Life Series #1: Onto Better Things

Chapter 6

"I swear one day I'll become a murderer!" Singhal ko habang gigil na tinitinidor ang fried chicken na nasa harap ko.

"Double dead na nga yang manok sayo. Gaga ka," sabi naman ni Alex sa akin habang nilalayo ang plato ng fried chicken sa harap ko.

We are at our fave resto right now. The whole barkada is here. Nag-aya silang mag-dinner since it's Friday and I really needed to relax kaya pumayag ako. After Mark dropped the "ex" bomb parang nabulabog lahat ng nasa office.

I tried to quickly deny it by telling them that Mark's just kidding pero parang walang naniwala. His sister gave us a teasing grin while the others kept on saying how we looked good together.

As if!

The worse part was Nik. She was staring daggers at me the whole day and she assigned me to more ridiculous tasks. Pinagbuhat ba naman ako ng ilang rim ng bond papers galing sa stock room. Leche ang sakit ng likod ko. Kasalan to ni Mark eh!

"May araw talaga sakin ang lalaking 'yun!" Sabi ko sabay subo nung fried chicken. I successfully avoided him the whole day. Hindi na kami nagkita hanggang sa uwian na. When the clock striked 5pm, agad akong umalis. I don't think I can handle another encounter with him that day.

Good thing my friends asked me out. At least, medyo na relax ako. Just being with them and joking around was enough for me to let loose. I listened in to what they were talking about.

"My gosh! Sobrang gwapo niya talaga! Tapos ang bait pa. Tapos nakita niyo ba abs niya? Jusko daddy take me home please!" Kilig na kilig na sabi ni Anna.

"May boylet ka na naman?" Tanong ko sa kanya.

"Boylet ka dyan! Na-meet ko na dream guy ko, Tin," excited na sagot niya. I looked at the others with a confused expression. Hindi ko alam ano pinagsasabi niya.

France answered my questioning gaze. "Alala mo 'yung crush niyang model? Na-meet niya na pala."

"Who? Yung Jiaer Wang?"

"YES!" Biglang sigaw ni Anna na kinagulat naming lahat.

"Tangina, Anna! Ku-kutsarahin talaga kita!" Pagbabanta ni Nicolai dito na may hawak na kutsara.

"Eeeeehhhh sorry kasi na excite ako. Ang gwapo talaga. Sobrang andami namin napag-usapan simula nung pinakilala kami. Feeling ko talaga may chance," kilig na kilig pa ding sabi ni Anna.

"Yan! Dyan tayo sa feeling mo. Go tayo dyan para masaktan. Okay na din 'yun para may magpa-inom," sabi ni Alex.

"Pano mo nakilala 'yung Jiaer?" Tanong ko naman.

"Carol introduced us. Nagkasama kasi sila sa isang shoot at naging friends nung last pa. Matagal ko na ding kinukulit si Carol na ipakilala kami kaso we never had the chance. Tapos 'nung graduation party nandoon din si Jiaer kaya she introduced us na. Destiny talaga kasi hindi naman planned."

I looked at Carol and she was smiling at Anna. Pero bakit parang may mali? Bakit parang hindi umaabot sa mata ang ngiti ni Carol?

"Eto kasing si Nicolai ang bagal! Tropa nga niya si Jiaer sa Ateneo pero never naman niyang pinakilala sa atin. Buti nalang talaga andyan si Carol," patuloy na pagsabi ni Anna.

Carol was now looking at her plate. She never said a word the whole time. I saw how she pursed her lips, took a deep breath and looked up with a shining smile on her face.

"Slow naman kasi yang si Nico. Kita mo hanggang ngayon walang jowa," pagkantiyaw niya kay Nicolai which was effective kasi biglang si Nico na ang napag-usapan. Still, I saw how she concealed what she really feels. Why though? May problema ba siya? But I just ignored what I saw. Ayaw ko siyang pangunahan. Sigurado namang magsasabi 'yang si Carol kapag hindi na niya kaya.