at long last, peace

thirty

"Huwag ka ngang gumalaw," sambit ko no'ng ilayo ni Olly sa'kin 'yung mukha niya habang nilalagyan ko ng gamot. Natawa naman Toby sa reaksyon ko, pero kanina pa kasi nilalayo ni Olly 'yung mukha niya. Hindi ko tuloy malagyan ng gamot nang maayos. 

I sighed.

"Pag 'di 'yan ginamot baka ma-infect," pagrarason ko. Natawa naman si Olly at ngumiti bago kinuha 'yung gamot sa kamay ko. For a guy with a swollen and bleeding cheek like him, I wonder how he could still smile na parang hindi masakit. Ewan ko ba talaga dito sa lalaking 'to.

Hay.

Pakiramdam ko bigla akong naging nanay na nag-aalala sa anak. 

"Ako na," sabi niya bago kinuha 'yung salamin sa may tableside ng kama ni Darren. Tahimik lang akong naghintay habang nilalagyan niya ng ointment kahit napapangiwi siya sa hapdi. Hindi naman gano'n kalaki 'yung sugat sa may pisngi niya kaso medyo malalim din kasi 'yung cut. Hindi ko alam, pero bigla akong nakaramdam ng hiya. Naalala ko na naman tuloy 'yung kinuwento ni Isaac na na-office si Olly no'ng high school dahil nakipagsuntukan.

Humarap siya sa'kin at ngumiti, "Okay na?"

Sinimangutan ko siya habang nilalagyan ng band-aid 'yung sugat, "Next time huwag mo nang uulitin 'yun. Mamaya ma-office ka na naman."

"Hindi 'yan, takot lang nila," natatawa niyang sambit bago tinignan sa salamin 'yung pisngi niya tapos lumingon ulit sa akin. "Natakot ka ba?"

Tinignan ko lang siya sa mata bago tumango, "Akala ko hindi ikaw si Olly," sambit ko. "I couldn't recognize you back then. Kahit ako natakot." 

"Sorry," he uttered, patting my head like he always does. "I didn't mean to hurt them, to be honest. I just suddenly saw red," he reasons out. 

"You know I'm not always a righteous guy, Telly. I'm not a perfect guy, or a perfect friend kaya hindi ko rin alam kung ano'ng tamang desisyon sa nangyayari ngayon, so I let Toby decide what to do." 

"Sila Corrine?"

He shook his head, "They only just heard about it after you fainted that's why they rushed here," he said. "We never really cared about the rumors, Telly. It just so happened that the other guys have been talking about it kaya nalaman namin." 

I kept mum—aside sa hindi ko alam kung ano'ng sasabihin, medyo nahiya rin ako na umabot pa sa ganitong point dahil nag-lash out ako kay Olly.

"Sorry," sambit ko. "I didn't mean to lash out at you..."

"You had more than enough reasons to lash out on me, Telly. I understand," he says. "Aliyah agreed to take this to the higher authorities, so you don't have to worry."

"You'll really get them expelled?"

Olly smiled and nodded, "And if you ever feel like they shouldn't be expelled, just remember that this isn't just for you, this is for everyone else they've harrassed for personal gains."

"How about Rene?"

Toby suddenly walked inside and handed me a bottle of yogurt na nabuksan na niya kaya kinuha ko na lang din 'yon, "Rene wasn't involved with the harassment, don't worry. Not that we're justifying that she sided with them all of a sudden," he says. "But we already talked to her. As much as she also tried to stop them from spreading the rumors, we couldn't really do anything about it. It's much better if we just let the dean decide for them."

I sighed.

Hindi ko alam kung maniniwala akong hindi kasama si Rene sa misinformation... as much as I didn't want to generalize people through their choice of friends, hindi ko rin maiwasan kasi bigla na lang din siyang umalis sa'min... tapos sa kanila pa siya napunta.