For Years, I Love You

Chapter 08

Chapter 08

Hi

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Looking up, I saw myself smiling brightly with the golden medal around my neck. I was wearing our school uniform and light makeup. Above my photo was Gino with the same look— school uniform and golden medal around his neck. The tarpaulins came out well.

"You did well, Tali," sambit ni Rika na biglang sumulpot sa tabi ko. "Whenever you want to do something, you always excel at it. Too bad, it's things are different from people,"

I let out a heavy sigh because of what she said. Nang balingan ko siya ay nakatingin na rin siya sa 'kin. She was looking at me with a pouting face. Dahil dito, inirapan ko siya bago ipagpatuloy ang paglalakad.

"Expected ko naman na 'yung rejection, 'no," panimula ko. "Kaya hindi na gano'n kasakit. S'yempre, umasa pa rin naman ako kahit papaano pero okay lang kasi nga expected ko na 'yon,"

Tumango-tango lang sa 'kin si Rika habang naglalakad kami. Hindi ko alam kung tunay na nakikinig pa siya sa 'kin o nagpapanggap na lang siyang naniniwala siya. Regardless, I continued talking.

"I mean, that's Jericho! Hindi niya talaga ako magugustuhan. Hindi ko nga rin inaasahan na may romantic bones siya. I was really shocked to hear that he likes someone already," dagdag ko pa.

"Kaya kung alam mo lang, sana nilandi mo na siya agad?" Patanong na dagdag ni Rika sa 'kin. Nang makita niya ang pag-ikot ng mga mata ko ay agad siyang tumawa. "What? Ilang beses mo nang sinabi 'yan. Na kung alam mo lang na marunong lumandi si Jericho, matagal ka nang nag-first move,"

"Because! The way he rejected me tells me that if he doesn't like that Jia, there's a chance that it will be me whom he likes!" Depensa ko sarili ko.

"Yeah, yeah," umiiling-iling na sambit ni Rika kasabay nang pagtigil namin sa tapat ng isang mini coffee shop. "Hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung anong nagustuhan mo sa kaniya, knowing na masama ang tabas ng dila niya,"

"That's one of his charms!" Pagtatanggol ko kay Jericho.

Rika only made faces before pushing the door open. I only rolled my eyes at her before going to the counter of Golden Brew— our favorite coffee shop near our school.

"One green apple fruit soda for 22oz, then one dark chocolate milk tea for 22oz," Rika ordered as she paid for it with our money.

While letting Rika choose our pastry, I saw someone at the corner of the coffee shop. He was struggling to reach something on the bookshelf because of his height. Upon seeing him struggle for a few seconds, I decided to help him.

From his back, I reached for the book he was trying to get. It was easy to get it since I was tall enough to reach it. When I finally got it with my hand, the man who I helped turned around. And to my biggest surprise, it was Jericho.

With our close distance, I saw how his thick eyebrows slowly furrowed as he looked at me. His eyes that were glaring at me had shown their beautiful appearance— a wide vocabulary of knowledge within those deep brown eyes. Now that I had a chance to look at his face up close, I finally noticed his pointed nose and his pinkish lips. Surprisingly enough, Jericho has a small mole under his left eye.

"Jericho, ano ba 'yan?! Ikaw pa tinulungan abutin 'yung libro?! Baliktad na talaga ngayon ang mundo! Babae na ang kukuha ng libro para sa lalaki!"

My eyes widened at the sight of Jericho. Nakakunot ang noo niya habang nakatingin sa 'kin, halatang hindi nagustuhan ang ginawa kong pag-tulong. Hindi rin nakatulong ang panunuya sa kaniya ng mga kasama niya na ngayon ko lang din napansin.