KABANATA 14 — Lotus Flower
Minerva and I exchanged a quick, meaningful look as soon as she saw me with Lukas. Nagkaintindihan kami sa pamamagitan niyon. Nangalumbaba siya habang nakamasid sa aming palapit sa kaniya.
Lukas was just walking beside me, oblivious of the way our schoolmates turn their heads to us. They were probably curious as to why we were together. Hindi naman lingid sa kaalaman ko na kahit bagong estudyante lamang ay sikat na si Lukas sa mga batchmates namin at lalo na sa mga lower level students.
"Hi, Minerva," Lukas lively greeted her when we reached her table.
Pareho kaming naupo roon. Kaming dalawa ni Lukas ay nasa harap ni Minerva kabilang banda ng mesa.
"Hi, Lukas." Bumaling si Minerva sa akin. "Should I leave the two of you alone?" she playfully asked as her eyes shifted from me to the confused boy.
"Of course not!" untag ni Lukas.
Naramdaman kong medyo nahiya pa siya sa pahayag ni Minerva. I kicked my friends foot under the table to stop her from bullying Lukas.
Sometimes, I would thank Lukas in my mind whenever he would act shy and confused in front of my friend or even everyone else. Sa pamamagitan nito, hindi ko kailangan mahiya o ma-pressure. He didn't dare show off to everyone about his feelings for me. Although he would do it in his own little way, it was never as if he was pressuring me by letting everyone know that he's courting me. Katulad ng ginagawa ng ibang mga lalaki kapag sinimulan na nilang ligawan ang mga nagugustuhan nilang babae. He was never possessive and he never claimed that I was his.
"Gusto ko lang sumabay sa inyo..." he shyly stated.
"Oh. Sa amin o kay Veign lang?" Minerva giggled after saying that.
Pinanlakihan ko siya ng mga mata. "Minerva, ano ba?" bulalas ko dahil hindi siya makuha sa tingin at kahit na sa bayolenteng sipa mula sa ilalim ng mesa.
Lukas scratched his temple. He was already looking more uneasy because of Minerva's remarks.
"Veign, okay lang," ani Lukas na nagpaalala sa akin ng eksena kanina sa classroom kung saan siya ang pinipigilan kong magalit sa mga kaibigan niyang nangangantyaw sa amin.
I sighed and gave Minerva one more violent glare before turning to Lukas and smiled.
Dahil kasama namin si Minerva ay naging mas maingat si Lukas sa kaniyang mga kilos. Napanatag naman ako roon dahil hindi ko rin kailangan mailang. Lukas had been so kind and warm to me. He would always do things that would show how much he liked me. Kahit na tinanggap ko iyon, hindi ko pa rin maiwasang mahiya tuwing ipaparamdam niya ito sa akin.
"I'll buy our food. What do you like to eat?" tanong ni Lukas sa akin.
It's lunchtime and since we had a long morning because of the final exams we did earlier, I wanted to eat a lot.
"Kahit ano lang, Lukas. But I want rice," wika kong pinipigilang mahiya.
Ngumisi si Lukas at tumango sa akin. He also asked Minerva who only declined.
Minerva told him that she's on a diet and she already had salad when she got here earlier. Nang makaalis ito ay agad na nagsimulang magtanong si Minerva. Like she was interrogating me for a crime I just committed.
"Magpapasalamat ka bang nandito ako ngayon o mas gusto mong wala ako rito?" pang-aasar niya sa akin.
I rolled my eyes and slapped her hand that's on the table. "'Wag mong sasabihin 'yan kapag nandito na siya ha!" bulalas ko sa kaniya.
