Hi, Leo.

Is this you?

Hello?

I'm okay na.

Can I call?

Leo?

Good morning, Leo! Have a nice day!

Nag-lunch ka na? You want to eat with us?

Dinner na, have you eaten na ba??

Leo?

Good morning, Leo!

Good aftie!

Good night!

Leo?

Morning.

Night.

Hey.

Hi.

I guess one summer was too much. One whole summer was too long to change everything.

"Lumipat na pala ng school si Leo," Lesley said. "PLM na siya, alam mo na?"

I already knew about that.

I was waiting until Lesley said so, but some mouths never wanted to close theirs. And I happened to enroll in the same school where I studied my first year. Too late to take another course sa ibang university na. And I doubt na papayag ang parents ko para mag-transfer pa ako.

Lagi kong tinatawagan ang number na nag-text sa akin. Walang mintis ang SMS. I still pursued texting that number na never naman akong ni-reply-an.

Did I get mad about Leo not replying to me? No.

Did I get mad at Leo for transferring to another school? No.

What made me mad was the news about him.

He was involved in illegal activities na nangyayari near NAIA. It was news not everyone knew about, but those who knew what was happening didn't want to publicize it. Sabi lang nila, alam nila. And that was all. Walang pumipigil, walang nagko-call out, walang nagsusumbong.

I was mad and disappointed.

Siguro, madali lang tanggapin if lumipat siya ng school for his own good, pero hindi. He was gambling every night . . . with his friends . . . with a lot of girls surrounding him . . . with those people who do drugs and other bad things.

It broke my heart for him. It saddened me on a different level than I ever imagined.

They named him Zeus.

He's the leader of the Gods. Another disappointing news was Ronie and his code Hades as his partner.

Tanggap ko namang hindi talaga "nice guy" si Leo. Not that I was expecting him to do drugs or whatever, but I didn't want him to get involved in such activities. And Ronie? He's smart and understanding. He's intimidating to me, yes, but I would never accept what happened to them.

"B, nabalitaan mo na 'yong bagong grupo sa Space?" tanong ni Lesley habang hinahanda ko na ang book and notebook ko para sa next subject namin.

"Alin?" I asked as innocently as I could.

"Yung Gods. Grabe, ang ingay ng Space, one week na."

We were one of the thousand members of Dark Space. It was a student website in dark mode. Parang underground online site na sobrang limited lang ng users since hindi iyon open sa public. Exclusive sa mga "VIP student" ang access, and I happened to be one of the members because of Lesley.

But other than the Space, una kong nalaman ang news, dahil kay Calvin.

Calvin Dy is a CPT student in AdU. He was taking a course related to chemical processes, and I happened to know him kasi balak niya sana akong ligawan. Kaso sinabi ko, retired PNP senior inspector si Mommy at gun shop owner. Nag-pass na agad siya.

Akala ko, titigilan na niya ako. But he said, if ever daw na mabalitaan kong nasangkot siya sa ganitong case, maganda na raw na aware ako sa nangyayari.

He ended up telling me everything about these illegal activities. And in those activities, Leo was involved.

"Ky!" Calvin called. Naghihintay na siya sa labas ng campus, nakaupo nang slight sa motor niya.

Nilingon ko na si Lesley.

"Ayan na pala ang manliligaw na ayaw sa nililigawan niya," Lesley said, rolling her eyes.

"Les, hindi nga kasi."

"Kaya ka pala sinusundo lol."

"Lesley . . ."

"E! Sege! Lumayas na kayong dalawa, shoo!" Pagtingin niya sa harap namin, biglang lumapad ang ngisi niya. "At eto na pala ang aking service! Ba-bye na, B!" Hinalikan niya ako sa pisngi saka niyakap nang mahigpit. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Les." Pinanood ko siyang sumakay sa gray van na laman ang mga ka-team niya sa basketball. May night out daw sila ngayon since Friday naman. Treat din sa kanila before the official game. Magiging busy na siya soon.

Lumapit na ako kay Calvin at napansing naka-denim jeans and faded shirt lang siya.

"Wala kang class?" tanong ko.

Inabot niya sa akin ang isang helmet na dala niya. "Kanina pang tanghali."

It was almost five in the afternoon. Kanina pa pala tapos ang class niya.

"Nasa field kami mamaya, sama ka?"

"Sure!"

I don't care if Leo transfers to another school. Susundan ko pa rin siya no matter what.

♥♥♥

There was a huge space near SLEX na every night, nagiging gambling place. The place looked abandoned kasi parking lot din ng mga sirang transport vehicles. May racing event doon every end of the week. Sobrang rare nilang mahuli, probably kasi may connection ang ilang handlers sa authorities.

