Jump From the Air (Erudite Series #5)

Kapitulo 18

Kabado ako habang pauwi. Hindi na umabot ng 11 ang lakad namin ni Kalon at ng mga kaibigan ko. Kaya saktong 11, nasa bahay na ako. Hindi ko alam kung tulog na si Mommy o inabangan ako para mapagalitan. Hindi ko naman sinadya ang nangyari, late ko na nabasa ang mensahe niya. Nasa biyahe na kami ni Kalon papuntang Tondo no'ng nag-message si Mommy.

But she wouldn't take that excuse. She would continue to be mad at me. I knew her well.

I opened the locked door of the house and saw Maki sleeping on the floor. Mahina ang pagbukas ko ng pinto, kaya hindi siya naalimpungatan. Sinara ko muli iyon at nagtungo na sa hagdanan. Wala si Mommy sa living area, kaya malamang tulog na siya.

This would only lead to one thing—she would ignore me tomorrow and the next days until her anger subsided. It would be hell on earth tomorrow and the succeeding days after. It usually takes up to a week for Mommy to revert.

Umakiyat ako at naglinis ng katawan bago humiga. Hindi ko na kayang magbasa. Nakapag-aral naman na ako kagabi dahil in-expect ko nang late na ako makauuwi ngayon. I didn't need to read again for tonight.

I was supposed to be soundly sleeping now. It was already midnight. Yet, a disturbing feeling was preventing me from closing my eyes. I felt uneasy about Mommy.

Like I always did whenever she was mad and whenever we fought. Now, I felt uneasy about the next few days as well thinking about how cold she'll be.

Binuksan ko ang phone ko at nakita ang ilang notifications mula sa mga kaibigan ko. They tagged me on their Instagram stories. We took photos before we went home kanina. Kalon also posted, the first one was just me smiling while holding my crepe. The next ones were reposts from my friends. They followed each other na rin.

Lahat ng mga stories nila ay h-in-eart ko bago nag-post ng sarili. I chose a photo of Kalon's back turned to me. He was buying something when I took this, and our hands were secretly holding onto each other below the photo.

After a few seconds of that post, Kalon replied to my story, and I read it.

@k.alon: wow

@k.alon: she posted

Sinagot ko siya habang humihiga sa side ko.

@mjcarreal: feel special?

@k.alon: sure do, ma'am

@k.alon: sleep na, you have class pa tomorrow

@k.alon: thanks for today, meadow jil

@mjcarreal: will you study?

@k.alon: yes huhu

@k.alon: good night

@mjcarreal: can we vc? no talk, just cant sleep

After a few seconds, Kalon calls me and I answer. I lay my phone on my bedside table and watch him read. His lamp lights his face and shows his shadow at the back. Kalon's glasses were on him. Nakadagdag din sa ilaw ang nakabukas niyang laptop. I was probably on his phone.

Quietly, I stared at him and thought of us.

It's been almost four months since we've met. I didn't realize time moves so fast. I didn't expect we'd formally meet after some arbitrary encounters. Inakala kong, tulad ng iba, ilang beses man kami magkita ay hanggang do'n lang iyon. Kahit na medyo kakaiba dahil kadalasan ay sa kainan kami nagkikita, hindi ko kailanman inisip na magiging magkakilala kami dahil sa org namin.