Til We Meet Again, Next Life

🌺Chapter Three🌺

🌺The Best is The Worst🌺
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Lea

"We should aim for the best! We should BE the BEST!"

Bakit nga ulit ako nandito?

"lahat nang efforts natin push natin sa trabaho! Only then can we achieve true happiness!"

Really? Masaya naman ako kahit wala akong trabaho. Masaya naman ako kahit hindi ko ginagawa ang best ko

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang tumulak sa akin para sumali sa conference na 'to. Somehow I just found myself listening to things I'm not even interested in

"excuse po, padaan, thank you" nakuha nang lalaking pamilyar ang boses ang atensyon ko. Sinundan sya nang aking tingin hangang sa makaupu sya sa tabi ko

He looked at me and smiled habang busy ang bunganga sa pagnguya nang popcorn

Napaiwas ako nang tingin. At binaling nalang ang atensyon sa nagsasalita. I wasn't really interested anymore kaya kinuha ko nalang ang notebook ko at lapis nang mahulog ang lapis

Sabay kami nang lalaking katabi ko sa pagkuha nun. Nakaramdam ako nang kuryente nang mag dikit ang mga kamay namin kaya hinayaan ko na sya na ang kumuha nang lapis ko

"is this yours?"

"s-salamat" hindi ko na sya nilingon at tinanggap yun

Dahil sa pangyayaring yun ay nanginig ako sa kaba. Why am I suddenly feeling like this?

"teka..." the man looked at me na para bang sinusuri nya ang mukha ko "diba ikaw yung..."

Napatingin ako sa kanya

"tama ikaw nga! Yung masungit na babaeng nakita ko 2 weeks ago" tinuro nya pa ako. Tipid akong ngumiti

Sya pala yung may alagang aso na hindi ko nilingon. Kaya pala pamilyar ang boses

Napabuntong hininga lang ako at malikot ang matang nililibot yun sa stadium

"Chris" awtomatiko akong lumingon sa kanya at sa kamay nyang ngayon ay nasa harapan ko. Ngumiti sya nang binalik ko ang tingin sa mukha nya. He showed a dimple on his right cheek. Ang... Ang gwapo nya

"Leonora" Sabi ko at inalog ang kamay nya. Nang bumitaw sya ay pinahid ko ang kamay ko sa damit ko. Feeling awkward

An amused laugh echoed in my ear. Is he laughing at me

But as far as I know. I shouldn't talk. Less communication, less connection. Tama, I have to keep myself silen-

"do you live near here?" I pursed my eyes closed. Does he really have to ask questions?

"do you have to know that?" I was more at ease now. Hindi na ako kinabahan sa sinabi ko

I never dealt with boys before. Hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko. But I read novels and the worst part is. Even if you treat boys nicely, or treat them rude, mahuhulog at mahuhulog sila sayo

But... This isn't a novel. Ba't ko naman ikukumpara yun? All things that happen in books never really happen in real life right?

"masungit ka nga talaga" he said

"hindi mo naman ako kilala para masabi mo yan" sagot ko naman

He just let out a laugh

I sighed and put my things back in the back and left. Hindi ko naman siguro kailangang magpaalam sa kanya

I don't even know him

I walked myself to Yumi's, a small dine-in bakery kung saan ako kumakain when I'm not at home. I ordered a medium halo halo at umupo sa table na nakatapat sa bintana. This was my usual seat. Napangiti ako habang enienjoy ang rocky-road flavored ice cream sa harapan ko

"what a coincidence" napalingon ako sa lalaking nasa harapan ko na ngayon "Is this seat taken?"

Umiling ako at kinuha ang bag ko para umalis

"Leonora" binalik ko ang atensyon sa kanya. He laughed "are you afraid of me? Ba't ka alis nang alis pag nandito ako"

I don't want new friends. I took a deep breath

Pinagkrus ko ang mga kamay ko at hinarap sya "as far as I know, hindi pa kita kilala. And I don't talk to trangers" pagmamaldita ko

That's right Lea, push him away until he lose interest

"pano mo makikilala kung lagi mong nilalayuan?" tinaasan nya ako nang kilay

I don't know how to answer that. All I know is I don't have friends. I don't know how to make one. My mother told me I was shy kaya hindi ako nakikipaghalubilo

But this guy sitting in front of me. He's harmless right? Should I talk to him? Entertain him? Parang ang sama ko naman ata kung hahayaan ko lang sya diba?

But those are against my principles. I vowed not to add anyone to the list of people to lose. Am I ready to take that risk?

I sighed as I walked towards the table, defeated. The guy in front of me smiled teasingly at umayos nang upo. Nakatingin lang ako sa labas, waiting for him to talk. I'm not used to this kinf of atmosphere

"Leonora is too long, you have a nickname I can call you?" he said after a long silence

"ganyan ka ba magsimula nang topic?" I said in confusion

He laughed "Pag ba tinatanong ka tanong din ang sagot mo?"

Umirap ako, I never done that before, but I felt the need to do so "Lea"

He laughed, shaking his head "Oo"

Huh? Binaling ko ang tingin sa kanya, tinatanong kung anong ibig sabihin nang 'Oo'

"Oo" he repeatedly "ganito ako magsimula nang topic" he smiled showing his dimples

I found myself adoring his beauty. His jaw was perfect and his face was light. Masasabi mo talagang masiyahin syang tao. His teeth when he smiles shows his genuine happiness and his brown hair dances as the wind blows through

Napakurap ako at umiwas nang tingin. Sana di nya napansing nakatitig ako

"What do you think about the conference earlier? Agree ka ba dun? You looked... Uninterested" he asked

"no" umiling ako "being the best is the worst for me"

"bakit naman?" kumunot ang noo nya

"because... My mother was one of them"...until she was pulled down by the toxic people around her

•°🌺Aesther93🌺°•