Sincerely, Yours

50

10-27

"Hey," I said under my breath. I constantly blinked, trying to process if I'm dreaming or not.

But shit, totoo nga.

Joaquin Tomas Solomon, the reason why I passed one of our subjects is because I copied his work. The person who corrected me privately when my beliefs were blinded by privilege; the reason why I continued to strive hard in my studies; and the person who silently comforted me when I needed the most was finally, standing in front of me.

"Hey," he said, smiling in front of me. From the moment that I saw him earlier, I knew that he smelled like Johnson's baby powder because he looked so fresh! He was wearing semi-formal attire while holding a pen in his hand. I saw him writing something in his small notebook a while ago. His eyes–were beneath his eyeglasses—are the purest I've seen.

"Have you eaten yet?" I asked him as we both sat in front of one another. He shook his head. "Natatae ako sa sobrang kaba!" I smirked as I crossed my arms.

His genuine smile widened when he heard my reply. "You reminded me of my best friend!" He said, putting his elbows on the table.

"Parati rin bang natatae 'yang best friend mo?" I raised an eyebrow.

His eyes lowered as I uncrossed my arms. "Always! Walang pinipiling lugar 'yon. But your problem is more valid than his," Joaquin exaggeratedly exclaimed and laughed.

He raised a hand to call the waitress. Joaquin and I both ordered. Napailing ako, ayaw niya na raw ng chocolate ice cream dahil sa usapan naming kanina. So now, he decided to order a rocky road flavor! When we finished stating our order, he genuinely thanked the waitress.

"I was wondering, why did you decide to ask me out?" He seriously asked and leaned forward.

I scoffed and widely looked at him. He laughed when he saw me looking surprised. His question made my system alive. Pwede bang sabihin na trip ko lang? Or I was just frustrated because of academics, and I wanted someone to vent? Or maybe, I just want to see him? Mali!

I stared at him for a minute while he was patiently waiting for me to answer his question. He put his left hand on his chin and used his right hand to tap the table, still smiling in front of my face. Joaquin glanced and thanked the waitress for giving us our order, but returned his stare on me after a while. I wasn't informed that Joaquin is like a child in public.

Ang hyper!

"Kasi bakit hindi ikaw?" Sambit ko sakanya.

He was about to taste the food that we ordered, but he stopped when he realized what I'd said. He stared at me again as he curved his lips to form a genuine smile like he didn't expect my answer. Joaquin bit his lower lip to stop himself from smiling, but he couldn't prevent his face from blushing.

"Kinikilig ka ba?"

"Hindi kaya," sabi niya habang iniiwas niya yung tingin niya sa 'kin. Tignan mo 'to! Apat na salita lang sinabi ko pero alam ko na ang saya na niya.