Chapter 27:

"It's your call since you're the one who asked me to hang out with you," I chuckled awkwardly.

"Ah...I still don't know what're your likes and dislikes e, so..." he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

Hindi na ako sumagot dahil wala naman akong masabi agad kaya nagpatuloy nalang ako sa pag kain. The conversation died down after that and we both just ate quietly, enjoying the food.

"So, how is the taste? Is it good? It's good, right?" he suddenly asked enthusiastically while still chewing his food.

"Yes," I replied with a smile.

"Actually, this is our favorite restaurant kaya alam ko na magugustuhan mo ang mga pagkain dito" he said, sounding so proud.

Nagtanong siya muli kung saan ko raw ba gustong pumunta pagkatapos kumain dito. I was just about to answer when his phone vibrated on the table, making both of us glance at it.

"Oh...wait, I'm sorry" he said and picked it up.

His brows were furrowed as his right thumb scrolled through the screen of his phone. He was reading them without any sounds coming out of his lips.

Then he let out a deep sigh and placed his phone back on the table.

"That was nothing important," he said quickly, like trying to brush it off even though I didn’t ask.

"Where were we again?" he added, letting out a nervous laugh.

I just took another bite of my food when he suddenly asked. Nginuya ko muna ito nang mabuti habang hindi inaalis ang tingin sa kaniya. He was asking me where should we go next after this, right?

"About where we’re headed after," I said once I swallowed, the reached for my cold glass of water and took a quick sip.

"Ah, so, ayon. Saan nga ba?" he asked as he shifted in his seat.

My lips parted. Hindi naman siguro niya kukunin ang buong free time ko ngayon 'di ba? I really thought this was just a late lunch date.

But then again…it wouldn’t hurt to hang out a little longer. I mean, I do have assignments to finish that are due tomorrow, but I can probably manage later.

"We can go try any fun activities or...window shopping nalang sa malapit na Mall," I suggested.

He nodded twice, like he was still thinking it over. "Do you play golf? We can go sa Ayala golf club,"

I smiled. "Sure,"

That got us talking about gold–when I started, who taught me, how long I have bee playing, the usual stuff. At habang nag uusap kami ay panay ang tingin niya sa phone niya na nag vi-vibrate dahil sa mga natatanggap niyang mensahe.

I just watched him, kind of waiting to see what he’d do. I didn’t really get why he wasn’t just answering if it seemed that important.

The vibe started getting awkward, and I hated that. My fingers started fidgeting on my lap, trying to think of something to say to ease the tension. But nothing clever came to mind.

Still, I didn’t want this date to turn into a flop. I tried my best.

"If those are really important, you can take it. I don't mind," In the end,” I said with a small, reassuring smile. Honestly, that was already the 3rd time I said that in the past five minutes.

But I always get the same response from him. A shake of his head and a 'these are all probably spams, so don't think too much about them'

Dahil sa napagod na ako kakaulit ng mga salitang hindi niya naman sinusunod ay nagkibit balikat nalang ako. I was done repeating myself. I probably already sound like a broken record.

Hanggang sa natapos na kami sa pag kain at nagpahinga lang saglit. While we were resting, he started asking me random questions about my hobbies and talents. I gave short answers—nothing too detailed, nothing too deep.

He seemed really into me, so I just told him what he wanted to hear. Wala rin naman akong ibang dahilan para hindi ibigay ang hinihingi niya.

–

Kakalabas lang namin ng restaurant at nakasunod lang ako sa kaniya na papunta sa car park. He headed straight to the passenger seat of his gray car, unlocking it with a press of his key. Then, without saying a word, he looked at me and motioned for me to get in with his hand.

He opened the door, and I slid right in. Sinuot ko agad ang seatbelts at inayos ang buhok na medyo nagulo dahil sa hangin habang siya ay umikot pa bago nakapasok dito sa loob.

"How about watching a movie nalang? May new release e," he suggested again.

Tumango ako. "Ikaw bahala,"

I thought we were going to play golf. He is really fickle.

We looked for the cinema when we got to the nearby mall. Once we found it, he immediately joined the line for tickets.

Ako naman ay nakatayo lang at nakatingin sa paligid. There was a group of high schoolers by the snack bar, laughing a bit too loud, and a couple of PDA-loving lovebirds in the ticket line ahead of us.

I glanced at him and he smiled at me with pressed lips together while seemingly getting impatient with the slow transaction. Napatingin tuloy ako sa nasa unahan at nakikipag usap pa ito sa babaeng ticket clerk.

"Ay, ganoon ba?" the old woman laughed.

The ticket clerk gave her a forced smile—one that totally didn’t reach her eyes—then shot a quick glance at the line behind her.

May narinig akong mga bulong kung gaano ka bagal ang pagbili ng ticket ng matanda. Some of them were even tapping their shoes against the floor like they were about to explode.

Imbes na ituon ang atensyon sa kanila ay kinuha ko ang phone sa bag na hawak. I opened the camera and checked to see if I still looked good, then took a couple of quick selfies.

I even sent updates to Macy and Yus about how the date was going. I stared at my message to Yus for a few seconds before I felt someone lightly touch my left elbow.

Agad kong tinignan ang taong 'yon. "Ang bagal nila but here are our tickets..." at pinakita saakin ang dalawang puting ticket.

"That's okay..." I said.

"Should we buy snacks or hindi na?" he asked, glancing toward the snack bar.

