Pacifying the Chaos (Crossroad Madness #1)

Chapter 4

"Anong ginagawa mo rito?"

Magkapanabay na tanong namin sa isa't isa. Gulat na nakatingin ako sa kaniya at ganoon din siya sa akin.

"May magagalit ba kung sasamahan kita ngayon?" malokong tanong niya.

Napangiwi ako sa kaniya matapos ay umiling bilang sagot sa kaniya. "Upo ka."

Inilapag niya sa katabi ng inupuan niya ang bag na dala niya habang ang camera na nakasabit sa leeg niya ay ibinaba niya sa lamesa. We were silent for a couple of minutes. Nagpapakiramdaman lang kami kung sino ang unang magsasalita.

Hindi ko inaasahan na makikita ko siya ngayon. I was so ready to submerge myself with my emotions but here he is in front of me, making me feel like I am not alone... giving me comfort.

"Nakita ko ang boyfriend mo na pumasok sa VIP area bago ako nagpunta rito. I thought you're with him but you're not apparently," he said.

Nag-iwas ako ng tingin sabay baling sa daang magtuturo kung nasaan ang VIP area. It was a closed room for individuals who wanted to have a privacy with their dates or whatsoever. A perfect rendezvous for people who were avoiding the public's eyes.

Bigla akong kinabahan dahil sa presensya ni Elon na hindi ko inaasahan. Only a few people know this café. Madalang lang din napapadpad dito ang mga taga CIU dahil malayo sa university. Kaya hindi ko akalanging makikita ko siya.

At pakiramdam ko ay nahuli ako sa akto gayong wala namang siyang alam sa dahilan kung bakit nandito ako. The fact alone that he saw Gio entering a VIP room with me staying here in the veranda is enough surely enough for him to think that something's going on.

"He's talking to someone privately. Hindi na ako sumama dahil makakagulo lang ako sa kanila," pagdadahilan ko.

"Gaano na kayo katagal?" usisa niya, malayo sa binuksan niyang usapan.

I almost sigh in relief only if I didn't stop myself. Nanunuring tiningnan niya ako dahilan para kabahan ako. Takot man na salubungin ang mga mata niya ay hinarap ko pa rin siya at nginitian ng tipid. "Nine months, I think. But we go way back.

"Kilala mo talaga siya?" tanong niya.

Kiming tumango ako bilang sagot. "We're schoolmates since junior high from different curriculum kaya kilala ko na siya. He's ahead of me for two years. Nagsimula lang ang pagkakaibigan namin noong third year na siya at first year pa lang ako."

"I thought he's an engineering student. Why TADS?" tukoy niya sa theater and drama society na org ni Gio.

Nangalumbaba ako. Images of Gio from our high school days came into my memory as if taking me to those times where I just see him as someone from the SPA curriculum. Hindi ko nga alam na magiging ganito kami ngayong pareho na kaming college students. Masyado kasing malayo sa katotohanan na hindi ko na inisip na posible pala.

"He used to be part of the special program of the arts curriculum way back junior high. Umaarte na siya noon pang high school kami. Pero noong nag-senior high na, kumuha siya ng STEM. Maybe it was reality over passion. And he chose to pursue something that would guarantee his future."

I was just an audience watching him from a distance. Students my age before wasn't very fond of watching school plays. And I used to cringe watching them, too. Forced to watch due to our attendance, I met Gio.

And from that moment hindi na siya nawala sa paningin ko. I was able to notice him unlike how stranger he was to me before I watched the school play he starred. Hanggang sa nag-moving up siya at kumuha ng stem bilang track niya. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero palagi na lang siyang nahahagip ng paningin ko.