David’s P.O.V.
It was a good thing that she didn’t really hear what I said. I was only thinking of it, I didn’t expect myself to voice it out all of a sudden.
When I saw her outside our classroom this morning, I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was so beautiful and having second thoughts if she would go to the clinic or not made her even more gorgeous. If only she knew that I had a hard time sleeping because of what I saw yesterday… it still lingered on my mind and I just couldn’t forget it away.
I wanted to kiss her, but I knew that I wasn’t in the right position to do that. When I carried her bag, I felt like I was already courting her even though I wasn’t yet telling her that I really wanted to do it. I didn’t want to be her rival, I wanted to be her boyfriend.
Pero na-bad trip ako nang makita kong may white rose sa desk niya. Hindi ako ang nagbigay sa kanya niyon and I just wanted to throw it away after knowing that it was only from Brent—that stupid tisoy na akala mo ay kung sinong makatingin kay Helena.
I tried to calm myself pero kulang na lang ay sabihin ko sa kanilang lahat na magkasama kaming dalawa kahapon nang buong araw… bonus na lang ang nangyaring CPR. But then, I felt happy and thankful that Helena got straight to the point and busted Brent in front of everyone.
I didn’t give up on asking her if she could join me for lunch. She was so hard-headed and I didn’t know what to do anymore to persuade her. Vanessa came as a blessing in disguise and because of her, Helena suddenly gave me her bag and pulled me outside of the classroom.
I knew that it was only an act, but I was grateful enough na kung hindi dahil kay Vanessa, hindi ko ngayon makakasama si Helena. She even walked out, pero hindi ako magsasawang habulin siya… kahit paulit-ulit pa.
Having a lunch with her now changed a lot of things I thought about her. I didn’t even expect that she would eat using her bare hands. She did it first time in history and that happened when she was with me. I realized na hindi naman maarte si Helena, mataray lang talaga.
“In fairness, masarap!” Helena’s comment suddenly dragged me out of my reverie.
I removed some of her hair strands that covered her face and tucked them on her left ear so that she could eat better. Hindi pa naman ako kumakain kaya hindi ko nadumihan ang kanyang buhok.
“I’m glad you liked it. Sabi na nga ba, masasarapan ka eh. That’s my favorite food!” I told her.
“Eh ‘di favorite ko na rin ito from now on,” she smiled at me and that made my heart leaped a second.
Hindi talaga ako nagsasawang tingnan siya. Mataray siya pero maamo ang kanyang mukha. I could stare at her all day long. In fact, just by looking at her already made my stomach become full.
She continued chewing her food until… “Cristoff, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what is it?” tanong ko sabay subo ng pagkain.
“Sa’yo ba ‘yong Sixty Shades of Grey na nasa bag mo?” Helena asked which made me choke my food. I coughed unstoppably until she gave me a glass of water. Mabilis ko namang ininom ‘yon.
“Of course not!” mariing tanggi ko nang wala nang laman ang bibig ko. It had been three months and I just realized na hindi pa rin pala ako nagpapalit ng bag. Ni hindi ko man lang nga nalabhan iyon. What Helena asked was the same book that I snatched from Vanessa before.
“Eh bakit nasa bag mo?” Namimilog ang mga mata niya. Hindi ko alam kung gusto ba niya talagang malaman ang sagot o inaasar niya lang ako.
“It was Vanessa’s book,” I answered. I didn’t even want to mention Vanessa’s name because I was with Helena but I wanted to tell the latter the truth so that she wouldn’t think of anything stupid about me.
“So, pareho niyong binabasa ‘yon?” pangungulit pa rin niya.
“No! Ni hindi ko man lang nga nabuklat ‘yon kahit isang page. I took that book away from her three months ago because I wanted her to focus on doing her assignments. It happened the same day that you entered our classroom as a transferee.” Gamit ang kamay ko, sumubo na ulit ako ng pagkain.
“Ang bait mo talagang boyfriend, ano? You were so caring and you really wanted her to study hard. But unfortunately, she wasn’t able to see your effort plus she wasted your love. And because she was reading that book, she actually did it… sa garden pa talaga ng school natin. Hmm, don’t get me wrong ha? Nakita ko na kasi ‘yong book na ‘yon sa bookstore.” Nakikita ko pa siyang umiirap habang nagsasalita. “Tapos kanina lang, tatawagin ka niya na parang wala siyang ginawang kasalanan sa’yo? What for?”
Naalala ko na naman tuloy ‘yong ginawa sa’kin ni Vanessa three months ago and I could say that I fully moved on. When I saw her a while ago, a part of me was saying that I should talk to her and give her a formal closure. But the bigger part was telling me that I should be with Helena instead.
“Oops, I’m sorry for being insensitive, Cristoff… but do you still like her?” she asked but this time, she was not looking at me.
“What if I told you, yes?” pagsisinungaling ko sa kanya. Gusto ko lang naman makita kung ano ang magiging reaksiyon niya.