I Would Hate To Be You

Chapter 31 [hbd, abc]

Chapter 31

Pagdating ko ng bahay, kinuha ko agad ang phone ko at nag-text ako kay Jin. Baka sobrang worried na 'yun.

Me: Hello, Jino. Sorry for replying late. Kakauwi ko lang. Thank you for earlier. :)

Uminom lang ako sa kusina at dumiretso na agad sa kuwarto ni Kuya Boaz. Pagpasok ko sa loob, yumakap ako agad sa kaniya at umiyak. I freaking ugly-cried in front of my brother while hugging him. Lahat ng bigat na naramdaman ko kanina habang kasama ko si Japheth, linabas ko. Lahat ng luha na pilit kong pinigilan, pinakawalan ko.

Kuya Boaz is not a hugger. Lagi niya akong pinandidirihan kapag sinusubukan ko siyang yakapin, pero alam niya kapag malungkot ako. Alam niya kapag hindi maganda ang pakiramdam ko at may gumugulo sa isip ko. Kaya sa pagkakataon na 'to, hinayaan niya ako. At wala siyang sinabi na kahit ano. No words of wisdom or anything. And that was what I needed, too. Silence.

Ako ang kumalas sa yakap at tahimik na lumabas sa kuwarto niya. Pagdating ko sa kuwarto ko, nakaramdam ako ng gutom. Hindi pa ako nagdi-dinner. Gusto ko sanang bumaba at kumain pero init na init na ako sa sarili ko at gusto ko munang maligo. Isa pa, thirty minutes na lang at birthday ko na. Ayaw kong salubungin ang birthday ko na hindi ako fresh. Hindi bale ng gutom, 'wag lang hagardo versoza.

Thank God sa training ko sa Sitio Pantol, kahit papaano ay nagagawa ko ng mag-freshen up sa loob ng ten minutes. If I only had more time before the clock hits 12:00 AM, I would have enjoyed myself . . . but the quick shower was enough to refresh me.

Since I'm already starving to death, I cannot do all of my beauty rituals. I just cleansed my face with toner and put on moisturizer afterwards. I decided to go downstairs and have my super late dinner. I carried my bag with me since it has my cellphone, earphones and power bank. I also grabbed my legendary tiara.

Pagdating ko sa kusina, kumuha lang ako ng fresh milk at cereals. I don't have the appetite for a decent dinner anymore. Kailangan ko lang alisin ang gutom. So, this would be fine.

When I'm done preparing my simple dinner, I sat down and stared at my tiara for a moment.

Sash and I have this tradition that whenever one of us would have her birthday, we do it the Lily Aldrin way—we got it from HIMYM Season 5, Episode 18. Lily loves her birthday so much that she wakes up at exactly 12:00 AM to announce "It's my birthday!" while Marshall gives her the tiara. She'll giggle excitedly for a moment while holding it and then she'll go back to sleep. She's so cute. I love Lily.

Anyway, that's where we got this tradition. It actually started as a joke four years ago, but since it felt funny and crazy the first time, we kept it. It's one of the silly things we do because and for our friendship. It's our quirk. Ted Mosby once said that we should hold out for the person who not only tolerates our quirk, but actually kinda loves them. And Sash does that for me.

Five minutes left.

Kinuha ko ang cellphone mula sa bag ko at nakita ko na may mga text messages ulit mula kay Jin. And yes, I named him Senpai Jino. I started teasing him that when we first danced together and it became a habit. Well, he also calls me Senpai Atom sometimes. Nag-search ako dati, sabi ang opposite daw ng senpai ay kohai—which means junior or lower person. Pero hindi ko masyadong bet. I mean . . . Kohai Jino? Nah. Parang wala masyadong dating kapag ginamit kong pang-asar sa kaniya. So, nag-stick na lang ako sa Senpai Jino.

Senpai Jino: Hope everything's ok since you came home late from where you went

Senpai Jino: But glad you're safe