Some of the luxury cars na nandito, mga hot car. Hot car means stolen car. But since the government has its "process" for these stolen cars, auctioned ang mga luxury car to legitimize the papers. If I'm not mistaken, the last hot car they handled was a yellow Gallardo na nasa owner pa ang legal papers, which happened to be a Lauchengco, one of the famous car dealers in the county.

Mom said she knew things about this, but since she's an early retiree, hands-off na siya. And I didn't want to take things seriously if Leo wasn't involved with these activities.

I was living peacefully until he entered this dark side of the field.

"Ayaw mo talagang lapitan si Leo?" tanong ni Calvin habang nasa itaas kami ng lumang footbridge.

Nanonood lang ako sa ibaba. Ang daming tao na audience at mangangarera. Leo was observing the place with Ronie. Clark was there, William was there. Patrick was nowhere to be found.

"He transferred sa new boarding house, right?" I asked Calvin.

"Yeah. Sa malapit sa Hospicio."

"Hanggang kailan n'yo gagawin 'to?"

Calvin chuckled and shook his head. "Kapag tapos na siguro kami sa role namin dito?"

"What if mahuli kayo?"

"Well . . . ewan ko." Natawa ulit siya nang mahina saka ako tiningnan. "Concerned ka ba?"

"Leo's here, e."

"'Lakas talaga ng tama mo. Alam niyang Brias ka, hindi ka papatulan niyan."

My dad is rich. I mean, he's rich enough to settle everything with money. But everyone feared me more for being a Brias than a Chua.

My mom didn't raise me in a violent household. She's caring, and she always tells me to take care of myself. I could do self-defense, and . . . that was all. I didn't even know how to hold a gun. Ayaw ni Mommy na humahawak ako ng ganoon. Even si Gina, ayaw niya rin. Mas lalo na si DaddyBasic self-defense was all I needed, and I knew how to use things to my advantage. But si Mom, as much as she could handle things, didn't want me to live in chaos.

Yet here I was, watching my dream man in a real-life nightmare in the city.

May race daw ngayon. Pupusta na naman yata sila. Calvin left me on the footbridge to join them. My face was covered with a red face mask, and I wore Calvin's large hoodie.

Calvin has three girlfriends "today," and he didn't bring any of them tonight kasi kasama niya ako. If he were to choose who to bring with him here, and if I were a part of the option, he would remove all options, and he would take me without a second thought.

He didn't like me enough to see him do reckless things with bad guys.

The race started. Ronie was standing his ground even if everyone around him was partying at the sound of the speaker near them. Leo was beside him, telling him something na tatanguan niya o kaya iilingan o kaya gaganti ng bulong.

Sa gitna ng mga nagsasaya, sila lang dalawa ang seryosong naroon.

I was asking Leo from afar, "Masaya ka ba rito sa ginagawa mo?"

Hindi siya mukhang masaya pero parang may satisfaction sa kanila ang ganitong gawain.

It was disappointing, but he was liking it.

Puwede akong tumawag ng police tonight.

Puwede akong mag-report ng illegal activities.

Yet here I was, watching them do things they weren't supposed to do.

Another question left unanswered was, "Masaya ka ba sa ginagawa mo ngayon, Leo?"

♥♥♥

Leo took up architecture at FE Manila, transferred to PLM for an academic degree in applied physics, and shifted to another engineering course (mechanical).

He was busy with his life, and I was watching him from afar. Since nag-shift siya ng course, mas ahead na ako ng one year sa kanya, and he needed to finish a five-year program. He was in his third year, and I was taking my OJT. Mauuna akong maka-graduate before him. And maybe what was constant in high school would never be constant in college.

My love for him faded. Or maybe the infatuation?

I was asking myself, crush ko pa ba si Leo until now?

Or maybe I grew tired of thinking na baka puwede pa rin kami kahit pa sobrang tagal ko na siyang hindi nakikita.

Ang daming nanligaw sa akin. May in-entertain ako—marami kung tutuusin—pero iba lang din siguro ang gusto ko. I planned to travel around the world kapag graduate na ako. Plano kong mag-apply as a flight attendant, but I had to finish my degree first.

I couldn't tell if nawala ba talaga ang feelings ko for Leo. Sobrang struggle ng course ko, in the sense na lagi kaming cramming. And I happened to take my OJT at the airport.

Two years, hindi ko nakita si Leo. Wala na rin akong news sa kanya. Calvin was busy with his studies. Wala na rin si Ronie sa canteen na lagi niyang dinaraanan.

I really thought everything was over when I cut my connection with them, pero siguro, naging masama yata ako sa past life ko kaya napunta ako sa situation na hindi ko rin naman ine-expect.

"B, ano na?"

"Debby, wait lang."

I made a stupid deal with Deborah. It was a dare at natalo ako.

