"Why is that nerd here?"
"Bakit may mga sophomore dito? Sino nag-invite ng mga bata?"
I'm hearing a lot of stuff.. I thought mabait mga kaibigan ni kuya Alvin..
Lumingon lingon ako sa paligid at nakita ko na mukhang maraming dumalo sa welcome party na ito.. Sino na nga ulit an iwewelcome?
"Krista are you okay?" Tanong ni Alice na ngayon ay nasa tabi ko na..
"I'm okay.. Are you?" Tanong ko dahil mukhang marami nanamang ipinakilla sakanya si kuya Alvin..
"Your cousin's a headache. I told him to not introduce me too much.."
"And?" Mukhang hindi kumportable si Alice..
"He gave off my phone number to all his friends.. Halos lahat ng andoon." Sabay turo sa banda ng mga kaibigan ni kuya na ngayon ay nakaingin sa direksyon namin.. Halatang nakay Alice ang mga mata..
"I'm sorry Alice.. I'll talk to kuya Alvin about this.. I should've known.." Hingi ko ng pasensya..
"I'll probably just block all of them.." Sagot ni Alice..
"Okay." Sabi ko..
Ilang segundo pagkatapos ay tumunog ang phone ko..
may nagtext..
From: +639167439****
Hey Krista, this is Levi. Alvin said you wanted to talk?
nagulat ako nang mabasa ang text.. but I replied right away..
To:+639167439****
Hi Kuya Levi, yes it's Krista. I wanted to say something. Can I have a minute?
mesage sent
wala pang isang minuto ay nagreply agad siya..
From: +639167439****
Sure. I'm at the kitchen. Where are you rn? I can go there..
To:+639167439****
Don't bother, kuya. I'll be there in 2-3 minutes. Give me a moment..
I'm kind of nervous after sending that last text..
"Uhm Alice? Punta lang ako sa Kitchen.. Dito ka muna ha? Maguusap na kami ni Kuya Levi.." Sabi ko kay Alice na ngayon ay may kinakalikot sa kanyang cellphone..
Inangat niya ang kanyang paningin.. " Okay kalang na mag-isang haharap sakanaya?" She asked.
"Oo naman. I'll just say my thanks then I'll be back here as soon as possible." Ngumiti ako sakanya bago ako naglakad papunta sa direksyon papunta ng Kitchen..
Dumating ako sa kitchen ng walang tao.. Thos may nakita akong glass of water sa counter..
Inilabas ko ang cellphone ko para sana magtipa ng message para kay kuya Levi nang biglang may nagsalita sa tabi ko..
"Krista?" Sambit ng malamig boses..
Lumingon ako sa direksyon ng nagsalita at nakita ko ang isang lalaki na matangkad, itim ang buhok at lightbrown ang mga mata..
"Hi. It's me Levi." Sabi niya sabay ngiti.
Ang ganada niyang ngumiti, ang puti ng ngipin niya.
Malumanay ang mga mata, makinis ang balat at may kaputian.
"H-hello kuya Levi." Nahihiya kong sambit..
"Wow I feel really old now that someone's calling me kuya. Haha" Sabi niya..
Ang lamig ng boses niya, in a good way, dahil parang lumulutang ako? hmmm..
"I-I'm sorry.." banggit ko.. Baka naoffend siya na tinawag ko syang kuya?
"Please drop the formalities. I'm 17 years old. I bet you're just 15 or 16?" sabi niya..
"I'm 15, turning 16 in two months.." sagot ko..
"I just turned 17. See? Hindi mo ako kailangang tawagin na kuya. Hahaha. But.. If you feel much comfortable calling me Kuya, then maybe I'll consider.." He said..
"How come you're a senior kung 17 ka lang?" I asked. A bit shocked, he's too young to be a senior. As far as I can remember, 18 na si kuya alvin, turning 19 this year..
"I started school when I was 4. Kindergarten and then elementary school na kaagad.." He explained..
"Ohh.." So maaga siyang nagschool.. Matalino siguro siya no?
"You must be a smart kid" napatakip ako sa bibig ko nang di ko namamalayan ay sinabi ko pala ang laman ng utak ko..
Tumawa siya.. "My dad actually forced me to start school right away. That's why.. And it's not like I'm a genius, so don't bother think of it that way.." He answered..
"Uhm, okay.." tanginag nasabi ko..
" Okay so now tell me why do you wanna talk to me otherwise we'll just end up talking about other stuff? Hahaha" tanong niya..
oh shit yeah..... hmmmmm...
"Ohhh.. yeah.. Uhm I just want to say thank you.. For uhmm.. saving my life two months ago.. I wasn't able to thank you personally since then because i never had the chance to meet you.. And that I don't really know what or how you look like.. So yeah. Thank you and I'm sorry for troubling you back then.." sabi ko habanag nakayuko..
"Ohh.. That was nothing.. I was just really shocked when i saw you fainted back then.. Good thing I knew someone who could help you, I mean who could perform CPR.. Coz I know that I won't be able to survive if someone did in front of me again.."
"I was in bad position that time.. I'm sorry, and thank you agai--" Nilingon ko siya..
wait.. did he said 'again'? what does that mean??
Gulat sa nakita ko sa mga mata niya..a flash of sorrow and pain..
siguro ay limang segundo akong nakatulala lang skanya.. hindi alam ang sasabihin..
"Aish.. Don't say sorry again and again.. I appreciate that you came to me just to personally say thank you.. But your dad already showed his gratitude way more that I deserve. Hahaha"
"H-huh?? What did my da--.. Wait! Anong sinabi ni dad sayo?" Lito kong tanong..
"He said I can have one wish and he will grant it anytime.. It was funny for me but your dad looked serious tho. Hahaha"
"If you asked for a house and lot, he'd give you two.. no kidding." sagot ko..
"But I told him that I shouldn't be taking all the credit of saving you.. It wasn't just me who saved you, you know.." sabiniya..
"About that.. can you tell me who performed the CPR?" I curiouly asked..
"That I can't answer.. I'm sorry." Napalitan ang ngiti niya ng ngisi., why th is he grinning now..
"Bakit? I want to thank that person as well.."
"That person told me that.. I shall not reveal his identity.."
"Why?" I asked.
"He just said that he wanted you curious. That's it."
"Huh????"
Tumawa lamang si Levi..
bago pa ako makapagtanong muli, narining ko ang boses ni kuya Alvin..
"May I please grab everyone's attention? We will now gather to welcome our dear brother Keifer Nazumi! Bro, welcome back!!!!"
narinig ko ang sigawan sa buong paligid, ang iba ay pumipito.. nagpalakpakan ang lahat at nakita ko ang pag bukas ng anim na champagne bottle..
"And now, let's fvcking party people!!!!!" Sigaw ni kuya Alvin sa microphone kasunod ang pagtugtog ng maingay na musika..
