Chapter 28: Talk To Me
(Jerwin's POV)
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The next day started a little busier than we all would have wanted, pero anong magagawa namen.. Eh last day na namen toh, balik sa real world nanaman kami bukas.
Mr. Gordon and I discussed a few other projects for the following month. Venice stayed in our room, trying to finish a paper due the next day. Anthony and Sheena are preparing our things for our trip back home later.
Nung natapos kami ni Mr. Gordon, the duffel bags are already by the door, at nasa beach na sina Sheena at si Anthony. Susunod na sana ako nung naalala kong nasa kwarto pa yata si Venice -- nagpapaka-dakilang estudyante.. So I decided to see if she needs anything or kung patapos na sya..
I slowly opened the door and peeked inside.. Venice is sitting on the bed with the laptop on her lap. Titig na titig sya dun sa screen.. Dinidibdib talaga ang pag-aaral..
Ako:Hey, Venice...
She looked up.
-__-
?__?
O__O
She's crying?!? Why is she crying?!?
Napatakbo akong bigla sa tabi nya. Anong iniiyakan nya?!?
Ako:What's wrong? Na-sstressed ka na ba sa ginagawa mo?
Venice:*sniff*Kasi.... Kasi... :'(
Inikot nya ung laptop para iharap sa'kin. Lumipat ung tingin ko dun sa screen.... sa screen na supposedly eh MS Word..... hindi YouTube.
Ako:Aren't you supposed to be doing homework? -__-
Venice:*sniff*I finished kanina. Sunshine, look mo oh.. T^T
Tinuro nya ung video. The title says "Because I'm A Girl -- Kiss".. What am I looking at here? -__-
Venice:They were so happy together.. Tapos.. Nabulag ung girl, Sunshine.. Tapos sobrang na-guilty ung guy.. He finally decided to give her his eyes.. tapos tapos..*sniff*Ang miserable nilang dalawa.. Tapos nakita nung girl ulit ung guy after some time.. Na-realize nya ung nangyari.. kung kaninong mata ung na-donate sa kanya... Sunshine.. ang sad nung story.. T^T
And this is coming from someone whose boyfriend died..
I looked at the video.. It's a total chick flick..
Ako:Bakit ka umiiyak?
Venice:Kasi nga ang sad! Ikaw ba, Sunshine, pag ako ba nabulag, ibibigay mo rin sa'kin ung mata mo?
Ako:Adik ka ba? -__-
Venice:Eh pag na-amputate ung legs ko, i-ddonate mo ba ung legs mo para sa'kin?
Ako:I'm pretty sure that's not how things work.
Pak!
Ako:AW! What?!?
Venice:Wala ka man lang i-ssacrifice na body part para sa'kin?!?
Ako:I love my body parts. Maghanap ka na lang sa Body Parts Bank or whatever. :)
Venice:Ang damot mo.
Ako:It's just... weird. Hinihingi mo na kagad ung mga body parts ko.. I'm still alive, you know?
Sinarado nya ung laptop and put it back dun sa bag.. Then she went to her luggage and pulled out a swimsuit, then dire-diretso lang sya na lumabas.. Dinedma na ko.. O__O
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Later...
Ako:Are you still ignoring me?
I followed Venice out to the beach. She hasn't spoken a single word since we went out of the villa. Kahit nung nahihirapan syang maglagay ng sunblock sa likod nya, di pa rin ako pinansin.. Sheena eventually came and helped her put sunblock on her back.
Now, she's quietly lying on the beach blanket, her eyes covered by sunglasses.. STILL not saying anything..
Sheena:What's going on?
Ako:She's ignoring me coz I won't give her my leg.
Anthony: Nanghihingi na si Venice ng binti ngayon? o_O
Ako:Honestly, I don't understand it either...
Gumapang ako sa tabi ni Venice, oblivious to the stifled laughter na nanggagaling kina Sheena and Anton dun sa katabing beach blanket..
Ako:Venice?? Huy... I'll buy you a mechanical leg if you want -- I mean not that I have to.. but just in case..
Silence.. Pinatong ko ung ulo ko dun sa shoulder nya.... She's breathing slowly.. deeply.. and it was then I realized what's going on. I carefully slid the sunglasses off her face.. and yep.. her eyes are shut.
She's sleeping.
Nagtawanan bigla sina Sheena at si Anthony. I'm guessing they realized this sooner -- way sooner -- than I did. I stood up and started stretching. Then I walked away.
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(Venice's POV)
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Ako:Sunshine, why are you avoiding me ba??!
Sinundan ko si Jerwin papunta dun sa truck nya.. Tinilapon nya ung mga bags dun sa likod nung truck, and then went back inside the villa to pick up more things. Sunod uhlet ako.
Jerwin:I'm not avoiding you.
Tuloy-tuloy sya dun sa pag-lload nya nung mga gamit namen sa truck.
Ako:Eh bakit kanina mo pa ko hindi matignan?? May ginawa kang kalokohan noh! Ung lifeguard?!? Nilandi mo ung lifeguard?! Sunshine naman, pwede mo na maging nanay un eh!
FINALLY, he stopped moving. Pero instead of looking at me or voicing out his usual retorts, napatingin sya kina Sheena and Anthony na nakaupo dun sa living room. Kumaway ung dalawa sa'min -- and nagsimula nanaman si Jerwin sa kaloka nyang paggalaw-galaw. -___-
Eh syempre, nagsimula nanaman ako sa pagsunod-sunod ko.
Jerwin:Why are you following me, anyway?
Ako:Eh kaseh, kanina ka pa lakad ng lakad. Di ko naman ma-getz kung bahket di mo ko tinitignan. Avah--
BUMP!
Aw.
Kung kelan dire-diretso ang lakad ko, tsaka naman sya titigil. Eh talaga namang magkakakilala ung noo ko at ung likod nya.
Jerwin:Venice... Just.. Uhmm.. Next time..
Ako:Uh-huh??
Jerwin:If you're mad or if I offended you in some way, just tell me, ok?
Nag-flashback sa utak ko ung conversation namin kanina..
"I'm still alive, you know?".. He said that and parang nagulantang ako.. It gives me a weird feeling pag nakakarinig ako ng mga ganyang ka-simple na sentence na nag-bborder sa topic ng life and death.. Kaya di na ko nagsalita, kaseh di ko lam isasagot ko..
Tinulog ko na lang.
Jerwin:It feels... It doesn't feel right when you're not talking to me..
-___-
Anoh bang pinagsasabi nitong si kuya? Na-sobrahan ba sya sa araw? sa buhangin? napasok ba ng alimango ung utak nya?
Di ko naman sya dinedma.. Bilang lang naman ung beses na may sinabi sya sa'kin nung palabas kami sa villa.. o_O Bakit nya naman naisip na hinde ko sya kinakausap?
Jerwin:Ok?
Napangiti na lang ako, kahit no idea ako kung anong dinadrama nya sa buhay nya.
Ako:Okay. :)
Jerwin:Great. Now, c'mon. Let's go home.. :)
