The Mayor's Girl

chapter 18

It was a Monday and I was here back in school. Weekend was over and meeting Vico's family was amazing. Spanish 1 subject ko right now at sumasakit ulo ko. Tapos na yung pananakop diba?

My prof was talking in Spanish as Angel snored beside me. Tulog sila ni Sam na nasa likuran ko. Mga lasenggero talaga. Jack was beside Sam sa likod namin ni Angel. He was doodling something on his notebook. 

Lumingon ako at nakita ko ang mukha niyang may pasa. I can't help but feel super guilty. He as nothing but nice to me. Binigyan niya ako ng free tickets to the Careless concert, I saw JaDine for free tapos nabugbog pa siya dahil sa akin.

I admit that Jack wasn't the best person towards me sa simula but he kind of grew on me. I became a part of his circle of friends after all. Hindi ko masikmura ang idea na ako talaga ang rason kung bakit napahamak pa siya.

I was zoning out nang marinig ko ang boses ng prof ko. "Senyorita Torres, ¿le importaría compartir con la clase lo que está pensando? Parece que su cerebro está en otro lugar." (Translation: "Ms. Torres, do you mind sharing to the class what you're thinking about? You look like your brain's somewhere else.")

"Lo siento, profesor Gomez." I said sorry in Spanish na parang nauutal. Hindi na nga ako nag-iingay, ako pa pinansin para pagalitan. Ito kayang mga katabi kong natutulog, pagalitan niyo rin!

Hindi na nagtagal at tumunog na ang bell, signalling that we were done for today. Hay, salamat. Nakakapagod na rin.

Angel and Samuel woke up from their naps. Jack stood up and I still couldn't stop thinking about what happened to him. Linalamon ako ng konsensya ko na para bang hindi ako mapakali. Before I could even think it through, I stood up to talk to him.

"I'm sorry, Jack." He raised an eyebrow at my apology. Fuck, oo nga pala. Hindi niya alam na kuya ni V ang may pakana don. Think, Yanne, think!

"I mean, I'm sorry we started on the wrong foot." I tried to reason out at para namang naniwala siya. I sighed. Muntikan na yon, Yanne.

"We never talked too much and if we did, we always fought." I bit my lip and he laughed at what I said. Totoo naman eh, topakin ka kasi. Gusto ko sanang sabihin yon kaso mag-aaaway na naman kami. Wag nalang.

"We're good, Torres." He smiled genuinely at parang napakalma ako sa ngiti niya. Kahit di niya alam kung bakit ako nagsosorry, feeling ko napatawad na niya ako. 

"Pwede pa bang bumawi?" I asked him. He looked shock at first pero after how many seconds, tumango rin naman siya. Napangiti nalang ako sa pagpayag niya.

"Let's go!" Angel urged us to get out of the classroom at naglakad na kami papuntang coffee shop sa tapat ng school which was our usual tambayan. 

We arrived at the cafe called Floti Cafe. We were waiting for Nics and Juan to finish. Iba-iba kasi schedules namin. I walked into the cafe with Angel, Jack and Sam behind me. 

Pumunta na ako sa counter at sumunod naman si Jack sa akin habang umupo sina Angel at Sam. I didn't bother to look at the menu, alam ko naman ano ioorder ko. Sa araw-araw na pagpunta namin dito, namemorize ko na ata lahat yan.

"Large iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle." I said to the cashier at nagsulat naman siya sa isang cup. "How about you, sir?" Tiningnan naman ng cashier si Jack na parang nagpapacute. Natawa nalang ako.

"I'll have the same." Tiningnan niya ang mukha ko at parang natulala siya. Binalin ko nalang ang atensyon ko ulit sa pag-order. "Isang resibo lang please." I said to the cashier para sabihing ako na magbabayad sa kape ni Jack.

"Isang resibo?" Jack raised his eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes. Sobrang forgetful naman nito. "Kakasabi ko lang na babawi ako diba?" I looked at him and he chuckled after realizing.

Tumango lang ang cashier at nagtanong kung ano ang pangalan namin. I was about to open my mouth but Jack raced me to it. "Ako si James Reid, she's Nadine Lustre." I heard him say beside me.

My jaw dropped and para bang tumibok ng mabilis ang puso ko. Ano ba kasi ang kahulugan non? Baka alam niya lang na fan ako ng JaDine kaya yun yung sinabi niya. I smiled nalang at the cashier na parang kinilig sa sinabi ni Jack.

We walked back to the table kung saan nagbabangayan si Angel at Sam. They were arguing about some online game na hindi namin maintindihan ni Jack.

"Fan ka ng JaDine, diba?" Jack spoke up. He was facing me, his eyes glued on me. Ay, yun naman pala. Alam naman pala niya. Walang meaning yun, Yanne. Wala, okay?

"Oo eh." I answered timidly, remembering he was the brother of James Reid. Swerte niya noh. Free lang siyang makita at kiligin kay James at Nadine. 

"I can take you sa bahay if you want. They're always there." He suggested. Para namang luminaw ang pandinig ko at halos mapunit ang bibig ko sa ngiti ko. Imagine meeting James and Nadine, at sa bahay pa! OMG!

"Really?" I gushed and it was evident. Jack laughed at how my fangirling side was all out now. He just nodded and smiled at me. Bigla namang sumingit si Angel sa usapan namin.

"Jack, you do know Yanne has a boyfriend, right?" Angel rolled her eyes at Jack and Sam laughed at what she said. "Oof, pare." Sam commented between laughs. Ano naman kasi meron? It was JaDine, not going to his house because of Jack alone.

"She's going to my house because she wants to meet kuya James and ate Nadine. Not what you're thinking right now, Angel." Jack hissed and that even made Sam laugh even more. Siraulo talaga tong espanyol nato. Kaya natutulog lang kapag Spanish kasi alam na niya.

"Okay, pare. We believe you." Samuel's shoulder was still shaking from laughing and Jack was evidently pissed. Ayaw na ayaw niyang pinagtatawanan eh.

Our orders arrived and we were talking about Cal, James and Nadine's dog. We were laughing at Jack's stories about his brother. But all the laughter stopped when the wind chimes clang and we immediately looked up to see who came in.

We were expecting Juan and Nicole but it was someone different. They were a group of people in formal attires but I spotted someone familiar immediately and my heart felt like it would burst right now dahil sa kaba.

It was Vico with some of his colleagues and fuck, I couldn't think straight with how he glared at me and Jack.