Loving Claxton Aedein

2

As soon as the bell rang indicating that the class is over, I took my things and left the classroom. Finally, the class is over. Like what I told Cladein, I texted him.

Me:
My class is over.

He then replied.

Claxton Aedein:
Alright. I'm at the parking lot.

After reading his text ay dumiretso na ako sa parking lot. Hinahatid sundo lang ako ng driver namin so wala akong sasakyan dito. May sasakayan ako pero nasa bahay. Hindi pa pinapagamit ni Dad.

When I arrived, I saw Cladein talking to a girl. I know her. Sumali siya noong foundation sa pageant. She's pretty, with long hair and curly at the end, long legs, and tall. Siguro mga 5'8 or 5'9 but even with her height, she's still looking up at Cladein. Mataas kasi si Cladein. Kung ako kapag itabi sa kanya, siguro nasa bandang dibdib lang ako.

Hindi pa ako lumalapit sa kanila. 'Di pa naman rin nila ako nakikita. They look like they are talking about something important. Ayokong maka disturbo. Besides, maybe Cladein is asking her out. It's not impossible. I know Cladein. Kahit di kami nagpapansinan noon ay kilala ko na siya. Minsan din kasi ay kinikwento siya sa'kin ni Clavie. Like what he's calling his classmate Josh, ganun rin siya. He plays with girls too. Kaya siguro nilalayo niya ako sa classmate niya, because he knows his kind. And he might have thought that his classmate's gonna hit on me so he's sort of protecting me. Why? That, I don't know.

After minutes of standing near them, Cladein noticed me. He then told something to the girl, and then the girl left after saying goodbye to him. Tinitingnan ko pa rin ang babae habang papunta ka Cladein. When I looked at him, he's already staring at me.

"You know, kaya ko namang bumili ng gamit ko ng mag-isa." I told him when I'm already in front of him.

"And? We can buy your things together too."

"Baka lang kasi may pupuntahan ka pang iba."

"No, wala na. And, nasabihan na kita kanina na sasamahan kita so I'm not going to make another appointment with someone else."

"Uhm, date? Wala?" I said thinking of the girl he talked with earlier. He seemed confused at first but later on it dawned on him. Ngumisi siya sa akin and umiling.

"She's just a classmate. May tinanong tungkol sa lesson namin kanina so I explained the lesson to her. That's just it. I didn't ask her out or something." sabi niya habang ngumingisi pa rin. He seemed amused or something. Mukha nga siya tatawa eh but then he suppressed it by biting his lips. I furrowed my brows at him. Confused on his reaction. I just asked kung may date ba siya. Ba't siya natatawa? Umiling ulit siya at binuksan ang pinto sa front seat.

"Let's go, para mabili na natin 'yong bibilhin mo." he said. Nang nakapasok na ako ay sinarado na niya ang pintuan at dumiretso sa driver's seat. After we are settled ay pinaandar na niya ang sasakyan niya sa pupuntahan namin. I already texted our driver earlier na may maghahatid sa akin para di na siya pupunta sa school.

I looked around the interior of his Audi A5. It's so clean and I could smell his perfume all over. I sniff a little. Ang bango. Ano kayang perfume niya? Tinigil ko na ang pagsinghot at baka ano pang isipin niya. Tahimik lang kami all the way sa pupuntahan namin. After arriving ay naghanap siya ng mapaparking-an ng kanyang sasakyan. And then we proceeded inside to buy the things I needed. Sumusunod lang si Cladein while I'm buying my things. Hindi rin nakaligtas sakin ang paninitig ng mga babae sa kanya. Can't blame them though, my companion is handsome. After paying ay doon pa lang siya nagsalita.

"May bibilhin ka pa bang iba?"

"Nope. Okay na 'to." Sabi ko sabay ipinakita ang mga binili.

"It's still early. Want to chill first? Before we go home?" He said then pointed the coffee shop beside the mall. Napaisip ako sa offer niya and looked at my watch. Maaga pa nga. I nodded my head at him indicating that I accept his offer. He then started to walk and I followed him. The bell chimed when we entered and the aroma of the coffee welcomed us. Mailan ilan lang ang tao sa coffee shop. Kung bibilangin ay mga labing lima lang siguro. Dumiretso si Cladein sa counter to order our coffee while I looked for our seat. I chose the one in the corner wherein I can see the people passing by through the glass wall.

