The Bridge

Chapter 14

Ang mga nagdaang araw ay puro preparation sa mga clubs kaya hindi kami gaanong nagkikita ni Cana, hindi na rin kami nagkakasabay ng lunch. Ang lagi kong kasama, si Lilania at Graeson. Si Frances sumasama samin minsan, busy naman sina kuya Crae. Sa ngayon they are doing some arrangement of songs and planning. Mga officers ng club ang naatasan sa ganong gawain, si Lilania officer din pero bawal kase syang mapagod dahil sa sakit nya habang si Grae naman ang madalas na nagbabantay kay Lili, lagi syang nagvo-volunteer. 

"Pansin ko lang, laging ikaw ang kasama ni Lili." sabi ko kay Grae, na-curious na din ako. 

"Ah... yeah, I told you we're friends, childhood friends. Nasanay akong lagi syang sinasamahan." paliwanag nito. Nasa cafeteria kami ngayon dahil hindi pa tapos mag-usap ang mga officers. 

"Oo, we're like siblings. Halos magkamag-anak na din malayong kamag-anak nga lang. Hard to explain those kind of stuffs pero I am grateful to him kase he always looks out on me." sagot naman din ni Lili. Napatango naman ako. 

"Parang magkakakilala talaga kayong lahat no?" 

"Ah... pinsan ko sina Crae diba? Tapos si Grae kase lawyer ng family nila, yung pinsan ng dad ni Grae ang lawyer ng family namin. It runs in the business too. Tapos si Frances naman, bago pa sya maging idol, kasali sya sa tutor class namin at investment partner yung families. Si Rick naman, business partner ng Fremengers. Medyo magulo pero yun yung history kaya sobrang magkakakilala kami." sabi ni Lili. Marahan pero informative. 

"Nevermind, basta magkakaibigan kayo. A big circle of friends." Tumango silang dalawa. 

"How about you?" Tanong ni Lili. "Any friends?" I paused. Oh... Come to think of it... si Cana pa lang talaga ang nakakausap ko nang matino and out of school related kase sya yung madalas na nag-a-approach kahit na medyo rude, pero nag improve na sya. Tapos... si... di ko pwede i-kwento yang part na yan.

"Uh... yung class president lang namin ang friend ko. Transfer student ako and it was hard for me to deal with people. Sabihin na nating I have a very bad experience before coming back to school that's why it's hard to approach me." paliwanag ko sa kanila. Nanlalamig kamay ko habang sinasabi ko yun sa kanila. It's hard to express yourself. "Naiintindihan naman ata nila ako, o hindi... ewan."

"Oh yeah, I see. And your name is fascinating too kase same kayo ni CC, we really thought that she's the only one who wears that name. " sabi ni Grae.

"Yeah, siguro na i-intimidate sayo yung ibang student." intimidate? Medyo question mark talaga yung part na yan na sinabi ni Lili so I gave her that look. "No I mean, you're different, you've got something that we don't know. It was something powerful."

"You're reading her." sabi ni Grae kay Lili bago bumaling sakin. "She's into spiritual stuff like tarot cards and so on." Oh... that actually fits her. Gumagana pala talaga yun?

"OH! I see. It's alright! AHAHA." sabi ko lang. Nagpatuloy kami sa pagkain. Nag-kukwentuhan sila ng mga bagay na sila lang yung nakaka-relate minsan pero sinasama pa din naman nila ako, gumagawa sila ng topic kung saan hindi nila ako maiiwan. Hindi lang talaga maiwasang mag-usap ng mga bagay na wala naman akong kinalaman. For me, it's fine, as long as I have their company. Ganito siguro nararamdaman ni Cana. 

Maya-maya lang ay sabay na tumunog ang cellphone nilang dalawa. Napatingin naman sila sakin. Tumingin lang ako sa kanila. I saw how Lili's expression changes after she read the message from her phone. Masaya sya pero naluluha. Napatingin naman ako kay Grayson na nakatingin kay Lili at halatang masaya din. I suddenly felt out-of-placed but seeing them being happy like it must have been very important. 

"Gray..." Lili said then her tears streamed down her face. Nagulat naman ako and worried at the same time dahil hindi maganda sa kanya ang umiiyak. "I'm happy." bumaling si Lili sakin while saying those words. Napatayo naman ako at niyakap sya para kahit papaano ay tumahan sya. She was happy indeed. It was tears of joy.