Umaasa (Ba Sa Wala?)

chapter i i : let's be friends

"Excuse me. Can I have that seat beside you?" Sabi ng isang tila pamilyar na boses, his voice just barely managing to slip through my headphones.

Looking up to see who it was, I was greeted by a familiar figure. A tall figure, to be exact. Kanino? Edi kanino pa ba, kundi sa lalaking yun, kay Vaughnn.

..Ikaw nanaman..?

"You don't mind if I take this seat naman, diba?" Dagdag pa niya, that smile painted on his lips once more.

"Whatever.. Gawin mo kung ano gusto mo." Sagot ko sa kaniya, resting my eyes once more bago lakasan pa ang volume ng aking headphones.

Sa dinami-dami naman ng pwede kong maging katabi, bakit siya pa talaga?

Soon after finishing up the seating arrangement inside our classroom, umalis na din si Ms. Lunna, giving us a vacant time bago daw mag-uwian.

Sabi niya, use that time to get to know more about our new seatmate but, whatever, bahala na 'tong lalaking 'to sa buhay niya..

As usual, with my head just resting against my desk and my favorite playlist blasting through my ears, I was actually having a good time not until nagkaroon ng epal sa tahimik kong buhay, kalabit ng kalabit sa braso ko.

"..Ano?" Tanong ko, having no choice but to raise my head back up again, staring at him, with an annoyed look.

Tumigil naman siya sa pagkalabit niya but, still wearing my headphones at that moment, sinenyales ni Vaughnn ang headphones na suot ko, telling me to take it off at that very moment. Leaving me with no choice, I took off my headphones, staring at him with a dead-eye stare as I wait for his explanation.

"..Sabi kasi ni Miss, we should get to know each other much better and I--

"Yan..lang ba talaga sasabihin mo?" I answered back with a straight face, interrupting his words. "Sorry but I'm pretty sure kilala nanaman natin isa't isa at this point, tama ba? Now, excuse me but kulang ako sa tulog kaya pwede ba--

"Let's..be friends." Are the sudden, unexpected words that managed to left his mouth na from the looks of it, also left him a bit surprised.

"Ano..?" I asked, very much confused.

"I- I said..the two of us, we should be friends." Tugon niya sa tanong ko, a casual smile seen on his face. "Napansin ko kasi earlier that you were sitting alone, all by yourself, at the back of the class. I assume that must mean na wala ka masyadong kaclose or kakwentuhan dito sa loob, am I right?" Dagdag pa niya, somehow a hint of concern heard in his voice.

What the..? This feeling.. Ano bang sinasabi niya? Is he..actually concerned?

For an actual few moments, I was actually left speechless trying to process what Vaughnn had just said. Who would have thought na sa 16 years na taong binuhay ko na sa mundong 'to, siya, si Vaughnn, ang kauna-unahang taong nagtanong sa'kin ng ganoong tanong..

Friends..? Who would have thought that word would sound so nice?

"Yurri? Yurri? Huy!! Okay ka lang ba?" Medyo pasigaw ng tanong ni Vaughnn, waking me up from my deep thoughts. "Okay ka lang ba? Anyare sa iyo?" Dagdag pa niya.

"H- huh? E- ewan ko sa'yo.. Bahala ka sa buhay mo!" Sagot ko bago suotin ang backpack ko, heading out of the classroom as naglalabasan na din ang iba pa naming mga kaklase.

Grabe naman 'to? Bakit parang medyo andaming ganap sa araw na 'to? Hello, first day ko pa lang 'to ohh..

"Yurii! Hintay!!" His familiar voice na kanina pa bulabog ng bulabog sa buhay ko, calling my name once more as I head out to the school's gate.