Nagdecide kaming magbabarkada na maghang out ulit bago kami pumunta ni Madi sa Manila. August pa naman magsastart yung class naming pero kailangan rin naming mag adjust ni Madi sa environment ng Manila at tsaka marami pa kaming dapat ayusin doon.
Andito kami ngayon sa Caje Majistea, kumakain at uminom. We are planning on going to Time Out, yung parang sports facility dito, para maglaro ng basketball. If we have one thing in common, it's that we love sports, mainly basketball and volleyball. Doon kami nagkakasundo.
"Omo, I can't believe na magkakahiwalay-hiwalay na tayo," Dominique exclaimed as she wiped a fake tear.
"Oo nga eh. Hindi na nga tayo nagkasama sa Senior High, mas lumayo pa tayo sa isa't isa sa college," Rene said. Magkaclassmates kami from Grade 5 till Grade 10. It's just that when we turned Grade 11, they decided to transfer schools while Madi and I decided to stay. Nakakastress mag-adjust ulit then after 2 years, adjust nanaman sa bagong environment.
"Kung makapagsalita kayo parang ang layo-layo ng pag-aaralan natin, eh noh?" Jax teased the girls who were being dramatic.
"Eh malayo naman talaga yung pag-aaralan ni Brandon. Sa Canada ba naman napiliing magcollege," Madi glared at Brandon which caused the latter to sheepishly laugh. Yup, sa Canada magcocollege si Brandon. Dominique got accepted in her dream school which is UP Diliman, Rene got in Siliman University, Jax was accepted in University of San Jose-Recoletos, then there's Madi who got accepted in La Salle and me, in Ateneo.
"Not my decision. It was my parent's choice, okay?" Brandon defended himself. More teasing and pangangantyaw followed after that. After half an hour or so, we decided to head to Time Out na so that we can start playing. It's currently 2 in the afternoon and wala pa masyadong pumupunta ngayon doon so we have the whole facility to ourselves.
As for Happy and I, we still have those landian moments. Banat doon, banat dito. Kilig doon, kilig dito. But we are still not official. Tamang landian lang.
"Bro," Jax tapped my shoulder. I faced him and saw that he has already changed into his playing attire.
"Yeah?" I said as I took off my shirt. Andito kami ngayon sa comfort room para magbihis.
"How are you and Happy?" he asked.
"We're fine," I said. Totoo naman.
"Ano? Kayo na ba?" Brandon joined in the conversation.
"Nope. Hindi pa," I confessed as I gather my stuff back into my duffel bag. We headed out the comfort room together and placed our duffel bags aside.
"Nako tol, baka maunahan ka ng iba jan. Maganda pa naman si Happy. Baka dahil sa katorpehan mo, maagaw sayo si Happy," pananakot ni Brandon. Tumawa naman silang dalawa at nag-apir. Mga sira-ulo.
Hindi na ulit yun namin napag-usapan ulit kasi naglaro na kami non. We had so much fun the whole afternoon that we ended up playing till 6 in the evening. Tumigil lang kami kasi napagod na rin kami. After changing back to our casual clothes, we decided to part ways. Well, doon sumama si Madi kina Rene at Dominique dahil magsesleep over daw sila sa bahay ni Dominique. So, umuwi akong mag-isa. When I arrived at the house, I went straight to the bathroom para maligo. I know it's bad to take a bath after doing something strenuous pero naiinitan kasi ako eh.
After taking a bath, with a towel tied around my waist, I checked my phone if there were any messages. There was one from Happy.
Happy: Tapos na kayong maglaro?
I was puzzled on how was she able to know what we did the whole afternoon.
Phin: Paano mo nalaman? Ikaw ha! Stalker pala kita!
Happy: Tanga. Di pwedeng nakita ko sa story ni Madi?
Friends sila ni Madi sa Facebook?!
Phin: Kelan pa kayo naging friends ni Madi sa Facebook?
Happy: Kamakailan lang.
I sat down on my bed, drying my hair with a towel on the other hand while the other hand is busy with my phone. Napa-isip ako sa sinabi nina Brandon at Jax kanina. What if nga dahil sa katorpehan ko ay maunahan ako ng ibang lalaki? Tama sila, maganda si Happy at hindi malabong may magkagusto pa sa kanya. Someone who is much closer to her. Someone who's not miles away from her. Ayoko naman ng ganoon. So I made a move.
Phin: Happy, free ka ba ngayon?
Happy: Patapos na yung shift ko dito sa Fred's. Bakit?
Well, it's now or never.
Phin: Do you want to go out on a date with me?
After I clicked the sent button, I threw my phone sa bed ko and stood up. I walked back and forth, feeling nervous and anxious on what she would answer. Would she reject me or would she agree? Napahilamos ako ng wala sa oras.
"Okay lang yan. Pag nireject ka, just make up an excuse or magjoke ka na lang para hindi masyado masakit sa part mo," I told myself. Then I heard a ping. I stopped walking and stared at my phone. I calmed myself first before bringing myself closer to my phone. With shaking hands, kinuha ko yung phone ko. I placed my thumb over the Touch ID to unlock my phone.
"Will you calm down Delphine? Text lang yan. Puta! Kalma!" I scolded myself. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening my eyes and clicking on the Messenger app. Without looking at the text and only staring at her profile picture, I opened her message.
Happy: Took you long enough HAHA. Sure. Magkita na lang tayo sa Plaza Rizal. Bihis lang ako. Kahiya naman kung nakapangtrabaho ako sa date natin :)
"Shit," and a big smile appeared on my face. Napatalon ako ng wala sa oras and the towel that was wrapped around my waist almost fell down. Buti na lang at nasalo ko.
Phin: Sige. Kita tayo sa Plaza Rizal. See you.
I clicked the send button and threw my phone to my bed again at dali-daling pumunta sa closet ko para pumili ng susuotin. Naka-ilang palit pa ako before I settled on a simple Nike shirt, track shorts and some Nike shoes. I combed my hair with my hand sprayed myself with some perfume. I looked at the mirror one more time, checking if I was presentable before stuffing my phone and my wallet in my pocket. I got my keys and headed to my car.
In less than 30 minutes, I reached Plaza Rizal. I looked around hoping to find Happy but there was no sign of her. I decided to sit on one of the benches and fish out my phone from my pocket.
Phin: Hey, I'm here. Saan ka na?
I looked up and looked around but still, there wasn't any sign of her. I looked at the time in my phone. 6:45 P.M. She didn't think of ditching me, di she?
My phone pinged and I looked down to see what it was. It was a reply from Happy.
Happy: Tingin ka sa likod.
Automatic akong napatingin sa likod at doon ko nakita ang babaeng laman ng isip at puso ko. She was standing there, wearing a mustard shirt, black shorts at white Converse. Nakasabit rin sa shoulder niya ang maliit na shoulder bag niya at hawak niya naman yung phone niya.
Lumapit siya sa akin at noong nasa harapan ko na siya mismo, she smiled at me.
How could someone look this beautiful even though ang simple lang ng suot niya? And most importantly, bakit hindi ako nauumay sa ganda niya?
She is, indeed, a personification of her name. She is the embodiment of her name.
