High School Popular

Chapter 3

One Step Away, One Step Closer.

Kinabukasan ay dumiretso agad kami sa gymnasium ng CLIS upang mag practice na ng aming gagawin sa music. Naghihintay na lang kami sa mga lalaki na partner namin. Mabuti na lang at saglit lang ako napansin ng mga kaklase ko kahapon dahil hindi na namin namalayan ang mga nangyari sa dami ng pinagawa sa'min sa bawat subject.

Ngayon ay bumalik sa normal ang itsura ko, wala na akong makeup at bumalik na sa messy bun ang buhok ko. Pero ang uniform ko ay gano'n pa rin kaikli dahil ang nag-iisa kong uniform ay pinatapon ni Tayler sa mga tauhan niya kahapon.

Habang naghihintay ay sinuri ko ang mga kaklase namin na nandito. Usually maaga silang pumapasok dahil lagi akong late pumasok ng klase, subalit nakapagtataka lang na wala pa ang United Nation ngayon.

Bakit kaya wala pa silang lahat?

Kalaunan ay may naaninag na kaming mga naglalakad sa gawi namin. As they arrived, Zav stood waiting, her arms crossed tightly across her middle. A single eyebrow climbed slowly upward on her forehead, while her right foot gave a sharp, repetitive tap-tap-tap against the ground, clearly signaling her growing irritation with the wait.

"What took you guys so long? Kanina pa kami naghihintay rito." Isa-isa silang pumunta sa bench kaya ro'n ko lang napansin na tila kulang sila ng isa. Hinanap ko si Tayler pero hindi ko siya makita.

"Nasaan si Tayler?" They all stared at me, arms crossed, making my blood boil.

"Boyfriend mo 'yon 'di ba? E 'di, hanapin mo." Inis na nilingon ko si Froilan at inirapan siya saka hindi na lang umimik upang pigilan ang inis ko rito.

Nang mapagtanto na wala talaga si Tayler dito ay naisip kong tawagan siya sa number na nilagay niya sa cellphone ko. Ida-dial ko na sana ito nang may naaninag akong isang pustura ng lalaki.

Si Tayler! Diretso siyang naglalakad habang ang kaniyang kamay ay nasa bulsa niya at may... pasa? Bakit may pasa siya sa mukha?

I quickly stepped closer to him and gently took his face in my hand. To my surprise, he flinched and looked up at me, his hand briefly touching mine. I felt a sharp jolt, almost a shiver, as he gripped my hand in return. However, I momentarily ignored that sensation and began carefully examining his entire face.

"Bakit may pasa ka sa mukha mo? Sinong may gawa nito?" Binalewala niya ang tanong at sigaw ko. Lilingunin ko sana ang likuran ko nang mapansing doon siya nakatingin... nang bigla n'yang nilapit ang katawan sa akin.

My eyes widened at what he had done. I could feel the drumbeat of my heart pounding against my ribs, and his musky scent seemed to envelop me, filling the air around us. It felt as though I wanted to just lie down on the earth and let it swallow me whole. I felt my face flushing, growing red, now resembling a ripe tomato.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at what he said, heightened by the fact that I could also clearly hear his breathing. Agad akong humiwalay ng yakap dahil ramdam kong sasabog na ako kapag hindi ko pa napigilan ang sarili.

"Let's go? Practice na tayo para makaalis na agad," aniya. Tinanguan ko lang siya at agad pumaharap sa mga kaklase naming kanina pa pala nakatitig. Ang iba ay mukhang kinikilig pero ang iba naman ay masama ang tingin.

I was going to step my foot, but he suddenly took my hand. I felt a sharp sting when I looked back at him, but it quickly warmed me. He started walking with me, and soon our hands were holding each other.

I couldn't breathe easily as our hands intertwined. A strange, awakening energy seemed to stir inside me, almost volatile, feeling like it might burst and make my eyes cross. But I fought down that feeling, even as confusion swam through me, and we moved closer to our friends.