Chapter 8: Chapter 7
Ruben's Point of View
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." Pinapanood ko lang si Neil habang nirerecite ang mga linya nya.
For this upcoming october, we'll be having a stage play. And obviously, ang play na gagawin namin ay ang Romeo and Juliet. Napangiwi ako ng si miss clean freak na ang sunod na magsasalita.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
It's just so ridiculous to see someone you hate to be so good at something that you want to praise them and bad mouth them at the same time. Nang matapos na sila sa pagpractice nung scene na 'yun, tinawag ako ni pres para magpaxerox pa ng extra scripts.
And as i went to the computer lab there was no one there, so ako lang ang magxe-xerox nito. Di ko lang alam paano gamitin ang xerox machine na 'to. Napakamot lang ako sa'king ulo at inilapag sa isang tabi ang mga hawak ko.
I guess i'm just gonna wait for someone to come here and help me. Pagkaupo ko, bigla na lang may pumasok dito and it was miss clean freak!
Nagkatinginan kami at nauna akong magsalita. "Ginagawa mo dito?"
"Tss, sabi ni pres ipaxerox mo din 'to." At inabot nya ilan pang papel na kailangan ng extra copy. Nang kuhain ko ito, i set it aside with the other papers sa tabi ko.
Napataas naman kilay nya. "Hindi mo pa ba i-xe-xerox yan?"
"Nah, hihintayin ko yung nagxe-xerox dito."
"Why not do it yourself?" Ah, here she goes again. Can't she just mind her own business?
"Di ako marunong. Bumalik ka na don, baka hinahanap ka na." Sabi ko.
"You know what, ako na lang gagawa. Wala ka ding pakinabang noh?" Tss. I hate this bitch.
"Sure, suit yourself." Then i just watched her take the papers, at nang lalapitan na nya ang xerox machine natisod pa sya sa harapan ko at bumagsak sa lapag. Nagkalat pa tuloy yung mga papel.
Damn, karma is so fast.
Pinigilan ko tumawa. I hate her but i don't want to be rude, i'm the kind of person who don't stoop so low unlike other kids my age. Still, this sight is kind of funny.
"A-Argh!" Namula sya sa kahihiyang nangyari sa kaniya. Serves her right. Pagkatingin nya sa'kin, sinamaan nya ako kaagad ng tingin. "I swear if i see you laugh--"
"I'm not laughing. Ayusin mo na lang kalat mo." I told her and just smirked.
She gave me this unbelievable look. "So wala kang balak tulungan ako dito?" Tinuro nya pa yung kinalat nya.
I chuckled. "Well yeah, i'm not the idiot who made that mess anyway."
"Wala ka talagang kwenta!" Then inayos nya na ang mga papel na kinalat nya.
After making copies of the script, sa'kin nya pinabuhat ang mga papel at hinila na nya ko pabalik sa club. While walking with her on our way back, we had this awkward silence. I hate this but i don't wanna talk to someone like her.
Tinuon ko na lang ang tingin ko sa ibang lugar. Then i saw something unsightly outside this school building. Napahinto ako sa paglalakad at nahulog ang mga bitbit ko. "What the hell Ruben!?" Reklamo ni Eliza at pinagpupulot ang mga kopya.
Pero hindi ko pa rin matanggal ang tingin ko sa nakikita ko ngayon. Eliza tried to ask me what's wrong, and when she looked at the direction i was looking she quickly reacted. "Wait, isn't that your girlfriend?-- what the, is she with another guy there?!"
My hands formed into a fist. My mind kept asking, why is Jade with another guy?-- and of all people, si Leroi pa ang kasama nya.
Tinawanan ako ni Eliza at inasar pa ako. "Looks like she wasn't really serious about you. Mukhang wala din namang babae na tatagal sayo dahil sa ugali mo."
And that hit a damn nerve.
I looked at her as if i want to skin her alive, natakot sya sa akin at napa-step back. "Don't talk to me if you're just gonna make fun of me."
