KABANATA 12 — Thorn
It was probably the best day of my life. Hindi ko mapigilang maging masaya sa araw na iyon kahit na wala naman halos kakaibang nangyari sa pagitan namin ni Lev. I was just too happy and I began to assume that he might like me too.
He chose me over France. When he said that he was coming with me because he wanted to and not because dad asked him, my system just went nuts. I was so elated that, in my mind, I started to believe that he had feelings for me too.
"Is Bernardo coming with us?" tanong ko kay Minerva na panay ang titig sa phone na kaniyang hawak. Bernardo, according to Minerva, would be her future boyfriend. Sa kasamaang palad ay hindi pa ito batid ng lalaki.
She smiled and it answered my question. "Oo. Magkikita raw tayo sa labas ng gate," masiglang sagot niya.
I nodded my head. We were sitting at the back seat and I couldn't help but feel uneasy while sitting here. Lev kept on looking at rear view mirror, his eyes always directly staring at me. Hindi ko siya tinitingnan ngunit alam kong nasa akin ang mga mata niya kahit na sa harap siya ng sasakyan nakaupo.
Kaya naman mas lalong lumalalim ang pag-iisip ko tungkol sa maaaring nararamdaman niya sa akin.
France followed him earlier when he came with me. Palabas kami ng canteen nang habulin siya nito at kausapin. I heard tidbits of their conversation and even though I didn't hear the exact details, I still learned that they were about to go to Talis. Sa Talis matatagpuan ang sentro ng kalakalan ng Riogordo. We had malls and restaurants located there. Doon din matatagpuan ang mga hotel na madalas tuluyan ng mga turistang bumibisita sa aming probinsya.
Apparently, they planned to go there to buy some stuff that France would need before she went to Manila. Lev told him to do it next time or that she could go alone.
I was ecstatic because he didn't go with her and instead, he came with me. Kung nakaplano na ang lakad nila ni France, bakit pa siya sasama sa akin? What proper explanation would that have? Kung totoong hindi naman ito dahil kay daddy, ano pa ang dahilan?
Ang mga bagay na iyon ang tumatakbo sa aking isip kasabay ng pag-andar ng sasakyan patungo sa RTC.
We arrived at RTC not long after.
Riogordo Technical College was the only college school here in Riogordo. It offered almost all the courses that you could also find in the universities in other provinces and in Manila. It was funded and operated as the center of Agriculture Education by the government of Riogordo. Dahil ang agrikultura ang sentro ng kalakalan dito sa Riogordo, dito nila hinahasa ang mga taong nais manatili at tumira rito. Ngunit bukod pa roon ay nakilala ang RTC sa iba't ibang larangan katulad ng agham at teknolohiya. They also offer engineering courses and other science related programs.
Pumasok ang aming sasakyan sa loob ng RTC at dumiretso sa paradahan ng mga sasakyan ng mga bisita. Hindi kalaunan ay nasa labas na kaming lahat ng sasakyan.
"Anong kailangan niyong gawin dito?" tanong ni Lev sa akin nang papasok na kami sa gusali ng agrikultura.
Nilingon namin siya ni Minerva. Ang kaibigan ko ay abala pa rin sa phone niya. Hindi namin nakita si Bernardo sa labas ng gate kaya naman bakas sa mukha niya ang pagtataka.
"We'll ask the dean of agriculture for some training tools that we could use this summer. It's a requirement for senior high. Kailangan naming makakuha ni Minerva ngayon upang makapagsimula na kami sa Lunes," paliwanag ko sa kaniya. I sounded casual but deep inside I wasn't over yet with what happened earlier.
