10:51. June 17. My routine.
Just scrolling through my feed. Wala na naman magawa. Kapag may notifs, browse then exit. Kung may updates sa friends, stalk then exit. Kung may friend request, basta may mutual, ACCEPT.
Kung sana noon palang, nag-ingat ako.
- Few months later: August 8
Pasukan na ulit, a new environment. Seeing old friends, making new ones. Ka-excite diba? Well, sa iba siguro hindi. Not everyone is like me, since nung bata palang ako, super bubbly na. I like making friends, they are an extension of myself.
So, hinatid ako ni Dad to school today. I arrived early for my class, buti nalang di ako mag-isa. While I was walking towards my room, there was this girl, sitting in the corner. She was wearing a pink shirt, parang barbie yung print, and was fiddling with something, but I couldn't see it from where I was standing.
Naisip ko nalang na kausapin siya, kase mga one hour pa naman bago magstart yung klase namin, pampalipas lang ng oras. So when I entered the classroom, I walked towards her. I couldn't see her face, natatakpan kase ng bangs niya. Nung malapit na ako sakanya, she immediately tensed up. Yung hawak niya kanina agad-agad niyang tinago sa bag niya.
I thought, "Oh, siguro sobrang mahiyain talaga siya, anyway kaya ko din tong paingayin, like what I did with several of my friends."
I sat next to her, and her breathing quickened, para bang sobrang kabado. So, I spoke.
"Hi! Seems like were classmates and seems like napa-aga tayo ng konti. I'm Anna by the way, and you are?"
Silence. For a solid 15 seconds. I legit thought that maybe, she was deaf.
"Mma-Mary."
"Oh. Nice to meet you Mary! San ka nga pala nakatira"
"Ba-Bacolod."
This went on for a couple of times, I asked her questions, and she always gave me one-worded answers.
I was okay with it, almost every introvert I talked to started out like this. Siguro, if I were to make a comparison, ang pagkakaiba lang nila lahat kay Mary is that, Mary never smiled. While I talked to her, she was perfectly still, unmoving. But im not one to give up. I'm gonna break that shell of hers and be her FRIEND.