Umiling agad ako. "Hindi na. I'm still full with what we ate,"

He chuckled. "Ako nga rin e,"

Pumasok na kami sa loob ng sinehan at nasa taas ang upuan namin. The movie was sci-fi—Yus’s kind of thing. It was 2 hours long, and honestly, if Yus was here, he would’ve been enjoying it.

It was not that I hated the movie…but the plot was just meh–mid and predictable.

When it was about halfway through, I stifled a yawn behind my hand. My eyelids were already getting heavy. I needed quick nap, honestly. Napasulyap ako sa kaniya at tutok na tutok sa palabas na nasa harap.

I shifted in my seat, trying to pay attention just in case he asked me about the movie later. Nang matapos ay nagsitayuan agad ang iba at tinignan ko muna siya, hinihintay kung makikisali na rin sa paglabas.

"This movie deserved all the hype, sheesh" he said, smiling ear to ear, with ears turning a bit red,

"Hmm," I agreed without thinking too hard.

Our eyes met. "Right?" he added, laughing a bit.

I nodded with a half-forced smile.

–

Ngayon ay nasa sasakyan na kami at ihahatid niya raw ako sa bahay. He insisted on driving me home even though I told him our family driver could pick me up. I watched his hand mess with the car radio until a familiar song came on.

I took a deep breath and looked out the window. The traffic was insane. It was gonna take us a while to get home.

Medyo nagsalubong ang kilay ko nang may nakita akong dalawang pamilyar na tao sa kanang direksyon ko.

Gracia and Gaia were sitting in an al fresco area, eating. Gaia was staring at her phone with furrowed brows, while Gracia was talking to her but kept glancing inside the restaurant.

Gaia said something, rolled her eyes, fixed some strands of her hair, and leaned back in her seat. I wondered what they were talking about—it looked serious.

I almost chuckled when a thought popped into my mind. Maybe they spotted a cute guy and were debating whether to go ask for his name or something?

Pero...alam ko ay may dine-date si Gracia ngayon? Or was that just my assumption?

"Do you know them?" he suddenly asked.

Napatingin ako sa kaniya. "Yes, they are my schoolmates"

His lips parted slightly, then he looked at them again before nodding. "I see..."

The car finally moved forward and I didn’t bother looking back at the two girls. Nang makauwi ay agad akong dumiretso sa bathroom para makapagpalit ng damit.

I was kind of sweaty, and I hated it. It made my blood boil—like if someone talked to me at that moment, I’d probably snap at them.

After a quick shower and changing into comfier clothes, I sat down at my study table. Kailangan ko pang aralin ang materyales bago sagutan dahil hindi ko pa rin maintindihan kahit kakaturo lang.

Pagkatapos matapos sa isang assignment ay umalis ako sa lamesa para lapitan ang ibabaw ng side drawer kung saan may wireless phone. I dialed the kitchen line to ask someone to bring dinner up to my room.

I wasn’t really hungry yet, but I just wanted to let them know early. Mommy was still abroad, and it felt lonely to eat alone at a long table.

"Thanks," I said before placing the phone back in its cradle.

Bumalik ako sa lamesa at inunat ang braso bago ginawa naman ang pangalawa. I had a total of three tasks to work on.

While doing the second one, I caught myself yawning again and again.

My eyes kept blinking like it would somehow shake off the sleepiness.

I let out a groan. "No, you need to finish this..." I murmured to myself.

Pinilit ko ang sarili ko na tapusin ang ginagawa kahit gusto na ng katawan ko magpahinga. It was unusual for me to feel this tired this early.

I glanced at my phone—its screen kept lighting up with notifications and messages. I reached for it and gently tossed it onto my bed. Seeing it just made me want to start scrolling again.

It was exactly 7 PM when I finally finished all of my assignments. Tumayo ako at nag unat unat bago inayos ang mga gamit. I plugged in my laptop to charge and placed two of my books inside my tote bag.

Nilingon ko ang kasambahay na may bitbit na tray nang kumatok ito sa bukas na pinto. "Dinner n'yo po, Ma'am"

"Thank you. Palagay nalang po doon.." I said with my palm gesturing toward the center table.

Pinusod ko nang maayos ang buhok at lumapit sa side drawer para kunin ang Ipad. My right index finger scrolled through the screen, checking how many episodes I still had left. I have been binge-watching a series lately.

Inayos ako ang pinagkainan bago bumaba. Agad na may dumalo saakin at kinuha ang bitbit bago ako umakyat ulit. I grabbed the remote control of the air conditioner from the side drawer to adjust the coldness.

Tinanggal ko sa pagkaka charge ang laptop at pinasok ang mga ito sa tote bag bago nag asikaso sa pagtulog. I just needed to brush my teeth and do my night skincare routine before finally calling it a day.

My eyes were already on the verge of closing as I lay comfortably in bed. Hawak ko na ang phone at tinitignan isa isa ang notification.

From: Macy

You should see this *sent a link*

"What is this?" I murmured while waiting for the link to load.

I forced my eyes open, fighting the drowsiness, just to figure out what kind of video Macy had sent me.

The footage, clearly recorded using a phone camera, was shaky during the first few seconds. May puting tiled floor na nahagip bago tinutok sa pagbubukas ng isang pinto.

It was obvious the one filming was a girl—her white almond-shaped nails came into view as she cautiously twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open.

I heard the faint rattle of keys as she pulled them out of the lock.

Nagising ang diwa ko nang may biglang umungol. The girl behind the camera started tiptoeing, walking closer to where the sound was coming from.

"...the heck is this, Macy?" I said with now brows furrowed.