The Boy Next Door (Ikalawang Pinto)

Chapter 14

Nagpatuloy ang pagtutor sa akin ni Raphael every Friday. Malapit na ngang maubos ang hiya ko. Sa tuwing sinasabihan ko siya na pwede naman siyang tumigil, nagpapaliwanag siya na palagi naman daw siyang tambay sa college library kaya no difference lang daw masyado. Only now, may kasama siyang mag-aral at mas natututo daw siya kapag tinuturo niya ang lesson sa iba.

Matagal ko nang sinabi kay Rain ang tungkol dito kasi nga crush niya si Raphael. Palagi ko siyang ini-invite na sumama sa akin sa library pero parang nag-iba na ang ihip ng hangin. Ang palagi na niyang kasama at bukambibig ay yung isang Raphael sa Mechanical Engineering, si Blue.

I'm on my way to Raphael's residence kasi may by pair activity kami. Alphabetical ang pagpair kaya ayun, Villareal and Wong agad.

With subjects na classmates kami, palagi kaming nagkakapartner ni Raphael kapag ganoong alphabetical ang pag-assign ng partner. Kaya medyo naging mas close na rin kami. Plus, yung tutorial sessions.

Mabuti na lang hindi ako naligaw papunta sa village nila. Thanks to Waze, of course. And to the very specific directions from Raph.

Since weekend ngayon, I thought his parents would be there in the house. But when I came in, wala pala.

"'Nasa Venice para sa anniversary trip nila. It's just me, Rui, and our helpers," Raph answered when I asked where his parents are.

"Oh, nga pala. Where's Rui? I wanna see her."

"She's in her room watching Winnie the Pooh with Ate Leah. Makulit yun. Baka kulitin ka masyado."

"It's fine. I just want to say hi."

"Alright. I'll check first."

He went upstairs, to Rui's room, while I stayed at the sala. Nagpatingin-tingin lang ako sa paligid. The walls have paintings of different architectural structures. May part din ng sala na kung saan naroon ang graduation pictures ng parents ni Raph. Pati na yung high school grad pic niya. Parang wala naman pinagbago ang mukha niya noong high school sa ngayon.

I sat down the couch and my eyes found a pile of sketchbooks under the side table.

I took the one on top of the pile. Mga sketches ng buildings ang nandoon. It looks like a recently used sketchbook kasi medyo firm pa ang cover. Unlike the ones at the bottom na parang napaglumaan na ng panahon. So, I also took one from the bottom kasi nacurious ako.

The drawings inside the old sketchbook are so adorable. Karamihan sa pages ay drawing din ng mga bahay. Yung triangular ang roof at square naman ang mismong space under the roof. The typical 2-D house that kids often draw. Even so, every house is unique, in terms of the location of the window and the door. The drawings evolved and got better throughout the pages.

Since luma na talaga tingnan ang sketchbook, I instantly assumed that these are all Raph's. Mukhang bata pa lang siya, gusto na niya talaga ang pagdo-drawing ng mga bahay at buildings.

"She's asleep," Raph said when he came back.

"Ah. Oks lang. Later na lang."

"Sige, I'll go get my materials."

"Okay."

When Raph came back, bringing the materials needed for our activity, we started working on it early. The goal is to complete a rough sketch of the building that we're designing before lunch kasi may lakad pa si Raph after. Ako, mag-aaral pa din.

Naks, kasali na sa sched ko ang pag-aaral!

We brainstormed about the design that we want to make and nagkasundo naman kami after almost an hour of discussing. In the middle of our work, Raph offered to get some snacks. Kaya nagpunta siyang kusina. Ako naman, I started sketching the design that we agreen upon.