IV
"HOW was it?" Raena welcomed me with her question.
We didn't see each other again yesterday because first, the adviser of Student Council didn't let her go home immediately because of her responsibility as a running President of Student Council, and secondly, I was so pissed off after the encounter with Kriho Herreria that I went home right away, forgetting about Raena. Thank God that the odds were on my favor that day. With Raena, I mean. Not with that jerkwad. Hindi pa naman ako marunong maghandle ng nagtatampong kaibigan if ever.
"Terrible." May diing sagot ko at huminga ng malalim. "You know, I really don't want to talk about him because I'm still pissed but I'm sure that you won't give me my peace of mind."
She smiled playfully and nodded. "At least you knew. So, how was it?" She repeated, ignoring my sarcastic remark. Facepalm.
I'll ask it again. This is their Queen bee? Really?!
"He asked about stuff and he ruined my day." I summarized and that made her frown.
"Stuff? What stuff? Come on!"
"My name, year, section. Why do I want to join the club and if I had any experiece. I answered none and he asked me what made me think that they'll accept me. I asked if that's an insult and he said that it's just a damn question! Then, he explained that St. Paul's different from any other fucking schools! He arrogantly stated that if I just answered his damn question, we're already done!" I combed my hair using my hand. "And for his final fucking blow, he fixed his glasses while looking at me! Again!" I explained hysterically and breathed when I finished talking.
She looked at me and blinked her eyes. Again, and again. Shock's written all over her face. I rolled my eyes and continued walking because I didn't know I stopped while telling those things to her.
"Woah." She finally uttered. "Geez, what the hell did I just hear?" She asked with an amused expression.
I glared at her. "That's it? That's your reaction?" I asked in disbelief. "Hello, Raena! Me, Joshan, your friend, has been humiliated!"
"Wait, wait. Let me sink things in." She said and sat on her chair. I sat next to her and waited for her to 'sink things in.'
I crossed my hands and raised my brow when she looked at me. "What?"
"So, you're saying, na lahat ng 'yon, tinanong niya sa'yo?" Natatawang sabi niya. "As in, lahat ng sinabi mo?"
"Oo! Sasabihin ko ba kung hindi? I won't make some lame stories just to make him look bad." Pairap na sabi ko.
"But it's not supposed to be like that." She's obviously amused with something I do not know.
My brows furrowed. "What's not supposed to be like that?"
She laughed. "Hindi niya dapat tinanong sa'yo 'yong last three questions na 'yon. 'Yong name hanggang section, 'yon talaga. Any informations needed for making an I.D, those are the only questions he should have, and needed, to ask you." She looked at me like she found something interesting. "At no'ng pumunta naman ako ro'n para mag-observe, wala naman siyang tinanong do'n sa iba kagaya ng mga tinanong niya sa'yo."
I stared at her. No, he didn't. "What did you say?"
"You heard me right, Joshan." She said while smirking. "It seems like a Geek's interested in you." She teased.
At saktong pumasok ang damuhong pinag-uusapan namin.
He didn't look at my direction and shook his head like what he did last time. I'm relieved. At least, he's not a weirdo.
But he fucking played with me, which is not any better.
I was about to stand-up and confront him but Sydney suddenly arrived. She gave me a questioning look. I just shook my head and returned to my seat.
* * *
"Mauna ka na sa cafeteria. I'll just clear things up." I told Raena.
Natatawa naman siyang tumango at sinulyapan si Kriho na nagbabasa ng libro sa upuan niya. Tinaas-taasan niya 'ko ng kilay. Inambahan ko siya ng hampas at natatawa naman siyang lumabas.
Now we're the only ones left here in our room.
I walked towards his direction and sent him deadly glares. Look at me, jerk. He slowly raised his head and looked at me with his confused expression. "Do you need something?"
"Why did you make fun of me yesterday?" I calmly asked.
My Dad raised me well. I won't make any commotion here just because of this douché's games. And maybe, just maybe, he has his reasons for asking me those things. I'm usually not the one who jumps in conclusions, setting aside the weirdo suspecting incident.
He closed his book and looked at me. "What do you mean?"
"You asked me things that were not necessary. Ang dapat na itatanong mo lang sa'kin, 'yong mga informations para sa paggawa ng I.D ng club." I answered the same things Raena has told me.
"Oh." He nodded and fixed his glasses. "I'm sorry about that." He sincerely said. "I have my reasons, and I forgot to tell you about it. I'm sorry."
I calmed myself. Figured he has his reasons. "What kind of reasons? And why didn't you tell me first before asking those questions? I didn't even know that we had two different interviews."
"My apologies. That was really irresponsible of me." He softly said. "Ikaw kasi ang nababalitang gustong isali ng Ordinaries sa Nomination Week." Sagot niya.
"Ha?" Gulat na tanong ko.
"They want you to join and get nominated for the Queen bee category. Naging matunog ang pangalan mo these past few days because of your confrontation with the two Means. Adding the fact that you're always with the one and only Queen bee. It's a news that a possible Queen bee will join Journalism Club. Even if it's not Journalism, we, journalists, would still ask you why did you join the club you've chosen." He explained.
"You mean, my name will be on the school paper?" I asked, with my widened eyes.
He nodded silently.
"So, all of the questions you asked that wasn't necessary for joining the club are for the newspaper?" I clarified and he nodded again.
"Ayaw mo ba? Pwede namang ipa-cancel." Malumanay na sabi niya.
"No. It's okay. It's not a big deal." Umiiling na sabi ko. "And sorry for assuming that you played with me."
I'm not the one to blame, right? It's just a normal reaction. Or maybe you're biased because of the weirdo speculation. I pushed away that small voice that's creeping in. Whatever.
He fixed his glasses and I was caught off-guard when he smiled. My jaw almost dropped, but luckily it didn't. Did my chest just somersault?
"It's okay. I'm sorry for not informing you." He stood up and offered his hand. "I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Kriho Herreria. The President of Journalism Club."
I took his hand and smiled. "Joshan Miranda. I hope we'll be friends, especially now that we'll be working together."
We shook hands then returned to our seats.
He's not bad after all. I'm being suspicious about people and that's not nice. I really need to learn how things work out in this outside world. Being a homeschooled gal, indeed, has many disadvantages.
