I woke up to the noise of my alarm clock on my phone. I checked my phone, and there's a two text message from Aaron.
From Aaron:
Good morning, Emine.
From Aaron:
Dsyb.
I lay my head against the headboard and let out a heavy sigh.
How long will I ignore him?
Will I end what we have?
I miss him, though. He is with me in everything. Gosh, I'm fragile when it comes to him. It's just a simple text message, Zarem! Grr.
To Aaron:
Good morning too, Aaron.
There, I replied.
From Aaron:
Why are you ignoring my texts and calls to you, hmm, Emine?
From Aaron:
Mag-usap tayo mamaya. Is it okay?
To Aaron:
Okay.
I went down for breakfast. I saw my sister having breakfast too.
"Where's Dy?" I asked while getting milk from the fridge-Nilagyan ko ang baso ko ng gatas.
"I don't know. He may be at the coffee shop."
We owned a coffee shop here in Araña. Coffee House. Minsan ako iyong bumabantay roon kapag weekends, o kaya'y kapag wala akong ginagawa.
"And My?"
"My gosh ate! Tumatanda ka na ata kaya nakalimutan mo kung saan siya pumunta."
Oh right. She's out of town.
"Bumisita siya kay Lola kahapon. She'll probably be back in a couple of hours."
I nod my head in understanding and smile at her.
"What happened to you, ate?"
I don't know what's happening to me. I must forget what happened.
"Wala naman," napakamot ako ng ulo ko. Wala akong koto ha.
My mind was filled with thoughts of Aaron and the fact that I hadn't stayed up that late since that situation happened.
Aaron is in grade 11, and I'm in grade 12. Same kami ng strand. STEM. Siguro kaya nangyayari 'to sa amin kasi hindi kami magkasing-edad? That I'm older than him. Hindi compatible iyong mga utak namin. Lol
I went upstairs, and I prepared myself for going to school kasi malilate na rin ako sa first subject ko.
------
I arrived at school, and I saw Aaron waiting for me at the gate. Sinalubong niya ako, hahawakan na niya sana iyong kamay ko pero iniwas ko.
"I said, don't touch me."
"Ayos naman tayo, hindi ba?"
"Sana nga."
Aaron is a good guy. He was outrageous then. Sumeryoso siya noong pinopormahan na niya ako. Moreno siya, gwapo, charismatic, and has a good sense of humor.
"I have to go na. Baka malate pa ako." Naglakad na ako papunta sa room ko.
"See you later!" Kaway niya.
He is very possessive of me. I don't know if I'll like it or not. Atsaka walang kami. Palagi ko siyang tinatanong kung ano ba kami. Pero tuwing tinatanong ko, iniiba niya 'yong topic.
Aaron is way too possessive. You know I admire him, but the guy needs to lighten up.
He can be a little moody sometimes, but he's a really good guy.
----
"Emine, let's go out for lunch na." Kalabit sa akin ni Noah. Yeah, it's weird. She's a girl, and her name sounds like a boy. Pero bagay sa kanya iyong pangalan because sometimes her actions are masculine.
"Tara." Akbay ko kay Noah and then we went to the canteen.
I saw Aaron buying his food too. He saw me looking at him; I looked away.
"Hi, Aaron!" Noah. "Sabay ka na sa amin ni Emine."
"Oh, okay." Aaron looked at me. "Is it okay with her?"
"Sino? Si Emine? Haynaku Aaron alam ko na tungkol sa inyo 'no! Kaya maghanap ka na ng table para sa atin, wait for us."
"Sige," paalam niya. I stared at him until he left in front of us.
"Nag-away ba kayo?" There it is. Magtatanong na siya. "Ang tahimik mo ata no'ng pinansin ko siya."
"Yes, we fought."
She covered her mouth with her hand, "Oh, I'm sorry Emine, I do not know. What happened ba?"
"It's okay, Noah. Saka ko na ikuwento sa'yo 'yong nangyari. Kumain muna tayo. Gutom na ako, e." I pretended to be hungry as I stroke my stomach.
"Suus! Ayaw mo lang ikuwento, e."
"Promise, I'll tell you."
We bought something to eat and dined with Aaron.
The three of us ate quietly. Minsan sinusundot-sundot ako ni Noah, convincing me to speak.
"Uh. Excuse me? Will anyone sit here?" The man pointed to a chair next to Noah, who broke the silence of the three of us. Each table has four seats, so... "Puno na kasi bawat table."
Oh.
We looked around as if ensuring whether each table was full.
"Ah! Pwede pwede." Noah took her bag that was placed on the chair.
"Hey, dude!" They fist-bumped. Magkakilala pala sila ni Aaron. He's probably our junior too.
I finished eating. I took my goblet and drank.
"Uh. Aaron kung hindi ka pa tapos mauna na kami. We still have a task to do." Pagpapaalam ko kay Aaron.
"Okay, let's just talk later." I nodded.
-----
Uwian na namin. Kasama ko umuuwe sina Noah. Kaso ngayon mag-uusap daw kami ni Aaron kaya kaming dalawa 'yong umuwe.
Hindi kami sumasakay ng jeep o kung ano mang masakyan diyan. We prefer just to walk. Walking distance lang 'yong bahay namin sa school.
"Are you still mad?" His foreword.
"I just can't believe you hurled that word at me."
"Look, I'm sorry. I was fuming mad at that time." He put his huge hands on my arm. "You know me, and I just don't want others to take you away from me."
"Aaron friend ko nga lang iyon. Atsaka classmate ko siya. That's just normal for classmates." I explained. "Atsaka..ano nga ba tayo?"
"I know. Sorry, nagseselos lang ako."
"Kahit na. Even if you are angry, you should not throw such words at me." I preached to him.
"I promise it will never happen again." He put up his right hand.
"Dapat lang. Dahil babae pa rin ako. No matter how furious you are, you don't throw such words." I glared at him.
He grabbed my hand, and we walked home.
