"i remember that moment clearly, high-school lang kami non. sya yung tipong tao na maligalig, madaming kaibigan, down to earth, masarap kasama, she's amazing. kung makikilala nyo lang sya, siguro you'll all understand how great she is." "saan kayo nagkakilala?" the interviewer asked while smiling at me. kabado ako, pero masayang makwento sa iba ang libro natin, mahal. hindi man ito tapos pero nakakatuwa na may nakikinig sa storya nating dalawa. "we met at one coffee shop, kasi around our campus grounds may coffee shop lang sa gilid and lagi kaming nakatambay don ng mga tropa ko then saktong timing when she walked in with our coffee na inorder namin and she said...
"order po for sir, Kael?" a girl suddenly spoke while nagtatawanan kami ng mga tropa ko, i turned around to see an unfamiliar face. i was shocked, iba ata boses ng waiter nila today. sa dami ba naman ng times na dito ako natambay, syempre kilala ko na mga waitress nila here, new employee? "yeah, I'm Kael." she just smiled at me, grabe. mapapatulala ka nalang sa ganda nya, she didn't have much make up on pero halata na meron kahit konti, her hair was brown, the uniform ng coffee shop suited her well. she placed the tray down right in front of me, dun ko rin nakita ang kanyang name tag.... 'kyle' i whispered sa utak ko. "if there's anything that you might need, sir. I'll be at the counter lang po. enjoy your coffee!" then she waved goodbye. i turned to look at Nathan and i knew he knew something was up. "you good, Kel? mukang your jaw dropped huh." sinabi nya ng patago. i just laughed at him, for almost 19 years ng pagiging magkaibigan namin, alam ko na mas kilala nya pa ako kesa sa sariling nanay ko, we were friends since diapers. "hay nako, kel. kung ako sayo, stop eyeing girls here." sinuggest ni Xander. "and why should i not?" "because girls here are hard to get, man. their standards are very high. I'm not saying that hindi ka ideal man, bro, but think it through. i just know that, that girl there na nasa counter, working student yan na may pangarap sa buhay and kung susubukan mo, isa ka lang sa mga distraction nya, bro."
i knew that he was about to say that, totoo naman, mga babae dito sa campus namin mga hard to get, they really strive to get that degree for college and i find that attractive. most of the girls here are fine as fuck but if susubukan mong ligawan sila, they would instantly say no. i didn't mind naman, i study architecture rin kasi and to be honest hindi ganon kadali, kahit man sabihin nila na my parents own great money, iba parin talaga kapag sariling sikap mo yung pera. imaginin mo yon, you'll treat your girl with the money na ikaw mismo gumawa? damn, that would make me feel satisfied and at the same time, nabilan ko pa partner ko ng gusto nya. "hey kel, really man you good?" i was snapped to reality nung sinigawan ako nila Xander sa tenga, why was i even thinking of those? i have a project due tomorrow and puro babae nasa utak ko my god.
"okay so plan ko for our project is to build a building nalang, it's either with concrete talaga or with wood lang, you guys decide because I'm carps with anything." Xander suggested again, if meron man sa magtttopa na responsible sa lahat, siguro boto namin si Xander. this man has been the most responsible guy i knew, no wonder Coleen still stays with him kahit he's in the Philippines, as far as i know Coleen is in 3rd year of college and had to go to the states just to study, and kung titignan mo ha, Australia is very far from here. "yeah I'll set it up by tomorrow then I'll update you guys nalang." i replied, i know that madali lang naman gawin yung project because we've done this a lot of times narin and plus, i wanna have some time alone during the weekends. I'll visit mom pa sa Sunday and i need to pack up my things. "aight bro, I'll go narin, Katkat and i have plans pa. see you kel. maya na yang chicks man, I'll bring you to a club next week." i just chuckled at how shitty this man can be. "gago ka Nathan!" i shouted back sabay hagis ng notebook na naiwan nya sa table bago pa sya makalabas ng pintuan ng coffee shop. my friends are the only companions i have, my life is full of shit and both of them know how hard it is. "I think you need to loosen up, kel. you know, movies? probs sa spa? you've been too harsh on yourself these past few weeks and kailangan mo ng pahinga." see? that's Xander talking rght there. this guy is very caring let me tell you, one time i just got an asthma attack and grabe aruga nya sakin, Coleen is very lucky that he has a guy like him. "hay nako Xander, I'm okay. i really am. if i need to rest, I'll visit tagaytay, the usual airb&b, yes. i can manage." i smiled at him.
mukang gumana nanaman ang sweet and generous smile ko, hays. rupok mo talaga Xander. totoo naman, hindi naman ako ganon ka careless to work 24/7 nonstop, i still do find time to pamper myself and treat myself with a cup of iced americano or a day at the mall. to be honest, I'm desperate rin kasi, for love and to be loved. since Janine left, I've been feeling terribly lonely, kung pwede nga lang ligawan ulit si Janine i would've done it by now just to ease the thought na ang lonely nga ng buhay ko, but wala eh, she left like everybody else. i turned to look at the girl who caught my eye a few minutes ago, she's standing beautifully behind the counter, her hair dancing with the air, sabay pikit ng kanyang mga mata... i am daunted. i just knew at that moment, that girl will be my motivation to do what I'm made to do.
di rin kami natagalan ni Xander sa café, we discussed a few things and called it a day around 5 pm, umalis na si Xander to meet up with his dad kasi may date daw sila sa cinema which leads me to being alone again at a Friday afternoon. i didn't mind tho, loneliness has been clinging on me since i was 9 and to be honest, I'm comfortable with being alone, i can understand myself more and hold my temper better. naaalala ko tuloy nung Janine and i used to date, she made me feel like I'm special but at the end of the day, I'm still by myself, maybe that's just the life I'm meant to live, siguro nga panghabang buhay na akong magisa. hindi ko napigilang huminga ng malalamin while i packed my MacBook and iPad inside my school bag, wala naman na akong pupuntahan and free na naman na ako around this time so maglalakad nalang ako to my dorm, di naman ganon ka layo from the Café. i left the bill sa table nalang and walked my way out of the sliding glass doors. the wind blew my hair back, it was cold but not too cold para ginawin ka ng sobra, middle of December evening typa vibe, i had a scarf on but i didn't bring a jacket since I'm fine without it naman. i texted my sister that I'm on my way home just to remind her that she doesn't need to close the garage and i can do it myself, para makapagpahinga narin sya, i exhaled a good amount of air bago ako mabangga sa poste from staring too much on my phone, "shit..." i almost shouted as i looked at my shirt filled with dirt na galing sa poste, fuck sa lahat ba naman ng tao Lord, bakit ako pa..i whispered to myself before seeing a hand holding a handkerchief right in front of me...
"hi kelly..."
