Chapter 06

"Come on..." Cynthia groaned beside me. Napa-tingin ako sa kanya na naka-kunot ang noo. "There must be something going on!"

I rolled my eyes once again. Heto na naman siya! The past few weeks, she keeps on insisting na there's something going on between Finley and me! Wala naman talaga. I mean, sure, was it weird that he's picking me up from work? Sure! Minsan napapa-isip ba ako kung ano ang reason non? Definitely! But does that mean na may something going on between us?

Wala!

How badly I wanted to shout to everyone na iniisip na may something na at most, naaawa lang sa 'kin si Finley dahil forgotten and forsaken na ata ako ng family ko, but mas mahal ko iyong pride ko kaysa sa pagtuwid sa mga chismis. I digress.

'Can you stop looking at me?' message ko kay Finley. Kaya naman kasi ako kinukulit ni Cynthia because she saw Finley looking at my direction. Malapit ko na talaga ipagkalat na cross-eyed si Finley.

'?'

Sinamaan ko ng tingin iyong reply niya. He's so annoying! I told him before na na ayoko ng ? na reply, pero mas lalo niya lang atang ginawa. He's so annoying!

'!' I replied.

For a whole minute, I was just arguing using punctuation marks with Finley. Gosh, he could be exhausting when he wants to! Natapos tuloy iyong break ko na wala akong ginagawa kundi iyon.

After dismissal, I did my usual routine. Pumunta ako sa may work ko. It was quite hectic kasi ang daming absent. It seemed like there's a pandemic of some sort dahil may flu yata half nung staff. It's fine, though. The owner said na since marami akong ginawa than usual, mas madadagdagan iyong salary ko—which was nice since I needed the extra money for my pocket money. Apparently, my parents were good parents dahil they already paid for my field trip before pa. That's one last thing to worry about.

"Kayo ng bahala d'yan," the owner told me. "May pupuntahan pa akong lamay."

I just nodded. Konti na lang naman iyong lilinisin saka papunta naman na si Finley. He's never late kapag susunduin ako—usually, he's early pa. Wala namang pumipilit sa kanya na pumunta nang maaga, but he'll arrive like 30 minutes early tapos he'll frown at sasabihin na pinaghintay ko siya. Tsk. Ang sarap niyang kurutin minsan.

I was quietly minding my own business when suddenly, I felt someone watching me. I told myself to ignore him. Paparating naman na si Finley.

"Mukhang late boyfriend mo, ah," he commented.

I ignored him. Why was he talking to me like we're friends?

"Kinakausap kita," he said.

I ignored him still.

But then my heart started to race when I felt his hand grabbing my arm, yanking me until I was facing him.

"Bastos na 'to. Kinakausap kita, e!" he said, shouting at me like he was mad at me kahit wala naman akong ginagawa sa kanya. Pasalamat nga siya hindi ko siya sinusumbong sa owner, e!

I tried to get my arm away from him, but the more I did that, the harder he pulled. I could already feel the bruise forming! May PE pa naman kami tapos naka-shirt lang ako!

"Gusto ka lang maging kaibigan!" he said as his hold tightened.

"Marami na akong friends!" I shouted back at him kasi sinisigawan niya na ako.

"Napaka-arte mo!" he said. "Narinig ko iniwan ka ng nanay at tatay mo kaya kailangan mong magtrabaho dito. Kawawa ka naman tapos napaka-taas pa rin ng tingin mo sa sarili mo. Para kang mga pusang niligaw sa kalsada!"

I knew that I shouldn't be listening to someone like him, but I hated that every word he said felt like a stab in my chest... kasi tama naman siya. Iniwan lang talaga ako ng parents ko. But damn him, kailangan niya pa bang sabihin sa akin?! Para lang siyang si Finley, only mas pangit siya!

I could feel it in my eyes that I was close to crying because of everything he's saying, so with all the strength that I still have in me, I pushed him away and immediately ran and grabbed my things with me. Isusumbong ko na talaga siya bukas!

Hindi ko alam na capable pala ako na tumakbo nang ganon kabilis. I just ran and ran and kept on running... because honestly, what else could I freaking do?!

* * *

"Gosh... I can't catch a break," I uttered to myself as I saw that the bruise already formed on my arm. Ang init-init, but I had no choice but to wear a jacket. Ano kaya activity namin later? Could I excuse myself? Hindi ko yata kaya magperform ng physical activity na naka-jacket. Baka magcollapse na naman ako sa field!

I should just tell them that I'm on my period... they wouldn't ask naman na siguro about that. Ngayon ko lang naman gagamitin na excuse 'yon.

"Oh, my god!" sigaw ko nung makita ko si Finley sa labas ng unit. My heart was beating so quickly inside my chest. One of these days talaga ay magkaka-heart attack na ako! "Why are you standing there like a creep?!" sabi ko sa kanya kasi nagulat niya talaga ako!

Naka-tingin siya sa akin with that familiar scowl on his face.

"Buhay ka pa pala," he said.

"Obvi," I replied while my hand was still on my chest. Gosh, ang bilis ng tibok ng puso ko!

"Di ka marunong magreply?" he asked.

Kumunot iyong noo ko. "What?"

"Akala ko nasaksak ka na saka tinapon sa gilid ng kalsada," he said. Ang serious ng mukha niya, but parang nagjojoke naman iyong sinasabi niya.

