Taming His Callous Heart (Part 2 of 3)

Chapter 7

Naglalakad sa hallway papunta sa canteen si Aira nang may humawak sa braso niya kung kaya't napatigil siya.

"Aira, can we talk?" agad na tanong ng babae. It was Francine. Kilala niya ito dahil ito ang nagpasa sa kanya ng korona bilang Ms. IS.

Aira looked at her watch. Limang minuto pa naman bago ang napag-usapan nila ni Ayder na magkita sa canteen. May klase rin kasi ito kanina kaya hindi na siya nasundo sa classroom.

"Just for a minute," dagdag nito. Her voice had that sense of urgency though her face show otherwise. Maybe she wants to say something about her role as the reigning Ms. IS. Nang tumango siya ay iginiya siya nito paliko sa pasilyo ng AVR kung saan walang taong nagdaraan.

Nang tumigil sila ay iniabot nito ang hawak na white envelope.

"Get this. Promise me, titingnan mo lang ito kapag nasa bahay ka 'na. Please never show it to anyone especially to Ayder," sunod-sunod nitong sabi. Napakunot-noo siya. Inilagay nito ang envelope sa kamay niya. She looked at it puzzled.

"Please treat its content with strictest confidence. Hurry, put it in your bag. Alam kong magkikita kayo ni Ayder. Mahirap na," muli nitong wika nang hindi siya magsalita. Her voice was low as if to make sure no one could hear them. Ano naman kaya ang laman niyon? Is this a prank? Hindi ba rumored ex-girlfriend ito ni Ayder? What is she up to?

"I am not doing this to discredit Ayder or ruin whatever you have with him. I just don't want you to experience the same thing I did," she stated. Francine looked at her with concern. Gusto niyang isipin na nagbibiro lang ito o bitter lang pero mukha naman itong sinsero. Wala siyang maisagot dahil wala naman siyang ideya sa pinagsasabi nito.

"There are other victims before me." She saw how she swallowed hard before speaking again. "And how I wished one of them warned me about Ayder pero lahat sila tikom ang bibig," madamdamin nitong pahayag. A tear escaped her eye. Doon na nanayo ang balahibo niya sa hindi mawaring kadahilanan. It made her static.

"Mag-ingat ka. He is more than dangerous as what you could imagine, Aira," wika nito bago naglakad paalis. She had questions in mind but was unable to say anything before she left. Napatitig siya sa hawak na envelope. Mas lalo tuloy siyang na-curious.

Bubuksan sana niya ito nang mag-vibrate ang phone niya. It was Ayder calling. She inhaled deeply and shook her head. Baka nga prank lang 'yong ginawa ni Francine. She put the envelope in her bag and just shove her thoughts away.

Pakiramdam niya ay niloloko niya si Ayder dahil sa buong oras na magkasama sila ay pinapakiramdaman niya kung may bahid nang katotohanan ang sinabi ni Francine na nakatatakot ito. They were seated opposite each other. Sinadya niya iyon kanina para maobserbahan itong maigi.

Napatigil lang siya nang mapansin ng binata na may iba sa inaakto niya.

"Hey, is there something wrong?" tanong nito saka tumitig sa kanya nang mataman. She swallowed hard. Bakit ba kasi parang apektado siya sa sinabi ni Francine kanina? Was it woman's instinct? She shook her head.

"Masama ba ang pakiramdam mo?" Kulang na lang ay pumiksi siya nang dumukwang ito at hawakan ang noo niya. Mabuti na lang at napigilan niya ang sarili. Pinakiramdaman nito ang temperatura niya sa noo at leeg.

"Okay lang ako. Medyo pagod lang," tugon niya sa binata. Tumango naman ito. His eyes were genuinely concerned. Nakunsensiya tuloy siya. He was nice in every sense of the word since the first time they had a conversation.

"It's not bad to skip your next class kung talagang masama ang pakiramdam mo," sambit nito.

"Even superheroes need rest, you know." Ngumiti ito at lumipat sa tabi niya. Kinabig siya nito at isinandal ang ulo niya sa balikat nito. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Doon lang siya tuluyang napayapa. Wala siyang makitang mali sa binata. Maybe Francine was up to something. Baka bitter lang ito.