“Oh, one more thing before I forgot. Stop making me think of you, it makes me crazy.” Arjay said and left.
Diana stood there, mesmerized. Were all those things she just heard true? Was she really the reason why Arjay quitted the seminary? But why? Why her? How come? Where did he see her again? Especially, when? Should she be happy? Was it really her fault that he quitted? Should she feel guilty knowing that?
‘Diana, what is this? What have you done?’ she asked herself, and as if all her strength went away, she felt her knees weakened. She grabbed the chair behind her and took her seat. She can feel her body trembling. She looked at her hand to confirm and yes, she is indeed trembling.
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
She was startled to hear another voice behind her. She looked at the person and it is one of her co-teachers. She smiled at the lady.
“Yes ma’am, I’m fine. I think I was just tired plus my feet hurts because of this pair of heels.” She reasoned out.
“Aren’t you going home yet? It’s getting cold and the night has been so long. We could give you a lift home.” The lady suggested. She smiled.
“I really appreciate the offer ma’am but I already called my brother. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“Oh, okay… we’ll go ahead then. Are you sure you’ll be fine?”
“I will ma’am. Thank you.”
“We’ll go ahead. Goodbye ma’am.”
Diana waved at her co-teacher and she remained in her seat. She remembered Arjay again. Is he really telling the truth? Or was he just looking for someone to pin the blame on his decision? But why did he tell her that his feelings came back? Did he like her also back in college? She pinched herself just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating for lack of sleep.
“Would you like me to pinch you hard so you will stay awake until tomorrow?”
She looked up and it’s her brother.
“Great, you’re here. Where’s Uncle Berto?” she asked.
“He’s over there in the acacia tree. Here, I brought a pair of slippers for you sis. Would you like me to help you with your stiletto?” he asked.
“Yes please. I am so tired and sleepy I just want to go home.” She groaned.
“There you go. Come on.” he said and picked the stiletto.
“Can you give me a piggy back ride? I really can’t walk.” She asked.
“A big NO. You’re way too heavy for me. I will just drag you.” and he grabbed her elbow.
“Excuse me! I’m too skinny and too short to be heavy and don’t you dare!” she warned her brother and finally stood up.
They started to walk towards the trike.
“By the way sis, I saw sir Arjay on my way here. He’s one of the guests?”
“Uh-huh.” She simply said.
“You’re really sleepy. I’ll just talk to you tomorrow.” Her brother said and they stayed quiet until they arrived home.
They went out of the trike and she paid for the fare and the hassle they caused to the trike driver. She went straight to her room as soon as they entered the house. She changed her dress into a sleeping wear and removed her make-up and slumped herself on her bed. She buried her face under her pillows to force herself to sleep but after 5 minutes on that position, she groaned and rolled to face up. She let out a deep sigh.
‘Do not assume Diana. It’s not true. He was just angry. And that ki—oh my gosh!’ she plunged on her bed when she remembered Arjay kissed her. Arjay kissed her! Arjay stole her first kiss and in a very unexpected way!
‘Urgh~~~’ she groaned again and buried her face into her palms.
“Now look what you’ve done to me Arjay!” she said out loud but covered her mouth immediately as soon as she realized that it’s already past 3 in the morning and all the people in that house were all sound asleep.
“Take a deep breath Diana, and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, you will wake up like nothing happened. Arjay didn’t say anything and you didn’t hear anything, as well.” She said and let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes. Tomorrow will be a new day for her.
She was awaken by the noise outside their house. She was not sure whether it is laughter or just super loud noises. She covered her ears with her pillows but all in vain. She can still hear it. Unable to go back to sleep, she groaned and stood up from her bed. She went straight to the bathroom before going out of her room, still in her pajamas.
“Why are you so noisy? Don’t you have a he--- Arjay!” she exclaimed and immediately crossed her arms on her chest.
“Good morning. Sorry, did we wake you up?” Arjay said and looked at her, smiling on his seat.
“Oh, you’re already awake, Diana. Sir Arjay brought a pandesal. Have some coffee.”
“W-what are you doing here, sir Arjay?” she asked awkwardly, remembering what happened last night at the prom.
“I came up for Home visitation but I think I went too early.” He said apologetically, still looking at her.
“Oh, no worries, sir. It’s for Janwill anyway.” She said nodding.
Arjay nodded, too, and touched his lips. She wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose or not but either way, she felt her cheek burn.
“Just continue what you’re doing, excuse me for now.” She said and immediately went back to her room.
As soon as she closed her door, she ran towards her bed and buried her face under her pillows. She screamed without a sound.
‘You’re torturing me, Arjay!’ she cried without tears.
She plunged out of bed when she heard her phone ring. She immediately grabbed her phone and saw the caller ID: it’s Justine. She answered the phone.
“Did I wake you up?” Justine asked on the other line.
“Not really. Why?” she asked back.
“Green or blue?”
“What?”
“Just choose. Green or blue?”
She thought for a second. Why would Justine call her just to ask a color? Something’s up and she need a distraction now.
“Diana, are you still there?”
“Since you’re favorite color, we will stick with the color green.”
“Wait, seriously???”
“What? You asked me to choose, right? So I am choosing the color green. Now, what’s the catch?” she asked.
“I will tell you soon. Now, how’s catching up with the past?” Justine asked her back.
“Well, he ---“
There was a knock on her door.
“The door’s open. Wait, don’t hang up.” She said and waited for the door to open.
“I will go ahead. Oh, you’re on the phone. See you around, and please don’t ignore my messages and calls.”
“Yeah… bye.” She said and nodded. Arjay closed the door again. “Hello, Just ---“
“Who the hell is that? And why are you ignoring HIS messages and calls???”
Diana can hear the excitement on Justine’s voice.
“Well, that’s what I was going to say before the knock… catching up with the past.”
She moved her phone away from her ear as soon as she heard the loudest squeal of the year. When she didn’t hear anything from the other line, she put her phone back to her ear.
“Are you okay now?”
“When are you planning to tell me???”
“I wasn’t planning to tell you anything actually because there wasn’t anything. Until last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“He confessed everything and he…” she stopped purposefully.
“Oh my god! Am I thinking what I think happened last night?”
“I don’t know… what are you thinking?” she asked acting clueless.
“Don’t make me say it! Because I know you already know what I was thinking!” Justine said accusingly.
“I don’t know Just… should I believe him? What if he’s just looking for an excuse for his decision?”
“Oh, dear… here we go again with all your pessimistic ideas. From what I heard a while ago, you’re ignoring him, and yet, he’s still there. He even confessed! What more proof could you asked for?”
“I’m not asking for a proof. I want to be sure about his feelings and my feelings. I don’t want to invest on something I could not be sure of.”
“Then give it a try. And this time, it’s not just unrequited love. You’re going to receive something, and let’s hope that this something is good for you.”
Diana sighed. Maybe Justine is right. She should give this a try because this time it’s not one-sided love affair.