Fire Exit (Completed)

EPILOGUE (1)

Ari's POV

"Argh!" Inis kong nilukot ang papel at napahilamos sa mukha ko. Ano ba yan! Kahit anong gawin ko, hindi ako makapag focus sa pagre-review! Malapit na ang exams, paano nalang ako neto? Huhuhu.

I ended up taking psychology as my major. I somehow got interested studying this one, and now, third year college na ako! Nakakakaba na baka bumagsak ako sa exams at maiwan ako sa third year! Huhu. Muntik ko na ibagsak ang last sem kaya naman kailangan kong bumawi talaga.

"Gaga! Ang ingay mo, hindi ako makapag-focus dito." Mahinang sabi sakin ni Eve sa tabi ko. Napatingin naman ako sa mga dina-drawing niya.

"Mahirap mag architecture?" I asked.

"Nah." She then shrugged. "I mean, of course, kapag nawawalan na ako ng ideas kung ano ang ilalagay ko sa plates. But I'm very passionate about this one so hihi!" Medyo kinikilig pa siya nyan. I mentally rolled my eyes at nagpatuloy nalang sa pagre-review.

"Don't stress yourself out too much, future Doc." Sabi niya at natawa nang bahagya. I chuckled.

"Grabe naman sa future Doc! Hindi mo sure kung papasa sa finals." And because of what I've said, kinabahan na naman ako! Bakit ko ba kasi masyado pine-pressure ang sarili ko?! Urgh!

"Hey! Don't worry, after all this, we'll plan a girls' trip! So, hard work now, fun fun later! Hihi!"

Napangiti nalang ako sa pagiging positive netong si Eve, oo nga naman, there's so much to look forward to and yet here I am, looking forward to seeing me failing. Ang gaga diba?! Phew. Isang taon nalang, Ari! Makakatapos ka na as undergrad, I mean there's still a long road ahead but still.

"So how is it going with Bryan?" Eve asked out of nowhere which made me cringe.

"Duh?! I ghosted him two weeks ago! Ayoko nga sakanya, sobrang controlling." And then I rolled my eyes, kumukulo talaga ang dugo ko kapag naaalala ko yung lalaking 'yon!

"Gurl, malala na 'yan," she laughed, "Wala ka pa nagiging boyfriend officially, 'no? Ilang taon na ba tayong magkaibigan and I still haven't seen you being in a relationship. Aren't you planning on getting into one?"

I wanted to tell her that I almost got into one, pero sa tingin ko ay hindi niya paniniwalaan 'yon dahil kahit ako mismo, hindi makapaniwala doon. I mentally laughed at that thought. It has been about almost four years since I last saw Gideon, and yup, mag aapat na taon na simula nung nag-usap kami nung araw na 'yon and ever since that day... I never heard from them.. from him.

It wasn't easy at first, I would look around the bus stop, our streets, and even around my school just to see if he was still watching me from afar but nothing. I never saw any sign of him. Alam ko naman ginusto ko 'to, ginusto namin piliin ang tama, pero hindi ko rin naman maiwasan isipin siya, 'no! After all, he was my first love.

"Teka bakit ba excited ka sa love life ko? Ikaw nga dyan ang dami mo naging jowa tapos lahat niloko ka." Pang-aasar ko sakanya kaya naman sinamaan niya ako ng tingin which made me laugh. Nag focus nalang kami sa ginagawa dahil wala mangyayari kapag nag-asaran lang kami.

But I can't help but wonder... how is he doing? Kumusta na kaya sila? Kumusta na ba siya? Has he moved on? May iba na kaya siyang mahal ngayon? Is he happy? But don't get me wrong, I've moved on from him but I just can't help but wonder. I can't seem to find someone better than him.

I mean, I've tried. I really did! May mga nakilala rin naman ako during my first years in college but I just can't seem to find someone I'm compatible with. Or maybe I did, it's just that... they're not him.