Rebound

23rd Rebound

23rd REBOUND

"Oy eto? When was this? You look so cute here Je!" Joanna divulged as she biffed Jeron by the arm.

Jeron chuckled a little at her expense and expelled a heavy breath. "That was the day for my first tryout at Xavier." He confided.

"Ahhh, kaya pala you look wary here. You passed naman diba?" Joanna asked and Jeron bobbed his head faintly in response.

It was their usual time-killer. Reminiscing through photographs, a habit that evoked a wave of nostalgia for the two of them. Jeron recovered almost half of his memory back, he is now able to recall their past experiences and the memories that he shared with her. Jeron smiled secretly at the sight of Joanna chuckling at his childhood pictures. He scooted towards her and draped an arm around her waist. Joanna was startled by this...

"Oy Teng! Ang landi mo ha! Alisin mo nga yan!" She exclaimed. Jeron chuckled at Joanna's conservativeness and scratch his nape.

"Uy! Sino 'to? Eto ba yung Mika?" Joanna broached as he pointed at Mika and Jeron's first picture together during the Xavier Fair.

Jeron scrutinized the photo and realized that he was kissing Mika by her forehead. He placed his forefinger and thumb at his chin as if he was thinking really hard. A few minutes later, he was able to recall that they were at the marriage booth that time. He was betrothed to Mika, that was the setup.

"Selos ka na niyan?" He teased and heard Joanna snicker.

"Asa!" She plainly replied. "Marriage booth ba 'to? Ayyiiee! Kilig ka diyan no? Crush mo si Mika no?" She asked and Jeron felt his face flare.

"H-Hindi ah!" He fibbed and Joanna poked him sideways.

"Sus! Ako pa talaga lolokohin mo. Eh sabi mo nga sa'kin dati eh crush mo siya." Joanna fibbed and Jeron's race flared.

"Weh? I did?" Jeron asked in disbelief.

Joanna chuckled at his expense and pinched his cheek. "Kidding! You should have seen your face. Guilty na guilty eh." She teased and Jeron blushed even more.

"Who's this?" Joanna pointed a photograph gashed across the center. The picrture was old and torn and was bound together by a tape. She sensed it was something really special.

Jeron followed the direction of Joanna's fingers and beamed after seeing a photo of him and Alyssa.

"Alyssa Therese Ravena, she's my ex. Namatay siya more than a month ago." he confided gloomily and Joanna immediately flustered.

Joanna stared aimlessly at the picture of Alyssa. Algid sweats began to flow out of her and Jeron grew wary upon noticing this.

"Okay ka lang ba Ri?" He asked in a concerned tone, noticing the sudden stillness which dominated over Joanna.

Joanna was immediately cut off from the bubble of thoughts that ran through her mind earlier and looked at Jeron quizically, "A-anong s-sabi mo Je?" She asked, stuttering.

"Ang sabi ko, okay ka lang ba?" He repeated and Joanna immediately bobbed her head and closed the album.

"Oh, ba't mo sinara?" Jeron asked.

"Wala, boring na kasi eh."

Jeron inflected his eyebrows at Joanna's sudden change of demeanor. He shrugged the thought off, and decided to pull a joke on her. "Do you know something about Baldo's death? Kasi she died because of a group of men barged in their shuttle and stabbed her. May alam ka ba dun?"

Joanna was caught off guard by Jeron's question, though it was an evident joke, she didn't seem to get it. "W-WALA AH! HOW WOULD I KNOW? NASA STATES LANG AKO THE WHOLE TIME!" She answered impulsively and Jeron was shocked because of her reaction.