Heartful Whispers

Kabanata 27

"Good bye, Ms. Selandez!"

I bid my goodbye to them and went back to the faculty. Habang inaayos ko ang mga gamit ko, naalala kong buksan ang cellphone baka sakaling may message si Leonel.

My lips parted a bit upon seeing five messages from him with two missed calls.

Dalawang message lang niya ang nireplyan ko.

Leonel:
Are your classes done? Sunduin na po kita.

Ako:
Oo

Leonel:
Coli. Can I come to you now?

I sighed.

Ako:
Hindi. Papunta na ako sa'yo.

I was putting my laptop inside my bag when my phone beeped again. Tumigil ako sa ginagawa para tignan iyon.

Leonel:
I'll wait for you outside, then.

Ang kulit! May sakit ba talaga 'to?

His condo is on the top of the building. Baka mabinat siya kung mageelevator pa siya pababa.

Ako:
Huwag ka nang bumaba.

My cellphone started ringing.

I zipped my bag and answered his call. My eyes roamed around the faculty. Mabuti na lang ako pa lang ang nandito.

"Coli?.." his weak and raspy voice made me stood straight.

He sounded so sick! Tapos gusto niya pa akong sunduin?

"P-Papunta na ako. Kamusta ang pakiramdam mo?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to see you," he replied and coughed.

"Sige na.. huwag ka nang magcellphone. Tatawag na lang ako mamaya."

"The guards won't let you in without me. But since you don't want me to go down I told them.." he coughed a bit.

"My girlfriend is coming," his voice turned softer when he mentioned the 'girlfriend' as if he's shy to admit it.

Dapat lang dahil lalo na ako. I can feel my cheeks turning red.

"H-Huh?"

"Just tell them you're Coli."

"S-Sige. Magpahinga ka na. Hintayin mo na lang ako."

Hindi ko na siya hinintay na sumagot. Pinatay ko agad ang tawag at lumabas na ng faculty. Bumili muna ako ng gamot bago naghintay ng masasakyan.

Nagtaxi na ako para mabilis. Kailangan ko pang maglakad ng ilagay minuto para makarating sa sakayan ng jeep. I kept on checking my phone while on the way. I felt better when there were no new messages from him. Buti naman, or else his head will ache more. Ang tigas pa naman ng ulo.

I can't help but think of our situation. He was mad at me the first time we saw each other again. Then now he seems so willing to let me look after him. If he's mad at me, he wouldn't want to see me, right?

Okay na ba siya sa akin? Ayos na ba kami?

Tumigil ang taxi sa mismong harap ng building. I took my wallet to paid the driver. I saw him counting the coins so I did not come out, yet.

"Sakto po ba? Pasensya na po maraming barya.."

Ang dami ko talagang barya palagi. Sanay iyong buong five hundred na lang ibinayad ko!

The middle aged man smiled at me. "Ayos lang po, Ma'am. Sakto na po."

"Salamat po."

Sandali akong naestatwa paglabas ng taxi. Even when the car already went over, I remained standing there at the center. Some people are also on their way inside. They are all looking elite and foreign. I reassessed my messy bun on my mind, and my probable fainted make up.