Shot in the Dark

04

I hear him laugh and chase after me. “Lee, galit ka ba sakin?” di ko siya sinagot. “Lee, sorry na. Di ko na babawiin ng ganon yang mga minamahal mong novel mula sayo next time” sabi niya and I continue ignoring him.

Wag kang magpapadala Ash! Wag kang magpapadala! Galit ka! Galit ka!

I think he’s had enough of my silent treatment so he blocks my way and I give him an annoyed glare. 

“What?! You’re going to make me late!” I hiss at him and then I look down at the floor or anything but him. He grabs my face and forces me to look a him 

“I know that you’re first period is AP Calculus because I have a copy of your sched courtesy of your kuya and I know for a fact that your room is just around the corner of this hallway and we still have 15 mins to spare and I’m not letting you go until you forgive me so please Karlee Astrid Villegas Ray. Sorry na please?” he says with his infamous puppy face. 

Damn him! Why can’t I stay mad at him kasi eh! Kainis! I roll my eyes and nod at him as a sign of my forgiveness but I take my gaze away from him because I’m trying to suppress the smile that wants to come out. 

Why does he have to look so cute naman kasi eh! Kainis naman psh!

“Can you let me go now?” I ask him without meeting his gaze that I can feel burning through my skin. 

“Hindi pa” mabilis na napabaling ako sa kanya and kinunotan ko siya ng noo. A sign that I’m asking him why. 

“You need to hug me so that I know that you’ve really forgiven me and hindi ka lang napipilitan para hindi ka ma-late sa klase mo and also” he sighed then added with sincerity dripping in his voice” because I’ve missed you a lot Lee”. 

I roll my eyes and do what he tells me to. I planned to just hug him quick but when I was gonna let go na. Di niya ko hinayaan. 

“Jax, malalate na talaga ako” reklamo ko sa kanya. I felt that he put his chin on my head and said “Sandali lang Lee, namiss talaga kita eh” I smiled and hugged him back, willingly this time. 

“Missed you too, Jax. But I really don’t wanna be late. You know how I don’t like the attention it gets me” sagot ko and I felt him smile then he let go of me. 

“Tara hatid na kita” sabi niya. 

Hay, Please stop giving me reasons to like you even more. Ayokong mahulog ng tuluyan. I heave a deep sigh and give him a small smile and shake my head. 

“Wag na, sabi mo nga diba malapit lang naman dito at baka malate ka pa, makokonsensya pa ko sayo nyan” angal ko 

“It’s okay, my first period is AP Geology so my room is just beside yours” I roll my eyes this happens every year. If were not classmates, his room is always beside mine. I’m pretty sure my brother and my bff’s have something to do with this. 

Before I would’ve passed this as a coincidence but this is just ridiculous. This have been going for two years now. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Having not-so-sly friends.

On cue, the second warning bell rings signaling that we need to be in our rooms by 5 minutes. “C’mon let’s go before we get in trouble” he nods and we walk to our rooms.

The day passed by in a blur and before I knew it I’m on my way for my AP Geography class which is my last period in the morning. I’m so hungry though I always am. I go in the classroom and notice that not so many people are in yet. 

I pick a seat near the window and plug my earphones and listen to music I scavenge my bag for a snickers bar I’m sure I did put in there. Finally, I find it and I eat it. Hmmm, soo goood...

Mhhmmm, thank God for chocolate. My chocolate-induced-haze is broken by someone clearing their throat. With wide-eyes I turn my attention to the person who cleared his throat only to find a cute guy with a friendly smile on his face. 

“Hi, I’m Lawrence Edward Lee, do you mind if I sit beside you Miss?”

“Karlee, and I don’t mind” I answer and give him a sweet smile. He gave me a thankful smile and takes the seat beside me.

I was in middle of eating the last piece of my snickers ng bigla siyang nagsalita “Mahilig ka pala sa snickers” gulat man ako kasi kinakausap niya ako parang ang bastos naman kung di ko siya sasagutin. 

“Yea, I’m a big fan of chocolate kasi eh” and I smile at him. He chuckles so kinunotan ko siya ng noo. Ano naman ang nakakatawa sa sinabi ko? 

Tatanungin ko na sana siya pero parang naintindihan na niya and namula ako sa sunod na sinabi niya “You have a little something on your teeth there” nalaki ang mata ko. 

Damn snickers.

Natawa naman siya and mas lalo pa akong namula sa sunod niyang sinabi “You’re cute when you blush, Karlee” nang di na ako sumagot kinablit niya ako.

Nagulat ako kaya napatingin ako sa kanya “I’m sorry did I make you uncomfortable” nahihiyang sabi niya habang nasa likod ng batok niya ang isang kamay. 

Ano kaba Ash! Di naman niya kasalanan na tanga ka eh, don’t make him feel bad.

“Oh hindi naman sa ganoon, I’m just really embarassed” I explain and sa di ko mawari na dahilan ay pareho kaming natawa. Alam kong pinagtitinginan na kami ng mga kaklase namin pero wala kaming pake. 

Na awat kami sa pagtawa ng may pumasok na kaklase namin at ina-anounce na wala yung teacher namin. Of course nagbunyi ang mga classmates ko. Typical high school students. Buong period nagkwentuhan kami ni Rence, sabi niya yun na lang daw itawag ko sa kanya.

I found out that he’s the son of the owner of a pharmaceuticals company all over the globe. Both his parents are chemists and he has 2 siblings; one older sister and one younger brother. 

We both shared our aggravating experiences on being younger siblings. We were having so much fun that we almost missed the bell ringing signaling lunch. 

He offered to walk me to my locker and considering he had been nothing to me but nice and it’s rare that I enjoy a stranger’s company so I decided it was okay to affirm his request.

When we reached my locker we we’re still happily chattering. He was telling me about a time when he was forced to play dress up with his sister because his little bro wasn’t born yet. I was laughing my guts out by now that I didn’t see that I wasn’t putting my books properly so of course they fell. 

“Omg!” my books fell on the floor and I immediately bent down to pick them up, Rence being a gentleman, helped me pick up my stuff. 

Laughing at my clumsiness we both arranged my stuff into my locker, I locked it and turned to face Rence. “Thank you for helping me with my stuff” I tell him sincerely. 

“No probs, but can I ask you something?” intrigued to what he’s gonna ask me, I nodded. 

He took a step closer to me and opened his mouth and closed his mouth later on. He kept doing that and on the third time I decided to help him. 

“Ano ba yon Rence? Just spit it out” sabi ko. “Well” simula niya tapos humawak siya sa batok niya at nagbaba ng tingin na parang nahihiya sa kin. Tumaas ang kilay ko dahil rito. What happened to the easy-going and confident boy a while ago? 

“The thing is I’m new here and you’re the first person that I sincerely had a good time with so I was wondering if you would consider... Being friends with me?” 

❣️