David’s P.O.V.
I placed my hands at both of her sides to trap her. Natutuwa talaga ako sa itsura niya ngayon—sobrang pula ng mukha niya while she was trying to look either at her left or right side. Tinitigan ko pa siya lalo and that’s when I realized that she was really beautiful… most especially if those glasses would be removed.
“W-What are you doing?” tanong niya sabay tulak sa dibdib kong hindi naman natinag.
“Try me, Helena. I don’t care if you will believe me or not, but I’ve always been thinking of your soft lips for three months now. I… just can’t get enough of it,” bulong ko sa kanya. I even winked at her while wearing my flirty smile.
What’s wrong with me? And what am I even doing?
I wasn’t used at doing these things. Kahit may naging girlfriend na rin ako, hindi ko nagawa kay Vanessa ang maging ganito.
Sino ka ba talaga, Helena? At anong mayro’n ka that you were able to bring out this side of me?
Buong lakas niya akong itinulak and I must admit, malakas talaga ‘yon para ma-out of balance ako. “A-Ano bang nakain mo, Cristoff? Why do you keep on telling me a lot of nonsense here?” she angrily snapped at me.
I was surprised that her face went bloody red now. I guessed it was no longer because of blushing, but because she got really mad at me. Hindi ako nakasagot dahil sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam kung ano ang aking sasabihin. There was this unknown side of me na ayokong magalit si Helena sa akin.
Did I push her towards her limits?
She sighed as she pointed me her forefinger, before poking my chest. “I approached you because I wanted to talk about the strategy of making this Annual Camp a success. But what are you doing, huh? You kept on blabbing me about that k-kiss I really don’t care about! Now, I don’t want to believe anymore that you are still running for the valedictorian title. For me, y-you are just like one of those ordinary, flirt, childish and somewhat perverted boys in this school. I don’t want to talk about the accident that happened to us, I wanted to talk about ideas!”
And she really emphasized the word accident, huh? Hindi ko alam pero sa paraan nang pagkakasabi niya ng bagay na ‘yon, bakit parang nasaktan ako?
Padabog niyang kinuha ang bag niya at naglakad na palabas ng pinto, pero hindi pa siya nakakalabas nang magsalita ako, “That explains everything, Helena.” I said na ikinalingon niya.
“What are you trying to say?” She blankly stared at me for a few seconds.
“I scared the hell out of you, right? Mind you, Helena… you just called me Cristoff. Kaya mo naman pala akong tawagin nang hindi Rivera, bakit kailangang takutin pa kita? Now, what? You’re walking out again, huh? I thought you wanted to talk about ideas, let’s start now!” Sumeryoso na ako. Kahit na alam kong ginalit ko siya, hindi ko matanggap ang ikumpara niya ako sa iba dahil unang-una sa lahat, hindi ako manyak!
But who am I fooling here? I knew and I must admit… that she brought out this perverted side of me!
“I’ve changed my mind. Magkanya-kanya na lang muna tayo ngayon. Mag-research ka, magre-research na lang din ako on my own. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
Akma na siyang lalabas ng classroom nang magsalita ako, “Okay then, it’s fine with me… but let me clear things up, Helena. I want you to know that I wasn’t a perverted type of guy! And if that’s what you really think of me, then it was all because of you. I hated to admit but what happened to us was my first kiss, and if for you, it was an accident… well for me, it was an experience.” I said with conviction while my heart was beating freaking faster.
Matagal muna siyang nanatili sa may pinto habang ang likod niya ay nakaharap pa rin sa akin. Hindi na siya lumingon pa. Tuluyan na siyang umalis pagkatapos niyang magpakawala nang isang malalim na buntong-hininga.
I held my chest. Napakalakas at napakabilis nang pintig ng puso ko. It made me feel confused. Hindi ko akalaing nasabi ko ang lahat nang ‘yon sa kanya.
Lumabas ako ng classroom and still, preoccupied pa rin ang aking utak. Lalo pang nadagdagan gawa nang naging pag-uusap namin ni Helena.
To divert my thoughts, I decided to go to the Computer Room and started my research about the Annual Camp strategies and methods that we could use for our proposal. Since senior students always lead, it would be my first time to handle this school year’s annual project. I should not disappoint Mrs. Cheng and the whole school admin.
Pagkatapos kong makakuha ng mga Annual Camp information ay hindi muna ako nag-shutdown ng computer. Dahil pwede naman kaming mag-Famebook dito during our break time periods ay binuksan ko na lang din ‘yong account ko.
Then, natukso akong hanapin ang Famebook account ni Helena. I typed Helena Mari Delgado on the search engine and after I clicked the enter key, I found two profiles. The first one joined four years ago while the other one only joined last year.
I opened the one who joined four years ago and her last status update was posted about eighteen months ago: Feeling happy. Traveling to Las Albas with Daddy and my twin. Tagged: Athena Cari Delgado.
After that post, her timeline was filled with different ‘Get well soon!’ messages from her Famebook friends. That was when curiosity striked me so I decided to open the tagged Athena Cari Delgado’s profile.
Wala akong makitang public posts niya aside from ‘Rest in peace!’ posts from her friends on Famebook. Binalikan ko ‘yong ‘joined four years ago’ na Helena and I compared her picture with that of Athena.
Magkamukhang-magkamukha sila! They were unquestionably identical twins with the same rosy-white skin, charming face, brown hair, and I guessed, also height… as well as the same green pair of eyes. Though Helena only wore a pair of eyeglasses, parang wala talaga silang pinagkaiba!
It was a good thing that their profiles were not private. I found one picture na magkasama sila na nakasuot ng parehong hairband, shades, jumpshorts, pati sandals… at hindi mo talaga makikilala kung sino sa kanila si Helena o kung sino ‘yong Athena.
I then looked at the ‘joined one year ago’ Helena’s profile but she doesn’t have posts and her friends would not even reach thirty. I was not a stalker at all. Hindi ko lang talaga alam kung bakit parang may gusto akong malaman—at kung bakit pakiramdam ko ay parang may mali.
Pinagdikit-dikit ko ‘yong mga profile picture nilang tatlo gamit ang Photo Enhance software, at masasabi ko na ‘yong dalawang Helena ay parehong-pareho talaga. That was when I noticed Athena’s difference and that made me frown. If I could see myself in the mirror, I was sure that my eyebrows were almost knitting together.
I didn’t know why but it was Athena’s profile who really captured my attention. I browsed some of her solo photos at bigla na lang akong natigilan nang…
Teka! Bakit parang—
I looked deeply at Athena’s eyes and I just didn’t know why I suddenly felt goosebumps all over my body! There was something in her that I couldn’t set aside. I even blinked twice, dahil hindi ako pwedeng magkamali.
Those eyes… those green pair of eyes!