Missed Pages ✔︎

Chapter 31

THAT SMILE

“Oh, whatʼs with the ID? Is it new?” Inangat ni Frankie ang lace ng ID ko at pinagmasdan ito.

Tumango ako. “Yes. I just got it last Friday.”

“Hmm...” naningkit ang mata. Tila ba may napansin siyang kakaiba. “It kinda looked like the same with mine.” Nilapit niya pa ng husto ang mukha sa aking ID.

Nailang ako dahil sobrang lapit niya sa akin. Ano mang pag-iwas ang gawin ko ay nanginginig ang buong katawan ko. Hindi ko naman hahayaan na mapansin niya iyon. “Well, itʼs because...”

Narinig namin si Miss Lara mula sa may pintuan. “Frankie! Great, youʼre just in time!” Nilapitan niya si Frankie.

“What do you mean, Miss Lara?” kumunot ang noo ni Frankie habang pinagsasalit-salit ang tingin sa aming dalawa ni Miss Lara.

“Marcus is now a part of our team! Heʼs now a librarian!” masayang anunsyo ni Miss Lara.

“You are?” Frankie turns her attention to me, with her eyes beaming with excitement. “Since when?”

“Just now.” I answered.

“He applied last Thursday.” ani Miss Lara.

“Oh... Thatʼs nice! May kasama na rin ako tuwing duty. You know... Itʼs really lonely.” Mabilis nagbago ang ekspresyon sa mukha ni Frankie. Mula sa sobrang pagkasabik, ngayon naman ay halos nakasimangot na.

I thought at first she will feel awkward or be upset. I also had the thought that she might be thinking that Iʼm doing that because I... Oh, never mind. Iʼm just happy because she liked that idea. Iʼm happy as long as I can make someone happy.

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“So bakit mo naisipang mag-apply as student librarian?” tanong ni Frankie makalipas ang isang oras simula ng duty naming pareho.

“I just wanted to.” matipid kong sagot.

“Thatʼs it?” she clarified.

Is she expecting more explanations from me?

“Uhm well, tumutulong ako lagi kay Miss Lara rito sa library so naisip ko bakit hindi na lang ako mag-apply bilang librarian? Lagi rin naman ako nandito.” pagpapaliwanag ko. That wasnʼt very usual of me. I answer peopleʼs questions but I donʼt usually explain unless itʼs necessary.

“Oh so thatʼs why. Makes sense.” she nodded out of satisfaction with my response.

Buti na lang ay hindi na siya nagtanong pa. Well, tama naman ang sinabi kong dahilan. That was rather a practical motive. Pero hindi lang naman iyon ang rason ko kung bakit gusto kong nandito sa library at kung bakit ko gustong maging librarian.

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The next day in the library was shocking.

Mag-isa akong pumunta sa library katulad ng lagi kong ginagawa. Pagkapasok na pagkapasok ko palang,  bumungad na sa akin ang halos lahat ng upuan sa loob ay okupado. Sa lagi kong pagpunta sa library simula noong magsimula akong mag-aral dito, wala halos bumibisita rito. And whatʼs more shocking was theyʼre all girls.

I first logged into the log book then continued to walked towards the table where the most people are seating. Before I could even get there, I froze. I saw Frankie standing in front of the girls. Sheʼs pretty earlier than usual, I see?

“You havenʼt listed your names in the log book yet.” rinig kong sabi ni Frankie.

“Donʼt worry, saglit lang naman kami here.” the random girl said in a very casual way. Frankie might not like it.