Drawn to His Flame

Kabanata 23

First

“I swear, Hiro, patay ka talaga kay Tita Hera pag-uwi mo,” babala ni Shell sa katabi ko. Hinintay talaga nila ako kanina para maghapunan at ngayon ay nasa loob kami ng karinderya na malapit lang din sa apartment namin. Ililibre kami ngayon ni Hiro at naalala ko pa kung paano siya nagulat kanina nang dito namin siya dinala dahil inaasahan niyang papagastusin namin siya ng todo sa isang mamahaling restaurant. Pero hindi na siya nakapagsalita pa nang matikman niya ang putahe rito.

“My mom won’t disown me when she sees how handsome I am now,” he boasted after taking a sip from his cola. Hindi rin naman nagsisinungaling si Hiro. Ilang buwan lang ang lumipas pero ang daming nagbago sa kanya. His physical features matured a lot in that span of time. I almost thought he was a different person. He looked manlier but he’s still an airhead though.

Shell sighed. “Ayaw niya talagang magpakulay ka? Final decision na talaga?” tanong niya. I angled my body to Hiro to show that I’m also waiting for his answer.

Sinabi niya kasi sa amin na kaninang umaga lang siya nakarating dito sa Nueva City. He’s part of their school’s editorial board and they came here to participate in a journalism seminar but he didn’t attend today’s opening program so that he can dye his hair.

Hindi ko alam kung nagrerebelde ba siya o siraulo lang talaga.

“Ayaw talaga ni Mama. Pero bagay naman ‘di ba?” he asked, clearly wanting us to give him support.

I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Sinunod mo na lang sana si Tita para hindi ka nagmukhang adik.”

Shell started clapping and she looked proud at me. “That’s your first words tonight and you chose violence. No one’s doing it like Regan!”

Sinulyapan ko ang katabi ko nang marinig ko ang pag-usog ng kanyang upuan palapit sa akin. “Sinong adik?” tanong niya sa akin habang naka-pogi pose. Inirapan ko lang siya at nagpatuloy sa pagkain.

“Mukhang badtrip nga. Ano kayang nangyari?” rinig kong wika ni Hiro na para bang nagpaparinig. Hindi ko na talaga mapigilang mainis sa kanya. How can he just show up now and act like everything’s the same? Na para bang hindi niya ako intensyonal na iniwasan?

“I don’t know. Their group did amazing naman daw kanina sa oral defense nila. I wonder what went wrong,” sagot naman ni Shell kay Hiro. I scoffed. Pinagtutulungan na talaga nila akong dalawa ngayon.

Shell suddenly snapped her fingers as if she remembered something important. “I think I know the reason! Nag-away na naman yata sila ni Treyton!”

Hiro coughed. “Treyton as in Treyton Franco?” Mula sa gilid ay pinandilatan ko siya ng mata. He just smirked at me so my hand moved to pinch his side. Hiro’s the only who knew about me having a fat crush on Treyton before. Ayaw ko nang magdagdan pa ng isa ang nakakaalam no’n.

“Tumpak! But wait, you know him?” tanong ni Shell. Napangalumbaba siya ngayon kaya patuloy ko pa ring pinanlalakihan ng mata si Hiro para balaan ang huli.

“May kakilala kasi akong patay-patay sa lalaking ‘yon noon. Buti na lang natauhan,” he shared before throwing me a side glance. Napakagat naman siya sa kanyang labi pagkatapos nang apakan ko ang paa niya. But he didn’t miss the opportunity to laugh at me.

Shell’s oblivious about what’s happening under the table. “Can’t blame whoever that person is though. Treyton’s hot!”

Annoyance flashed on Hiro’s face but it’s already gone when I blinked. I was about to change the topic before worse comes to worst but Hiro did it on my behalf. He and Shell talked for a few more minutes until we finally decided to go home.