Bay of Strangers (Manila Girls #2)

Kabanata 4

Kabanata 4

Wrong

Aviva Kamalei Ortega:

River, after talking to our tutoring group leader—he agreed to take you in. Also, as a leader of a support group, I agree to accept you in our group. Of course there will be some rules and regulations. Don't worry, I'll explain it to you.

Pagkasend ko ay umirap ako sa sarili. Napipilitan lang akong gawin ang mga ito lalo pa't si Ma'am Orelio ang nakiusap sa akin.

My phone beeped for a notification. Nilapag ko ang kinakain na fiber bar at tumikhim saka sinilip ang reply ni River.

River Gaisano:
Thank you. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Lei.

Umirap ako. I expected his texts to be too 'jejemon' as to how Vanna described it. She says that men who are not a good and neat texter should be rejected immediately. It's a big no. Marami nang nanligaw sa akin at nanghingi ng number ko at tuwing nag tetext sila, palaging nasusuka si Vanna. It's either they're too cheesy or they do not know basic grammar or she just hates it when she saw a huge space between sentences.

But River's reply is neat. Tama rin ang pag gamit niya ng punctuations. Capital letters din ang simula ng pangungusap at pati ng pangalan ko.

I sent it to Vanna. Mabilis niya akong tinawagan.

"Huwag ka nang magrereply!" She commanded.

"Hindi na nga."

"Good. He might think you're interested or something."

"I am not. Si Daven pa siguro."

"Ang dami na niyang friends na schoolmate natin. Ugh, he's famous already. Kodiak and the twins are friends with him already."

Napairap din ako. "Tayo lang ata ang walang balak makipagkaibigan sa kanya."

"Well, I'm sure about me. How about you? Paano pag naging close kayo?"

I haven't given much thought about it. With the way I see it, there's really a huge possibility that we might be closer but that's it. I don't have to be friends with anyone I know.

I don't like River but I don't hate him. I just have a certain prejudice about him. He's like an unpredictable waves—wild, stubborn and ruthless. You can't rule out someone like him. You know he is trouble and he's a breath of a fresh air in this city where all the bad boys are hidden behind a perfect facade.

He's someone who's not afraid to show who he really is, but that made him even more dangerous.

I downed my favorite fruit juice and went to sleep. I have to regain all my energy because tomorrow's going to be a long day. I'll be meeting with my peer support group and I have tons of readings to do. I'm not really obsessed with academic rankings or getting recognition. But I do like being competitive. Sometimes, I look at Atticus and wonder how he manages to do everything he did. Sometimes I even doubt my own capabilities when I realize how great he is when it comes to his studies. My brother's great while I am just average... Pakiramdam ko lahat ng ginagawa ko, hindi naman exceptional at kapuri-puri. Pakiramdam ko, kahit anong gawin ko—hindi pa rin iyon sapat. Hindi kapansin-pansin.

"Good morning, Lei. How's your sleep?"

"Ayos naman po." I smiled at my parents. Parehas na nakabihis na ang dalawa at handa na namng humarap sa panibagong araw.

Our table's full of French and American cuisine. Nagpasadya lang ako ng Kale juice at nagpahanda ng kiwi, blueberry at strawberries.

"I think I need to sign up for that yoga class you're referring, Mama."