"Wala na kayong naiwan?" I asked them habang palakad-lakad.
I was making sure na wala silang naiwan na gamit. Uuwi na sila, after all.
"Pang-ilan na tanong mo na 'yan?" Gyin asked, natatawa na.
"Pang-anim." Sagot ko.
"Bombastic side eye..." Saad naman ni Ayi.
I think I should ask Rue to take away Ayi's phone for a while. Masyado na siyang maraming napapanood.
Speaking of Rue, the poor guy is still sleeping on the sofa. Lahat ay gising na, maliban sa kaniya. As soon as we ate breakfast, sinabihan ko silang mag-ayos na ng gamit para makauwi na.
As much as I wanted them to stay longer, may classes na ulit bukas.
Kaya nga hindi ko magawang gisingin si Rue dahil sa tingin ko'y iyan pa lang ang pahinga niya simula noong nakaraang linggo. Inutusan ko na lang si Ayi na iligpit ang ibang gamit ng kuya niya, kung meron man.
I just packed his breakfast, so he can eat on the way home.
"Huwag na kasi tayo pumasok." Panloloko ni Neo, nahiga pa sa carpet.
"Damay mo pa kami." Sagot naman ni Clee.
All this time, he could actually hear us! Palagi kasing nakasalpak ang headphones niya.
Neo dramatically covered his mouth.
Funny flashbacks of last night came into my mind.
Clee basically persuaded Neo to drink! What's funny is not even half of us are adults. Kaming tatlo lang ni Rue at Gyin ang uminom. Although tito Dons permitted us to drink, he also told us not to drink too much, lalo na't puro kami minors. He kept on rambling about having their parent's permission too. In the end, tatlo lang kami ni Rue at Gyin ang uminom.
Rue didn't drink too much, we didn't let him. Dahil naman hindi pa ako sanay sa lasa ng alak, I also didn't drink that much. So imagine our shock when Gyin finished a whole bottle herself. A big one. She said that she really wanted to celebrate that day. At last, she started spouting nonsense and soon fell asleep.
"Let's go." Saad ni Jinx, bagong gising lang din.
Sakto, tapos na mag-ayos ang lahat.
"Gisingin mo na, ate." Turo ni Ayi sa akin at sa kuya niyang si Rue.
"Ikaw na... " Pinanlakihan ko siya ng mata.
"Aawayin ako niyan, ate." Angal ni Ayi bago nagtago sa likod na Clee.
"Anong pinagkaiba kung ako ang gigising sa kaniya?" Tanong ko pa kay Ayi bago naglakad papalapit kay Rue.
"Baka gumising pa 'yan nang nakangiti." Ayi joked before quickly rushing out of the house, hila-hila na naman si Clee.
I sighed as I was finally in front of Rue. Balot pa siya ng kumot, at medyo nakakunot ang noo.
"Rue..." Tawag ko kay Rue habang kinakalabit ang kaniyang kamay.
"Five minutes..." Aniya, tila wala pa sa wisyo.
Natawa naman sila Neo sa likod ko.
"Rue, wala tayo sa bahay niyo." Saad ko pa.
Sa isang iglap ay naging mulat na ang pareho niyang mata, namumula pa.
"Ano? Five minutes?" Tawa ko pa.
"Five minutes para mag-ayos saglit." Hilaw siyang ngumiti bago mabilis na tumakbo papunta sa sa banyo, dala-dala ang bag niya.
The five-minute thing that Rue said kept replaying in my head. I wanted to make fun of him, para kasing bata. Hindi ko namalayang I kept track of time. He really took only five minutes!
Aside from doing morning routines, nagpalit lang din ata siya ng t-shirt.
Soon enough, nakalabas na ang lahat sa bahay. Hinatid ko pa sila sa may trike station kasama si tito Dons.
That's how my weekend ended.
School started again, and November quickly passed by. It's now December. The month of our third periodical exam.
Medyo rushed ang mga lesson na binigay sa amin, ganoon din ang mga kailangang gawin. Kaya naman matapos ang birthday ko, hindi na uli kami masyado nakakapag-gather nila Ayi.
"Sabi ko na, magpapalista ka rin e." Sora said before pointing on the paper she's holding. Listahan iyon ng mga kasali sa singing competition for the upcoming Christmas program.
"Siya rin?" Sumingit naman si Chau at tinuro ang isang pangalan sa listahan.
That's right, we agreed to join together, and whoever loses will treat us for our next gathering.
It's been less than three weeks! Nagtatadtad na uli si Ayi ng messages sa gc. We couldn't see each other in school as well dahil iba-iba kami ng buildings. Almost none of us are even classmates, maliban kay Ayi at Clee.
I occupied the vacant subjects with reviewing some of my notes. Exams are not the only thing upcoming, maraming recitation and group works din.
Kaya naman nang uwian na ay ramdam na ramdam ko ang antok. Uwing-uwi na ako, pero cleaners ang group ko this day. In conclusion, maglilinis muna ako ng classroom bago makauwi.
Tatatlo nga lang kaming natira sa room! As much as I remember, sampu ang members namin, including myself.
"Okay na 'yan, sipain mo na lang 'yung ibang dumi papunta sa ilalim." Sabi ng isa kong kagrupo. Goodness, I'm so sleepy that I even forgot his surname.
Mabuti na lang at kagrupo ko si Sora, at least hindi ko makakalimutan ang pangalan niya dahil lagi ko siyang kadaldalan sa room.
"Ulla, may naghihintay sa iyo sa labas ng room." Sora informed me, tinuro niya pa ang pintuan.
I tried to peek outside kahit malayo ako sa pintuan, pero wala akong nakita.
Nilagay ko muna ang dustpan at walis sa pinaglalagyan nito bago lumabas.
To my surprise, Jinx was there.
Both of his hands are holding the strap of his backpack. Mukhang medyo pinagpapawisan pa siya, pero hindi naman siya hinihingal.
As soon as he saw me, his face lit up.
"Hello, bakit hindi ka nag-chat? Naghintay ka pa tuloy." Saad ko.
Agad siyang umiling-iling. "Kakarating ko lang din." Aniya before handing me a paper.
When I got a closer look of it in my hand, I realized that it's an invitation card.
"Magbi-birthday ka na pala!" I exclaimed.
I had an idea that his birthday is on December dahil nabasa ko iyon sa papel na binigay ni Neo. I just couldn't remember the exact date. Akala ko naman, a week before or after Christmas pa. It had a zero, kaya nalito ako. My guess was 20th or 30th of December, 10th of December pala.
"Can you come?" Tanong niya.
Kumunot ang noo ko sa kaniya habang nakangiti.
"Seryoso ka ba? You know that you don't even have to ask me." Sagot ko.
Maybe... Maybe he's thinking about what happened last time.
As I thought, I saw him fidget his hands. Is he nervous?
"I know that this is selfish of me to ask of you, but I hope..." He finally spoke.
"I hope you don't avoid me." Pagtatapos niya sa kaniyang pangungusap.
He hopes that I don't avoid him after his confession.
He confessed on my birthday, after all.
Hindi niya lang alam, but when I'm too overwhelmed by what I feel, I don't think much of other things. Masyado akong lunod sa ibang pakiramdam, that I can't seem to indulge with the feeling he's trying to express. Besides, matagal ko nang alam ang inamin niya.
One thing's for sure, his confession... It doesn't change our friendship.
BINABASA MO ANG
Meet me Again in December.
Fiksi RemajaEdiviar Series #1 Ulla Nolany Sanabria wanted to prove to her uncle that she can do better, especially in academics. That's why in her last year of high school, she goes all out. That's how she works on her self validation, with a dream of finally l...
