Katatapos ko lang ayusin ang mga gamit ko para sa Youth Camp nang kumatok si Kuya Andrei.

"You ready?" he asked, smiling.

"Yup," I quickly replied, hefting my backpack. I did a quick mental inventory muna just to make sure na wala akong naiwan.

Today was the most awaited Youth Camp. Finally. Ilang weeks din naming inasikaso 'to. Nagkasundo ang council na sa school kami magkikita-kita dahil mas mainam daw na sabay-sabay kaming pupunta sa Tagaytay to avoid disorganization.

Dahil walang pasok si Kuya Jacob ngayon, Kuya Andrei offered to drive me to school dahil aalis din naman daw siya.

After mentally accounting my things, lumabas na ako. Kinuha agad ni Kuya yung bag ko at sabay kaming bumaba.

Napatingin ako sa kanya, giving him a once over. He was wearing a simple navy blue long sleeves that were pulled around the arms.

"Where are you going today? Wala ka naman pasok ngayon?" I asked.

"I'm hanging out with Paul and Onyx," simpleng sagot niya lang.

Ngumisi ako. "Wow naman. Pa-easy easy lang kayo, ha."

He chuckled deeply. "You have no idea. That dude's lost his head. We're hitting the road just for a girl." He glanced at me before adding, "We're going to Pangasinan."

My eyes widened. "Just for a model girl? Yung model 'to, right?"

"Who else?" Ngumisi rin siya.

"Damn!" I exclaimed, still in disbelief. "He must be really crazy for her then!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," sagot niya, smiling cryptically as if may inside joke na siya lang ang nakakaalam.

His statement confused me. So sa lagay na 'yan, hindi pa seryoso si Kuya Paul? I was really curious. I wanted to know the identity of the girl who caught Kuya Paul's attention. Pihikan kasi 'yon. Sobra. Sure, he's milder than Mathev, and he acts nice and friendly all the time, but that's exactly his game.

Magtatanong sana ako kay Kuya Andrei kaso bigla naman namin nakasalubong si Kuya Jacob. He must've come from an intense basketball practice 'cause I could still see the sheen of sweat on his forehead, even the quick rise and fall of his shoulders with his every breath.

He grinned at us, his usual mischievous one, when he approached us.

"Bro," bati lang ni Kuya Andrei, nodding. He clapped Kuya Jacob's shoulder before going off to his car.

My gaze wandered back to Kuya Jacob.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Three days."

His grin widened. Hinampas ko ang braso niya.

"Don't look so happy about it. Remember, may atraso ka sa 'kin."

Something flashed in his eyes, an indication na alam niya yung tinutukoy ko, and then he frowned.

Kuya Jacob ran a hand through his hair, looking somewhat guilty. "About that, sis. Sorry pala. It wasn't my intention to ignore you like that. I was mad and without meaning to, I took it out on you. That was wrong. I'm sorry."

"That's it?" biro ko. "Wala man lang bribe?"

He laughed and then pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fine. I'll take you out on a date next week. Banapple good?"

At that, I nodded, grinning.

"Call. Next Sunday!" I said in excitement. "Subukan mong ipagpalit ako sa mga barkada mo, yari ka."

He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

Out of the blue, a horn blasted in the air. Sabay kaming napalingon sa labas. It was Kuya Andrei.

Kuya Jacob looked back at me, the grin never leaving his lips, and ruffled my hair. "Enjoy your Youth Camp, sis."

"Parang bakasyon lang, a," natatawa kong sinabi at nagpaalam na.

Mabilis lang ang naging byahe namin papuntang Intersci. Umaga pa naman kasi kaya wala masyadong traffic. When we arrived, hinatid niya lang ako sa meeting place and then he was off to meet my cousins.

It took a while before everyone arrived. Bale twenty-five students kaming lahat. Ahron briefed all of us about the event and then laid down some ground rules during the bus ride.

