just a little bit of your heart | TAYNEW

chapter nine

it was a cold morning, and a fresh new semester was about to start.

sa loob ng jeep na sinasakyan ni new, may mga estudyanteng naka-earphones at nakikinig ng music, may mga empleyadong nagsusuklay at nagme-make up, may mga pasuray-suray pa sa antok.

payapa sana ang byahe dahil sa katahimikan, but new cannot find even a grain of peacefulness in his situation-kalahating puwet lang kasi niya ang naka-upo sa upuan.

bwisit na bwisit siya dahil wala ni isang pasahero ang bumaba bago siya. hindi man lang niya naranasang umupo nang mapayapa sa pang-waluhan-pero-kasya-pa-naman-daw-ang-apat na jeep ni manong driver. mabuti na nga lang at hindi gaanong kalayuan ang university na pinapasukan niya kaya ilang minuto lang ay nakababa na siya.

nang makababa si new, nag-unat-unat muna siya bago naglakad papasok sa university. his former students greeted him good morning on his way to the faculty, and being the nice guy he was, he greets back with a nice fragrant smile.

"nakuha mo na 'yong bagong sched mo, sir?" asked his faculty mate just as he enters the faculty room.

"luh?" new responded. "bakit may changes?"

just as he sits to his office chair, naramdaman ni new ang pag-vibrate ng phone niya sa loob ng kaniyang bulsa.

his boyfriend, tay texted, "did you eat your breakfast?"

awtomatikong napangiti si new sa nabasa.

"kaya nga, eh," the other prof answered. "na kay sir jam 'yong sa 'yo."

new looked up, isinantabi muna ang text ng boyfriend. "na sa'n ba siya?" he asked because sir jam, their faculty head was nowhere to be found in the faculty room.

"nag-cr ata. just wait for him na lang," ma'am rona, his other faculty mate replied.

new just nodded thanks and replied good morning and yes to his boyfriend as he waited for his sched. nang makuha ang sched, napag-alaman ni new na ang unang klase niya para sa araw na 'yon ay mamaya pang alas nueve, kaya nagdiwang siya-makakatulog siya.

new had a hard time falling asleep last night due to some reasons he also doesn't know about. ngayon, maaga pa kaya naman makakatulog pa siya.

he took a photo of his sched then sent it to tay. he also added a message "matutulog muna ako" then tay replied "sure".

dahil wala naman nang iba pang tao sa faculty room dahil ang mga kasamahan niya ay nasa kani-kanilang mga klase-wala nang gigising sa kaniya kaya siya nag-set up ng alarm for his 9 am class. saka siya yumuko sa lamesa niya at ipinikit ang mga mata at tuluyan nang nagpasakop sa antok.

***

nasa kalagitnaan si new ng pagpapakilala sa klase niya ng 1:30 ng hapon. while speaking, new noticed something about his students-they were looking outside the classroom, distracted as if some celebrity was there. kinikilig-kilig pa ang ilan sa mga ito, kaya tiningnan niya kung saan nakatingin ang mga ito, but then he was shocked by the sight.

luke was there, smiling.

"class, if you please excuse me..." he said then walked so fast outside the room.

luke was wearing a polo shirt tucked in his black pants. a smile he was wearing turned so big as new approaches him. luke even bowed down his head slightly as he greeted new. "greetings, sir."

ngumiti si new sa inasal ni luke. "ano'ng ginagawa mo rito?"

"uhm... i... just want to appologize about what happened back then."

new smiled. "i told you, i'll pretend that it never happened. just-"

"no," luke stopped him which brought him to the state of shock. "i don't appologize for kissing you; i appologize for not telling my intentions to you first."

"luke-"

"i want you, new. i've always wanted you."

new's jaw dropped. the mixture of pain and determination was all he can see in luke's eyes. new's shockness were at its finest. new's easiness were gone. "l-luke-"

"i can't stand your stupid boyfriend anymore."

"luke, please. may klase ako-"

"liligawan na kita. official na 'to."

"may boyfriend ako!" new shouted silently, making sure na sila lang ang nakakarinig, but luke doesn't seem to care. "mahal ko 'yong boyfriend ko," he said in his weakest voice.

"then i'll make you love me more."

new's eyes were filled with tears at ano mang oras ay babagsak ang mga ito. "luke... please. itigil mo na 'to," nanghihina niyang paki-usap.

"there's one thing i'm being good at." luke was just smiling. "being faithful-which your stupid boyfriend cannot do."

bumagsak na ang mga luha ni new.

"ang ironic." unbelievable. new couldn't believe it. how audacious luke was. "you? talking about faithfulness? tang ina."

luke just smiled.

"have you had your lunch?" luke asked, ignoring his last words.

new couldn't even look at his eyes at the moment. he couldn't believe it. what the hell.

"ito, oh." may ini-abot si luke sa kaniyang isang bag. "kumain ka, ah?"

new lost his strength. naka-tayo lang siya sa corridor, nakatingin sa kawalan, lumuluha, iniisip ang boyfriend niyang pakiramdam niya'y pinagtaksilan niya. what the hell did just happen? how the hell did luke manage to say such things?

hindi niya na namalayan na nawala pala sa harap niya si luke dahil ito na mismo ang naglagay ng bag ng mga pagkain sa table nito sa classroom na pinagtuturuan.

"stop crying." natauhan na lang si new nang may mga kamay na nagpunas ng mga luha niya at nakita niya si luke na naka-ngiti. "i'm saving you."

agad niyang pinunasan sa pisngi ang mga luha at bumuntong hininga bago pumasok sa classroom na puno ng magkahalong kinikilig at nagtatakang mukha ng mga estudyante. as expected, inulan siya ng mga tanong, but he ignored all of them and he just continued his agenda for the day.

natapos ang araw and new was all exhausted. on the fucking first day! he should be just introducing himself and his policies to the students, but thanks to luke, mas nakakapagod pa kesa sa mga paperworks ang naranasan niya sa araw na 'yon.

he wrote on his journal,

tay tawan. love.

your heart, kahit konti lang, masaya na ako.

please, don't leave me, and i'll do the same.