Wants And Needs ✔︎ [unedited]

Chapter 4

SO AM I

"Dance class will soon start." sabi ni Mom—as a principal. She was on every monitor you can see inside the campus. Ganoon ang paraan ng pag-aanunsyo rito. Lalo na at busy si Mom.

Narinig ko naman ang paguusap ng mga tao sa paligid ko. Thereʼs excitement in their voices. Well, kahit naman ako ay excited dahil sa ganoong larangan ako nababagay at doon ako magaling.

"All the class representatives, please proceed to your professorʼs office to get all the informations." ang huling sinabi ni Mom bago pa mag-off ang monitor kung saan ko siya napanood.

Nasa dulo lang ako ng corridor habang nagpapahangin. Mag-isa lang ako. Maya maya pa ay bigla biglang may kumalabit sa akin.

"Hey."

I saw Crystal which I didnʼt expect. "Yes?" tanong ko.

"Uhm..." tumigil siya saglit at ʼdi mapakali ang kaniyang kamay dahil siguro kinakabahan siya. "Pupunta ka na ba kay Ms. Jonah?" tanong niya.

At doon ko lang naalala na ako pala ang class representative namin. "Ah yes, why?" Sabi ko.

"Pwedeng sabay na tayo? If you wouldnʼt mind."

It seems weird to me. Napapaisip na ako kung anong kailangan niya sa professor namin. Pwede naman siyang pumuntang mag-isa.

"Sige." I ended up talking to her emotionless. I didnʼt even bother to ask her why.

So nauna na akong maglakad. Sumusunod lang siya sa akin. Medyo awkward ang dating sa akin na magkasama kami ngayon at hindi nag-uusap. Well, I have no problems with that, itʼs just a little bit unusual.

Hanggang sa makarating kami sa office, wala pa ring umiimik sa aming dalawa. Nakausap ko na si Ms. Jonah regarding the dance class, and she gave me all the information sheets. Ipapamigay ko lang daw ʼyon sa mga kaklase kong interesado at sila na ang bahalang lumapit sa kaniya kung balak na nilang mag-enroll at sigurado na.

As of the moment, Iʼm just observing Crystal while sheʼs talking to the professor. And as she had the conversation with her, she nods and nods as sign of agreeing to Ms. Jonah.

She went near me as if we need to head back to class now—which we are. Lumabas na kami ng office at pumalibot na naman sa amin ang nakakabinging katahimikan pero nang magsalita siya ay natagumayan niyang basagin ʼyon.

"Do you know my friend—Calia?" she asked. She seemed calm. I nodded. "Magaling siyang sumayaw."

"How could you say so?" paniniguro ko.

"I saw her many times when she hits the stage." her eyes were full of twinkling stars as she described her best friend. She mean it. "She was wonderful!"

She was in the middle of amazement. "Should I assume that sheʼll enroll and weʼll be classmates?" I sarcastically asked.

"Thereʼs gotta be a chance right?"

"Yes." I answered, coldly.

Whenever she talks to me, I remember the night were I pushed my self more to her. It triggers me like I want to steal her from my brother. From Calvin.

"Kamusta ka na nga pala?" she asked, out of nowhere.

"Anong kamusta?" frankly, I asked.

"Okay ka lang ba? These past few days halos ʼdi mo na ako kausapin o kahit pansinin." tanong nito habang tinutukoy ang nangyari sa huling pag-uusap namin.

"Okay lang ako." I admitted. Sa totoo lang hindi ako sobrang okay. I still have issues for that night.

"You look like you arenʼt. I know you arenʼt okay because youʼre not like your usual." pagpipilit niya.