The students from Ignatio, USM, and UTA were filling the place when we made it to The Green Palace. Nakatambay sila sa field, naghihintay ng next instructions.

Binigyan kami ng mabilis na welcome remark ng isang staff bago kami hinatid sa cabins namin, which were located in the western part of the place. Last week pa lang napag-desisyunan na kung sino-sino ang magkakasama, and I ended up with Ahron, the petite and pretty Camille, and ang mataray at makulit na si Beatrice as my roommates.

Pagkapasok na pagkapasok namin sa cabin, tumalon kaagad sa kama sina Bea at Camille. The room looked great and the interior gave off a cozy air.

I placed my bag down and sat on the bed. Since occupied na yung dalawang nasa window, Ahron and I had no choice but to take the beds in between.

"What are we doing today? May activity ba tayo?" Bea asked while lying flat on her stomach.

"Nah, games are reserved for the second and third day. For now, seminar muna unless may ipapagawa ang speaker," I told her.

"Sana wala. Maaga kaya tayo matatapos? Gusto ko umikot-ikot sa obstacle grounds. I heard may maze daw malapit doon."

"Meron nga. I looked it up sa net. Ganda, 'teh," Camille told her. Lumingon siya sa 'min ni Ahron. "Kamusta yung speaker? Kilala n'yo? Boring?"

Ahron was looking at her phone when she answered. "'I don't think so. He seemed fun when I looked him up." She rose to her full height. "Let's go. Nandito na lahat."

The girls jumped out of the bed. Palabas na kami nang bumulong sa 'kin si Bea. "Would have been great if wala na Centrex here."

Siniko ko siya. "Keep it down. Baka may makarinig sa 'yo."

"So what? Totoo naman. Yabang kaya ng orgs d'yan."

I gave her a look. She just raised her hands in surrender and fell in line with the rest of our students. True enough, nakarating na nga ang mga students from Consuello, Centrex, at AEU.

May napansin ako sa mga representatives ng Consuello. They were mostly guys. Bilang lang ang mga kasamang babae. I think they sent their varsity players than their council members.

Habang tinitingnan ko sila, nakuha ni Christelle ang attention ko. She was calling me and gesturing for me to go to the function hall. Paglingon ko sa lugar na tinuturo niya, napansin kong nandoon na ang ibang organizers.

Kailangan yata nila ng tulong. Nagpaalam ako kay Ahron at naglakad na papunta doon. In all honesty, kanina pa ako bothered. Alam kong magkikita at magkikita kami nitong si Racel and as much as I wanted to ask him why he hit my brother, I wouldn't. I promised myself I wouldn't talk to him anymore.

Kaya siguro gusto ko na lang din matapos ang Youth Camp. After this, wala na akong reason para makita pa siya. Bawas problema.

While I was walking toward the function hall, may nakasalubong akong Laconista na mukhang papunta sa cabin grounds. I avoided his path and continued on my way when he suddenly stopped and called me.

"Hey, I think I know you," said the tall, lean guy in a cool baritone when I walked by.

I stopped to face him. This wasn't new to me. My brothers were quite well-known kaya hindi na ako nagugulat kapag may nakakakilala sa 'kin.

But the way this guy studied my face seemed different. Like he really knew me personally.

I raised my brows, waiting for him to talk.

"You're that splash girl!" he said with a laugh. "What are the chances? I didn't think I'd see you here."

Splash girl?

I tilted my head, trying to recall where I'd seen him. He looked kind of familiar. "Have we met before?" I asked politely.

"Not me," he answered coolly and then he shook his head, chuckling at some private joke I didn't get. "But this is golden. Really, really golden." Tumawa ulit siya bago ako tinapik sa balikat at tuluyang umalis.

I was stunned. What the hell was that about? I watched him amble to the direction of the cabin grounds, trying to remember if I knew him.

Then, it suddenly clicked.

He's Shane Anderson, one of the campus heartthrobs I read on that blog before.

Why would he call me splash girl though? I was sure I'd never met this guy before.

