Playing Cupid

Chapter 1

Lahat ba talaga ng naiinlove, tanga?

Napairap na lang ako sa isip ko. I returned my gaze to the girl in front of me and scrutinized her. She was obviously intimidated. Well, sino nga bang hindi? Kahit sinong itabi mo sa akin, magmumukhang basura. Kahit ilang kolorete pa ang ilagay mo sa mukha mo, hindi mo pa rin mahihigitan ang ganda ko. Mayabang? May ipagmamayabang lang. Kasi nga, maganda naman talaga ako. Idodownplay ko pa ba katulad ng ibang ipokritang protagonists diyan? Mga pahumble eh, leche. At least ako, honest.

It’s not that I try to look this way. Natural lang talaga akong maganda. I never tried to put attention unto myself, but I guess it couldn’t be helped. Minsan talaga, mahirap maging maganda. Walang sarcasm yun ah, mahirap talaga. Buti ka pa no? You have it easy.

Yung kasama ko, idedescribe ko pa ba? Hindi naman maganda. Inuulit ko, honest lang ako. Pero hindi naman pangit, well, hindi masyado. Looks were pretty much average, but she looked strained. Dahil siguro sa tinatawag nilang pag-ibig kuno. Pathetic, really. Nakakatanga na, nakakastress pa. Kaya minsan nagtataka ako kung bakit maraming gustong mainlove.

The girl was lost in thought, and it wasn’t exactly my idea of fun to watch him stare into a distance so I snapped my finger in front of the dazed girl. Rude na kung rude. Trust me, I couldn’t care less.

“Don’t let your mind wander that much. It’s far too small to be let out on its own,” I retorted, my expression appearing almost genuinely sympathetic—almost. That seemed to bring her back to her senses, because an exasperated sigh drifted out of her pale lips. “What should I do, Chavez?”

Napataas agad ang kilay ko, a sure sign that I wasn’t the slightest bit pleased. Ayokong pinapaalala sa akin yung apelyido ko. The surname that could make people kneel down and kiss my feet by the mere mention of it. Please, I don’t want any of that. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not the stereotypical rich, rebellious girl who practically begs for attention through unadvisable methods. I’m too mature for that. Ayoko lang na napapansin ako ng mga tao, at nakaw atensyon ang apelyidong yun. At tsaka, kung mapapansin man ako nila, gusto ko dahil sa maganda ako, at hindi dahil sa apelyido ko.

Mukhang nagets naman yun ng mababae kasi agad siyang napatakip sa bibig niya. “I-I’m so sorry! I meant… M-Miss Risa.”

“Risa will do. Tch.” Nagtaka naman yung babae. I don’t belong to those clichéd characters that prefer to have affixed names on them to make them feel superior. As a matter of fact, I don’t like being one. I don’t see anyone as superior or inferior. Pantay-pantay ang tingin ko sa tao. Lahat, ayoko. Tsaka, dalawang syllable na nga lang, ayaw pa? It wasn’t the hardest thing to do. At least that way, she’ll feel as normal as the girl in front of her. Mas maganda nga lang.

I sighed and let my arms fall on the table. “So you’re hurting,” I finally began, and didn’t bother to hide my bored and uninterested tone. I think I sounded a little cold, even. But can you blame me? Nakakasawa kaya. Hindi naman ‘to ang unang beses na may naencounter akong ganitong case. Somehow, nasanay na ako. Or perhaps I just don’t give a flying fuck.

“Bakit hindi mo na lang hiwalayan?” I asked, almost in a duh tone.

“Mahal ko eh.” Napangisi ako sa sagot niya. Seriously, what a lame excuse.

I laughed, but without a trace of humor or amusement. Actually, without a trace of anything. “I wasn’t aware na license na pala yun para magpakatanga.” Naging blangko ulit ang expression ko. “Mahal mo nga, mahal ka ba?”

Her eyes widened like saucers, as if the question only occurred to her now. Napayuko ito. “S-Sabi niya…” She paused and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Ay tangina, eto pinakaayokong part eh. Ayoko ng umiiyak. Lalo na pag dahil sa lecheng pag-ibig na yan. Naiinis ako, pero at the same time, naaawa ako. Oo, may awa naman ako. Parang normal na tao lang din naman ako, mas maganda lang.  “Sabi niya m-mahal niya ako… ako lang.”