Time and Fallen leaves

Meaningful Silence

"At talagang sinusubok ako ng lalakeng ito" nakasimangot na saad ni Keen habang nakatingin sa direksiyon ni Erin at Leeon na masayang nag-uusap sa couch. As if nothing happened last night. Erin's swollen eyes are still evident from all the crying last night, but it seems like she has forgotten about it already. Napakarupok.

"Baka maduling ka na kakairap mo" sagot ni Milo, subtly blocking the stand fan from Keen. Isang irap ang muling pinakawalan ni Keen, his eyes sending daggers at Leeon.

"Di ko magets tong dalawa, ano ba talagang meron sakanila?" Pagsingit ni Saki at inakbayan si Keen. Mabuti na lamang at kumalma na ang nakatatanda dahil sasakit nanaman ang ulo nito kakairap.

"I don't know either. Sometimes they act like couples and then some other day they were like total strangers" this time, nakisali na sakanila si Jake at Chrys. They are now forming a circle, all talking in hushed tones.

"Wala silang label" Chrys said straightforwardly. The others pretended to be shock while Keen and Milo roll their eyes. Mabuti na lamang at hindi narinig ng iba, they were too busy to mind.

"Yang bibig mo pasmado" saad ni Jake kaya natawa nalang ang lahat. On the other side of the room, Erin took a glimpse of her friends talking about something funny. Her curious mind wanted to leave Leeon at makisali sa usapan nila Keen. But she wanted to be with the former, while Yuna isn't around.

"You alright? You've been too silent lately" Tanong ng binata sakanya kaya agad na nabaling ang atensiyon ni Erin pabalik kay Leeon. Tumango na lamang si Erin bilang sagot. She wanted to ask Leeon a lot of things, simula sa biglaan niyang pagiging cold whenever the headmistress is around, from the sudden closeness between him and Yuna.

Come to think of it, hindi naman close si Yuna at Leeon noon. In fact, ni hindi sila nag tama ng tingin. Nagulat na lamang ang lahat nang pangalan ni Leeon ang unang isinigaw ni Yuna the moment she step inside their office. Erin badly wanted to ask that, pakiramdam niya ay hindi siya makakatulog kapag hindi niya nalaman ang sagot. She's barely asleep because her train of thoughts keeps bothering her.

"Hindi ko na nakikita si Jade" pag-iiba ng topic ni Erin. She wanted to talk to Jade about all the things that had been bothering her. It's not that Keen and Milo weren't a help at all, in fact, they were a big help. But of all people who could answer all the things about Leeon, it's Jade; She knew her cousin better than anyone.

Erin noticed the sudden shift from Leeon's mood. Tila hindi maitimpla ang mukha nito, it made Erin quite nervous. Bigla nalang kasi hindi nagpakita si Jade, it's like she suddenly vanished and no one realized but Erin.

"She's in the states" malumbay na saad ni Leeon—as if he doesn't want to talk about it. But despite seeing Leeon feeling uncomfortable, her curiosity gets the better of her.

"Why?" Nagulat si Erin sa biglaang pagsama ng timpla ng mukha ng binata. It took him a moment to finally open his mouth but when he did, a familar voice—so familiar Erin doesn't want to hear it—called Leeon's name.

"Leeon!" Yuna gleefully called upon opening the door. Leeon silently thanked Yuna for interrupting their conversation. He feels like Erin shouldn't know about Jade yet. Agad na lumapit si Yuna sa dalawa, her eyes sparkle as she meet Leeon's eyes but her eyebrow immediately raise when she caught a sight of Erin—who's holding the lass' hands.