I didn't dwell on it much. I continued to the function hall and helped with the preparations.

As expected, Racel was here.

So to avoid him, I distracted myself and went to work.

***

I'd never felt any more awkward than this.

Habang nag-aayos kami, nararamdaman ko ang bawat tingin ni Racel. He was watching me while I moved around. Balik na naman kami sa dati. And what's frustrating, alam kong alam niya na iniiwasan ko siya.

He can't just punch my brother and expect that would be okay with me. Kung dati, I was being civil. Ngayon, I was being professional and elusive. Buti na lang hindi na kami partners na kailangan pang mag-usap.

But he wasn't making things any easier kung patuloy niya 'kong panonoorin.

After we finished setting up the tables and chairs, we let the students come in. I was in front, reviewing the powerpoint for the second time, when a guy suddenly walked up to me.

"Oh wow. He's right. It's really you," a boyish voice said from behind me. "Finally."

I turned around to look. The guy was tall, looking over me, and was wearing a black and white Laconista letterman jacket. He didn't look like a Filipino at all. His almost blonde hair was swept up but what caught my eyes was the silver cross earring on his left ear, which matched his bright grey eyes.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

In response, his face brightened up as he let out a cool smile and stepped closer. "After some time, I finally found you. Where ka ba nagtago? I waited around for you in Candid, you know? But you never came back."

I stepped back. "Uh, have we met?" I asked carefully

What was up? Ang dami ko yatang nakikitang Laconista na parang kilala ako pero hindi ko naman maalala?

"Not really," the dude said. Pumungay ang mga mata niya as he added, "But don't you remember me?"

"Sorry, no."

"Ouch. I'm wounded na you don't remember me na." He feigned a hurt expression and continued in a british accent, "I'm the bloke you spilled a drink on. You forgot na kagad?"

I spilled his drink? On him? What?

I thought about it really hard. But I had no idea what he as talking about.

"When did I do that?"

"That night in Candid?" he added, eyeing me intently, prodding me to remember. "You were running then, tapos you bumped into me and spilled my drink. Ring a bell?"

Pakiramdam ko, napagkamalan lang ako nito. But wait. Something did ring a bell.

Candid. Running. Spilled drink.

Hoshet.

My eyes widened, recollection hurtling through my mind in a spin. That time when Kuya Jacob almost had a run-in with Racel's squad, may nabunggo ako noon.

That was him?

Suddenly, nahiya ako. Kaya pala Splash Girl ang tawag sa 'kin ni Shane. Magkaibigan siguro sila!

"Sorry," sabi ko na lang, rubbing my neck in embarrassment.

Another lopsided grin danced on his lips. "You remember na?"

I nodded, taking notice of how he seemed to smile a lot.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I had an emergency that night."

"Yeah, I know," mabilis niyang sagot, all smiles, "I figured as much."

May sasabihin pa sana siya pero tinawag na siya ng mga kaibigan niya, which happened to be the entirety of the Consuello representatives.

He looked at them and then back at me. "Before I go, what's your name?"

I measured him, trying to figure out what his motives were.
He pouted. "Not going to tell me?"

"Dude, halika na. Umaarangkada ka na naman e," said another Laconista, sabay hatak palayo sa kanya.

"I'm Angelo Castillo, by the way!" sabi niya lang at nagpatianod na.

Yeah, I knew that. In between the conversation, I recognized who he was. Angelo Castillo. One of the guys featured in the blog as well.

In under a few minutes, the seminar about leadership and group dynamics started. Midway in the lecture, bigla na lang tumayo si Joseph na nakaupo sa kaliwa ko. Nagulat ako nang makita ko kung sino ang nakipagpalit sa kanya.

"Hey again," mahinang sabi ni Angelo, grinning wide. "I forgot to ask kanina. What's your relationship pala with Andrei and the De Villa?"

I furrowed my brows and whispered, "You know Kuya Andrei?"

