Lost In Time, Found In Love [GL-Sapphics]

Chapter 6 - Flames

LOST IN TIME FOUND IN LOVE

Something's wrong within
I don't care, I really don't
Heartbeats fast, love wins

I PLAYED it cool and didn't reveal Santino Badi's identity until I had something useful. So, I pretended to be a detective on a top-secret mission and snuck in to talk to Amora. I left no traces behind and made sure to discard the identity completely. Hindi ko man nalaman kung saan itinago ang painting pero pakiramdam ko ay may napala pa rin ako.

Amora's final words left me uncertain whether it was a threat or a warning, and I'm not sure if she said it because she cares or for some other reason. Ang random lang kasi dahil ang usapan ay tungkol sa kanyang kasoat kung saan niya dinala o itinago iyong painting.

"What's that?" As she wrote in her notebook, I managed to sneak a peek, curious to see if she was studying. But then I saw a name that looked familiar, like I had come across it before somewhere.

"Holy cow!" bulalas niya sa gulat nang makilala niya ako. "Santino Badi?! What are you doing here?!"

Napairap ako nang marinig ulit ang nakakarinding pangalang ibinaon ko na sa hukay. "Huwag mo nang babanggitin ang pangalan na 'yan at baka may makarinig pa. Isa pa't hindi naman ako naka-disguise."

The thing I did to talk to Amora was totally illegal, and after learning that I didn't record our conversation ay paniguradong kasama na si Santino Badi sa imbestigasyon at nandoon na ang madaming duda.

"Answer my question!"

"I'm actually pretty intrigued by architecture, so I asked the professor if I could sit in on the class, and she gave me the green light."

"Ang sabihin mo, sinusundan mo 'ko!" Niyakap niya ang kanyang notebook na akala mo naman ay aagawin ko, saka niya ako binalingan. "Keep what you saw in my notebook to yourself, alright?"

I have a pretty good photographic memory, so I described what I saw in full detail and didn't leave anything out. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but who's Sachienzo Wontheryll Jr.? I saw you were crossing out his name and your name in your notebook, and then I saw some numbers you were tallying. There were other words like friends, lovers, attraction, marriage, enemies and siblings. And then, I saw a sad smiley beside the result..."

"Manahimik!" mahina lang at hindi masakit pero sinampal pa rin niya ang bibig ko gamit ang kanyang notebook saka niya ako tinutukan ng ballpen. "Are you being serious? Hindi mo alam kung ano ang FLAMES? It's a cute game! Saka tanggap ko naman, eh! Na best friends lang kami!"

I shook my head. "I don't get it. Baka lumang game 'yan dito at hindi na talaga uuso sa amin. Can you try it with my name too? My curiosity is killing me. I'll shut up and I will not tell anyone about the name I saw in your notebook."

"Do you mean Santino Badi and Amora's name? Halla, bakit ang cute?" pang-aasar niya. Alam na niyang naiinis ako kapag tinatawag niya sa alyas na siya rin ang gumawa and at the same time, hindi niya alam ay kinakabahan ako sapagkat baka may spy pa diyaang makarinig.

"What is the pen and notebook game about? Let's not waste time thinking about Amora's name when we can concentrate on our own names," suhestyon ko.

She chuckled, as if I had said something funny. "FLAMES is a popular game that is often played among young people to determine the compatibility of two individuals' names."