Avery Montemayor - He's No Prince Charming

Chapter Eight

"So, what are you planning to do after you graduate?" tanong ko kay Avery habang nasa isang café malapit sa aming subdivision naka-stay.

Matapos kasi naming manuod ng movie ay pareho naming ayaw pang umuwi. Hindi namin iyon sinabi sa isa't isa, parang naramdaman lang naming pareho na ayaw pa naming matapos ang araw na ito. And honestly, I wasn't even sure anymore kung may ikakaganda pa ba ang araw ko. I wasn't expecting to spend a lot of time with him, nor I was expecting a lot from our date but it went beyond my imagination. Akala ko kasi magiging awkward kami sa isa't isa pero hindi. It's like we've been hanging out for a long time.

He shrugged after taking a sip from his iced coffee.

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. Given na ang pagtatrabaho ko sa kompanya namin dahil ako ang panganay at ang lalaki pero... I don't know. I don't think I'm fit for the position just because everybody's expecting me to take over after I finish my studies."

"Parang gusto mo pang mag-explore, gano'n ba?"

"Yeah." Tumango siya at ngumiti. "How about you? What are your plans after graduation? It's still two years from now but I'm sure you've already got plans, right?"

"Just like you, my parents are expecting me to work in our company, too. Lalo pa dahil only child ako. It's not like they're pressuring me to do so but I guess, 'yun nga. Given na rin na do'n ako magwork after I graduated from college because that's our company. Also, I'm planning to take MBA while working. At least that way, I could handle the company more efficiently."

Tumango-tango siya habang nakikinig sa akin. Then he smiled even more.

"But I think for the mean time, iyong pinsan ko muna ang paghahandle-in ni Daddy. He's taking up Law but he knows how to handle the business dahil siya ang eldest sa aming magpipinsan." Dagdag ko pa.

"Mas maayos na pala ang plano mo sa 'kin kahit na mas mauuna akong matapos sa 'yo," he chuckled. "Now I feel quite ashamed. Parang sobrang indecisive ko kumpara sa 'yo."

"Hala, no!" maagap kong tanggi, blushing so hard at the same time. "'Yun pa lang naman ang naiisip ko but it doesn't mean that's what I'm really gonna do after I graduate. Mas focus ako ngayon sa kung anong mga nangyayari. Also, may feasibility study pa kaming aayusin at hindi pa nga namin alam kung anong gagawin namin do'n eh. I'm not much of a person who plans for the future, I think I'm more like the type who just goes with the flow..." nahihiya kong pag-amin.

"Hmm..." ngumisi siya saka sumandal sa kanyang upuan. "In other words, you like being spontaneous. Why?"

I tilted my head to the side, quite confused with his question.

"Ibig kong sabihin ba't gano'n 'yung gusto mo?"

"Ah..." napatango-tango ako nang makuha ang ibig niyang sabihin. "I guess I just think it's better that way? Kasi hindi ba, the less you expect, the less disappointment you'll get at the end. Parang the more expectations you have, mas malaki 'yung possibility na hindi mangyari 'yung gusto mo."

"Nangyari na ba 'yun sa 'yo? 'Yung nag-expect ka tapos ay hindi naman natupad ang expectations mo?" tanong niya.

I nodded my head. "Of course. Ilang beses na rin naman..."

"Like?"

"Siguro 'yung pinakamalalang disappointment ko ay noong nag-expect ako na maayos ang magiging presentation namin sa isang subject ko when I was second year college but because of our groupmate who didn't review his part, ayun. We got a low score."

Napasimangot ako nang maalala ko 'yun. Ang lakas pa ng loob 'nung groupmate naming sisihin kami dahil daw hindi namin siya ininform! Eh kung tutuusin siya itong parang kabuteng pasulpot-sulpot lang sa class! Mabuti nga at sinama pa namin siya sa presentation kahit na may karapatan kaming alisin na siya sa group dahil wala siyang naiambag.