Silhouette of the Past

Chapter 3

"Hi, bago ka?"

Nag angat ako ng tingin at isang chinitang babae ang nakatitigan ko. She have this bubbly aura surrounding her. Maputi sya, may kapayatan at ang tanging alahas na suot ay isang gold watch sa kaliwang kamay nya.

She's smiling from ear to ear while staring at me.

I smiled back. "Oo, bagong transfer lang ako ngayon."

"Ah kaya pala. I'm actually seated where you are sitting right now."

Nakangiti nya paring sabi sa akin. I blushed with embarrassment at dali-dali akong tumayo to give her her seat but she stopped me from standing up.

Nagtataka ko syang tinignan. Instead of answering, she just sat beside me and starts to ramage her Louis Vuitton bag.

"Uhm...lilipat nalang ak—"

"I saw your short episode with JJ back there." she said, still not looking at me but focusing on what she's looking for sa bag nya cutting me mid-sentence.

"J-Jj?" nagtataka kong tanong sa kanya.

She looked at me in the eyes and smiled teasingly. "Yup! JJ. The guy you had a staring contest with earlier." sagot nya, popping the "p" when she said yup.

"Staring contest? Yung lalake na nakatingin sa akin kanina?" the chinita girl wiggled her eyebrows. So JJ pala ang name nya. Tumikhim ako. "I-I wasn't staring at him, it's —" she pinched my cheeks stopping me from talking. Again.

"It's okay. I'm not one of his crazy fan girls. I'm his cousin. Chastity Lim-Yap. Nice to meet you!" she said smiling handing her hand over for a handshake.

I awkwardly shook her hands, "I'm Margarette. Nice to meet  you." she retreated her hands and continued to ramage her bag for something.

"So pinsan mo yung lalake sa labas?" I asked her curiously.

She stopped what she's doing at humarap sya saken.

"His name is Justine Jervin Lim. My cousin on the mother side. Playboy, bad boy. Dangerous. He's the kind your mom told you to stay away from." sabi nya saken  at tinignan ako ng maigi.

"He spells trouble, Margarette." dagdag nya pa in a sing song voice.

Na-conscious tuloy ako bigla. "As if I'm interested." I scoffed, nasabi ko nalang since I'm so out of words.

Tumawa ng pagkalakas lakas si Chastity making the other people in the room eyed us. Pero parang walang paki tong isang toh.

"I am. Not. Blind." may diin nyang sabi. "I know what I saw and I am giving you a heads up. Stay away." she dangerously said to me with a knowing look evident on her eyes. Pero biglang lumamlam ang mata nya at ngumiti sya nang malawak.

"But it's your life anyway, just being a good citizen here." sabay kindat sa akin.

Alanganin akong ngumiti. A few moments later, nagsimula na ang klase. Just the usual introduce yourself routine and then the class started. Nothing special about me, I'm just ordinary anyways.

Lunch time.

I gathered all my belongings and started to stand up para makakain na ako ng lunch. I'm starving!

I felt someone poke my side. Paglingon ko, ang nakangiting mukha ni Chastity ang bumungad sa akin.

"Hey there, Marga. Wanna eat lunch with me?"

Parang naumid yung dila ko. How do I respond to this? I'm not an introvert but for some reason, parang naiilang ako sa school na to. Maybe because I'm not used to the ambience. The feeling of wealth is suffocating me.

"Since you're new, I'm thinking if you would like someone familiar to eat with you. Considering the situation, na wala ka pang kakilala. If that's okay? I don't wanna pester you or anything." mahiyaing yumuko si Chastity playing with her fingers.

I ran my fingers over my hair. This girl confuses me. One moment she's intense and then she's shy and timid the next. But she looks like she's kind naman and she has a point. I need someone familiar to calm my nerves. It's the cafeteria, a sea of unfamiliar faces and I need someone to talk with.

Ngumiti ako. "Sure. Lead the way."

Chastity giggled as she linked arms with me. "I'll be your tour guide then."

Pagdating namin sa cafeteria, napanganga ako. Like literally!

Eto yung cafeteria nila? Wow.

I only see set ups like this on movies. Parang gusto ko nalang sa classroom kumain. Umurong bigla yung bituka ko.

The tables and seats were arranged neatly according to color. Gold, white and silver. Very exquisite ang details ng mga upuan at lamesa. I've been to ny rich classmate's house nung nasa public pa ako but none of their furniture compares to the one here.

May mga division para sa pagkain, all are varied according to country. May Western, may Asian, may Arabic. My eyes feasted on everything around me that screams "rich".

I feel like di ako bagay dito. Yes, I dress like them, with the school's uniform that is. I have an expensive bag courtesy of my father but somehow, deep inside me parang di ko parin maikabit ang sarili ko sa mga tao dito at sa school na ito.

It looks so over the top. The grandeur, the elegance. Parang nasa mamahalin akong hotel instead of being at the school's cafeteria.

Pinaupo ako ni Chastity sa kulay Gold na upuan.

"So what do you think of our cafeteria?" tanong saken ni Chastity. She surveyed my face for any reaction.

"Wow." I said, almost a whisper. Punong puno ng amazement ang boses ko. I heard her laugh.

"Welcome to St. Therese School of the Elites Incorporated, Marga. Just take it in slowly." she chuckled as she slowly patted me on my back.

I never knew a school like this existed in Cebu. I know maraming mayayaman sa syudad na toh but I did not expected this.

As I roam my eyes around, I spotted someone that made me hold my breath.

Nakatayo lang sya, a couple of tables away from us. He looked entertained by the way he smiled sa kausap nya.

I can't help but study his features. Matangkad, may pagka moreno. Matangos ang ilong nya na halata ang pagka pointed dahil naka side view sya sa akin. I can also see a glimpse of his dark orbs from here. How can someone have eyes like that? Full of intensity and passion. At the same time, ruthless and inquisitive.

Narinig ko syang tumawa, halos suminghap ako ng nakita ko ang dimples na gumuhit sa kanyang pisngi. The way he caress his hair and put his free hand inside his pocket was done with elegance but may aura sya na may pagka rough. The way he stands with confidence na parang alam nyang ang gwapo niya, he pose like a king. A bad boy king.

Biglang may pares ng mga kamay ang yumakap sa likod nya.

I traced those pair of flawless arms at nagka eye to eye contact kami ng babaeng nabunggo ko kanina. She's looking at me intently as she hugged the guy tightly as if claiming her possession.

Nag iwas ako agad ng tingin and in doing so, nakasalubong ko ang kumikislap na mata ni Chastity.

"Oh that's Yvette Sienne Rider." she smiled at me kindly.

"She's like this school's princess. If you watch Teen Drama, she's basically like the Queen Bee here. She can be a bitch but she won't."

Natataka ko syang tinignan. "At bakit naman? Mabait ba sya?"

Chastity laughed. "Well, she tries to be. Image, girl. That's what its all about. Besides, nandyan naman ang mga alipores nya to do all her bidding and to do all the bitching so chill lang sya." she said while standing up pulling my left hand along the way.

"Anyways, just stand up. Let's order so we could eat na. Nagugutom na ako eh."

At nagpatianod nalang ako sa paghila ni Chastity sa akin. I looked back once more. Dali-dali rin akong humarap nang makita ko na naman ang mga pares nang matang iyon na nakatitig sa akin.

And my heart skipped a beat. Again.