Taped-Up Heart

XII. Let's Eat

Chapter Twelve

Let's Eat

It has been days since I watched that movie with Duane—and it has also been days since I started avoiding him. I don't know. I mean... I'm confused. Maybe for him, saying that I am an eleven meant nothing to him, but it meant something to me and I fucking hate feeling this way.

"Let's go sa caf," Yannie said.

I shook my head and brought out my sandwich. "May packed lunch ako," I showed it to her.

She immediately frowned. "That's not lunch, Asia."

"Diet ako," palusot ko pa.

"Akala mo ba hindi ko napapansin?" she asked.

"Huh?" maang-maangan ko pang tanong.

"You're avoiding Duane kaya ayaw mong kumain sa cafeteria because you know that there's a chance that he is there."

"What? Ano bang sinasabi mo dyan?" I tried to laugh it off.

"Hay," she said out loud. "Bakit mo ba kasi iniiwasan 'yung tao? Nakikita ko nga siyang sumisilip dito sa room minsan, and I'm sure that you notice him too. Did he do something wrong? Come on, you can tell me anything, right?" she smiled.

I sighed. "Well... nung Monday, we watched a romance movie at my condo, then the movie was about a guy and a girl who's—"

She cut me off. "Just friends?"

Kumunot noo ko. "What? No. There's a guy and a girl and the guy thinks the girl was way out of his league because she's hot and he's not. The girl's a hard ten and he was barely even a five," I told her.

"Oh," was the only thing she said.

"Then after we finished the movie, I asked him about what he thinks dun sa certain line sa movie na kapag mahal mo 'yung tao, automatically ten na siya sa 'yo hanggang sa napunta sa usapan na hindi naman daw siya sa mukha nahuhulog or hindi naman magagandang babae ang gusto niya..."

"Hmm, and then?" she asked.

Bumuntong hininga ulit ako bago ko ibinaon ang mukha ko sa mga kamay ko. "I mean okay naman kasi 'yung usapan namin. We were doing fine... why did he have to ruin the perfect moment?"

"Why? What did he do?"

I looked at her and frowned. "He said that I was an eleven."

Her jaw dropped.

I frowned even more. "I know..." sabi ko bago ako umubob sa silya.

"But you aren't dumb naman, right?" she suddenly asked that made me face her again.

"Ha?"

"I mean... sobrang obvious naman na gusto ka—"

"What? No!" putol ko sa kanya. "Don't even go there, Yannie. He doesn't like me like that. We're just friends, I'm just really confused about what he meant that I am eleven. Ayun lang 'yun."

"In denial," she said.

"No. We are friends. We both know that."

"Believe me, Asia, the guy's in love with you. Who knows how long it has been, right? He's just not that showy and affectionate maybe that's why you haven't noticed it all this time."

"Or maybe, you're just trying not to actually see what he's showing. I mean the signs are all over the place, I know friends kayo for so long, pero, Ash, ikaw lang ang tanging babae na ganyan itrato ni Duane."

Umiling ako. "Oh please, Yannie, don't confuse the confused already! You're not helping," I told her.

Ayoko nang ganito.