"Y-You're so fucking weird." I heard her whisper.
"Don't even think you're safe from me just because you're a girl. If i ever hear you talk about me like that again, i swear you'll regret it." Tas umalis na ako at nagmadaling puntahan si Jade.
But as i got out of the building, i've lost sight of her.
"Damn it Jade." Napakagat ako sa aking labi sa galit. I already swore to myself that no one can ever steal nor touch her, she's only mine.
Jade's Point of View
Nang ibagsak ko ang katawan ko sa aking higaan, parang naiirita na 'ko dahil di ko matanggal ang ngiti sa labi ko. I'm kind of happy to finally figure out who August is, i'm still a bit surprised to know that it was Leroi as well.
Napayakap ako sa aking unan at pinag-isipan ito ng maigi. Medyo excited akong maranasan ang makipag-date pero parang nag-aalangan ako dahil naaalala ko si Caiden. I used to like Caiden, which is Leroi's cousin.
It just feels wrong, sort of. And everytime kasi na napapatingin ako kay Leroi naaalala ko si Caiden. They look a lot similar because they're relatives after all.
"Haaaays! Ganda mo talaga Jade!" Sabi ko na lang sa sarili ko. Naalaa ko lang din na yung sinabi sa akin ni Ruben na si Leroi na lang ang ipalit ko kay Caiden. Pfft, pihadong magugulat yung lalaki na yun if he ever finds out that i started dating Leroi.
Then i suddenly heard my phone ring. Nagtext na sa akin si Leroi. He said:
Wanna go on a date with me this Saturday?
Omg! I quickly replied and said yes. Nafi-feel ko na magiging exciting na buhay ko tulad ng mga nababasa kong romance novels hahaha!
Ruben's Point of View
Why do i feel like Jade is hiding a lot of things from me? Glancing at her from time to time, she acts like her normal self. Gustong-gusto ko na syang tanungin tungkol sa nakita ko kahapon pero naghihintay lang ako na baka sakaling magsalita sya.
As she looked at me, she grinned and pinched me on the cheeks. "Why do you keep looking at me? Is there something on my face?"
"No." Damn, why isn't she telling me about it yet?
"So why keep looking on me?" She giggled and said ridiculous things. "Sobrang ganda ko siguro ngayon hehe."
"Hell no, you're ugly as shit." Napasimangot sya sa akin at nasuntok pa ko sa braso ko.
"Tch, mas panget ka." Tas tinarayan nya na 'ko.
I know i have to keep on reading but my thoughts just keeps on bothering me. Is she really keeping secrets from me? As classes started, she never spoke a word about it.
"So uh, i'm gonna go to my club now." Paalam ko.
She smiled and replied. "Sure, bye!"
At nang pagkalabas ko ng classroom, i texted Neil that i'm not gonna attend club today. I have to know more about what Jade is trying to do.
I hid myself with a pair of glasses and brushed up my hair, then i waited for Jade to get out of the classroom. I also tried blending in with the crowd while following her so she won't notice me so easily.
Pagkarating namin sa may locker, i was quite surprised to see her pulling out something unusual from her locker. She got a bunch of roses. Inamoy nya ito at pinagmasdan saglit, after that itinabi nya na ito sa kaniyang bag.
And as expected, the guy showed up. Leroi greeted her and asked her out to eat. Sumama naman si Jade dahil alam kong mahilig sa libre 'tong babae na 'to. Nang maglakad na sila, Leroi carried her bag acting like a gentleman and placed his arm on her shoulders.
I gritted my teeth at the sight. Jade really is keeping secrets from me.
Jade's Point of View
Oh my gosh!! I can't believe what's happening right now. Habang naglalakad kami ni Leroi papaalis sa campus, andaming bumabati sa kanya at parang di ko sya makausap kakareply nya sa mga tao na yon.
He's very much popular in this school. Just like Caiden, he's popular and liked by a lot of people. Pero i liked Caiden better because he's more studious and sweet. Unlike Leroi here, he's quite blunt with all the things he say. Medyo pabaya din sya sa pag-aaral nya tulad ni Ruben noon pero di naman sya sira ulo.
