Water
Pagkatapos ng tawag, naghimutok ako sa inuupuang lounger at bahagyang natulala. I was zoning out for minutes, just staring at the empty pool, while my mind was in turmoil.
I never thought Jester was thinking we were orphans. Akala ko parehas lang sila ni Riri ng iniisip. Naguguluhan pero walang ideya. Somehow, he has bottled up some emotions that kept bugging him and ended up bursting them on me.
There was an urge that was pushing me to jump to Batangas right away and be with my siblings all the time. Kaso nakakabanas. Marami akong gagawin. I might enjoy some things here for an hour, but then later on, I'd be busy with my subjects.
My siblings needed attention and time. I could give them my attention, but my time would always be overloaded with school-related activities.
Lumabas si Rick mga ilang minuto na makalipas. Naghimutok siya sa harap ng pool at natulala roon. Dahil nakaupo ako sa gilid, hindi niya napansin.
I wanted to stand up and jump to scare him or push him into the pool. But I was too lazy to stand up, so I only watched him silently.
Bumuntonghininga siya at namaywang, ang tingin ay aksidenteng napunta sa akin. I immediately gave him a smile. Nagulat si Rick at bahagyang napaatras kaya nahulog sa pool. I laughed and watched him curse out loud while he was so soaked when he pulled himself out of the water.
"Gago!" He roughly splashed water at me.
Humagalpak ako at sinubukan iyong ilagan kahit alam kong mababasa pa rin ako. Hinila niya paalis ang katawan sa tubig at hinila ang tshirt sa likuran sabay piga noon habang basang basa siya.
"What's up, Rick? You didn't sleep?" I teased while wiping of the tricklets of water he splashed at me.
Marahas niyang hinampas ang basa niyang t-shirt sa akin. I dodged it while smiling. Though I wanted to tease him even more, I don't want to add it to his curiosity.
Irita niyang hinagis ang t-shirt sa lounger at umupo roon. He was now facing me while brushing his wet hair backwards.
"Sabihin mo nga," he confronted, nodding at me while his eyes looked demanding.
Umangat ang kilay ko at inilagay ang mga kamay sa likuran ng aking ulo sabay higa. I know what he wanted to know. Kagabi pa lang...alam kong naghihinala na siya dahil nakakapansin na. Of course, because he's paying too much attention to Shiloh.
"Anong meron?" he asked frankly.
I looked at him cluelessly. "What?"
"Anong what? Alam kong alam mo." He hissed and looked at the neckline of my t-shirt, wanting to pull it just to squeeze some answers out of me.
I shrugged. "I don't know."
Sinipa niya ang lounger kong umalog. I only smiled at him playfully.
"I don't know, really. Ano bang meron?"
"Huwag kang magmaang-maangan, Mavric. Anong meron kay Brent at Shiloh?"
I acted more confused. "They're friends? Roommates? What else?"
"Friends? Friends ba 'yung gano'n? Malagkit makatingin si Brent kay Shiloh. Friends 'yon?! Hindi na nalilingat ang titig kay Shiloh?! Hindi natutukso sa babae?!"
"Rick. You know our circles. Tyler and Ron act like they're jerking off together because of their closeness. Tyler and I would even act like Brent and Shiloh too. Why are you putting malice on Brent and Shiloh when that's normal? We are touchy. You are just quite different with us because you don't take it as a joke. Pero iba kami. We don't mind acting like we are into each other, you know."
