Reaching Out

Chapter 29 - Ins and Outs

[Media: Derek Klena as Sebastian Carson]

Kevin and I broke up...

The trip to Puerto Galera and Japan went well, we made lots of new memories. But at the end of the trip, napagdesisyunan namin ni Kevin na it's better for us to break up. We will remain friends.

It's for the better.

I left for US yesterday. Naunang umalis si Mommy kasi kailangan sya ng business. Kaya ako lang mag-isa ngayon. Bago ako makaalis, everyone surprised me. ALL of my friends. Yes, even Kevin. Sila yung naghatid sakin sa airport. It was emotional but kailangan eh. The hardest was probably saying goodbye to Aleli. But yeah, whatever happens we'll always be the best of friends.

Halos isang araw yata yung byahe papuntang US. And when we finally arrived, hindi ako masusundo ni Mommy kasi super busy sa office. So she had someone pick me up in JFK*.

(*JFK is the airport in New York.)

The instructions is that I go to this coffee shop inside the airport and wait for the person who'll pick me up. So, I did. While waiting, umorder na muna ko kasi I'm starving and hindi kaya ng plane food isatisfy ang tiyan ko. MYGAHD. I ordered pesto and, as usual, a macchiato. While eating, someone sat on the chair in front of me. And surprise suprise! It's someone I don't know lol. Anyway, this guy's wearing sunglasses so I can't see his face properly. He's wearing a black leather jacket, plain white shirt, ripped black jeans and  brown Timberland boots. Even if he's wearing the sunglasses, I can tell na he's looking at me. Kaya tinaasan ko sya ng kilay.

"Can't you eat a bit more faster? We don't have all the time in the world." sabi nya sakin.

"Excuse me?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"We have to leave for New Orleans in 4 hours and we still haven't checked it yet." sagot nya sakin without any changes sa facial expression nya. Ha? Ano daw???

"I'm sorry, but I think you mistook me for someone else." sagot ko sa kanya then I took a sip from my macchiato.

"I'm Sebastian. Sebastian Carson." he extended his hand towards me. I looked at him questioningly. "Your mom asked me to pick you up and go to New Orleans with you."

"Tan. Tan Bernardo. So you work for my mom?" I asked, finally shaking his hand.

"Not really. I'm the son of one of the board members. I'm sure you-" hindi ko sya napatapos kasi naman, I can't believe I forgot!

"No shit? Seb?! How long has it been?!" I exclaimed. Hindi ko sya nakilala.

"10 years, Tan. TEN." he laughed and we hugged each other.

Seb and I went way back. His dad and my mom are close friends. And he's one of the reasons why mom became the director of the magazine. Ten years ago na pala nung last kaming nagkita. He was sent to boarding school kasi. Why? Hmmm... How should I say this... He's kinda... Well, he gets into a lot of trouble. He once tricked me to crashing a photoshoot with him, and it didn't end well. That's just one of the infamous Sebastian Carson's adventures in New York City.

"Tell me again why we're going to New Orleans?" I asked.

"I haven't... told you why." sagot nya. Oo nga naman.

"So, why?" tanong ko ulit.

"Auntie Tina wants you to recognize the different cultures in the United States before going to the Fashion Institute. And New Orleans is the perfect place to start." sagot nya. "Then we'll go to D.C., then LA, and finally New York."

"D.C. for formal attires, LA for the comfort and NY for the high society fashion." sabi ko.

"You got that right." sabi nya. He took my macchiato and stood up tsaka sya naglakad palayo.

Syempre wala akong nagawa kundi sumunod. 

"Slow down, Sebastian!" sigaw ko.

"Keep up, slowpoke!" sagot nya habang kumakaway, still his back on me.

I rolled my eyes and ran towards him.