Stuck In Between (Published Under IMMAC PPH)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I kept my silence. Sa tingin ko naman, wala akong karapatan na magdemand ng sagot. Ilang linggo pa lang kaming magkakakilala at baka nga naman, wala talaga silang alam, o ayaw lang talaga nilang sabihin. Hindi ko na alam.

Pumasok ako sa mga klase ko kagaya ng nakasanayan, pero nanibago ako dahil si Emy na ulit ang seatmate ko. She decided to transfer the the chair on my left when she noticed the two weren't there. Maging siya ay parang nalungkot. I don't know but I felt kinda disappointed na pinili ng dalawa na tumabi kay Khea.

"Zin, can I join you for lunch again?" Red asked one time. Of course, I immediately agreed. Kasama din namin si Emy. I was looking forward to lunch dahil makakausap ko na ulit si Red.

It was lunch when Emy and I were waiting for Red. Kanina pa kaming nag-iintay sa kanya pero wala pa rin siya.

"I'm hungry, Zin..." sabi ni Emy. I looked at my watch at nakitang malapit na ring maubos ang oras ng lunch break namin.

I sighed. Siguro pupunta na kami ngayon sa cafeteria at dun na ang namin hihintayin si Red.

We went in there of course. At yung kanina pa naming hinihintay ay nandon na pala. Kasama si Khea at Rico na masayang kumakain.

It was a great disappointment for the both of us. Syempre dahil kanina pa kaming naghihintay sa kanya at inabot pa nga ng gutom. Nang makita niya kami sa cafeteria ay mukhang nagulat pa siya. He said something to Khea and Rico bago naglakad papunta sa amin.

"Zin, Emy, I'm sorry... I forgot," he said and scratched his head.

I shook my head and smiled at him.

"No. Okay lang. Pero sana in-inform mo kami na kumakain ka na pala dito kasama si Khea. We were mindlessly waiting for you back there kasi sabi mo may pupuntahan ka lang, I didn't know that an heir like you knows how to ditch," I said and left him there standing.

It feels like my friends chose someone else over me, it was odd because it felt like this already happened before... pero alam ko naman na... hindi talaga kaibigan ang turing nila sa akin. Maybe what my schoolmates were saying were all true.

I remained clueless for another week. Or rather, I endured being clueless for another week. Wala sa dalawa ang nagsabi kung anong meron noong huli naming pag-uusap bago nila naisipang mas masayang kasama si Khea at parang nasaktan ako dahil don. I just want to know the truth but why do they keep on telling me that it was nothing when obviously, they know something about me that I don't!

***

As I was walking, nakita ko si Khea na may kasama. It was a man. The person wasn't familiar to me. Mukhang nagtatalo sila. Suddenly, the guy looked at me and smirked. Napalingon naman si Khea sa akin at ganon na lang ang gulat niya nang makita ako. She immediately dragged the man she's talking to away from me.

Napakunot naman ang noo ko. Who was that person? Siguro ay ayaw niyang malaman ng iba na may kinakausap siya na lalaki. I just shrugged the thought off. Hindi ko naman siya responsibilidad kaya hahayaan ko na lang siya. Whatever business she has with that person doesn't concern me anyway.

Nakita ko si Kuya Lando kaya sumakay na ako sa kotse.

I went straight to my room, napansin ko ang drawer sa may vanity table ko na di ko naman inisip na buksan. I don't know what got into me but I just went there and opened it. Doon ay nakita ko ang isang picture frame, it has a picture of four kids, two girls and two boys. They looked happy and contented with their life. A part of me envied them. Sana ako rin.

Looking at them, I remembered how fragments of my childhood memories where missing. Noon akala ko ay dahil lang yon sa tumatanda na ako at hindi na siya mahalagang memorya but now, it isn't like that anymore.