I rolled my eyes at him because I was in no mood to exchange in pleasantries with him. I was still a bit pissed last night. Late kaya siya. Kung hindi siya late, hindi naman magkaka-lakas ng loob iyong epal na 'yon na kausapin ako. Ugh! Naiinis na naman ako!

"Wala akong load," I told him while walking towards the elevator.

"Kailan pa kailangan ng load sa iMessage?"

I rolled my eyes again as I pressed on the button repeatedly as if that would make the elevator go faster. Nakita ko na naka-tingin si Finley sa akin doon sa may reflection ko sa mirror. He was probably wondering why I was more pissy than usual.

But ayoko ring sabihin sa kanya kasi feel ko papagalitan niya ako! Ugh! Bakit ba ang hirap ng life ko?!

Pagdating sa ground floor nung elevator, lalabas na sana ako but then Finley quickly pressed the close button. I looked at him and frowned again.

"I'm not in the mood," I told him as I pressed the open button.

"Sa school din naman ako pupunta," he replied.

"Duh," I said. "I'm not in the mood to issue denying statements again."

I saw him roll his eyes. "Why do you care so much about what other people think?"

"Well, sorry that I don't have your I don't give a shit about what they think of me attitude."

He shrugged annoyingly. "You should—it's more fun that way."

I pressed the open button again. "Whatever," I said. Nung i-co-close niya ulit, I looked at him, seriously this time. "I'm really not in the mood," I told him.

It seemed like he finally got the message kaya hinayaan niya ako na lumabas sa may elevator. Hindi ko alam kung paano ako nakarating sa may school. My mind was blank the entire time. Nag-give up na ata iyong brain ko sa akin.

Buong araw, naka-auto pilot lang yata ako. I had no idea how I managed to get through the entire day hanggang inevitably ay dumating na iyong PE.

"Thank you!" I said a little too enthusiastically nung pinayagan ako na mag-skip. Magaling ba akong magsinungaling?! I thought I wasn't convincing, but mabilis akong pinayagan. Napa-kunot iyong noo ng teacher ko, so I quickly dialed back the enthusiasm.

All my classmates went to the gymnasium. Sucks to be them. Naiwan ako sa classroom. Tinanggal ko muna iyong jacket ko since naiinitan ako kahit naka-bukas naman iyong aircon. Doon ako naupo sa may direct na mapupuntahan nung cold air... which made me wonder kung paano kaya ako magsusurvive had it not been for Finley? What if kaya hindi niya nakita iyong stupid decisions ko? Saan kaya ako naka-stay ngayon? May aircon kaya don?

I was busy wondering about the what ifs of my life nung napa-tingin ako sa likuran ko kasi narinig ko na bumukas iyong pinto. I immediately frowned when I saw that it was Finley.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked because obviously, this wasn't his room. Never ko pa nga siya nakitang dumaan sa classroom ko. If hindi niya lang ako sasabihan ng assuming, I'd tell him na all these years, he's blatantly avoiding me! That's it's him avoiding me and not the other way around.

Finley was about to say something when his eyes went to my arm. Agad na kumunot iyong noo niya kaya napa-tingin din ako doon, wondering kung bakit ganon iyong itsura niya... when I realized kung ano ba iyong nasa braso ko.

Quickly, I grabbed my jacket and wore it.

"Bakit ka ba nandito?" I asked, trying to divert the impending conversation.

"Ano 'yan?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied. "Tumama iyong arm ko sa doorknob," I continued. Gosh, magaling nga yata talaga akong magsinungaling! That came out way smoother than I intended!

But with the look on Finley's face, it seemed like he wasn't buying the lie that I was selling.

"Did that weirdo do that?" he asked.

"No—"

"Kaya ba 'di na kita naabutan don kagabi?" he asked again, cutting me off.

I wanted to just lie because I didn't want to prolong this conversation. I mean, what for? Sasabihin ko naman na sa owner iyong nangyari. Fault ko rin naman for not saying anything before...

"It's nothing," I said, instead.

But my attempt to lighten the conversation seemed to have failed because the scowl on Finley's face just got deeper.

"What did he do?" he asked, this time sounding more serious. Ang seryoso ng mukha niya na parang galit talaga siya. Why was he mad?! Was he mad at me?!

"Not—"

"I swear, if you say nothing again," he said, sounding more pissed.

I pursed my lips because I felt like he's a second away from wringing my neck. "It's not a big deal," I told him, making sure that I didn't use the word nothing.

Finley was just standing there. It was quickly becoming weird for me kasi naka-tingin lang siya sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang nangyayari until he got his phone from his pocket and called someone.

"Tito," I heard him say. The phone was on his ear, but his eyes were firmly on mine. "Can I ask for a favor? My friend was harassed last night. Can you help us file a case?"

My eyes widened.

"What—" pero hindi ko natapos iyong sasabihin ko when he raised his hand and showed me his index finger like he was motioning me to stop whatever nonsense I was about to say.

So, I stood there with my mouth agape while he was talking to whoever his Tito was.

"Thank you, Tito," he said. "Yes, we're on our way."

My eyes widened some more. "Hindi pa dismissal!" I told him when he ended the call... but my words fell on deaf ears because Finley just made me wear my jacket, grabbed my bag, and once again, I was walking outside with Finley while everyone was watching us like we're some display in an aquarium.

Great! Another chismis na naman!

**

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