His Signs of Affection

Sign No. 4

04

...

It was a busy morning at Westland University.

The hallway is filled with a bunch of students, leaving only a small space for me to squeeze my way into my classroom.

I tried my best to get past it. But I got more cautious, to make sure that nothing will damage the bouquet of flower that I was holding. Naging madali naman iyon dahil napapaisod yung mga nadadaanan ko kapag nakikita yung mga bulaklak.

The bouquet didn't fail to catch other's attention, proving that I’ve created it strikingly.

Well, they should really stare in amusement. This is for someone very special, after all.

I smiled. It's a new day for me to show my affection to Retina, and I will not let it come to waste.

After minutes, I finally got to our classroom's door. Inayos ko ang collar ng aking uniporme at hinawi ng maayos ang aking buhok. A deep sigh escaped my chest before I entered.

Sa pagpasok ko ay agad na bumangad sakin ang mga naghahabulan kong kaklase na muntikan pa akong mabunggo. Marami rin sa kanila ay nakagrupo base sa kanilang mga kaibigan, habang nagkekwentuhan.

My eyes traveled the whole classroom to search for Retina.

Ngunit agad rin nawala ang aking ngiti, matapos na hindi siya makita roon. My shoulders lowered as I bit my lower lip. Napatingin ako sa hawak kong bouquet at huminga ng malalim.

“Uy sir Chasen!” Suddenly, I heard someone call me.

I abrupltly erased my frown face and made it a little brighter before looking back at the direction of the voice. Sa may dulo ng classroom, sa bandang likuran ay natukoy ko ang tumatawag sakin.

It was Bartolome Kagitingan, my gay classmate, who is more known by his nickname—'Bartie'.

Ngayon ko lang ulit siya nakita.

"Sir Chasen, dito ka!" tawag pa niya.

Lumapit nga ako sa kanya habang nakaway-kaway siya. Binigyan niya ako ng mauupuan at tinanggal ang mga nakapatong na gamit doon.

“Oh nakabalik ka na pala galing dun sa probinsiya niyo, dalawang araw karing nawala ah,” puna ko pagkaupo. Ngumiti naman siya. “Wiss nga sir eh. Wala naman akong napala dun sa reunion namin.”

I slowly nodded while fixing my seat. “But anyway, what is it that you want to talk about?”

Kumapit siya sa lamesa ng kanyang upuan at sandaling tumahimik. He pursed his lips for a while, making my forehead wrinkle.

“Ah kase..." Tiningnan niya ako ng diretso bago pilit na ngumiti. "Sir, gusto ko kase sanang... sumali sa The Pedagogy, yung publication ng CTE. N-natanggap pa ba kayo?” tila nahihiyang pagpapatuloy niya.

Akala ko naman ay kung ano iyong itatanong niya, kaya napangiti nalang din ako.

“Y-yun lang ba ang itatanong mo?" Agad siyang sunod-sunod na tumango. 

My lips narrowed as I composed some words. Bahagya rin akong napatingala habang nag-iisip.

"Well, about that... from what I remember, yes. At least, that’s what I know. But I think it would be great kung pupunta ka muna dun sa opisina to inquire,” I answered as he attentively listened, with his hands placed under his chin. “What’s with the sudden change of mind, anyway?” pahabol kong tanong.

“Ito na nga sir, naboborlak na kase ako dun sa org namin eh. Quiet ka lang ha. Atsaka may plano kase akong tumulong kina mama dun sa printery namin ng newspaper next next year. Need ko lang na kahit konting experience sa pagsusulat para hindi na ako lalayo kapag maghahanap na ng trabaho,” he replied.