Hey You

Chapter 13

If words could kill, Nella felt as if she was killed by an enormous boulder dropping on her. "Jane," her friend's name barely came out of her mouth. Her face showed an obvious discomfort like she was physically hurting. The truth was: her heart was the one that was crushed.

Shattered. Broken. Left into a million little pieces.

"Babe, why on earth would you ever say something like that?"

Nella was extremely distraught, calling Jane "Babe" came out of nowhere.

However—she didn't mind, and she wasn't going to apologize for it.

She reached for her book bag and brought out her phone. They had five minutes before the warning bell.

"Skip class with me," she got up and offered her hand out to Jane who was now the one that was caught off guard by her new friend's offer.

"Skip class with me. Sige na," she held her hand out hoping Jane would take it.

"Nella, it's nothing. I'm sorry na-traumatize yata kita sa pag-iyak ko. I don't know where that came from either," Jane regretted crying in front of Nella who she thought would probably run as far away from her as possible after this whole ordeal.

"Well, you know what they say: fire burns people, it could even kill them—however, one can't help but be drawn to it," Nella replied. "Skip class with me. Trust me. I don't offer this to just anyone, so please take advantage of it. You feel down righ now, I feel reckless. Fuck school."

Jane couldn't help but feel like she was going crazy while laughing and crying simultaneously. "Who are you and what did you do to my friend?"

Nella shrugged. "I'm Valentina, and I put an end to people by slithering my way into their heart. Then I wrap myself snuggly around it, forcing its vessels and extremely delicate arteries to explode.

Jane was definitely convinced. She believed everything Nella just said because that's exactly what she made her feel. As a result, she reached for her hand and took her offer to run away and leave the school behind as far away as possible.

"Nasabi ko ba sayo na you have a habit of surprising me ever since we've met?" Jane wondered out loud after they settled at her favorite coffee shop.

"Ditto," Nella nodded.

"Sure ka vaNella ka talaga? Chocolate ka yata dapat eh," Jane commented.

Nella placed her elbows at the table while staring at the woman in front of her. "At bakit naman?"

"Kasi sabi ni pareng Forrest Gump, 'life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get'. That's you. Feeling ko ikaw yung box of chocolates na yun kasi hindi ko alam what's in store for me each time we're together," Jane explained.

Nella let out a slight laugh. "Like I said, ikaw din naman. Totoo nga siguro na kung ano yung pinapanood natin can really influence your perspective about people, about life. Kasi the idea that formed in my head is that you're this narcissistic popular girl na only cares about herself and her popularity. But from what I've been seeing netong buong week of getting to know you, I see someone who cares more than we all know."

Jane stayed quiet while she stared blankly at the table.

"What's on your mind?" Nella asked. She could tell so much was going through her friend's mind.

"Wala naman," Jane sounded unsure of herself.

"Sabi mo nga sakin, no matter how I feel about you, you see me as a friend. Then go ahead and take advatage of that. Talk to me like you would talk to a friend. I'll do my best to listen and give my advice if you want to hear it, pero warning lang kasi I'm not really good at this," Nella told her.