When It All Made Sense

Why We Were Offbeat

"Don't look. Don't stare kasi, he'll catch us. Naman kasi, mahahalata tayo eh!"

"Haha! I volunteer as tribute for his six packs, Miks. Early pandesal breakfast naman pala ito." 

Majoy, my college roommate, teasingly said as she kept eyeing the close-to-naked swimmer we have been watching from time to time for the past weeks.

Nope, not stalking just... admiring the really, really good view.

It might be the really prolonged staring Majoy was subjecting him to or my eye-catching neon orange sports top, but something caused the swimmer to look over to our side. Shit!

"Oh my God, Majoy! He's looking at us na. Wag pa halata!" 

I started to stretch, pretending to get ready for a run. As I pretended to do warm-ups, I chastised myself, "Mika naman, mang-che-check out na nga lang, wala pang finesse!" 

But it was as if I my body, specifically my eyes do not receive orders from my brain, for I glanced at the swimmer to find him looking at me with a boyish yet smug smile on his face.

"Uy, atembang! Biglang bawi ng tingin kay kuya six pack hahaha! Tara na, itakbo na lang natin yang kilig mo baka maghyperventilate ka pa dyan!"

I swear I did not intend to, but after a couple of steps, I looked back and still found him looking at me.

Darn, chinito eyes and a six pack is a deadly combination.

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Walking to my Deviance and Social Problems class, I bumped into Jeanine who looked better than when I last saw her—approximately 5 months ago. But it wasn't the really awkward tension between us stemming from the fact that her boyfriend and I haven't been in speaking terms, but rather the sight of the man who was tagging behind her.

Oh, shit! Double whammy on a Monday morning—great, just great!

"Mika, hi! Sorry, I wasn't looking kasi we were rushing." Jeanine awkwardly explained, pointing to the man who by then was next to her. "This is Joseph Marco, my cousin. Joseph, meet Mika. She's Jeron's... bestfriend," she warily introduced us.

With a teasing smile, the chinito swimmer—who I swear I did not consistently eye every morning before heading for my morning run around the freedom park—said to me, "ooh, the runner! I see you around the park every morning ha. Something must look very pleasing to the eye for you to run in the vicinity every morning."

Never one to let myself be bullied in a corner, I retorted in an equally playful voice, "Gee! I would assume same goes for you, noh? I see you staring sa may side ng track and field sa park every time I run. Anything caught your fancy?"

Jeanine, not fully grasping just how interesting our exchange was, decided to cut in and disrupt the moment. "Uhm, guys... Sephy, we have to go. We still have to go to the third floor for your Deviance class. Late enrollee ka na nga, late ka pa nako lagot na talaga."

"Deviance class? Room 310? 10:30 to 1pm?" I asked Jeanine, but found myself staring at "Sephy".

Jeanine's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "yes! Please, please tell me you're in that class, Mika. Para mapagkatiwala ko na sayo tong pinsan ko kasi I have to rush to the humanities building pa for my Organizational communications class.I promise you, he is harmless haha!"