Code: Synéchise

FIVE

Yukio Zyde Montero

"Can we talk?" Bungad ni Doctora after ko sagutin 'yung tawag niya.

Kung alam ko lang na siya pala 'tong tumatawag, hindi ko na sana sinagot. Hindi ko alam kung saan niya na naman nakuha 'tong bagong number ko.

"I heard your grades are failing. I told you to stop playing that shit basketball and focus on your school. Is it hard to do?" Mahabang sabi niya.

I yawned. Ginising niya pa talaga ako sa mga calls niya para lang dito.

"I'll give you one week to quit on your team. Or else, I'll tell your dad about your grades." Madiin niyang sabi sabay pinatay 'yung tawag.

Then tell him. As if I care?

I got up from my bed saka ako sumilip sa bintana. Gabi na pala, hindi ko na napansin dahil wala naman akong ibang ginawa maghapon kung hindi matulog lang. May game pa kami sa mga susunod na araw that's why I chose to stay here at magpahinga na lang. I don't want to go out dahil wala naman akong pupuntahan, at pangalawa, tinatamad naman ako.

Pero gusto ko nang lumabas ngayon dahil sa tawag na 'yon ni Doctora. Gusto ko sanang tawagan sila Pol, to drink or anything, basta gusto ko lang ng kasama. Pero baka naman busy rin sila, or nagpapahinga katulad ko dahil sa game. Sila Kiro at Kiara naman, alam kong busy sila magreview dahil may mga exams sila. Sobrang busy nilang dalawa dahil graduating na.

I decided not to call anyone since I bet they're either busy or resting. Baka maka-abala lang ako sa kanila, gusto ko lang naman mag-inom at gumala na naman. Tamad na tamad akong bumalik sa higaan at nagbrowse sa social media, but it's still boring as hell. Nagtingin ako sa drawer ko ng mga gamit na pwedeng paglibangan, but I saw my old phone.

This is the phone that I used when I called that person. As much as possible, ayaw kong may nakaka-alam ng number ko kaya I decided to throw it, sana. Pero hindi ko ginawa, thinking na baka magamit ko pa somewhere. And maybe this is the reason.

Damn. Am I really gonna do this?

I decided to get the phone at binuhay 'yon. Fortunately, may charge pa siya kaya na-open ko pa. Medyo nag-alangan pa akong i-open 'yung last message niya sa'kin dahil baka maka-abala ako. Pero a single message won't hurt naman. He won't reply naman if he's busy and that's totally fine with me. I was just going to try to talk to him again. And if he's busy, then I won't message again.

I nervously sent a simple 'hey' sa kaniya. Nilapag ko pa sa kama 'yung phone after that at dumapa sa tabi non, patiently waiting for his reply. Napabalikwas ako ng higa nung narinig kong tumunog 'yung phone ko. It was a notification from him. I smiled. Seeing him replying a short 'hello' without asking kung sino ako, alam kong natatandaan niya pa rin ako.

I asked him if he's busy at the moment, dahil gabi na rin. He said he's just browsing his twitter account at nagpapa-antok na lang. I'm about to say sorry for interrupting him pero nagmessage siya ulit na pwede naman daw akong tumawag kung gusto ko or kung may gusto akong sabihin at pag-usapan.

Ilang beses ko pa siyang tinanong kung hindi ba ako makaka-abala, pero tinawanan niya lang ako at sinabihan na tumawag na na bago niya ako makatulugan. That's why I did.

"You still have my number?" Bungad niya after a couple of rings. I scoffed. Umayos ako ng higa bago sumagot sa kaniya.

"Well, yeah. And you still have mine, too." Sagot ko sa kaniya. It's his turn to laugh now. Matagal bago siya nagsalita ulit kaya nanahimik lang ako at naghintay.

"Do you want to talk about something or is there anything you want to say?" Magkasunod niyang tanong. My face became serious, my smile dropped.

Huminga ako nang malalim bago magsalita. "Actually, there's a lot. But I'm not sure why you're the first one that comes to my mind." I started.