"Let's get serious, Quartz."
"Ikaw naman kasi,"
"Anong ako? Ikaw ang unang nangagat. Look,"
Itinaas niya ang short sleeve ng uniform niya at ipinakita ang tatlong marka ng kagat ko sa braso niya. Ngumuso ako.
"Bakit kasi tinanggal mo ang bun ko!"
Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin at hinablot ang hair net na suot ko kanina. Inipon ko ulit ang nakalugay kong buhok at ikakabit palang sana ang net nang halos mapatili ako nang yumuko siya at inilapit ang mukha sa kili-kili ko. Napaigtad ako sa ginawa niyang pagbaon ng mukha niya roon at pagsinghot.
"Elij!" I giggled.
Kaya hindi ko maikabit nang maayos dahil sa ginagawa niya. He chuckled and stopped. Pinigilan niya ang kamay ko at inabot ang hawak ko. He stood up and went behind me. I don't know if he really knows how to fix and bun my hair. He was doing it seriously. I chuckled and just let him. Maayos niya namang naikabit, though some strands of my hair are loose.
"Thanks,"
"Kiss," he smirked and pouted his lip, asking for a kiss.
Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. "What for?"
"Thank you kiss?"
"Your face!"
Natawa ako at inabot ang matcha frappe. I was about to sip when he stopped my hand. Inilayo niya bago mabilis na nagnakaw ng matunog na halik saka humalaklak nang makitang nanlaki ng husto ang mga mata ko. Kinagat ko lang ang labi nang mabilis na kumalat ang init sa pisngi ko. Iginala ko ang mata sa paligid at tiningnan kung may nakakita ba pero wala dahil mabilis lang ang ginawa niyang paghalik.
Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin nang umamba uli siya. Mas lalo siyang natawa nang iangat ko ang kamay kong nakakuyom at nagbabantang susuntukin ko siya. Ngumisi lang ang bruho at mabilis pa ring lumapit at iba ang sunod na ginawa.
"Ang cute talaga ng girlfriend ko!" ngising bulalas niya habang gigil nang pisil ang magkabilang pisngi ko.
"E-Elij!"
We were in Crossroads cafe. It was mid-afternoon, we have no class. We went here to review for our unit test. Sunod-sunod na naman ang mga unit tests namin dahil malapit na ang Finals examination. This cafe is very underrated. Walang masyadong customer at madalang lang mapuno. And I'm glad with that, I'm gatekeeping this cafe by myself. It became our haven too. Medyo malaya rin kaming dalawa rito kaya madalas kaming tambay kapag wala nang klase.
"Kuya Marcus?"
We both glanced at a highschool girl student who suddenly approached our table. She's slim, looks like a model or something. She was calling Elij.
"Hey, Resnie?" He stood up when he recognized her.
I pouted when he went to her. She even hugged him and kissed his cheek. I pouted even more.
"Yes! Hi! I missed you, kuya. How are you? You don't visit our house anymore. Mommy misses you too!" She's too jolly and friendly.
"I'm busy, you know."
"Sure you does!" She giggled and suddenly glanced at me.
That's when I saw her mesmerizing green eyes. Napasulyap din tuloy si Elij sa akin. Dali akong nag-iwas ng tingin para itago ang pamumula ng pisngi. Baka isipin pa nilang nagseselos ako dahil sobra ako makatitig at makaabang sa kanila.
"Oh my god! Really? She's pretty!" I heard her blurted out.
I sipped on my matcha flavored frappe while scrolling my ig feed. I don't really know how to socialize. If she won't notice me and greet, then I wouldn't do the same. Bahala sila kung gusto nila akong pansin o hindi. I don't force interaction anyway.
