April Fools' Day

VI. Still A Fool

31 MARCH 2017

One year after, hindi pa rin kami nagkakausap ni Jo. Hanggang ngayon, hindi ko pa rin alam kung nasaan siya. Kung anong balita sa kanya. Kung saan siya nag-aaral. Ni hindi ko nga alam kung anong course niya! Nakakabaliw na!

"Hoy, beshie. Dumating na ba yung bago mong roommate?" pangungulit ni Dina.

"Hindi pa. Tsaka hindi ko nga roommate yun! Magkatapat lang kami ng kwarto."

May darating kasing bagong tenant sa tinitirhan ko. Lalaki daw, kaya interesado si Dina. Ang harot!

"Eh kailan dating nun?" Hay nako! Ang kulit!

"Sa Sabado raw," sagot ko nang manahimik na ang loka.

"Next week?"

"Ay, basta sa uno raw, sabi ni Ate Sev!" Bigla na lang nagtititili ang loka! "Hoy, wag mo naman akong ipahiya dito. Itatakwil kita eh."

"Bukas na pala, loka ka! Hindi mo man lang ako iniimbita," sabi niya sa akin nang pasigaw.

"Ano ngayon kung bukas na siya darating? Tantanan mo na 'yang kalandian mo, Dina Malabanan."

Aba ang loka, pinagpapapalo ako! "Sabi ko naman sa'yo na wag mo akong tawagin sa buo kong pangalan eh!"

"Edi tumigil ka rin."

Kairita kasi. Pinagpipilitang ilakad ko raw siya sa bagong tenant. Edi ang creepy ko nun!

_____

01 APRIL 2017

"Ang aga mo naman ngayon, April!" sabi ni Ate Sev nang bumaba ako sa common area. Madalang kasi ako gumising nang maaga lalo na kapag wala akong pasok.

"Maaga po kasi akong nagising. Hindi ko rin nga po alam eh," sagot ko kay Ate Sev saka dumiretso sa banyo para maghilamos.

Ang totoo n'yan, ginising ako ni Dina. Sabi niya, abangan ko raw yung bago kong boardmate. Tinawagan niya ako as early as 7 a.m. para lang abangan si kuyang bagong lipat. She interrupted my good sleep with a call now that I don't have classes!

Good thing I managed to calm myself down before going downstairs. Partida 'yan kasi wala pa akong morning coffee n'yan. Argh bwiset ka talaga, Dina Malabanan!!!

I drank my coffee inside the common area and talked to Ate Sev and asked about the new neighbor.

"Nag-aaral siya sa San Beda ngayon. Dati raw kasi, nakikitira siya sa dorm ng pinsan niyang tiga-UST sa may Dapitan. Nahirapan yata sa pag-commute kaya naghanap ng matitirhan along Morayta para kahit papaano, malapit-lapit lang."

Sabagay. Mahirap kasi talagang magcommute lalo na kapag may 7 a.m. class ka pa.

I texted Dina all the details I catched about the guy who is moving in. San Beda student. Second year college. (I don't know the course he's taking up.) May pinsan na tiga-Dapitan. But here's the catch: he came from Benguet—my province.

"Oh em gee, gurl! Baka naman kilala natin 'yan."

"Shut up, Malabanan. Tingin mo, batchmate natin 'to? Maraming ibang high schools sa probinsiya natin. So stop it."

"Hay nako. I just said that maybe kilala natin siya. Sus, if I know, nung sinabi ko yun iisang lalaki lang naman ang naisip mo."

"Dina, don't even mention his name. Papatayin kita."

"Beshie... Ito ah... Consider this theory of mine."

Second year student, meaning ka-batch namin. May 10% probability na siya 'yon. He came from my province. May 20% probability na siya 'yon. I looked up his relatives in Facebook. Nagstalk pa ako ng profiles nila just to know if one of his relatives studies in UST. I almost gave up when Dina sent me a photo of a UST Commerce student with a familiar face in one frame. Okay, there's a 30% probability na siya 'yon.

I can't confirm if he's from San Beda. Because this will not only be 40% confirmed, but it will increase its probability to 80%. (This will be the death of me, guys.)

Buti na lang Dina is a potential member of the Chismis Squad. She found a photo of him alongside Recto. Nanginginig ako. Too bad he wasn't wearing his uniform in the picture.

I was busy talking to Dina and stalking my suspected new boardmate that I didn't noticed someone rang the doorbell. Nagulat na lang ako nang batiin ni Ate Sev yung pumasok.

"Uy, Joshua, right? Alam mo naman na yung room mo 'di ba?" Ate Sev's voice was too loud that I can't hear the voice of the newbie. "Halika, pakilala kita sa mga boardmates mo."

I rushed into the kitchen because I'm not yet ready to meet this new guy. Hindi pa ako handang makilala siya. Rather, hindi pa ako handang i-confirm kung siya nga 'yon.

Pinakilala ni Ate Sev sa bagong lipat yung mga boardmates namin na nasa common area. Medyo kaunti lang kami kasi karamihan ay nasa klase. When Ate Sev was done introducing the others, I decided to come out of the kitchen.

And there, our eyes met. "Ah! Si April nga pala." Yes, he knows my name. I finally get to see the same eyes again. And they still convey the same emotions everytime I look at them.

He looked awed as he saw me. But his eyes still showed his longing for me, the same way my eyes showed my longing for him. Oo na, feeler na. But I have this urge to pull him in my arms after all the pushing away I did to him.

"This is Joshua," said Ate Sev. Yes, Ate Sev, I know him. I still remember every bit of him. He still have the same features in his face. Kitang kita ko kahit medyo malayo pa siya sa akin. The only feature in him that changed was his hairstyle. His haircut is very much cleaner this time compared to the last time I saw him. His clean haircut made me think that he is slightly serious now.

Plus his name Joshua really makes him less of a joker.

"Nice meeting you," I offered a handshake.

"Yeah, nice seeing you again." He disregarded the handshake and pulled me into a hug. "I missed you," he whispered.

Dammit. I'm still a fool for this guy.