Tilted

Chapter 27

Amabella's Point Of View

We are walking towards my family's house here in Luinab, Iligan. I must say, it is far from the town where it is usually crowded and all, but I find it more serene in here.

"So ayun nga guys! Ang ganda nga talaga dito sa Iligan City! We are currently in Barangay Luinab, nag-hihike kami papunta sa bahay nila miss Amabella. Guess Mabel isn't a liar after all! For more inquiries, contact her nalang. The information will be in the description." sigaw ni Chris. He is vlogging once again, and I am not anymore surprised. I'm used to him being a vlogger already. Ang tagal na rin. And of course Chris, I am not a liar.

"Hoi, kung makapagsalita ka naman bro ha, she's not the only one na nagmula rito ha. This is also my hometown baka nakakalimutan mo." said Ryan. Typical him. Why is he so blunt nowadays? His change of behavior is creeping me out.

"Sige na nga baka injectionan mo pa ako. Oh ayun guys, rinig niyo na sya ha." Chris spitted out these words.

"Oh ayun guys, rinig niyo na sya ha." Ryan mocked him.

I see Christopher clench his fists and said something under his breath "Stop it.", he told Ryan, definitely annoyed.

I rolled my eyes hearing them bicker like small children. "Tumigil na nga kayo parang mga sira." Pinaglayo ang dalawa ni Douglas with his astonishing strength.

Despite Douglas' way of stopping them, they still continue to mock and throw childish words at each other. I looked somewhere else and Kenneth caught my attention as he is calmly tying his shoe lace behind a tree. How could a man like him be so innocent? I mean, kung hindi pa niya diyan bibilisan, maiiwan siya. He will lost sight of us, and will be left in the middle of nowhere. Not long after, our eyes suddenly met each other causing my nerves to jolt inside so I averted my stare to someone else before I explode. That someone else was unfortunately this smiling Marc.

"Hm, gusto mo siya noh?" He said out of the blue and nudged my elbow. "Ouch, don't be so violent nga. At anong gusto gusto sinasabi mo dyan? Hindi pwedeng crush muna? 'Like' is such a powerful word. Be cautious with your choice of words."

"Ang OA mo ha, Oh so crush mo nga sya? Guys, crush daw ni Ma!—" Agad agad kong tinakpan ang malaki niyang bunganga because of his voice's sudden change in volume. But it wasn't even a good action to prevent the squad's attention. One by one, all of them stopped on their track and started to look over our direction.

"Crush? Sino?" Tere asked. Kinurot ko si Marc sa tagiliran niya dahil sa inis. "Ahm, ako! Crush ni Marc si Jenn!" Sigaw niya habang nakangiti. Gosh.

After he said those words, Jennifer on the other hand made weird noises, out of disgust. "Yucks", she said.

"Wow ha ang kapal." Marc softly said but I still heard his deep voice making me nudge him this time. "You don't have to lie naman just to conceal what you tried to say earlier. I mean hindi nga totoo na crush ko sya but you know.." I tried to explain

He just laughed in response and patted my shoulders "Who said I'm lying?" said Marc, making me gasp.

"So hindi ka nga nagsisinungaling?" I said, still in awe. I still don't believe na their simple joke about him liking Jenn maybe is actually true.

"Hindi naman talaga ako sinungaling na binata eh." I bet this is another lie.

"Oh God you are. Minus thousand points ka sa langit bro, tanda mo pa nung 3rd year highschool tayo when you and Douglas decided na mag-cutting classes? Wala pa isang oras, you arrived at class. Ma'am Raymundo's class to be exact, saying na galing lang kayo ng principal's office due to an unexpected circumstance. Unfortunately, you got away by your stupid lies. Gosh you were such a bad student back then." I said between my laughs. Why do I feel so nostalgic while reminiscing those awful yet memorable times?

"And oh, remember when you always lie to us. Oh no, even to yourself, na.. There are dozens of girls who drool over you when in reality, wala naman talaga. You were so cocky back then, hindi na ako magugulat if you didn't get into a real serious relationship with someone." I spilled the truth and Marc just rolled his eyes. Naiinis? Or sadyang tinamaan lang sa katotohanan?

"Bakit mo pa yan kailangang halungkantin lahat? Past is past maybe an overrated phrase but girl, past is past talaga. Besides, I will win Jenn someday, you guys must look forward to that day." Why does he sound poetic all of a sudden?

"You wish" I thought, and laughed inside.

"Anyways, you should be thankful na hindi ko sinabi kanina yung about kay Kenneth boy something." He added

"Ang alin?" I suddenly heard Kenneth's voice behind us. Oh please, do not tell me na kanina pa siya nakikinig sa conversation namin ni Marc. Maybe he had heard me ranting endlessly about Marc being a liar back in our highschool years. He must  have thought that I have lost my sanity.

"Puryagaba, kanina ka pa ba there, behind us?" tanong ko sa kaniya.

"Alam mo ang conyo mo. Nakakapanibago." Marc whispered on my ears causing me to feel exasperated.

"Ah, no. Actually bago lang, I was tying my shoe lace earlier. Uhm, I heard my name?" Kenneth asked.

"Oh it's nothing." I immediately replied to his curious question. Gotta reply really quick. "Weh?" He asked me with his usual teasing smile that always annoys me. Sending cringe all over my body and soul.

"Oo nga, halika ka na nga, maiwan ka pa tuloy."

"You don't have to be concerned"

"Eyy, maiwan ko muna kayo ha." Marc said and walked away from us.

"Huy Marc." I said out loud but pa tuloy lang sya sa paglalakad patungo sa iba naming kaibigan. Sinong mag-aakalang nagiging bingi rin pala ang sinungaling? I face palmed myself, and hear Kenneth laugh.

"Tinatawa mo diyan?" I asked as I was giving him a bad glare.

"Nothing" he simply said. He's short in words the whole journey. Is it because of the awkward atmosphere or ano?

"Magtagalog ka na nga lang." I told him.

"Hm? I thought Filipino isn't your first language?" sabi niya. He really thought?

"How did you know that?" I asked him as I furrow my eyebrows.

"You told me long time ago. I guess my memory is more stable than yours." he said and slightly smirked afterwards. He left me behind and proceeded to walk. I looked at the pack, and I am way behind them.

"Hoi!" I shouted at him but he pretended not to hear. Sige lang, as if alam niyo rin naman saan location ng bahay ko.

I stopped on my track at umupo sa gilid ng kalsada. Bahala kayo diyan. Annoy me all you want.

"Halika na nga." Kenneth held my hand and dragged me towards him making me almost stumble. What did he eat para balikan ako?