Once seated, I looked outside while waiting for Cladein and our order. I didn't wait that long because after awhile ay dumating na si Cladein with our order. He took the seat in front of me. I sipped on my coffee and he does the same thing.

"Kailan nagkasakit si Clavie?" I asked. It's too silent. Ang tahimik na nga namin kanina sa sasakyan pati ba naman dito? He put down his coffee first before he answered me.

"Yesterday. Umuwi nalang kasi siyang basa then kinagabihan ay nagkasakit siya." Grabe ang ulan kahapon. Saan ba nagpupupunta ang babaeng 'yon at nagpapaulan pa?

"So that's why she's not answering her phone."

"Mom told her to turn off her phone. So she could get rest without any disturbance." Then he sipped again from coffee.

"Please tell her to get well soon."

"I will."

Matapos n'on ay hindi na kami nagkibuan hanggang sa naubos na namin ang aming kape. He payed for our order. Sinabihan ko siyang kanya-kanya kaming bayad but he insisted, saying that he doesn't let girls pay. We went home after. I went to bed thinking of Cladein's actions today. Dati naman ay nagkasakit si Clavie pero hindi naman siya ganito. Maybe Clavie is really worried about me or bumabawi siya because she's too preoccupied with Kurt in her brother's party.

For the last 3 days na wala si Clavie ay si Cladein ang kasama ko. Yesterday was the last day he ate lunch with me. N'ong isang araw ay kasama kong maglunch ang ilan sa mga kaklase ko. I'm not that good at socializing but I get along well with my classmates.

Today, Clavie told me that she'll attend class. Wala na siyang sakit and siguro pinayagan na siyang gumamit ng phone that's why she was able to text me. I also know that she's back to normal kasi kinukulit niya na naman si Kurt sa klase. Now, nandon na naman siya sa kabilang row at nakikipag-usap sa kaklase namin. Wala ang prof namin for the second subject kaya medyo magulo ang classroom.

Nakita ko si Clavie na tumatawa habang papunta sa akin. She drag the chair in front of me and sat on it facing me. Nasa mga labi pa niya ang ngiti nang kinausap ako.

"Kate is such a badass," she said still laughing.

"Bakit?" Tanong ko naman sa kanya.

"Well, she had an encounter with the girl her ex-boyfriend cheated with," panimula niya. "The girl talked bad about her eh alam mo naman ang babaeng 'yon, mainitin ang ulo kaya ayon kinarate yung babae HAHAHAHA. Sabi niya pa baka daw para roon ang training niya ng martial arts." She continued then laughed. Napatawa na rin ako sa kwento niya. Tiningnan ko ang pwesto nina Kate. It looks like she was telling our classmates who are around her the details of what happened. I shook my head. This is the second time she got cheated on. Napabaling ang tingin ko kay Clavie nang nagsalita siya.

"So...how are the days I'm not with you?" She asked with her one brow raised.

"Hmm..so far, peaceful." Sagot ko sa kanya at ngumisi. She pouted.

"I was worried, you know. Baka sa sobrang miss mo sa'kin ay mabaliw ka HAHAHAHA," biro niya. “Tsaka, I made sure to get better fast, baka kasi ipagpapalit mo ako sa iba. Ako pa rin naman ang best friend mo diba?” paninigurado pa niya.

“Hmmm....di mo sureee," I teased her. She gasped, clutched her heart then acted hurt. “Pangit ba 'ko? Kapalit-palit ba 'ko?” she said reciting a certain line of a movie. I laughed at her.

“OA neto oh. Ikaw lang best friend ko, sa iksi ng araw na wala ka, di naman ako basta makakakilala ng iba. Kasi diba, anti-social ako?" I told her then jokingly emphasized her description of me. Siya naman ngayon ang tumawa.

"Nga pala, ba't ba nagpaulan ka, ha? Lumabas ka pa ng bahay niyo eh ang kulimlim ng langit n'on." I saw how her facial expression changed. But it's just in split moment.

"Trip ko lang magpaulan. Ba't ba, ha? Walang basagan ng trip noh." She rolled her eyes at me and flipped her hair. I know she's lying but I just let her be. She has her reasons. I'll just wait for her to open up. My phone beeped for a message. Kinuha ko ito para tingnan kung sino ang nag text.

Claxton Aedein:
Hey, lunch with me?