TOUGH LOVER

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hindi natuloy ang plano naming makipagkita kay Jimy. Hindi din naman kasi siya pinayagan ng kanyang Mama na bumisita pa sa Mansion ng kanyang Daddy. The following days and weeks, we became very busy with our academic battle. It’s been two months since the start of the school year and the intramurals is fast-approaching! Walang patawad ang mga guro namin sa paghahabol sa mga lessons dahil pagkatapos ng intramurals ay siya namang first periodical examination namin. Isang buwan lang ang itinagal ni Jimy sa Pilipinas at kaagad nang bumalik sa England dahil simula na naman ng pasukan nila.

I haven’t heard from Jarez. He’s been missing in action since that night at Jei and Sai’s apartment. I wonder where he is. The magic 10 seemed nonchalant about his absence, though. Maging ang mga guro ay hindi man lang nagtatanong kung nasaan siya. When I asked Jace about it, he just shrugged my question off and changed the topic. Hindi ako mapakali. Nararamdaman kong may mali. I just couldn’t pin-point what it was exactly. Everything seemed unusually normal all of a sudden. It was as if I slept for a decade when chaos started and when I woke up, it has long ended and everything was back to its original shapes. Making it look like the chaos was just a dream. Like it never really happened at all.

I got used to the company of the magic 10. ‘Yong pakiramdam na parang matagal na kaming magkakaibigan. There was familiarity between us all. Though Bree would sometimes bitch out to some of them. Especially with Duke na nalaman ko lang lately na naging classmate pala namin noong Grade 5 sa CUBED (Capitol University Basic Education Department). I don’t know what their issue is but I’m leaving it to them. Kung ano man ‘yon ay hindi naman siguro ‘yon life and death matter. Knowing Bree? She can be very dramatic sometimes.

Gem seemed to have forgotten about our deal as well. Ni minsan ay hindi niya iyon naikumpronta sa akin. May mga times na kaming dalawa lang ang magkasama ngunit ni minsan ay hindi niya iyon nabanggit. It’s been two months since our deal. And she gave me just a month. Kahit nagtataka ako sa pananahimik niya ay hindi nalang ako nagtanong. Malay ko ba kung lasing lang pala siya noong time na ‘yon? O baka naman panaginip ko lang ang lahat ng ‘yon? Whatever that was, I am thankful that the threat about mine and Bree’s crime seemed to have died down for now. We are still searching the internet for news, though. But everything about the case was taken down. Parang biglang nag-automatic delete lahat ng balita tungkol sa kaso ni Ma’am Mariennette Casimiro Syquia pati ang tungkol sa pagkasunog ng St. August Academy’s science laboratory.

“Hoy ano ba! Kadiri ka talaga forever, Robredo!” inis na sawata ni Bree sa kamay ni Duke nang akbayan siya nito.

“Ang arte, akala mo naman maganda.” Pang-aalaska naman ni Duke.

“Gago ka! Mas pangit ka naman no!”

“Ang sama talaga ng tabas ng dila mo, baka gusto mong ayusin ko ‘yan?”

Napailing nalang ako sa pag-aaway nilang dalawa. It’s like listening to Jimy and Gino’s fighting over again. I’ve had enough of their curses and dangerous plans to torture each other. Mas extent nga lang ang version na ito dahil mas harsh silang dalawa to the point na nagkakasakitan na sila physically.

The magic 10 never left us alone by ourselves. Kung hindi si Jace, there’s Blake and Duke para sumama sa amin ni Bree. Minsan pa ay lahat sila, natutulog sa apartment namin. They never mentioned about what happened to me in the woods but it seems that they become protective of me and Bree. Lalo na sa akin. Sinabi sa akin minsan ni Jace na kailangan daw nila akong bantayan palagi dahil isa daw akong kulisap na nabibighani sa apoy. I couldn’t remember a night that they left us alone by ourselves. Ngayon nga ay si Duke ang kasama namin papunta sa Apartment nina Gem at Jaine kung saan naghihintay na ang iba.