It's raining once again. It's cold and my body's trembling. I wanna go home. The rain makes me sad for no reason.
"Rain, rain go away
Come again, another day
Little children, wants to play
Rain, rain go away"
I suddenly stopped singing when someone interrupted me. "Nice song. Never heard of that before.", nagulat ako ng may biglang magsalita sa aking tabi. He's here to annoy me again. Lumayo ako sakanya ng kaunti dahil masyado siyang malapit sa akin. Ngumiti lang siya sa inasal ko. "Don't mind me, you can continue singing! I just want to here your voice." ,dagdag nito.
I crossed my arms and looked at him, annoyingly. "Why are you here again? You're not a stalker, but it's starting to creep me out. Will you distance yourself from me, even just for an hour or at least a minute? ,inis kong tanong. Nakakaumay na kasi. Kahit saan ako pumunta ay nakikita ko ang anino niya. Ever since we became classmates, he never goes out of my sight. At hindi yun nakakilig.
Some of my female classmates shout because of the sudden thunder. Kahit maging ako ay nagulat din dahil sa lakas nito. I heard him laughed at me.
"You know what, Astral? I can also make you scream."I looked at him in disbelief. Sinuntok ko siya sa kanyang braso at sinabunutan pa ito. Napakapasmado ng bunganga! How dare him!
Hinawakan niya ang aking kamay pero nagpumiglas ako. "Hey, stop! What were you even thinking about that? Ang ibig ko pong sabihin is, pag ginulat kita tas wala kang kaalam-alam diba sisigaw ka? Let's say tinakot kita or whatsoever na ikakagulat mo talaga pero di kagaya nang kung anong iniisip mo. Greenminded,huh!" I punched him for the last time. "We're still young! I'll court you first!" ,hindi na ako makatiis sa pang-aasar niya kaya umalis ako at lumipat ng ibang upuan, yung mas malayo sa kanya. Ang malas ko kasi at siya pa ang naging seatmate ko, of all people! I have nothing against him, but whatever he does is making me annoyed and angry.
His pure existence is an annoyance to me.
"Be careful, just come back here if you feel afraid! I would never mind the scream!", sigaw nito. Buti nalang talaga at walang pakialam ang mga classmates ko ngayon dahil masyadong malakas ang ulan. Wala ring teacher na pumasok kaya naman kanya-kanya tuloy sila ng sleeping positions. Ang iba naman ay naglalaro ng board games. At ang mga matatapang kong classmates ay nagcecellphone kahit kumikidlat. Ang dahilan nila, 'Naka-airplane mode naman toh!'
"Hi, can I sit here? ",kinalabit ko pa ito dahil mukhang natutulog. "Sorry for disturbing you,by the way." Medyo nagulat pa siya nang makita ako. 'Kagulat-gulat ba mukha ko?' Whenever I approach my classmates, they have the only same reaction. Nagtataka tuloy ako kung bakit.
She stretched her arms first before smiling at me. "Sure,Astral! Hindi naman ako natutulog, nagtutulog-tulogan lang" ,tumawa ito saglit. " Inaasar ka na naman ba ni Xave? Sagutin mo na kasi yan, feel ko may gusto yan sayo kaya nagpapansin masyado." ,pilit akong napangiti.
She's talkative but I can feel that she's forcing herself to talk to me. I'm an introverted person. Maybe that's the reason why my classmates interact with me differently. They're way too kind to me unlike when their with their closest friends and my other classmates.
That's still better for me tho, since my seatmate is already too much for me to handle. That's probably the reason why I care less about others. But that doesn't mean I care about him.
But then again, I can't imagine loving someone like him. Not in this lifetime nor in the next.
"Someone like Xave is bad for my health, mind and heart, Lia",natatawang sagot ko sakanya.
Nagkibit-balikat nalang siya at bumalik sa pagtulog. Napailing na lamang ako.
Tumingin nalang ako sa labas at pinanood ang pagbagsak ng ulan. Malakas pa din ito, tila ba ilang araw nitong inipon ang mga luha nito.
Sana tumila na.
----
It's already 4:30 in the afternoon. The sky is clear now, it doesn't cry anymore. I'm glad.
My classmates are already noisy. Some of them, especially the sweepers were already cleaning. Hindi naman porket private school itong pinapasukan namin ay wala na kaming pakialam sa room namin. Our adviser always wants a neat and clean classroom. And Xavier, being our class president, was the one, our adviser, assigned to look for us. He never disappointed any of us. He is a great and effective leader.
Bumalik na ako sa upuan ko upang ayusin ang gamit ko. To my surprise, I saw Xave silently sleeping. He looks so angelic when he's asleep.
"I hope you'll just sleep forever." I whispered and continue fixing my things.
"So you can finally stares at me whenever you want, Astral?", nanlaki ang aking mga mata nang bigla siyang magsalita. What the fuck, akala ko tulog siya! Binabawi ko na ang sinabi ko kanina. He's Lucifer's best friend. I rolled my eyes at him.
"No, of course not! So, I can finally be in peace and harmony, Xave! That's it! Ang panget mong matulog." I continue fixing and putting my things in my bag. Bakit ba kasi ang hilig ko maglabas ng mga notebooks at ballpens ko kahit di naman kailangan? Ang tamad ko pa naman mag-ayos ng mga gamit ko.
Napatigil ako nang hindi na ulit siya magsalita. Nagulat ako nang makita ko siyang nakangiti habang pinagmamasdan ako. 'Baliw.'
"It's the fifth time, I heard you saying my name.", he said, almost whispering. I chuckled. That's so sudden.
"Are you kidding me? We've been classmates since Grade 10, right? And now we're in Grade 12, almost two years, and I just called your name five times? " Somehow, talking like this to him, especially when he's such a softie and serious, is really interesting. Dahan-dahan siyang tumango sa akin habang nakanguso.
"Yep. I've known you for almost two years, but I've only heard you call my name five times. And I'm at my happiest when you say my name, Astral. "
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YOU ARE READING
RAINDROPS FALL
Teen FictionAstral Zacera used to think that Xavier Vinares was the storm that she didn't want to let in, no matter what. But little did she know, she was the torrential rainfall that would destroy the man's harmonious life.
