Drawn to His Flame

Kabanata 5

Wait

“Oh my gosh! Kaya pala napaka-familiar ng face niya no’ng nakita ko siya sa room mo!” Shell exclaimed, with her mouth forming into an o.

Napatango na lang ako bago ko tinuon ang aking atensyon sa mga taong naglalakad sa paligid. Nakaupo kami ngayong dalawa ni Shell sa mga covered benches na nasa labas ng building kung saan ang classroom namin.

Pagkatapos kasi kaagad ng una naming subject ngayong umaga ay hinila kaagad ako ni Shell dito para kausapin tungkol sa nangyari kagabi. She looked really intrigued about it. Muntik ko nang makalimutan na dakilang tsismosa rin pala siya kahit noon pa man.

But I was surprised when the air surrounding her suddenly changed. “Pero to be honest, he’s freaking guwapo! Hindi ko iyon napansin kahapon dahil nashock pa si ate mo. But if siya naman pala ang makakabunggo sa akin, why not?” she said with dreamy eyes. Hindi ko tuloy napigilan ang sarili ko na batukan siya dahil sa mga pinagsasabi niya.

“Hey! What’s that for?” nakabusangot niyang tanong habang hinihimas ang batok niya.

“Did you even hear what you were saying a while ago?” tanong ko pabalik sa kanya bago napakibit-balikat.

She rolled her eyes at me before speaking. “It was a joke! You just can’t take a joke, do you?”

I heaved a sigh. Alam ko namang biro lang ‘yon ni Shell pero may parte talaga sa akin na gusto siyang batukan para matauhan siya. I was just disturbed by the idea that some girls would just throw themselves at boys they found attractive and handsome. Na para bang sabik-sabik talaga sila sa pogi at wala na silang pakialam para sa mga sarili nila. That mindset is just off. Women want to be respected but with this perspective present, how could they expect that to happen when they also can’t respect themselves?

Remarks like what Shell had said may be intended to be funny but people shouldn’t normalize this because in the first place, it isn’t okay. After all, you can still make others laugh without degrading yourself.

“I’m sorry,” mahina kong litanya nang hindi makatingin kay Shell nang diretso. She was still pouting at me but I got relieved when she finally smiled.

“Ang seryoso mo pa rin talaga. You need to loosen up more, Reg,” sabi niya kaya napatango naman ako. I got that a lot. But I’m trying really hard. Minsan talaga ay iba ang paraan kung paano ko nakikita ang mga bagay-bagay. My beliefs would clash with others sometimes and cause misunderstandings like this.

Halos mapatalon ako sa aking kinauupuan nang biglang pumalakpak si Shell na para bang may importanteng bagay siyang napagtanto. “Wait a minute! Nagseselos ka ba?” she asked which made my brows furrow due to perplexity.

“What?”

Tinignan niya ako nang may mapanuring mata kaya napalunok na lang ako. She’s really getting weirder and weirder every day. “See!” I was surprised when I saw her pointing at my Adam’s apple. “You can't hide how nervous you are because nabuking kita! Gosh, Regan! Why did you fall for me?”

Tuluyan na akong napaubo dahil sa pinagsasabi ni Shell. Like seriously? Where is she getting the confidence to say things directly like that?

Magsasalita na sana ako pero naunahan na ako ni Shell. She stood up and once again pointed at me with conviction. Napayuko na lang ako dahil pinagtitinginan na kami ng ilang estudyanteng dumaraan. Ako ang nahihiya sa pinaggagawa ng kaibigan ko.

“That must be the reason why the two of you were having an intense staring contest when I barged in, ‘di ba? Oh my gosh! You were angry at him because of what he did! Dahil sa akin ay nag-away kayo,” she said while fanning herself. Pinipigilan ko lang ang pagtawa ko dahil sa reaksiyon ni Shell. She can really be OA sometimes.