CHAPTER THREE
KUSANG gumalaw ang paa ko at tumakbo kasama ang anak ni Headmaster White. Yeah, I finally remember who he is. He's that guy from the cafeteria who bumped at me, making me bathe on iced tea. He's now gripping tightly on my wrist while we're running away from these three guys whom I don't even know. Shocks! Nabitiwan ko pa 'yong shopping bag!
Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyayari. Basta tumatakbo lang din ako. Takbo lang kami nang takbo habang hinahabol kami nitong tatlong lalaki sa likod namin. Wala na akong panahong lingunin pa sila kasi ang bibilis ng hakbang nitong lalaking 'to. Kulang na lang kaladkarin niya ako eh. Bakit niya ba ako hinihila? Ano bang nangyayari?
Hinihingal na ako kakatakbo nang may marinig akong paparating. I can hear three more different footsteps coming from the other way. Masasalubong namin sila kung magpapatuloy kami sa pagtakbo. They are not running though. They are just strolling quietly. I could hear one of them laughed. I can say they are all men just by the sound of their voices. One of them have some kind of weapon. He is swinging it and just by the sound of it hitting the palm, I could say it's made of wood.
"Paparating na sila. Nararamdaman ko," I heard one of them said. I have a bad feeling about this. Saan ba kami pwedeng dumaan? There are no other way!
"Three men are waiting at the end of the alley," hinihingal kong sabi sa lalaking mahigpit ang hawak sa wrist ko. I could hear his hard breathing because of this chase. I still don't have any idea what's going on and why is he dragging me with him.
Hindi niya ako inimik at patuloy lang kami sa pagtakbo hanggang sa mapatigil kami dahil hinarangan kami no'ng tatlong lalaking naghihintay sa amin. May hawak na mahabang baton ang isang lalaki at ginamit niya 'yon para harangan kami. Both of us stepped back but there are also three guys behind us, laughing cause they finally caught us. Padabog kong binawi ang kamay ko kay White (I forgot his name).
"Why did you drag me with you? Nananahimik akong naglalakad!" Galit kong bulong sa kaniya. Finally he glanced at me.
"Do you think they would let you pass without doing any harm to you? You just walked through their territory," sagot niya nang pabulong din. Hinihingal pa kami pareho dahil sa pagtakbo namin. I could also feel some sweat trailing down from my forehead.
"And what's the difference now, huh?" I hissed. Imbes na sagutin ako, tinignan niya lang ako nang masama. Wow naman! Parang kasalanan ko pang nadamay ako ha.
"Bro, pwede ka nang umalis. Hindi ka namin aanuhin basta iwanan mo 'yan sa amin." Nagbalik ang atensyon namin sa mga lalaking nakapalibot sa amin nang magsalita ang lalaking may hawak na baton. He maliciously looked at me from my head to toe. I glared at him but he doesn't seem to notice it. I could hear his companions whispering nasty things about me and what would they want to do to me. These jerks!
"See?" Nakangising bulong nitong hayop na nandamay sa akin. Nang hindi ako sumagot ay ibinaling niya ang tingin niya sa mga lalaki at ngumiti. "Okay."
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa isinagot niya. I looked at him as he started to step away from me. What the hell!? I could hear the chuckles of these perverted men around us. There is no way he would leave me here alone! With all my courage, I closed my eyes and grabbed his arm. He stopped. I gulped. Damn it. Why am I even in this situation?
"Stay," I said in a low begging voice. He didn't say anything but he didn't resumed walking away. He just stood there silently. "Please stay."
I opened my eyes and I looked at him. Our eyes met and his serious face crept over me. He's taller than me so I need to look up at him. Agad niya ring binawi ang tingin niya sa akin at nilingon muli ang lalaking may hawak na baton.
