KUDOS, Drei
"EHH!!!??",
Drei almost jumped in surprise after hearing all about me and Rie. Never did he, nor anybody else sa KUDOS squad expected that kind of plot twist. Not even me.
Keil's POV
That day, I got to hang out with the squad again after what seemed to be a long week for me. Tumambay kami at the same cafe, ordering the same coffee for each of us. Nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na ikuwento sa kanila ang mga nangyari, so I did.
Wait, no. Actually hindi.
They forced me to talk about it after what happened back at school. You know, how Rie kissed me and how I chased her to the rooftop.
Lalung-lalo na si Drei, na pinakanagulat sa lahat dahil crush pa naman daw niya sa Rie. He seemed down, but not more than intrigued.
"Well, wala na akong laban ngayon niyan. She even kissed you and all, kaya what could I say", pabiro pa nitong sabi sa akin na may kaunti pang pangongonsensya. Tinawanan ko lamang ito at tumingin sa iniinom kong kape.
They all had their own reactions about my story.
Uno was just as shocked, but more on the happy side. He put his hand on my shoulder and congratulated me with a big smile on his face. "Oh, edi nahanap mo din? You did well, bro, making sure that you don't have any regrets by telling her how you feel. Gotta hand it down to the great writer Keil", pambobola pa nito.
Sebb kind of suspected the same, pero hindi ito makapaglabas ng mga gusto niyang sabihin dahil sa sobrang gulo ni Drei kaya hinila niya ito papunta sa kanya at pinagalitan.
And as for Otep, I think alam na niya the whole time. He looked at me straight in the eye with a smile that tells me he's happy and relieved. Of course he had to be drinking coffee while looking at me resulting to him choking almost to death.
Nagtawanan kaming magkakaibigan dito.
Ahh, this feeling... I haven't been able to pay attention to these guys this past week. I missed them already.
We spent the whole afternoon having fun until it was time to go home. We went our separate ways from the cafe, and went home.
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Except for him.
Drei's POV
UHHH, that sucks. Buti na lang hindi agad ako na-fall kay Rie, that would've been more depressing.
What the... Am I really talking to myself right now? Hehe, what a weirdo.
In any case, nakakagutom din pala kapag puro kape lang ang iniinom. Guess I'll stop by a convenience store before going home. Hindi naman siguro magagalit si Mama.
At the store...
HMMMMM... Burger o instant noodles? Hmmmm.... Do I take beef over seafood, or seafood over beef? I just can't decide....
Not to mention si ate sa cashier is really looking at me... Like, may gusto ba siya sa'kin? O baka naman may something sa mukha ko... Oh, wait, alam ko na.
It's probably because andito pa din ako nagdadalawang isip for almost an hour.
"My bad. I'll go with burger, ate".
sighs*
Sabi ko na eh. Oh ayan, nakabili na ako, di na siya nakatingin. Oh well. Tumingin ako sa relo ko, and what the heck, it's almost 8!!!!
Papatayin ako ni Mama kapag wala pa ako sa bahay by 8! Sorry burger, pero sa bahay na kita kakainin. Gotta run!!!
...
Tumakbo ako through the park, then through a shortcut down an old highway. Then through another park, pero natigilan ako.
May umiiyak na babae sa swing....
MAY UMIIYAK NA BABAE SA SWING!?
Nanginig ang buong katawan ko sa takot habang marahan kong pinihit ang tingin ko pabalik sa swing.
MAY UMIIYAK NA BABAE SA SWING!!!!
Tatakbo na sana ako nang mga oras na iyon. No. Nakatakbo na ako, at halos di ko na marinig ang iyak ng babae. Pero napaisip ako.
What if duwag lang pala ako? What if hindi yun multo? Then wouldn't that mean I just ran away from someone who might be needing help?
Tumigil ako sa pagtakbo, then took a few steps back. Naglakad lang ako ng patalikod hanggang sa malinaw na ulit sa mga tenga ko ang mga pag-iyak.
Hindi nga multo... Sana....
Bumalik ako sa kinaroroonan ng babaeng umiiyak. I approached her slowly, as to not scare her. I mean, I might look like a kidnapper...
"Miss, okay ka lang?", I asked.
She looked at me, and chills ran over my body.
Ang ganda!!!
Nagblush ako ng kaunti nang makita ko ang umiiyak nitong mukha. FYI, wholesome ako kaya ganito!
I cleared my throat before speaking again.
"Ehem... May problema ba miss? Hindi ligtas dito mag-isa, lalo na at kung anong oras na", I said.
Umiyak lang ito ng umiyak sa kabila ng mga sinabi ko. Medyo nakakapag-alala dahil mukhang may malalim na pinagdadaan si ate. Pero mas nakakapag-alala dahil anong oras na, patay talaga ako kay mama...
Dahil nagmamadali na ako, kinuha ko na lamang ang kamay ng babae na ikinagulat nito. Iniabot ko sa kanya ang burger na kakainin ko dapat pag-uwi ko sa bahay.
I smiled at her, as I left her with words of encouragement para naman hindi ako makonsensya na iiwan ko nanaman siya.
"Here, I was going to eat that but you can have it. You seem to be troubled, and it troubles a person more kapag gutom. So eat and cheer up. Pasensya ka na ate, kailangan na din kasi ako sa bahay kaya di na ako magtatagal."
Nang paalis na ako ay napalingon ako sa dako kung saan nakaupo ang babae. Nakatingin ito sa akin, and she was smiling.
AHHH SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL...
Gusto ko sana siya samahan kaso takot ako sa pamalo ni mama. Well, see you around ate. Hopefully.
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That night, umuwi ako na ligtas matapos malaman ni mama ang nangyari. I got away with only sermons, thanks to ate.