Kabanata 2
Screwed
I pressed the tip of my tongue against the inside of my cheek. While waiting for my friends to stop playing matchmaker in someone else's love life, I decided to scroll through Lavin's Instagram account.
Unang pindot ko pa lang sa account niya ay ang followers agad niya ang nakita ko.
lavin.amadeo_
3 posts 44.3K followers 1 following
I almost scoffed when I saw the number of his followers. Gago? Ang dami naman? Kumpara sa akin na 11K lang. Baka boosted ang account niya kaya ganito?
I even noticed his bio, which was hard to not pay attention at all because it will surely caught someone's eyes; it featured the Philippine flag alongside another flag. The second flag, with its blue, white, and red colors, adorned with a cross and an X, looked like the flag of London.
So he's a London boy, huh?
That explains why he has the accent. I also checked the only user he was following. Sabrina.
Mabilis na umangat ang isang kilay ko habang prinoproseso pa ang nakikita. Ang corny.
I scrolled through the three posts on his feed, intrigued by how his followers had tripled compared to mine. His latest post, from December 2023, was somehow shocking: he sat at a grand piano, the blue sky of London's skyline visible through a nearby window. His side profile was striking, with a well-defined jawline and a perfectly pointed nose. The way his fingers played over the keys made it hard to believe he was just a... guy.
Ngumuso ako at pinatay na ang cellphone. Nang tignan ko ang mga kaibigan ko ay wala na si Diane roon at ngiting-ngiti naman si Monty. Panigurado akong nakuha na niya ang gusto niya.
Binalik ko ang Airpods ko sa case at balak na rin sanang ibalik ang chocolates sa box kaya lang ay tumambad ang mukha ni Astinn sa harap ko.
"Kanino galing?" si Astinn at sa tingin niya pa lang ay hinihintay niya nang pakuhanin ko siya.
Umirap ako at binalik ulit iyon sa lamesa. "Regalo. Eat up boys."
Isa-isa silang kumuha ng chocolate at si Monty lang yata ang hindi nakisali. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay at nagkibit lang siya ng balikat.
"I don't like sweets," he smirked.
Humalakhak si Astinn kaya naman humalakhak din ang ibang boys.
"Kaya pala ang sweet niyo kanina? May pa 'I'll fetch you later after class' ka pa tapos kinindatan mo pa talaga," si Theo at nangingiti habang tinitikman ang chocolate na bigay ko.
Monty rolled his eyes and I chuckled. Ilang minuto pa kaming nanatili sa canteen nang mapagdesisyunan na bumalik na sa kaniya-kaniya naming classroom dahil patapos na ang vacant nila at ang iba ay nagpaalam lang lang sa professor nila.
"You're telling me you were in the bathroom the whole time? My God, Isaac! Were you really in there for almost an hour?"
Iyon ang bungad ni Ayessa sa akin nang bumalik ako sa room at umupo sa tabi niya. I scratched my nape and smiled at her. She just rolled her eyes.
"Hindi naman dumating ang professor kaya huwag kang kabahan diyan," maarteng sabi niya na ikinalawak ng ngiti ko.
This is what I like about Ayessa. Maaasahan. At talagang pagagaanin ang loob mo kung may inaalala kang problema.
"Pero may transferee, and you knew this person very well," she winked at me, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Did you remember back in high school? Didn't you get rejected?"
