Collide / [Park Jay]

11

"Didiretso ka na ba sa pag-uwi or a-attend ka pa ng meeting niyo?" Tanong sa akin ni Sunhee after ng dismissal namin. I'm currently arranging my books on my locker when she went to me.

"Hmm.. siguro a-attend ako. Wala rin naman kasi akong gagawin pag-uwi. Si Hana nga pala?" Tanong ko pabalik. We parted ways kanina dahil 'yong mga locker nila ay nasa kabilang side pa ng hallway, malayo sa akin.

"Nauna na, eh. Maagang dumating 'yong driver niya." She pouted.

"Oh, really? So.. saan ka after this?" Natapos na ako sa pagpili ng mga librong iuuwi ko at nasara ko na rin ang locker ko kaya nagsimula na kaming maglakad palabas ng building.

"Can I join you on your club meeting? Matagal pa yata ang sundo ko, eh." She said before scribbling something on her phone.

"Sure, ikaw bahala." Sagot ko. I think wala naman yatang nabanggit na hindi pwedeng um-attend kapag hindi member ng club kaya hinayaan ko lang siya sa gusto niyang mangyari.

Sabay kaming naglakad papunta sa school gym dahil malapit doon ang broadcasting room. According to Sunhee, broadcasting is the most active club in school, the reason why most students hate joining them. They're in-charge of planning and implementing activities in school during the entire semester. May naka-assign sa documenting or 'yong pagfi-film and pagt-take ng photos kapag may event. May naka-assign din for editing and writing scripts. At marami pang iba. In my case, bago pa lang ako kaya wala pa masyadong pinapagawa sa akin bukod sa pagfi-file at pagso-sort ng mga daily articles na ina-announce sa buong campus.

"Hi, Jay. Nandito ka na pala." Nagulat ako nang nagsalita si Sunhee habang tumatabi sa kanya. I was about to sit in front so I can get better understanding of what we're going to tackle now. Pero dahil nakaupo na ang kaibigan ko ay tinabihan ko na lang rin siya.

"Yeah." Tipid na sagot ni Jay. Hindi pa nagsisimula ang meeting dahil kaunti pa lang ang nandito kaya nagkaroon sila ng time para makapag-usap.

"Si Nari, hindi pa papasok?" Tanong ni Sunhee.

"Her family is still on a business trip. Baka next week pa." Jay answered. His eyes drifted on me as I listen to them. Nag-iwas agad ako ng tingin. I have no idea who they're talking about so I don't want it to seem like I'm all ears. "Why are you here? You're not part of this club, right?" He then asked.

"Well, sinamahan ko lang 'tong si Yerim. I didn't expect you to be here, though. Hindi ko alam na interested ka pala sa org na 'to. Sounds very pretentious of you, huh..” Sunhee laughed a bit.

"I have my reasons." Natatawa rin niyang sagot. It's my first time seeing him talk very lightly so I'm quite amused.

Nagpatuloy lang sila sa pag-uusap doon habang naging abala ako sa pagtingin sa mga dumadating. Mayamaya ay naramdaman kong tinatapik na ni Sunhee ang balikat ko.

"Yerim, my driver's here na.." She whispered. Tatayo na sana ako para maihatid man lang siya sa labas pero pinigilan niya agad ako.

"H'wag na. Kaya ko na. Thank you! See you tomorrow. Ingat ka pag-uwi, ha?" Sunod-sunod niyang sinabi. She also faced the guy beside her. "Jay, una na ako.." Dagdag niya.

There was a long deafening silence between us after Sunhee left. Kagaya ng madalas ay nag-aalinlangan pa rin ako kung kakausapin ko ba siya o h'wag na lang. I don't have anything interesting to say to start the conversation and I can't think of any as well. Hanggang sa nagsimula na ang meeting, hindi na rin ako nagkaroon ng pagkakataon na kausapin siya.

"Park Jay and Shin Yerim, you're from the same class, right?" The club leader asked in the middle of discussing our assigned tasks. I noticed that everyone's attention is on us, probably because we're the newest members.

"Yes po." Mahina kong sagot.

"Close naman kayo, 'di ba?" Hindi agad ako nakaimik sa tanong niyang iyon. When he noticed that none of us responds, he continued. "Kasi I want to give you certain tasks, tapos bahala na kayo kung paano niyo idi-divide 'yon sa inyong dalawa. I'm listing you both as proofreaders. Okay lang ba?" Paliwanag niya.

I nodded slowly at that. Sa tingin ko ay madali lang naman iyon. The thing is.. paano kami magde-decide sa mga gagawin namin? Magkakasundo kaya kami?

"Hi, Yerim. Can I have your number?" I was spacing out when one of the club members went to us. Sabay kaming napalingon ni Jay doon. "I'm Jiro." Pakilala niya.

"Oh.." Nag-aalinlangan ako kung anong itutugon ko sa kanya.

"Most of the time, ako 'yong gumagawa ng mga articles and headlines natin. I think it would be better if may form of communication tayo since you'll be proofreading my works." He smiled.

"S-Sige po." I said, a bit shy that he had to explain himself. "We have the same task po so you can also contact him if you have questions." I was pertaining to the guy beside me, who's now busy on his phone.

Nang matapos ang meeting ay nagpaalam na rin kami sa isa't isa. It's starting to get dark outside and I'm still here at school. This is the first time I'll be coming home very late so I'm a bit anxious. Mag-isa pa ako ngayon kaya mas nakadagdag pa iyon sa pangamba ko.

I sat on the waiting shed as I patiently wait for the bus. Inisip ko na lang na wala na masyadong traffic ngayon kaya mabilis rin akong makakauwi kapag nakasakay ako.

"You can walk for a bit over there. Nando'n ang bus stop." Nagulat ako sa biglaang nagsalita sa tabi ko. Masyado akong naging abala sa pagtingin sa mga dumadaang bus kaya hindi ko namalayan ang pagdating niya. It was Jay.

"Oh.. m-malapit lang?" I asked. "Sorry, hindi ko pa kasi alam 'yong mga lugar dito." I smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah, doon sa traffic light." Turo niya. Tinanaw ko iyon at hindi nga iyon ganoon kalayo mula dito. I began to pick up my bag so I could follow what he said. Hindi naman niya siguro ako ililigaw..

"Thank you. Uh.. ikaw? Dito ka lang?" Tanong ko. I suddenly remember that I always see him on the convenience store near my place. Does that mean we have the same bus route?

"May hinihintay pa ako." Tipid niyang sagot na bahagyang ikinagulat ko.

I just nodded slowly before I started walking. Hindi ko na siya nilingon pagkatapos noon. Why do I feel shy all of a sudden?