The Ugly Duckling (PUBLISHED UNDER PSICOM)

Ugly #13

Tama ang hinala ko kay Marcus Cipriano. He’s a player.

Since I’m using him as my pawn, naisipan ko na it’ll be good to have a little background. Siyempre, I used my connections to find all the information that I need to know.

Basic lang naman ang kinuha ko. Marcus is a twenty-one year old who’s taking hotel and restaurant management. It makes sense since his family owns chains of hotel around the Philippines. May ilang sikat na restaurants rin sila. Cipriano is one of my mother’s clients.

It’s not shocking na hindi ko alam ang tungkol doon at recently ko lang nalaman. I was never invested with our family business—or what my parents do. Hindi ako mahilig sa party for the elites kaya wala akong tinuturing na social circle. We never had the opportunity to meet. Hindi rin naman ako isinasama ni Mommy at Daddy doon dahil alam nila na wala akong hilig sa ganoon. I love party but not the boring ones like what they usually attend for business.

I confirmed how much of a player he was when my source told me that Marcus is active when it comes to dating. My source never mentioned him being in a relationship for a long time which means he’s a commitment phobe or maybe he just never met the one—but I personally don’t think it’s the latter.

Iniisip ko kung paano kami magkakalapit ni Marcus. Is it enough to see him during practice? Maybe I need to surprise him a few times out of practice katulad ng ginagawa ko kay Sage para mapansin niya rin ako. And whenever Sage’s around, I definitely need to look like I’m really close with him. Well, that will be real easy.

“Marcus Cipriano?” I looked behind me and saw Dee reading over my shoulder. Isinara ko ang folder na hawak-hawak ko at itinaas ang kilay ko sa kanya. “What are you up to now, Les?”

Inaya ko si Dee na mag mall dahil matagal na rin simula ng huling girl bonding namin. Wala rin naman akong gagawin kaya inaya ko na rin siya. Gusto ko rin malaman kung may progress ba sa pagmo-move on na ginagawa niya.

“Just doing a bit research. Do you know anything about him?”Dee gave me a non-committal shrug “Just that he loves to play around. Why? Do you like him? He’s a player. I know he’s also a soccer player, but you know what I mean.”

I shook my head. Dee should know better. I have no time for feeling anything towards anyone. Siguro I tend to flirt pero busy ako masyado para magkagusto kahit kanino. “He’s being nice to me during soccer practice.”

Dee groaned. “Soccer practice? Les… Please—Just please forget about your whole plan. Actually, forget about the whole thing with Sage. I’m going to move on.”

“Going?” I raised my brow and Dee sighed.

“I just can’t erase my feelings for him you know. It won’t be easy but I’m going to try.” Napangiti ako sa naging sagot niya sa akin. She still loves him but this is a progress. Dee’s willing to move on and that’s already enough for me.

“You’re still not going to stop, aren’t you?” She accused and she’s right. Hindi ko ipagkakaila iyon dahil totoo naman. Stopping means giving up and giving up isn’t part of my dictionary. I don’t back out that easily.