Nagtuloy ang usapan at tawanan sa hapag.
"Naalala niyo ba noong si Chase at Ara pa—" Ten was cut off when Jan almost choked on her drink.
"Naging kayo??", gulat na tanong ni Jan.
"Oo, noong highschool," ani Ara.
"Wow," halata ang pagkamangha ni Jan.
"As I was saying, naalala niyo ba noon, nung nagvacation tayo," tinuloy ni Ten ang sinasabi.
"Oo nga eh, tagal na nun!," ani Gil.
"Oo bro, gurang ka na ngayon matakaw ka parin," ani Yam.
"Oh edi wala kang libre sa bars at restaurants ko," mabilis at kaswal na sagot pabalik ni Gil at mukhang pumutla naman si Yam.
"Eto naman! Di mabiro!," ani Yam.
"Alam mo ikaw Yam, ikaw ng heridero sa lahat ng yaman ng pamilya mo pero kuripot ka parin noh?," ani Hart.
"Ang tawag doon tol, diskarte," ani Yam tinuro pa ang gilid ng noo gamit ang hintuturo.
The rest sighed with the normal bickering of their friends.
Kahit naman nagkakatuwaan, there's still something going on in Chase's mind.
Mukhang hindi mapakali ang mga iniisip niya, nagkakabuhol buhol.
Natigil naman ang kanilang masanyang paguusap noong tumunog ang telepono.
"Kanino?", tanong ni Mark.
They all checked their phones.
"Not mine,"
"Di rin sakin,"
"Nope,"
"Alaws,"
"It's mine," ani Chase after fishing his phone from his pocket.
Tinignan niya muna si Ara na tila ba senyales na aalis muna siya at tinanguan naman siya ni Ara bilang tugon.
"Excuse me," ani niya sa mga kaibigan bago lumayo ng kaunti sa mga kasama at sinagot ang telepono.
"Tito?", sagot ni Chase sa kanyang telepono after excusing himself from his friends.
"Chase, bukas ang punta ko diyan," ani Theodore.
"Tito, hindi ka pa magaling, nasabi ko naman na hindi ka makakadalo dahil sa kalagayan mo," Chase said.
"Hay nako hijo, nakakatamad maging matanda, just send my regards okay? I'm good friends with the Asuncions," ani Theodore kay Chase.
"Alright tito," anito.
"Kamusta na hijo?," tanong naman sakanya nito, changing the topic. Chase sighed a little, sabi na nga ba, may gusto malaman ang kanyang tito Ted kaya ito tumawag, typical tito Ted.
"I-I'm okay," sagot nito.
Tumawa naman si Theodore sa kabilang linya.
"The last person you want to lie to is me, kilala na kita Chase, your change of heart, your impromptu decisions, kamusta na?", tanong sakanya.
Chase let out a loud sigh before answering to Theodore's query.
"Hindi ko po talaga alam, paano kung malaman niya? Malaman nila?", tanong naman ni Chase.
Tumawa ang nasa kabilang linya bago siya tugonan.
"Alam mo hijo, matalino ka, pero pagdating sa mga ganitong bagay, tatanga tanga ka," ani Theodore.
Chase pinched the bridge of his nose while listening.
"Hindi ka pa niya sinagot diba?", tanong sakanya ulit.
"Hindi pa,"
"Then tell her before she answers you, if, she answers you," anito.
"Alright tito, I'll figure this out," ani Chase bago patayin ang tawag.
Bakit niya ba to inisip? It's like he's slowly making his own trap— no, scratch that. He is making his own trap.
Naglakad na siya pabalik sa mga kasama, ang mata'y nakatingin kay Ara, she's pretty, walang nagbago, she always takes his breathe away.
Bakit niya naisip gawin iyon in the first place? Napakatanga.
Nakita niya namang nakatingin sakanya si Mark na tila ba may pinapahiwatig ang mga mata, but Chase can't fully grasp it.
****
"Hello?," sagot ni Chase sa tawag ni Ara. It looks like they can't really get away from each other, after breaking up, they found a way back to each other.
"I just called, to ask how are you," ani Ara. Chase is in Spain while Ara is in Canada.
"I'm okay, mukhang civil engineering na talaga ang tatahakin ko," anito sakanya.
"I mean, it's not so bad right? Mahirap ba?", tanong sakanya ni Ara.
Ngumiti naman si Chase bago sumagot.
"Medyo, pero kaya ko naman, ako pa ba?", biro naman ni Chase at narinig ang tawa ni Ara sa kabilang linya.
"Magkita kaya tayo?," tanong ni Chase and it looks like Ara was caught off guard.
"W-what?," tanong naman ni Ara na may halong gulat parin.
"I mean, patapos na rin ang school year, I can visit you there in Vancouver," Chase suggested.
"Sa Pilipinas, pupunta ako roon next month," ani Ara.
"Then I'll see you there," ani Chase.
Natapos na ang tawag nila at nakahiga lang si Chase sakanyang kama nakangiti. He'll see Ara, maybe this is the second chance.
"Chase! Dinner is ready!," his abuela calls him.
"Yes abuela!," sigaw niya, the smile on his face was still evident.
What a nice way to wrap up his first year in Spain. Makikita niya ulit si Ara pagkatapos ng matagal-tagal na panahon.
****
Natapos na silang kumain, nagpaalam na si Ara na mauuna na siyang pumunta sa kanilang kwarto.
"Chase," tawag sakaniya ni Mark.
"Mark," sagot nito.
"You've been busy the past week?", tanong sakanya nito.
Until now, si Mark talaga ang nakakakilala sakanya ng buong buo, he knows just by looking, just by eye contact, but that doesn't make the rest of his friends different, pare-pareho ang tingin niya sa mga ito. Walang mas lamang, sila lang din naman ang naroon kay Chase simula pa noong highschool.
"Oo," tipid na tugon ni Chase.
"Bakit?",
"Work," tipid parin na tugon ni Chase, iniiwasang maramdaman ng kaibigan kung ano talaga ang nangyayari.
"Hmm, but you're never too busy with work, you handle it well, so well, may iba kang pinagkaabalahan," ani Mark.
"You have Ara flowers, mukhang nagiba ang mga kilos mo, you know that I observe well," dagdag ni Mark.
"Before Ara came to the picture again.. you hated her, you really are fast with your decisions," ani Mark na may halong tawa, hindi alam ni Chase pero napipikon siya sa tono ni Chase.
"I felt bad," ani Chase.
"Bakit?," Mark intrigues.
"Ipapaayos ko na sana ang bahay sa Espanya, and I found a note," ani Chase.
—————
A/N: sana hindi kayo naguluhan sa timeline! The bold and italic starting of a paragraph indicates a flashback, the asterisks indicates the end of the flashback, ang inang flashback sa nakaraang chapter ay mula na sa ikalawang taon ni Chase sa Espanya, ang sa chapter naman ngayon ay mula sa unang taon ni Chase sa Espanya which is also his first year in CE.
Baka Chap 50 or 60 po ang EOC, after that diretsyo tayo sa Making Statements!!
Thank you for you support!
twt: laykuuhx
ig: laykuuh