The 10 Things I Love About Her (A JALEC Fanfic)

Chapter 2: Her Eyes

Other than her hair, for the longest time her eyes confused me.

This story starts a few days later. I was still trying to figure out what color her hair was during our lunchbreak.  Tinitingnan ko si Jai from across the canteen when Ryan said, “Lec, parang ang creepy mo these days..”

I turned around. “Hindi ah!”

“Oo nga, Lec,” Tom said. “Walang lalaking tititig sa buhok ng babae nang ganun katagal.”

“Pwede pa ibang parte ng katawan, pero buhok?! Hahaha.” Dagdag pa ni Kit.

I sent an annoyed glance at Kit before saying, “Hindi lang ako sure kung anong kulay talaga yung buhok niya…”

“Dude, why are you so worried about that? It’s just a hair color,” Tom said.

“Because… I think it’s interesting,” Sagot ko naman.

“Okay, either nagiging bakla ka na or you like her,” Ryan told me.

“Bakit, masama bang magka-interest sa hair color?”

“Dude, kilala ka na namin,” Kit started. “At masasabi naming sa lahat ng taong nandito, ikaw ang pinakahuling magkakainteres sa mga kulay-kulay na yan.”

“Hoy hindi ah! I do too care about colors. I mean, kaya nga nakakapasa ako sa art class diba?”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Whatever dude!” Nagbabakla-baklaan ito.

“Whatever,” I told them, standing up with my empty lunch tray. I heard Tom mutter na sinasabihan sina Kit at Ryan na kelangan nilang ibalik ang masculine side ko, pero di ko na iyon pinansin. As I threw my trash away and put my tray up, I saw Jai near me, dala-dala din niya ang empty tray niya. Our eyes met each other.

“Hi,” she told me, sobrang ngiti niya sa akin.

“Hi,” I answered, giving a smaller smile back. We crossed paths. As I went past her, biglang nalipat ang attention ko mula sa buhok niya papunta sakanyang mga mata. Parang kulay brown ito.. I blinked, trying to keep the color in my mind.

 “I saw you pass her. Did you ask her exactly what shade her hair was?” Sabi ni Tom pagkabalik ko sa inuupuan ko kanina.

“No,” I answered, naiinis na ako. “We both said hi. Nothing else.”

“Lec, you know us. Hindi ka namin titigilan sa pagtatanong tungkol dito.” Sabi naman ni Ryan.

I grinned. “Yeah, I know."

“I mean, ano ba halaga ng pagkakaibigan natin kung di mo sasabihin diba?” Kit said.

Isa lang ang ibig sabihin nito, hindi ko pwedeng banggitin pa sa kanila ang bago kong natuklasan. Baka lalo lang nila akong tanungin ng kung ano-ano.

For the next few days, I stole as many glances as possible para maobserbahan ang kulay ng kanyang mga mata. One day they would be a brown color, the next day an almost coffee color. Minsan, sinasadya kong dumaan sa mismong harapan niya sa hallway ng school at kunwaring nababangga ko siya, just to have a closer look at her eyes. During my classes, laging lumilipad ang aking isip, at babalik na naman sa kung anong kulay ang kanyang mga mata.

I don’t know why it captivated me so much. Maybe dahil sadyang hindi ko malaman kung ano talaga ang kulay ng kanyang mga mata.

The only time that I have the chance to think freely about colors is during my art class. Hindi ko masasabing isa akong artist, pero mahilig ako magdrawing. At mahilig din ako sa colors. I like to mix them up, too. Pero kahit hindi kagandahan ang art pieces ko, still, that’s how I can express myself. It’s a part of me, a part of larger masterpiece kahit di ko naman talaga alam kung anong masterpiece iyon. Hehe.

One day, my Art class professor, Mrs. Reyes, stood in front of the class and announced, “Okay, class, today is a free draw day! Draw me whatever you want, shaded or colored, and then show it to the class.”

Kadalasan, hindi agad ako nakakapag-isip kung ano ang gusto kong i-drawing. Pero ngayong araw, I know exactly what I wanted.

Parang may sariling instinct ang aking mga kamay na kumuha ng colored pencils na kelangan ko, umupo na ako at nagsimulang magdrawing. Lapis muna ang aking ginamit, sketching a shape out. Curved lines flowed together easily, the picture forming. After finishing the sketch, I picked up the colored pencils and got to business.

The reason I love art was because you could just break free. No restrictions. Your inner true self could explode and express themselves in ways that were good. It was amazing how just a few lines and spectrums of colors can transform into something brilliant, something personal.

“Five minutes left, class,” Basag ni Mrs. Reyes ng katahimikan. “If it isn’t finished, it’s okay.”

Pero ako, tapos ko na ang art piece ko. Tiningnan ko itong maigi…

It was Jai’s eye.

I studied it. The light to dark brown hues from her eyes mixed up together. I admired it. It was perfect, in my opinion.

I stood up and headed over to the teacher, handing it to her. “Alec,” she breathed when she saw it. “This is beautiful! Such detail!” She looked up from the picture and told me. “Great job. Mind if I hold on to this for a little while?”

“Sure, Ma’am.” I said without thinking.

Umuwi akong hindi matanggal sa isipan ang ginawa kong art piece. Ang mga mata ni Jai ang aking naging inspiration. Ilang araw ding paulit-ulit na pumapasok sa aking isip ang aking ginawang art at ang mismong mga mata ni Jai. It kind of drove me crazy that I decided to ask her kung ano ang tunay na kulay ng kanyang mga mata.

Math Class. Hindi ko alam kung paano ako nakarating dito. Advanced Math ito and I am not paying much attention sa klase kaya naman hindi ko alam kung paano ako nakakapasa sa subject na ito. Pero masaya akong pumapasok sa klaseng ito dahil sa presence ni Jai. Hindi ko man siya napapansin dati, pero ngayon, lagi na lang siya ang naiisip ko. At masaya ako dahil nakikita ko siya sa several classes ko.

Before the class started, I approached her. “Jai,” I said.

Bumaling siya sa akin. “Oh, hi Lec.”

My mouth felt dry. A bit embarrassed at my question, nagsimula akong magsalita, “Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure. Ano yun?”

“What color are you eyes?”

She grinned. “Dark brown. What’s up with you and the colors of my body features?”

Nataranta ako sa tanong niyang yun, trying not to pretend that I feel tense.

 “Andami mo kasing kulay.” Bigla kong sabi, parang engot lang na sagot.

“I guess I do, don’t I?”

“Very.”

Ngumiti na naman siya nang todo. “Talk to you sometime.”

“Sure.”

She gave me a small wave before turning to her seat.

Dark brown became my favorite eye color that day.

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