the counselor

seven

7

T A T I A N A

I was trying to keep myself busy but my mind keep reminding me about Andon's absence for two weeks straight. After I drop him off their home, he just stopped going to school. Wala na rin siyang communication sakin which drives me crazy. All I know is that he's sick but he's not admitted to the hospital; nasa bahay lang nila siya't nags-stay. Hindi ko malalaman kung nasaan siya kung hindi pa ako tumawag sa magulang niya para tanungin kung bakit absent si Andon ng ilang araw.

Andon's a bright man kaya sigurado pa ring makakagraduate siya ng kolehiyo but it still raises concern from his professors and the dean. Kaya mamaya, I decided na pumunta sakanila at kumustahin si Andon.

Lunch time, I decided to eat at the university's cafeteria. Uupo na sana ako sa isang bakanteng table ng may umupo sa harap ko. I looked at the person and saw it's Andon's brother, Uriel.

"Excuse me?" I asked confused. He looked laid back and cool like his usual self but there's mischief playing in his eyes.

Anong balak nitong batang 'to?

"Sit down, ma'am." I can ignore and leave this kid and eat somewhere else but I am really curious on what he wants so I played along with him. Umupo ako sa harap niya at nilapag ang pagkain ko. I remained a stoic and neutral face while looking at him, pero di rin siya nagpatalo at nakipagtitigan din sakin.

Uriel ate the apple that he's holding while I quietly eat my food; until he spoke. "I saw the two of you."

Mabilis akong napatingin sakanya at nakita kong kumagat ito sa kanyang mansanas habang may mapaglarong ngisi sa kanyang mukha. I heard him clear and I know what he's talking about, there's nothing to act stupid aboout it because it's not stupid. Ngayon, naintindihan ko na kung bakit iniiwasan ako ni Andon. Maybe he also saw Uriel and made him nervous and scared.

My poor baby is probably scared right now.

I swallowed the food that I was eating before replying to him. "And?"

Hindi siguro iyon ang inaasahang reaksyon ni Uriel mula sakin dahil mabilis na nagbago ang timpla ng kanyang mukha. Mabilis na kumunot ang noo niya at matalim na tumingin sakin. Halata rin sa pag-igting ng kanyang panga na nagpipigil siya ng inis. I badly want to smirk at his reaction but I remained my stone cold reaction.

"I said, I saw you and Andon last time. Nakita kong pumasok siya sa sasakyan mo," pag-uulit niya.

"And I said, 'and'," pag-uulit ko rin.

This kid snapped and lost his last thread of patience. Malakas niyang hinampas ang lamesa kaya maraming nagulat at napatingin amin. "You know it's fucking illegal right?!"

Binitawan ko ang kubyertos na hawak ko at maamo at inosenteng sinalubong ang mga matatalim niya mata. "Calm down, Mr. Taviel," I said condescendingly.

"Fuck you," mariin niyang sabi dahil sa inis sa akin.

"Mr. Taviel!" I heard a professor shouted.

"Well that's not nice. And to answer you question, it is not illegal to drive a student home lalo na't nakita ko siyang naglalakad pauwi. It's called act of kindness, Mr. Taviel. I know you're not familiar with that word because you're the main and only bully na nakatungtong sa kolehiyo. If you want to spread allegation and cheap gossips about me or your brother again, at least make it worth everyone's attention." I said.

I slowly stand up and even he is much taller than me, I still did not leave his gaze. "And also, I have to give you an incident report because of the profanity that you used to me," I said then smiled sweetly to him.