Ang dare ay maka-quota ako ng 500,000 pesos for accumulated plane ticket prices starting from December until January. February 2, lumabas ang total, and I only got 473,000 pesos. Hindi imposible ang 500k for a plane ticket since ang MNL to SFO flight, more or less, hundred thousand na, and that was for a single booking pa lang. One month was too long. Unfortunately, kinulang pa rin ako.

We were doing part-time jobs kahit na may allowance naman ako from my parents. But I wanted to take care of myself as early as now kasi pa-graduate na rin ako.

"Sure ba, kasya sa 'kin 'to?" tanong ko.

"Kasya 'yan, girl!"

Nasa restroom kami ng isang night club. Bunny girl dito si Debby. Pero dahil natalo nga ako, ako ang papalit sa kanya.

Hindi bago ang dare. There was a time na habang may servicing kami sa Coron, we dared to swim naked. Ilan lang ang makakakita n'on kaya hindi naman kami natatakot.

This time, I have to wear a bunny mask. Full face covered ng white bunny mask na ears and nose lang ang may butas. We were not allowed to talk, and that was good for me. One night lang naman—thirty minutes only, for the record.

I wore this pink one-piece satin suit and white stockings. Next was a cute white bunny ears headband and a pink bow tie. The last was the bunny mask.

"Shuta ka, B. Natitibo ako sa 'yo."

Debby is so sexy, I must say. He stood five feet ten and had an hourglass body. Five feet nine lang ako, pero tall na nga iyon for my height. Perfect nga raw for a flight attendant.

Madalas tawagan si Debby for a night, pero sobrang rare ng occasion na pumapayag siya lalo na kapag usapang payment na. Highest "talent fee" niya ay nasa 500k, and she was pampered pa para sa amount na iyon.

Wala akong balak maging bunny girl, kaso natalo nga kasi ako. Wala akong pambayad sa kanya, at ayokong mag-loan kasi hindi ko rin alam kung paano babayaran nang may interes.

Tatlo kaming bunny girls at mas marami ang dancers for this stag party. Nakakasabay namin sa powder room ang ibang dancer na halos nipple na lang ang may cover. Some of them, thong lang ang isusuot saka pumps. And I was lucky enough na nakapag-one piece swimsuit pa at stockings.

I was against these kinds of parties. Pero part na rin siguro ng work na kailangang i-accept ang mga ganitong event or other tradition kahit pa against sa values namin.

"Remember, thirty minutes lang," Debby reminded. "Magdadala ka lang ng drinks, hahanapin mo si Dave, you'll drop this sa bag niya, then go na."

Debby inserted a small pack of white powder inside my bunny suit's breast part.

Saglit na nanlaki ang mga mata ko habang pinakikiramdam ang isinisiksik niya roon.

Hindi ko na rin tinanong kung ano iyon. Kabarkada ng groom si Dave. Kung sino man siya kay Debby, hindi ako sure.

Magiging waitress kami ng tatlong kasama ko for thirty minutes lang.

Hindi na kami nagsalita pagpasok sa venue. The place wasn't that huge. Isang room lang halos. We took a round tray carrying some bottles of mule, rhum, and a bucket of ice. May sariling waiter sila kanina na nagdala ng cases of alcohol.

Walang ibang nakabukas na lights kundi ang red lights sa ceiling. My heart was beating fast kasi ang daming lalaki, pero ang dami ring babaeng sumasayaw na halos wala nang damit. The music was sensual, something I should consider a sign of danger.

I could hear them shouting and cheering. Hindi na bago kasi . . . mas malala sa beach parties kaysa sa ganitong limited space lang at ilan lang ang nasa loob.

I was carrying a bucket of ice and looking for Dave, a chinito guy with eyeglasses. But I couldn't find anyone with glasses here.

"Kapag hindi ka sure, 'yong naka-stripes na polo na green!"

Hindi ko masabi kung anong color ba ang mga damit nila aside sa dark and light colors kasi reddish na lahat. But I see that one guy kissing a girl sa ladderback chair na nakatalikod sa amin nang slight. Siya lang ang naka-stripes, so maybe it was him.

Pero wala siyang dalang bag!

Oh dear, where was his bag supposed to be?

Hindi ko naman siya puwedeng kalabitin habang nakikipaghalikan siya.

"Hey."

"Hagh—" I gasped and almost shouted when someone tapped on my shoulder.

"Waitress ka, right?"

Sa sobrang panic, dinukot ko sa bulsa ang pack na isiniksik ni Debby sa dibdib ko saka ko isiniksik sa back pocket ni Dave.

"Sorry!" I yelled.

I was about to run when a strong arm caught my waist to stop me from escaping.

"Tinatanong ka pa, saan ka naman pupunta?"

He held my hand so firmly and raised it in the air.

"Let me g—" My eyes almost jumped out of their sockets when I saw his face . . . again.

"Kanina ka pa tinatawag, hindi ka ba nakakarinig?"

Leo.

♥♥♥