Almost, But Not Quite (COMPLETED)

Chapter 04

#ABNQ04 Chapter 04

"Jocelyn?" I pulled the sheets upward. I felt the side of the bed sinking, so I knew that Mom was sitting on my bed. "Yaya said that you skipped school yesterday."

Ugh, yaya! Ang tanda ko na, sinusumbong pa ako kay Mommy!

Bahagya kong binaba iyong comforter. "I was feeling sick," I replied. She felt my forehead.

"You're all better now. You should go to class," she authoritatively said. I groaned. "A lot of kids want to go to school. You're very privileged. You shouldn't take that for granted," she continued, tapping my cheeks lightly while doing so.

Both my parents came from average family. Both of them were college sweethearts; then, both of them helped each other in grad school. Daddy's a neurosurgeon, while Mom's a corporate lawyer, an in-house counsel for an international corporation. Kaya kahit okay naman na kami ngayon, sobrang tipid pa rin nilang dalawa, at saka laging pinapaalala sa 'min ni Jax na dapat magpasalamat kami palagi.

So, wala akong choice kung hindi ang pumasok. I really skipped school yesterday because I didn't want to see any of my friends. Classmate ko sila sa lahat ng subjects ko, so I didn't have a choice but to skip. Ewan ko. I knew I was also at fault kung bakit nangyayari 'to. I thought that things would be so much easier if I'd just tell them... but it wasn't that easy.

It's not easy opening up.

It's not easy telling people why you're hurting.

I wished Psalm didn't tell me that they'd give up on me.

He made me think of giving up on me.

"Hey, Jo," Simon said. I sat down in the middle of Matt and Simon. I was mad at Psalm, thought I could understand where he was coming from.

"Hi," I shortly replied.

Tahimik lang kaming tatlo. I appreciated that both of them didn't mention what happened during Kitty's birthday because I was ashamed of how I acted... or the lack thereof. Hindi ko nga maalala kung may ginawa ba ako. Ang naaalala ko na lang, bigla na lang nagalit si Anj sa 'kin. Then things went awry right after that.

"Are you free later?" Simon asked.

"Why?" I asked back. Ayoko lang na sumama muna sa kanila. Yes, I still wanted to be friends with them, but I also wanted to make sure I was fine. Baka kasi masiraan na ako ng ulo kung pipilitin ko pa rin 'yung sarili ko na magpanggap na okay kahit na ang totoo, gusto kong magbasag ng pinggan tuwing pinag-uusapan ni Kitty at Anj kung gaano ka-perfect na boyfriend si Steele kay Andrea.

Simon shrugged. "Nothing. 'Di na tayo nagkaka-sama lately," sabi niya. I knew he just didn't want to directly mention that I'd been avoiding them lately. Sometimes, it's nice to have guy friends. Definitely less drama. It's just either you're cool or not. No in between. No harsh words.

"Don't worry, tayo lang nila Psalm," Matt said. "All boys tayo."

I glared at him. "I'm still a girl despite popular opinion. And I'll think about it."

"Aww. Come on, Jo! Pumayag ka na. We're both feeling shitty kasi nung birthday lang ni Kitty namin na-realize na lumalayo ka nga. Busy kasi kami sa basketball kaya 'di namin napansin," Matt continued.

Simon nodded. "Yeah. Don't be a stranger, Jo. And relieve our conscience."

I rolled my eyes. Ang paawa ng mga lalaki na 'to. "Fine. Sinu-sino ba tayo? And saan tayo pupunta?"

Matt beamed. "Tagaytay? And baka tayong apat lang nila Psalm kasi alam mo naman si Steele," Matt said, then acted like he's barfing. "Tuloy mamaya, ha?"