Memories Beneath The Shore

Chapter 18

I removed the plastic covering the beaker, just like others did, and the pungent smell of vinegar covered the whole lab. Some squealed because of the smell, some covered their nose and some just acted nothing.

Marahan kong kinuha ang itlog na nakalublub dito. It was left there for more than 24 hours and the amazement was written all over our faces. The egg's shell dissolved and the egg itself grew big. It became bouncy!

It's our gen bio experiment under the topic osmosis. We were formed into groups and Keiran is one of my co-members. Napalingon ako sa tabi ko at naabutan ko naman itong sinasagutan na ang mga guide questions sa experiment namin.

Talino mo talaga. Kaya mas nagkakagusto tuloy ako sayo.

"Tulungan na kita sumagot, Keiran" pag-alok ni Crystal at pinagitnaan pa kami nito ni Keiran.

"No need. I can manage"

My eyes darted on her when she acted like she didn't hear Keiran. She even fixed her hair before crouching a little to level Keiran and then- she leaned forward towards him. Napaatras naman si Keiran konti bago lumingon sakin, checking for my reaction.

I gave him a smile before gesturing him to continue what he's doing. He did continue but he looked hesitant. Crystal on the other side- kept pestering him.

"Ang ganda ng penmanship mo. Gustong gusto ko talaga yung mga lalaking may magandang penmanship"

Keiran once looked at me again at tinaasan ko lang ito ng kilay.

Why? If he thinks na baka nagseselos ako, no. Hindi naman ako nagseselos. Hindi ako selosa.

But I wonder. Kung ibababad ko ba yung mukha ni Crystal dito sa suka for 24 hours, matutunaw din ba yung kakapalan niya?

Lesson lang naman to sa gen bio. For experimentation purposes lang. Wag niya sana damdamin pag ginawa ko na.

It's been a month since that night and it still feels surreal. Ganito pala ang pakiramdam pagnagmamahal at minamahal. I thought it was cringe. I thought it was scary. I guess I was wrong.

"Kelan ka babalik sa manila?" I asked as I leaned against the wall, waiting for him to finish washing his hands.

"Papatapusin ko lang yung quarters bago bumalik. Why?" He tilted his head a little.

Napailing ako bago ngumuso.

The reason why he kept going back and forth sa manila is because they're practicing for an upcoming competition next month. It's a band competition and he said that if they win, there's a big chance that they'll be casted by a company. It's always been his dream to be a singer.

I scrunched my nose when he pinched it.

"Masyado mo na yata akong gusto. Hindi pa nga ako umaalis pero miss na ko agad" he said in a playful tone.

I scoffed. "Kasing kapal mo rin pala yung mukha ni Crystal no? Ibabad ko kaya kayo sa suka?"

Bia slammed a book on my desk that made me look at her. She gave me the sweetest smile she could give.

"Anong gusto mo? Disney, Fairy-tale, Disco, Modern minimalist, Tropical, Masquerade, Garden or Beach?" Tanong ni Bia at may hawak-hawak pa itong papel na parang pinaglistahan niya.

"Para saan yan?" Kunot noo kong tanong.

"Motif ng debut mo. Nagpapatulong sakin si Tita na tulungan kang mag-isip"

"Ayoko nga mag-celebrate" I disagreed and she groaned.

"Parang isang beses lang naman, aayaw ka pa rin? Ilang taon ka na kayang hindi nag-cecelebrate ng birthday mo"