I wanted to look away, really.
I wanted to avert my gaze away from him, take a sudden interest in my shoes or something. But here’s the thing: I couldn’t.
It wasn’t because of those familiar brown eyes, or how they looked like melted chocolate. They weren’t the type you could drown in or anything. It didn’t possess magnetism so you could never look away. Please. That’s cliché, and I don’t do cliché.
I do like chocolates, so what?
He blinked his brown orbs a couple of times, and finally, he muttered in a sleepy-hoarse tone, “Ri…sa?”
“Oh?” I snapped, back to my senses.
He rubbed his eyes a bit and stretched his arms backward, leaning forward. Bagong gising, kaya yung singkit na mata niya, mas lumiit pa. He even yawned in a carefree manner. Hanggang sa natandaan niya ulit na nandun ako, so he stopped mid-way. He cleared his throat, and then averted his gaze.
I averted mine too, and my eyes searched for the butterfly instead. Natagpuan kong nasa taas ito ng isang libro on the same table. Then it flew away again, but my eyes were fixed on the book. Napakunot ang noo ko at nilapitan ito. My eyebrows furrowed even more in identification.“Romeo and Juliet? You’re into these books?”
“Heck no,” mabilis niyang sagot. Napataas naman ang kilay ko. “Para sa book report na inassign sa atin sa English.”
“Oh.” That made sense. Magkaklase nga pala kami, kung hindi ko nabanggit.
“You can borrow it first,” bigla niyang sabi, kaya napatingin ulit ako sa kanya. I looked at him quizzically.
“The book. It’s not due ‘til next week so…” Kinamot niya yung batok niya tapos hindi makatingin sa akin. Problema nito? “You can borrow it first.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.” Umiling ako. “Tapos ko na yung book report. ‘Sides, I have my own copy at home.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Tapos mo na?”
Napairap ako. “Kakasabi lang eh.”
“Kahapon lang yun binigay ah…” he muttered, more to himself than me, really.
“I had time,” I said, shrugging.
“Masipag ka pala.”
Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. “Parang gulat na gulat ka?”
“Not really. It wasn’t that far from the image I had of you.”
That instigated my curiosity. “What image is that, exactly?”
Hindi siya nakasagot. He looked taken aback by the question. He wasn’t looking at me while we talked in the first place—which was kind of rude on my part but I didn’t make a fuss out of it—but he now completely turned away his gaze from mine. “N-Never mind.”
The great Ren de la Vega’s stuttering? Now, that’s something you don’t see every day.
A smirk formed on my face, ready to tease him about it, when someone from behind me spoke up.
“Hey, you’re Risa Anise Chavez, right?”
Napatingin naman ako sa likod ko. Tumaas ang kilay ko nang di ko siya nakilala.
“Ikaw nga!” A grin formed on his face, a smug one at that. “I knew I’d recognize you even from behind. Bakit di mo ako pinansin kahapon?”
“Bakit, close ba tayo?”
“Eh bakit kasama mo ‘to? You ignored me para dito?” Tinuro niya si Ren, with a disgusted look on his face, kaya mas tumaas ang kilay ko. Si Ren, hindi nagsalita.
BINABASA MO ANG
Playing Cupid
Teen Fiction“When we meet again, you’ll know.” “How?” “You’ll fall in love with me.” Risa Anise Chavez could have been the ideal girlfriend, as she was a girl of beauty, brains, wealth and talent. As cliché as it may sound, she was almost the epitome of...
