Love Is Constant

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

How come he's here? Kasasabi lang namin na wala siya because we thought he's absent today.

Larkin glared at everyone else in the classroom. Then, his expression changed when our eyes met. He blinked for once and averted his gaze to the empty seat near the back door.

Naglakad siya papunta roon at nang nakarating ay umupo at agad hiniga ang ulo sa desk.

"Lakas ng amats," Nyce remarked.

Binalewala nalang namin siya. Kalaunan ay unti-unti na namang umiingay ang silid-aralan. Nangunguna rin naman ang boses ni Nyce sa chismisan.

After the class ended, nagpaalam ako kila Nyce at sinabihan na rin silang mauna na. I have something to attend to first before going home.

I knocked on the faculty's door before opening it. When I went in, the teachers were already fixing their things while some have already left. I went straight to Sir Gomez after greeting them.

"Good afternoon, sir," I greeted him.

Inangat niya ang tingin niya sa'kin at k-in-laro muna ako by holding the frame of his eyeglasses. When he recognized me, ngumiti naman siya at tumango.

"Yes, Ms. Ignacio? Nakapagdesisyon ka na ba?" Nakangiting tanong niya.

I bit my lower lip and squeezed my hand.

"Actually, sir, I came here to tell you that..."

Hindi pa ako tapos magsalita ay agad nang napalitan ng dismaya ang ekspresyon niya. He sighed.

"It's fine. I can't force you to participate, anyway. Sige, if that's what you want. But aren't you gonna regret the opportunity, Ms. Ignacio?"

Agad naman akong umapila sa sinabi niya.

"Ah, sir, I wasn't finished yet. I came here to tell you that I made up my decision, and that's to participate in the competition," I said.

Sir Gomez stood up, "Really?" he exclaimed, full of enthusiasm.

Tumango ako. "Yes, sir. And I would also like to know when is it gonna be held?"

"Next, next week na, hija. But don't worry, I'll provide you review materials about it. Just come see me tomorrow."

Pagkatapos ng usapan namin ni sir Gomez ay umalis na ako.

Lumabas na ako ng faculty and when I closed the door, saka ko naman nakita ang isang lalaking nakasandal sa dingding ng faculty room.

Larkin is leaning against the wall as he glanced at me. May lollipop pa siya sa bibig niya. Is he waiting for his mom?

Tiningnan ko lang siya at saka umalis nang walang imik. We aren't close to have even a little conversation, anyway.

Nakalayo-layo na ako ng kaunti nang bigla niya akong tinawag. I looked at him confused.

"I heard you had an argument with my mom," he said.

Is he talking about what happened earlier? I think ma'am Lyssa has forgotten about it already because I wasn't called to the faculty.

And as far as I can remember, Larkin's not the type to meddle with things like this. Why is he asking me about it now?

"It wasn't so serious. Why?" I asked.

He took the lollipop out of his mouth and licked his lower lip. Then, I heard him sigh.

"I apologize on her behalf."

He said that surprised me a bit. What happened to him? He was only absent for a week.