Lana's List (Taglish)

Chapter 1

Naliligaw yata ako.

Oh, no. I was already late.

Well, may five minutes pa naman. Pero kahit na, nakakahiya pa rin.

Habang naglalakad ako sa corridor na malapit sa quadrangle, I looked around and couldn't help but admire this place. Ang ganda talaga rito sa De La Soledad University. Ang dami pang guwapo. 'Yong tipong guwapo talaga, unlike 'yong 'guwapo' sa Tagaytay. May difference 'yon, a.

I picked up my pace, almost bumping into someone. Ito yung moment na parati kong nababasa sa novels at napapanood sa movies at sa mga TV series. 'Yong you'd bump into a cute dude, tapos he'd smile at you, and you'd smile back. He'd ask for your number, and then boom! May potential boyfriend ka na.

True to its tale, ang cute n'ong nakabunggo ko. Medyo matangkad, may pagka-buff nang kaunti, maputi, tapos chinito. May pagka-broody rin ang itsura niya. Type ko . . . nang kaunti.

"Sorry!" I said.

He nodded and walked past me. Walang ngiti-ngiti. Taray ni kuya.

I sighed. Okay, pakapalan na ng mukha. I was lost and I needed help. So, I cleared my throat and loudly said, "Excuse me!" I smiled no'ng lumingon siya. "Pakituro naman yung Aguinaldo Hall, o. Please, late na kasi ako."

"Kanan ka lang d'yan, tapos dere-deretsuhin mo," he answered, pointing to the corner, without showing any expression at all. "You'll see it right away."

Nilingon ko ang tinuturo niya. "Okay, thanks!"

"No problem." He shrugged and then walked away.

Habang nagmamadali sa paglalakad, I couldn't stop thinking about the chinito guy. Alam kong hindi ako sobrang kagandahan, pero kahit papaano naman, may mga napapalingon din ako. Kaya medyo unsettled ako na hindi man lang siya natinag ng beauty ko.

The big, glamorous building that came into view removed all my insecurities about how I looked. I just stared at what was in front of me. It looked cool. Ito na siguro yung Aguinaldo Hall. Ang astig!

"Lana Lopez?"

I looked at the person who called my name. She seemed like she was about my age, but with a kinder expression. Yeah, mukha kasi akong bitch, e, kahit hindi naman. At least, not most of the time.

"Yes po?" sagot ko, smiling all the same.

"Hi! I'm Bea." She pulled out her hand for a shake, which I accepted. It was quick and firm, indicating na she was taught well for these kinds of things. "I was asked to usher you inside. You're from Liberty University−Tagaytay Campus, right?"

"Ah, yeah. Um, late na ba 'ko?" tanong ko, kinakabahan din nang kaunti habang naglalakad kami.

"Not really." She laughed. "Sa totoo lang, may mga kulang pa."

I nodded. Sinundan ko siya sa escalator. Sabi sa 'kin ng prof ko, may unwritten rule daw sa De La Soledad na the students should always keep right. Napansin ko 'yon kay Bea nang pumunta agad siya sa right side habang nasa escalator siya. Papantayan ko sana siya, but then I remembered the rule, so I followed it na lang.

No'ng nakarating na kami sa third floor, she faced me.

"We're here," she said in a singsong voice sabay turo sa pintuan that led to the conference room.

Napahawak agad ako sa buhok ko. I quickly combed it with my fingers para man lang kahit papaano, mukha akong presentable. Pagpasok namin, na-feel ko na naman ang kaba ko.

Ang daming tao!

Bawat isa sa 'min, galing sa isang university. Siyempre, may mga university na iba-ibang branch, pero kahit na.