Diary of an Introvert

54: Petty Fights

"So tinanong ko yung boyfriend ko. Sino ba ang mas importante? Yung trabaho mo o ako? Yung online games mo o ako? Yung barkada mo o ako? Hay!"

Her name is Cheska. Ang bagong hire na preschool teacher sa school namin. She's...well, releasing her stress to us.

"Ikaw teacher Cee? Ganun ka rin ba sa boyfriend mo? Nararamdaman mo rin ba ang nararamdaman ko?"

It was as question, but in her eyes, she's seeking for an assurance.

My colleagues eyes were on me, waiting for my answer. Hay, ba't na pressure ako bigla?

"Ah, well... Cheska, I'm pretty sure maraming nakakarelate sayo. Hehe... Sa amin naman kasi, hmmm... parang hindi ko pa yan natatanong sa boyfriend ko."

"Wow. Di ko alam na napaka-understanding mo, Cee." sabi ni Nalie.

Cheska looked disappointed. "Sana lahat ng girlfriends gaya mo, teach. How to be you po?"

"Ha? Haha. No, please. Makinig muna kayo okay? Yes, may online games din na nilalaro si Cal. Sumasali pa nga sila sa mga tournaments minsan eh. He's also busy with his work to the point na wala na siyang tulog ng ilang araw. There are times too na mas nakakasama niya ang mga barkada niya kesa sakin. And we once fought because of those things."

"How did you handle that?" Asked Irish. "Kasi kung ako yan, matagal na kaming nagbreak. Dapat kasi kapag nasa relationship ka, kailangan may time siya sayo kahit anong busy niya sa trabaho or leisure time niya diba? Girlfriend ka kaya niya. Duh."

We just laughed.

Cheska patted Irish' shoulders. "Friend, akala ko ako lang ang may hugot dito. Ikaw din pala?"

"Tsk."

I smiled. "Well, tama ka rin naman Irish. Us, the girlfriends, wanted to have their attention and time. Pero...heto personal opinion ko lang naman ha. I guess it's not fair for the boys not to have their own time.

Tayo nga we want to have this girl chat from time to time. Ako, I'd rather shop and go to my fave bookstores nang mag-isa. I also wanted to have my 'me time' for a jog, to read a book — even to enjoy the nature. So I'm sure ganun din ang nararamdaman ng mga lalaki. We have to understand that."

Nalie sighed. "Nasasabi mo lang yan dahil pareho kayo ni Calvin na understanding sa isa't isa. Hay. Alam mo ang swerte mo sa kanya noh? Minsan lang kayong mag-away ng todo pero nagkakabati rin sa huli."

"Nag-uusap kasi kami, friend." sabi ko sa kanya. I turned to look at the girls. "I'm not trying to sound and look cool and an expert with relationships but one thing I learned is how to talk about my feelings. We learned to be emotionally open to eachother. We try to settle things before the day ends. We listen. So girls, try to talk to them once more in a calm manner. If they love you, they'll understand."

Cheska's phone rang. She looked nervous.

"Siya ba yan?" tanong ni Irish. "Sagutin mo na. Mag-usap na kayong dalawa."

Cheska smiled and got her bag. "Teachers, sorry I need to go. Thank you sa tulong. Hehe."

We waved our good byes.

Lord, please be with Cheska today.

Nang makaalis na si Irish, I talked to Nalie. I never wrote in this diary what happened with this friend of mine so I'll just give you a quick review.

After another year of secretly admiring LJ ( back when we ate ramen and nung nag-aaway kami ni Cal tungkol sa papa niya) Nalie got drunk and accidentally confessed while attending Joey's party. Why's LJ there? Connections. I never knew that he was Joey's cousin. So yeah, the next day, I heard from her that they're dating.