D'Beasts Series #4: Ceasing the Rivalry

IKA-LABING APAT

“I don’t hate Jonas. I just think it’s annoying to have someone who seems like you’re babysitting around,” naiiling na paliwanag ko habang kumakain ng tanghalian sa parehong table namin sa canteen simula noon pang first year.

“Pero kapag kay Dion, parang okay lang naman sa iyo, ah. Ano iyan, favoritism?” humahalakhak na sagot naman ni Fred.

“Dion is the love of his life, while Jonas is just someone he knows. Magkaibang-magkaiba talaga iyon,” dagdag naman ni Akiro.

Hindi ko alam kung sinong mas gusto kong pag-usapan namin. Kung si Chase ba na unang sumira ng araw ko o si Jonas na dumagdag pa sa isipin ko sa buhay. Though, I don’t think I can be happy around any of the two. Si Chase na walang ibang bukang-bibig kung hindi ang kaibigan niyang sintu-sinto. At si Jonas naman na mas strikto pa sa parents ko. I get that he’s older than me, but he can’t boss me around. Hindi naman kami sobrang close. Close siya sa parents ko, hindi sa akin. Kaya nga hindi na dapat ako magtaka pa kung bakit titira siya sa bahay pansamantala dahil noon pa man ay nakagawian na siyang iwan sa amin ng parents niya sa tuwing may mga business trips sila at masyado pang bata si Jonas para iwanang mag-isa. In short, lumaki siya sa pamamahay namin. Hindi lang kami naging magkaibigan dahil mas gusto niyang mag-isa kaysa makipaglaro sa akin.

“Practice teacher siya, hindi ba? Anong year ang tinuturuan niya kung ganoon?” tanong ni Bry.

“I don’t know. First year, maybe since I saw him go in that direction.”

I wonder what subject he’s teaching. Is he good at all? Or he’s just bossing around his students, acting like an old, bald professor from the nineties?

“Alam na ba ni Dion? He’ll be jealous, for sure,” nangingiting saad naman ni Bien.

“Bakit naman siya magseselos? Nanliligaw pa lang naman siya, right Seven?”

Umiling ako sa sinabi ni Tan at uminom ng iced tea bago nagsalita. “He won’t be courting me anymore. Tapos na rin ang pagtulong ko sa kaniya sa plano niya.”

“Lumayo na si Wesley? That’s great—”

“Nope, ako ang lumayo na,” I chuckled. “Kung kayo ba ang tatanungin, gugustuhin niyo bang magpaligaw o magkaroon ng karelasyon na may boy or girl best friend?”

“Depending on their level of closeness,” sagot ni Damien. “Kung wala namang malisya at hindi naman sila nagkakagustuhan, it’s fine.”

“Paano kung gusto siya noong kaibigan? Would you still accept it?”

“No. Tinanggap ba kita noong nagkagusto ka kay Akiro? Noong may pagsandal ka pang nalalaman sa balikat niya pagkatapos ng team building?” he asked sarcastically, which made all of us laugh. Damn it, that was a long time ago. I’m over it.

“Wait, how about the plans you two made? Ang akala ko ay kukuhanin mo ang loob ni Wesley para layuan niya si Dion?”

“Wala na iyon. Hindi na nakatiis, eh. Sinabi na niya kay Wesley lahat dahil na-realize niyang hindi niya raw pala kayang masaktan ang baliw na iyon. He was the one who helped him during the times he was struggling, kaya hindi ko rin siya masisisi kung sa tingin niya ay malaki ang utang na loob niya kay Wesley. Why would he choose me over him If I’m not the one he needs?”

The table began to fill with silence. I’m not sad about all the things Chase said to me earlier. I was just disappointed. I thought he was serious with the plans he made. I thought he really wanted to get over Wesley’s presence. I almost thought we could still bring back the bond we lost. Paano ko pa gugustuhing maging kaibigan niya o higit pa kung sigurado namang manggugulo at manggugulo lang din si Wesley sa aming dalawa? I’ll just let him be with that stupid creep rather than with me, who hasn’t even helped him with anything. I don’t care kung napipilitan lang siyang mag-stay sa tabi ni Wesley dahil lang may utang na loob siya rito. It’s not my problem to think about. I just have to accept that me and Chase will never be friends, or even more than that, anymore. We just met again, so we’ll have the closures we needed for our friendship, and after that, we have to be strangers again.