A Far-fetched Love ✓

AFL 36 ✓

"Shimon," narinig kong pagtawag sa 'kin ni Kael nang nasa pintuan na ako palabas para pumasok sa trabaho. 

Nilingon ko naman siya kaagad. He was fixing his necktie while staring at me as he smiled from ear to ear. 

"Do you have any plans tonight?" tanong niya bago naglakad palapit sa 'kin. I could smell his mild scented perfume, and could visualize the neatness of his appearance as he came closer to me. 

"Why....?" I asked, consciously and perplexed. 

He was standing a foot close to me. His right hand palmed on the wall just centimeters away from my head, and his face was a but close to mine that I nearly weakened my knees. 

"Because I want to take you out for a dinner date...." He scratched his nape and stared at me with his pleading eyes. "If it's okay with you, of course. If not, I'd understand. I mean...I know you're busy with work, masters, and stuff."

Sasagot pa lang sana ako nang bigla ulit siyang nagsalita. 

"So I guess....I should take your silence as a....no....so....yeah...I better head...off..." He stumbled as he pushed to his feet. Leaving me holding my chest, for being somewhat deprived of the chance to respond. But I guess it was not yet too late for me to mouth him a line, since he ain't that far from me yet. 

"I'm not busy," I mumbled before taking my leave as well. 

Barring the distance we have and the loud chatter from the neighbors, he was able to hear me loud and clear still—causing his lips to curl upward, revealing his deep seated dimples.

"I'll...see you tonight then..." he said before I walked past him and headed off to work without saying anything more to the overtly jovial him. 

Jovial as the man that he is, I was greeted with the same jovial faces of my students as I walked my path going to the faculty room when I arrived at work an hour later. 

It wasn't weird to be greeted by the majority of the students that I bumped into through eyes and flesh, but it became weird when each of them started handing me stems of sunflowers. Weirder when they stood on each side of the hallway, smiling and as if leisurely waiting for something instead of going to their respective rooms. Weirdest when Cedric came out of nowhere, holding a huge sized teddy bear on his right hand and a bouquet of sunflowers on his left. 

He was mumbling words that were swallowed with the students' giggles and squeals, causing me not to understand a single word from his line even though he wasn't a thousand kilometers away. Other than the noise of the students, I could feel my head wanting to explode from anger with the act he was trying to pull off. This wasn't what I was expecting from his patching up plan with me. 

I wouldn't feel my rage blowing if only he didn't publicize such an act and exaggerated his moves, but he did and I just couldn't take it. Made me want to conclude that he wasn't as genuine as I thought he was when he told me he'd settle being a friend. 

"Dunno what your fave flower is, so I picked a flower that most women fantasize about," he said when he stood in front of me, handing me the bouquet in his hand. "By the way, lovely morning, babe. Shall we head inside the faculty?" he added so loud, the students heard him clearly while emphasizing the endearment he shouldn't be addressing me with.

It wouldn't be professional if I'd bare my fangs at him with the students seeing us, so I took the flowers he was handing me, and just forced a smile at him before taking my leave. Could hear the students squealing so loud when I took the flowers from him, some of their sweet wishes for us even caused my lips to twitch. 

Pagkarating namin sa faculty, agad kong nilapag ang mga gamit ko sa table at sinabihan itong sumunod sa akin. Hindi naman iti nag-alangang pumayag, nakangiti pa nga itong sumusunod sa akin papunta ulit sa students' park kung saan walang tao.