update, Babush!"
"Naks naman! Haba na talaga ng hair mo Eva! Hindi na namin ma-reach" Alyssa then exclaimed right after the video ended.
"Kaibigan mo siguro yung youtuber na yun kasi botong boto e" Sabi ng isa at umiling ako na nangingiti. Ewan ko basta I just feel happy kasi it's not a bash or criticized one.
"Ano masasabi mo Eva?" Salita naman ni Anthony and he pretended na he's holding a mic at parang iniinterview ako.
"Wala, tumigil kayo" I chuckled.
"Aminin mo na kasi na kayo na. Boto naman kami sa inyo e..."
"Close friends lang talaga kasi kami, oh sabi pa nung sources" Tawa ko na naman sa kanila pero pinagtaasan nila ako ng kilay
"And you expect us to believe that"
Hindi na ako nagsalita kasi I would deny it over and over again pa rin. If I say something kasi, baka makakarating yun kay Juan and he would think na I'm telling fake news. Na yun naman pala, ako lang yung umaasa sa'min. Masakit yun.
While we're all chilling waiting for 5pm, naisipan kong magpaluto ng isaw at barbecue kay Mang Larry para sa aming lahat kaya, I told them na huwag muna silang umalis kasi babalik lang ako.
Mang Larry is just near so when I got there nagpaluto ako ng 50 worth of isaw and barbecue. And after 20 minutes of waiting, nakuha ko na rin yung inorder ko. Sinamahan ko na lang din ng drinks para may pares.
I ordered 7 Pandan Teas for us and narealize ko paano ko dadalhin iyon. Habang hinihintay ko yung order ko, I noticed a familiar back on the counter at umoorder ito.
His back is really familiar to me. He's a big guy na halatang makikita mong nagg-gym yung tao tapos yung buhok niya maypagka-curl din which makes me remind of Juan. But, alam kong he's not Juan kasi Juan's hair is longer tapos pataas yung style ng buhok niya.
"Miss, nandito na yung order mo" Sabi ng babae looking at me and I immediately get up from my seat para kunin iyon.
Lumapit ako sa counter at iningatan ko yung binuhat.
"Miss, let me help you" Biglang presenta ng lalake na tinutukoy ko kanina. I turned my head tapos shet it's Joe Gomez de Liaño pala. Kuya ni Juan. Kaya pala familiar.
"Hey, wait, you're Eva right? ....Kaibigan ni Juan?" Tanong niya at tumango ako.
"Yup and you're Joe.... kapatid ni Juan" I said at tumango rin ito.
"Nice to meet you" Naglahad siya ng kamay so we could shake hands and I gladly accepted it sabay ngiti sa kanya. "Nice to meet you din"
"So, sa'n ka pupunta? You might need some help because I'm sure, mahihirapan ka" Joe asked.
"Um, hindi na. I'm fine" Sabi ko sa kanya at nginitian siya. I carefully picked up my order which is nakalagay sa dalawang cellophanes but then may ibang kamay ang humawak stopping me to pick it up.
"Alam kong hindi mo makakaya yan Eva, ako na lang. Baka matapon mo pa, sayang naman" Sabi ni Joe at siya na nagbuhat sa dalawa.
"...don't worry, I'm just being nice" He added flashing me a smile.
Ngumuso ako. "Grabe ka, I'm not thinking anything naman towards you... nakakahiya lang kasi" Judgmental ah.
"Oh sorry, and huwag kang mahiya. You're friends naman ni Juan so technically, you're my friend na din"
So, pumayag na lang ako sa tulong niya and I told him na we're going to bring it sa Media Center.
"These are many... are these for your friends?" Tanong niya as he walks besides me and I nodded "Yup"
"Wala ka bang lalake na kaibigan? You shouldn't be the one bringing this" Sabi niya and I laugh. "I have but it's my treat kasi.."
"Oh, that's so sweet of you" He smiled and I smiled at him.
"Thanks.."
Tumawid na kami sa daanan when we're in front of the Mass Communication building. We went up to the stairs going inside of the building and took the direction going to the Media Center.
I saw my friends across on the window glass and andiyan pa nga sila. I opened the door widely so Joe could come in.
"Just put it here na lang Joe" Sabi ko pointing at the table. He nodded naman tapos nilagay niya doon.
"Um, so, mauna na ako Eva" He trails off after putting it and tumango naman ako "Yeah, sure... thank you so much for helping me Joe" Pasalamat ko giving him a sweet smile.
"No problem Eva. It was good meeting you" He said back na may ngiti rin. Tumalikod na siya and he left the office, closing back the door. Nang wala na si Joe ay biglang nagsitilian ang mga kasama ko dito.
"OhmyGod! Diba kapatid yun ng GDL? ....si Joe Gomez de Liaño yun diba?" Surpresang tanong ni Aiko as her jaw dropped while looking at me.
"Yup, that's him" Tango ko while getting out the drinks.
"OhmyGosh. Hindi ko alam na gan'on pala siya kagwapo! Tapos ang lakas ng dating! Ang hot!" Sabi naman ni Alyssa. "..siya talaga yung pinakagwapo at hot sa magkakapatid nila"
"Totoo! Ang gwapo sobra! Nakakalaglag ng ano......charot" Aiko agreed to her while laughing
"...si Eva naman, sana naman pinakilala mo muna kami before you let him leave. Baka isa pa sa'min ay makajockpot ng isang GDL" Busangot nila and I laugh.
"Sorry, hindi rin kasi pumasok sa isip ko. Hindi ko rin din alam na fan pala kayo ni Joe. Next time" I apologized while giggling.
"Maganda kasi... hindi nasanay na siya yung unang lumalandi kasi yung tao na yung kusang lumalapit sa kanya"
"Grabe kayo. Hindi naman" I pout at them.
"Well. 2 GDLs down. More to go!" Biglang salita Anthony at naghalakhakan ang mga tao sa loob kaya hinampas ko siya nang malakas gamit ang folder na nasa mesa.
"Gago. Kay Juan lang ako"