Animalistic

Chapter 7

Coffee

Val woke up earlier than usual, the sun was just about to rise.

Nakapagbihis na siya ng pang jogging, she zipped her hoodie, placed the earphones to her ears, and slid the hairpins to her bangs to keep it from slicking with sweat. Nagdala rin siya ng pera dahil balak niyang bumili ng tinapay sa bread shop sa bayan.

Lumapit siya sa may ref nila at kinuha yung sticky notes at ballpen sa itaas nito, at nagsulat na magjojogging siya. She bid goodbye to her cat at dumaan sa likod ng bahay papunta sa kakahuyan.

Before entering, kinuha niya ang flash drive type mp3 player na nakasabit sa leeg niya at pinindot ang play button nito. She warmed up her legs a bit then jogged, entering the woods.

Val breathed in the morning air, pakiramdam niya ay luminis ang hangin sa baga niya. As she kept on jogging ay biglang pumasok sa isip niya ang mga sinabi ni Voltair sa kanya noong una silang magkita, hindi niya alam kung nagbibiro ito para asarin si Cedric, pero sa reaction ng huli ay may mas malalim ito pinanghuhugutan.

She does not want to be nosy but if it wasn't a serious matter maybe she can make the two reconcile. Life is short nga naman at hindi natin alam ang mangyayari kinabukasan kaya mas maganda na wala tayong kagalit na tao.

Maybe if she and Cedric will be close enough ay masabi na nito ang dahilan kung bakit hindi sila magkasundo ni Voltair. That maybe they can talk it out.

Napapikit saglit si Val at napabuntong hininga. Or maybe I just have to mind my own business and let them resolve it on their own. Isip niya.

When Val opened her eyes ay hindi niya namalayan agad na may makakasalubong siyang tao, galing sa kabilang gilid niya na trail, at nagkabanggaan sila. The impact was strong as the other person was also jogging like her, kaya naman natumba siya.

She squealed expecting to hit the ground. But the pain did not come. Instead she felt strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her up so that she won't fall.

Her heart pounded by the event, at pagbukas niya ng kanyang mga mata ay nakasalubong niya ng tingin ang brown nitong mga mata, na kung hindi mo matititigan sa malapitan ay aakalain mong itim.

Val gasped and pushed the man holding her so that she could stand. Hindi niya maintindihan pero kinakabahan siya. Tinanggal niya ang isa niyang earphone.

"S-sorry! Hindi kita nakita." She cleared her throat at tiningnan itong mabuti. His hair was brown, long and messy, napansin niya rin na singkit ang mga mata nito, matangos na ilong, manipis na labi na may piercing. He was much taller than her.

The guy was staring at her openly too, his mouth slightly open. Val only waited a second for his response when he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, nakapikit ka kasi." Suplado nitong saad.

Val was taken aback from his response. Well totoo naman talaga at nakapikit siya pero ang harsh naman ng lalaking ito.

She frowned, "Well, sorry, again. Hindi ko naman alam na may kadugtong pala itong trail na galing sa bahay namin." She slightly bowed her head then started jogging again. Pinasok niya ulit yung earphone niya sa tenga.

"Hey!" The guy jogged and matched her pace with his, "So anak ka ni tito Yosef, because that trail leads to his house. And I heard he went back here."

"Yeah." Tanging sagot ni Val na nakatingin pa rin sa unahan.

The nameless guy frowned at her response, then went to block her path which made her stop.

"Okay, I admit I was a bit rude awhile ago. I'm sorry. Truce?" Anito sabay lahad ng kanang kamay.