Drawn to His Flame

Kabanata 3

Karma

I almost choked on my fish fillet after I heard what my friend blurted out. "Stop making things up, Shell," pagdedepensa ko sa aking sarili para hindi ako mapahiya sa harap ng aming mga kaklase.

She's been talking about our high school memories with our newfound friends and majority of what she had shared to Fiona and Clay included my embarrassing moments.

Shell lifted her right brow at me before she gave me a lopsided grin. "Am I hearing the defensive tone of yours, Regan my friend?" she teased and she even bothered to mimic a famous character of a comedy series aired on television while doing so.

Narinig ko ang mahinang pagtawa ni Fiona kaya nahihiya akong humarap sa kanya. "No need to be embarass about it, Regan! Well, to be honest, hindi rin ako marunong lumangoy. I also brought an inflatable once noong pumunta kami sa beach resort ng mga girl besties ko. But it's a common one though, not the rubber ducky type."

Their laughs echoed around the canteen and I just shyly scratched my neck because I was feeling a little uncomfortable due to the gazes thrown to us by the other students occupying the other tables. Lunch kasi ngayon at puno ang buong lugar. It was indeed a struggle to stop myself from joining them though because Shell's laugh alone is funny enough to make me roll on the floor while crying my eyes out.

Nang humupa ang tawanan ay si Clay agad ang unang nagsalita. "Dinala mo na lang sana ako noon, Babe. You won't need a lifesaver if you have me," banat ng lalaki na sinundan naman ng tili ni Shell.

Fiona, on the other hand, looks like she would puke any moment now. I exactly mirrored her reaction internally but I just decided to hide it with a shy smile. "I would rather drown," tugon naman ni Fiona na umani ng maraming reaksiyon sa paligid namin. Sa siyudad man o sa probinsiya, marami pa rin talagang mga tsismosa.

"You got roasted, dude!" litanya naman ni Shell bago niya tinapik-tapik sa balikat ang lalaki. Napailing na lang ako sa sinabi ng huli. She surely knows how to add salt to a wound.

Clay brought a hand melodramatically to his chest and pouted like a puppy before he inched closer to Fiona. Nagulat naman ako nang kausapin ako bigla ng huli. "Favor, Regan. Puwede bang palit tayo ng upuan?" Fiona asked. I was dumbfounded but I just nodded in the end before letting her take my seat.

Naguguluhan akong napatingin kay Clay na katabi ko na ngayon at todo kung ngumuso. The sarcastic me was tempted to comment about his weird expression but gratefully, I didn't. I just let him handle his girlfriend's mood swings on his own.

The two girls resumed talking about the tourist spots in our province for I heard that Fiona was planning to visit Venturanza with her entire family. "I'm just so sick of going abroad all the time. May mga magaganda rin kasing lugar dito kaya why bother traveling to foreign countries pa?"

I saw Shell excitedly nodded before speaking. "I agree with that mindset, girl! Support local dapat tayo! Honestly speaking, the beaches in Venturanza can even compete with those abroad!"

Watching Shell socialize with others never fails to impress me. Kung hindi dahil sa kanya, wala pa yata akong magiging kaibigan ngayong unang araw ng pasukan. I am naturally shy and she's just the complete opposite of my personality. She can effortlessly initiate a talk and connect with people which I really wanted to learn. I would not even think twice of agreeing if I would be asked to exchange my wit for her social skills.

Dahil sa mundong ito, hindi sapat ang matalino ka lang. Kailangan mo ring makipag-tao. But it's a bad news for me because I just couldn't pull myself together to do it. I could try but most of the time, my efforts fail. Introversion really has a strong grip on me.