"Who doesn't?" Ngumisi siya, and then he tilted his head in wonder. "So? Why were you with the DV boys that night?"

"He's my brother," I answered simply.

"Brother?" Realization dawned on his face. "Ah, I get it. So that's why. Ikaw pala yung little sister. Sayang."

"Sayang? What does that mean?"

He chuckled. "Means you're off-limits," he answered. I could see the dimples on both of his cheeks as his grin broadened. "That means bantay-sarado ka. Bawal. Sayang. But I already got that from how Andrei refused to tell me who you were when I asked before."

Sa sinabi niya, I took a good look of him. He didn't sound like he was flirting but was just being honest about what he thought. Angelo didn't seem like the annoying type of guy. Makulit lang.

"If you know, then you should stop trying to be chummy, you know," sagot ko at bumaling na sa speaker.

He leaned closer, whispering, "I gotta be honest with you though. I didn't expect na you're the little sister pala. I thought you were . . . you know."

"What? One of their girls?" I had to laugh at that. I get that a lot.

"Yeah. But now that I've finally seen you up close, I can see na the family resemblance."

Tumawa siya nang marahan. Lumingon sa 'min ang speaker so I thought he'd call us out. But he turned the other way again. All throughout the lecture, hindi ko na siya pinansin. Now and then, napapatawa ako sa mga side comments niya kada may sinasabi ang speaker.

Kahit ilang oras ko lang siyang nakatabi, nakuha ko na ang ugali niya. He wasn't that hard to read. He's like a child in a body of a man. Laidback. Always smiling, humorous, cheerful and damn mischievous. Kahit pilitin kong mainis sa kakulitan niya, hindi ko magawa. He was just damn too similar to my cousins, and as much as I loathed to admit it, I liked his personality. Too bad he seemed to be a flirt too.

Racel kept throwing glances at us during the lecture. I was entertaining this notion that he had something he wanted to say to me. But why? Was he going to explain his side? As if naman.

And would I listen?

Heck, I dunno.

When the first lecture ended, we were ushered to the dining room for lunch.

"Sabay ako sa inyo," Angelo told me, hands in pockets, when I joined my friends at the table.

Ahron just lifted a brow and smirked. Nagtawanan lang sina Camille at Bea pero may suspicion ako na kinikilig sila because he was near.

"Shouldn't you eat with your friends?" I asked him

"Nah. Those idiots wanted me gone anyway."

"Ang kulit mo kasi."

"Am I annoying you na ba?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Nakikita kong nagsisikuhan yung girls sa table. I pretended not to see them and nodded at Angelo, who was now joining me at the food line to get our lunch.

"Really? You're not kinikilig?"

Napatawa ako at how he worded it. "Sorry but you're kinda not my type."

"Ouch."

"Ganyan ka ba? You flirt with girls you see the first time?"

"Not really. I only try with beautiful girls I see the first time."

"So you're flirting with me."

He shrugged, feigning an innocent look, that dimpled smile still on his face. "I don't know. Am I ba?"

Tinapik ko ang braso niya at nilagpasan siya sa pila. Laughing, I said, "Well, don't. It won't work on me."

He chuckled. "I know. I was kidding."

Napangiti na rin ako without meaning to. Ang contagious ng isang 'to. We moved in line and began to get our food from the buffet table.

"Are you friends with my brother?"

"Which one? With Andrei, yeah."

"I've never heard of you though."

"I haven't heard of you that much either. I mean I know they have a sister but that's it. How come they never let me see you, huh?"

"Baka dahil player ka kasi," biro ko nang pabalik na kami sa table.

"Player? I'm not though," tumatawang sagot niya.

"Really? Because I don't like players."

"Good then. I'm the least person you need to worry about."

After lunch, they allowed us an hour break. Bumalik na rin sa wakas si Angelo sa mga kaibigan niya. Humiwalay rin ako sa mga kasama ko para ikutin ang obstacle grounds.

Bad move, though.