Pagkarating namin sa isang fast food restaurant, sya na nag-order at ako na ang naghanap ng mesa namin. And as we were about to start eating, nakausap ko na rin sya sa wakas!
"So uh, you okay? Kanina ka pa tahimik ah." Aniya.
"Y-Yeah." Gosh, this is so awkward. This feels like a date-- damn no, it is a date! First time ko sa ganto at medyo nahihiya at kinakabahan ako.
"Relax Jade, hahaha! Just think of this as a friendly date. Let's get to know each other." Nakakainggit din confidence ng tao na 'to. How can he be so calm when my knees are shaking from this damn nervousness!
"O-Okay..."
"You can ask me stuff, no need to be shy!" I can't believe this guy. Is this how a guy approach a girl he likes?
Napatanong tuloy ako. "Bakit... bakit ako?" It feels so impossible for him to like me. He's so popular and there's probably a lot of girls who likes him and is actually better than me. So why the hell would he go for a girl like me!?
He smiled and had this serious look on his eyes. "Because it's you Jade."
Natanga naman ako. Yon na yon?
"That's it?" I want to demand more reasons, i mean i can't find any reasons for a guy to like someone like me. I'm plain, sometimes boring, i'm a little chubby, and unlike other girls i don't give a damn about my appearance.
Natawa si Leroi. "Well, if you had to know... i actually see you quite often ever since you got into the academy. And you probably don't remember this but you actually stole my heart last valentines day."
Napakunot noo ko sa nabanggit nya. "Ano nangyari nong valentines na 'yon?"
"Aray ah, limot mo na kagad?"
"Magtatanong ba ko kung alam ko?" He just laughed again.
"Fine, so it happened last valentines day--
flashback:
Holding a box of home-made chocolates, parang mahihimatay ako sa kaba ko dahil di na maayos takbo ng puso ko. Namumutla na rin ako at pinagpapawisan kahit parang ang lamig ng pakiramdam ko. Binatukan naman ako ni Ruben. "Aray ko takte!! Ano ba Ruben!?" Inis kong sigaw sa kanya.
Tinawanan ako ng bwisit na 'to. "If i didn't do that, then Caiden might've seen you looking constipated."
"Constipated!? Mukha akong constipated!?"
"Duh, you always look like that if you plan to do something for Caiden." Gumanti ako ng hampas sa kanya.
Tumawa naman sya at itinulak na ako palapit sa harap ng classroom ni Caiden. "N-No! Nooo! Ayaw ko Ruben! Ayaw! No!!" But he didn't gave any mercy as he kept on pushing me.
"Balitaan mo na lang ako kung ano sinabi ni Caiden pag nabigay mo yang chocolates mo ah?" Aniya't iniwanan na ako. Gusto ko sanang samahan ako ni Ruben ibigay itong chocolates kaso baka awayin lang ako ni Ruben.
Pagkahawak ko sa knob ng pintuan, bigla itong bumukas. Nataranta ang utak ko at natulala lang ako sa lalaking nasa harapan ko. We stared at each other at inabot ko na lang sa kanya yung chocolates. Pagkatapos non tumakbo na ko paalis.
"So, how did it go?" Ruben asked ng makita nya ako.
end of flashback.
Ngayong naaalala ko na, yung lalaki na nabigyan ko si Leroi pala!! Tas nagsinungaling ako kay Ruben na nabigay ko nga kay Caiden yung chocolates! "...di ko makalimutan yung araw na 'yon hehe, ang cute mo kasi nung binigay mo sa'kin yung mga chocolates. Tsaka namimiss ko na din lasa nung chocolates."
"Oh my gosh!" Napatakip ako sa mukha ko sabay yuko. Nakakahiya talaga kay Leroi! And that chocolate was actually meant for Caiden.
I feel so embarassed and guilty at the same time.
to be continued
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