Taking Chances

Officially Meeting You

JIA

The weekend was uneventful. Nagkita lang kami nila Mamu and Papu para mag lunch with the family. As usual, hindi nakalimutan ni Mamu ang mga paalala sa akin.

“Oh Jia, remember ha, wag masyado ma pressure sa school and volleyball.” Paalala niya.

“Kung pagod na, mag-pahinga. Mag invest ng time for family and friends, and higit sa lahat, huwag kakalimutan humingi ng guidance at magpasalamat sa Panginoon araw-araw.”

“Opo mamu.” Sagot ko naman. Ito ang mga habilin ni Mamu sa akin simula pa nung high school. At palagi ko naman sinusunod.

“Begin your day with a smile.” Naman ang kay Papu. Which actually works, and keeps me positive most of the time, especially during game season kung saan grabe ang pressure to excel.

It’s Monday, and ang aga-aga kung nagising, 4:00 am to be exact, and with a very bad headache. Sinubukan kong matulog pa ulit, baka sakaling mawala pa, pero hindi na talaga ako makatulog. So I decided na pumunta nalang ng maaga sa BEG, and since tulog pa si Mich, kailangan ko maglakad.

Maybe the fresh air will help with the headache.

Mga 20 minutes din ang layo ng BEG sa Eliazo kung lalakarin, but the fresh air was helping, nabawasan ng konti ang sakit ng ulo ko. Malamig at madilim pa, so medyo mabilis ang lakad ko.

I arrived at around 5:00 am sa gym, pero hindi pala ako nag-iisa dun, may na-una ng dumating kesa sa akin.

At first hindi ako sure kung sino kasi medyo malayo, at naka-higa din siya sa bench. So I walked a few steps closer, and I saw that it was girl, she was wearing a shirt and jersey shorts, her eyes were closed, and naka earphones.

I took a few steps closer, medyo tumunog pa nga ang sapatos ko against the floor, pero I’m guessing tulog siya or di niya narinig kasi di naman siya nag react. And then I realize who it was,

Si Bea!

For no apparent reason eh biglang lumakas ang tibok ng puso ko.

I looked at her, surprised to see her here.

Akala ko ba nasa La Salle ka na? sa isip kong tanong.

But you are here, and my heart seems to be happy about it..

Bakit bigla atang mas sumaya ang araw ko.

Hmmm, she looks so peaceful when she sleeps. I observed.

Medyo malapit na ako sa kanya ngayon, like 5 steps away, at kung may makaka-kita sa akin ngayon, maiisip talaga na may pagka-manyak siguro ako dahil naka-tayo lang ako dito at tinitingnan siya. Pero hindi ko mapigilan eh, her presence has this certain pull on me.

She really is beautiful, sayang lang talaga at may attitude problem. I kept thinking.

I never wanted to stop looking at her at that time, pero biglang bumalik yung headache ko, at kailangan ko din mag prepare, so naupo nalang ako sa may di kalayuan sa kanya.

But every now and then I kept glancing at her.

After a few minutes of resting my head, I opted to stretch, then I saw her move.

Bumangon na siya at tiningnan ang paligid, and when she saw me, biglang nanlaki ang mga mata niya, halatang nagulat na may ibang tao.

We stared at each other for a few seconds bago siya yumuko, she looked up at me again, na para bang my gustong sabihin, pero wala din naman, at bumalik na yung expression niya na parang walang gana. And then I saw her rummaging thru her bag, at kumuha ng sapatos at sinuot ito.

So magttraining din siya? Dito sa amin? Ibig sabihin,Ateneo ang pinili niya!

Napangiti naman ako sa mga naiisip ko.

Why does the thought of her staying here make me happy this much? It’s not as if we are friends or anything. Eh ni ayaw nga akong kausapin!!!

“Baka dapat ako ang ma-una mag-approach kasi nga mas senior niya ako, pero di naman yata kasi approachable ‘tong tao na to. Eh sa facial expression palang, aatras ka na”

I glanced back at her and noticed na tumayo siya to stretch. “Whoah! Ang tangkad talaga niya! Sige na nga, ako na mauuna, baka nahihiya lang din naman toh”

So I stood up, and started walking towards her, at habang papalapit ako sa kanya eh pabilis ng pabilis din ang tibok ng puso ko .

Be still my heart.

Nung nasa harap niya na ako ay tumigil siya pag stretch at tiningnan ako, her face blank of any expression.

“Hi.” I said, extending my hand. “We haven’t officially met, I’m Julia Melissa Morado, setter.”

She looked at my hand, for a few seconds akala ko di niya kukunin, but then inabot niya, and when our hands touched, parang biglang my kuryenteng dumaloy sa buong kamay ko. I didn’t know if she noticed, because di naman siya bumitiw, she just kept looking straight into my eyes, it’s unnerving.

“Isabel Beatriz De Leon, but just Bea please.” sabi niya, and then she smiled unexpectedly and it took me by surprise.

Wow! Marunong din pala siyamg ngumiti, but honestly, I’d give anything to see her smile like that always. It was so genuine, so real, you could see it reached her eyes. Never pa nangyari na may ganong effect ang smile ng isang tao sa akin, it felt like I had butterflies in my stomach.

“Good moooooorrrrning!!!” may biglang sumigaw galing sa entrance ng gym, at sabay kami lumingon sa pinanggalingan ng boses. And then I saw the rest of my team approaching us. Napansin ko na magkahawak pa rin ang kamay namin, so bigla akong bumitaw, and afterdoing that, I saw something in her eyes for a fleeting second, “Sadness? Hmmmmmm”

I looked back at her, and saw that she had moved away from me, and her bored expression was back again.

What the heck is happening!? I thought we were okay?

A/N; Hi! 2 updates in 1 night, medyo ginaganahan... Paramdam naman kayo dyan... Thank you for reading by the way! 😁