Nawala nga si Angelo, nakasalubong ko naman si Racel. As always, simple lang ang hitsura niya ngayon but it spoke volumes about his personality. He was wearing a grey shirt underneath a black jacket and there's a silver band of necklace around his neck.

We both paused when we saw each other, just testing the air between us. His eyes were probing mine, searching, while I stayed cool. Kunwari hindi ako affected.

Neither of us spoke. Hindi ko alam kung anong gusto niyang mangyari. I really couldn't read him. Para siyang may sasabihin pero wala naman siyang ginagawa.

When I got fed up, I turned to walk away. I didn't wait for him. Hindi niya rin naman ako sinundan. So much for wanting to say something, huh?

Kumuha lang ako ng iilang shots of the place. The skies, the field, and the lake. Tapos bumalik na rin ako. Ayoko man aminin kahit sa sarili ko, pero affected ako. No, curious ako. Why was he acting the way he did? Ang gulo.

"Do you know each other?" Angelo asked me when he joined me in the fields of roses. Kumaway siya sa mga kaibigan na naririto rin nang magpaalam sila na babalik na sa function hall.

I rolled my eyes at him, still walking around to take pictures. "You just can't keep your hands to yourself 'no?"

"Nosy me," he joked, pointing to his face, falling into steps with me.

"Bakit mo ba 'ko sinusundan?"

"I'm not."

"Really."

"Yeah. We're walking together 'di ba?"

Napangisi ako sa kanya. No wonder he was friends with the boys. Magkakaugali sila. Makukulit.

"Dude, I told you. Stop hitting on me," I reminded him.
Angelo chuckled. "Don't worry, Jamie V. I know you're off-limits. I'm not gonna try anything," sabi niya in a sincere tone. For the first time, he looked at me without any tinge of amusement in his grey eyes. "Seriously, I know when to back off and I respect your brothers."

Napahinto ako to look at him. "How did you know my name?"

He shrugged. "From Ahron?"

"Traitor," I mumbled under my breath. "How did you know her?"

"I don't. But Shane does. Apparently, they go clubbing together."

"Really," I said in wonder. "I didn't know that."

Bumalik na kami sa function hall. In five minutes, magsisimula na ang second lecture. Nagkatinginan na naman kami ni Racel nang pumasok ako sa room. He followed me with his dark gaze as I walked back to my seat. I noticed how his eyes hovered on Angelo for a while before he frowned and stared back at me.

Angelo seemed to have noticed us.

"What's the deal between you and Gutierez? Do you really know each other?"

"Not really."

"So why does he keep staring at you?"

"Who knows?"

"I know that look, though. Let's try something." Parang nang-aasar pa, umakbay siya sa 'kin. Racel lifted a brow at us, pursed his lips, and glanced away. Angelo chuckled. "I think you're lying."

"Grabe. Ang nosy mo nga."

Tumawa siya. "Yeah, I get that a lot." Then he added, in a curious tone, "Is it fine hanging out with him though? I thought Jacob's not okay with him."

"Yeah, 'di nga. That's why don't mention anything to him."

"I won't naman. But I think Jacob will freak out if he hears that you're speaking to him."

"I know. 'Di rin naman kami nag-uusap talaga. We're just part of the organizing committee, that's all."

"Ah, okay. Small world." He whistled. "Seems he got something to say to you though?"

"'Wag mo na lang pansinin. I don't know his deal either so let's just avoid him, okay? If you're friends with my boys, you know how they are. Ayoko ng issues."

And I meant it. But that Gutierez was making it so hard to do.

Understanding lit up his face, and Angelo nodded.

Tumingin siya ng isa pang beses sa direksyon ni Racel, mukhang nagtataka, bago humiwalay sa 'kin at bumalik sa mga barkada niya.

Briefly, nagtama ulit ang mga mata namin ni Racel. Pero agad akong nag-iwas ng tingin bago pa 'ko tuluyang ma-distract sa kanya.