Chapter 2 – Lacanilao (Shane)

-

"Oof!"

My body settled in a comfortable position on the bean bag where I dropped myself, phone in hand, with the faces of the friends I was with only several minutes ago filling the screen.

"You really should've invited Yuri earlier, Shane! If it's for our dearest Rona, I wouldn't have minded if he tagged along!" Julian, or as he prefers people to call him, Julie, blurted out.

A muffled and flustered noise came from where else but Rona's side.

"Shut up, Julian! That was a friend's hangout! Just the four of us—there is no need t-to invite others!"

"Beach, what did you call me?" I chuckled, putting myself off camera to check the new notifications from my social media account.

I always have notifications, and I like to simply mark them as read unless someone mustered up all their courage to confess their feelings to me; then, of course, I'd hear them out. That's not easy to do, and I don't want to be the one to break someone's belief in love!

New friend requests from strangers again? How do these people even find me when they were never my schoolmate in all my life? Nor are they a relative? FB can be weird often.

Ah, one of them goes to the same college. Though I don't recognize his name at all, we have one mutual friend who was Rianne Umali.

"Hmm.. oh!" I perked up.

That girl was the one we interviewed for last year! The first-year finalist for that one video game competition!

Well, if that reserved person had this guy as her friend on social media, he should be safe to accept. Who knows? Maybe he wants something from me too.

J. Lacanilao sent you a friend request | Accept | Delete |

I gasped.

What if he likes me?

There are zero clues as to why anyone would find me favorable in any way, but I can come up with a few, and as people say—you don't need to meet any sort of formulas to say you're in love; you just know it!

I smiled, wore my earplugs, and clicked back on our video call.

"I had a good time with y'all earlier too, but now I gotta go because my BF is going to come soon!" After Julie's declaration, the squeal that followed got my fingers frantically adjusting the volume down.

"No one cares about your love life, Julian!"

"What did I just say about my name, Rosanna? Admit it; you're just jelly because Papa Yuri still only has eyes for literature!"

"Papa Yuri– pft!" Both Georgette, or simply George, and I couldn't contain our snort at the way Julie referred to Yuri.

If this weren't on an online call, Rona's face would be blasting meteor red!

The call eventually ended less eventful than I thought it'd take. I threw my phone on the bed and stretched my body until my disheveled hair met the floor and my eyes faced the purple stickers of stars on the ceiling.

One hand reached out and grabbed, but it was all too far and out of reach. I tried to smile.

Sometimes I get a bit envious because the things that everyone yearns for so much are nearby—Rona's not-so-obvious crush on her and my childhood friend, Yuri, for example.

I could count our dream careers as part of that thing that we yearn for so much—but there's always something... else, something else that we desire more than what it appears on the surface.

Oh, if only that something else of mine could be reached the more achievements I attain... If only I could reach those stars on the ceiling the higher the step I take on an invisible ladder...

I blinked and slid my gaze to my phone on the bed. It suddenly lit up. Did the girls—and gay—want another video call session? Maybe Julie's planning on flexing his boyfriend on us again?

I think I'd like some of that right now.

Or maybe, I needed something else—something new and unexpected.

Instead of a message in our group chat on social media, I got a new message from the guy who friended me a few minutes ago.

Hi?

What's with the question mark? Seeing no harm in responding, I did.

Yes, hi?

Um, hello.

What is wrong with this guy? I gasped. Could it be...?

Could it be that you...

seen

He does want something from me! He's waiting to see if my guess was correct or not!

You like me? :0

Wtf?

Eh?

"Shane! Dinner's ready; come down to eat!"

"Coming, aunt Kat!" I dropped my phone on the bed and dashed downstairs.

I'll deal with him later.

-

Hey.

I've prepared myself to sleep but decided to check my phone and lookie here.

Not knowing what to reply, I stared. Ah, it said he was typing.

Can you reply?

Can I?

..You just did.

I chuckled.

So, since when?

?

Don't be shy! Since when did you like me?

I don't.

But you keep texting me when we're not even friends or anything >.> It's okay, you know. I won't avoid you or get mad if you have a crush on me.

It's because you didn't reply earlier.

Admit it, then.

Admit what?

You like me!

No, I don't.

But isn't that how it works? If someone keeps pestering you, they have a crush on you! Or they want something from you!

J. is typing...

OH! Could it be that you want something from me or.. is it me you want? :0 Well, I appreciate that, really!

..The hell are you talking about?

But I'm not prepared for anything like that yet >.< sorry!

Aren't you just assuming things?

I gasped.

Are you saying I'm presumptuous? >:(

I never said that word.

Eh...

Hey? Are you still there?

I rolled my eyes.

Yes, what is it, my in-denial admirer?

I never said I was your admirer.

Exactly! You're not saying whether you like me or not-

Uh, yes, I did?

You do like me????

No.

Admit it- bwahaha

And what am I supposed to admit?

So you really did have something to admit? :D

seen

Disrespectful guy! Suddenly just seen-ing my messages and not saying anything?

Say it if you have something to say.

Well...

Are you going to confess you really do like me after all?

.. You're just being presumptuous.

YOU FDSJFSD

He's calling me presumptuous for real now!

Anyway, I've been texting because I wanted to ask you something.

You want to ask me out?

As if.

Aww :((

So I have a question, and please answer me.

My answer is yes!! :D

..I haven't even said anything yet.

>.> okayyy, what is it?

..Do you suppose I can borrow your notebook in PL tomorrow?

Eh? My notebook in Philippine Literature? Is it my classmate?

Are you serious?

Yes?

Was that really your question?

Yes, so please answer me. Can I?

OMG, Can you what??? :000

..Please cleanse your brain.

hEY!!

Just answer my question, please?

Okay, he's serious about it.

Hmmmmm

The first pillow my hand stretched out to grab was a soft pink one that Yuri had gifted me years ago. I turned upside down, swam my feet in the air, and dropped my head on the pillow.

Should I?

Maybe he just needed some notes because he was absent during the previous lesson? That may be it.

Or he's using that as an excuse to get something of mine because he has a massive crush!

Giggling at my weird thoughts, I typed in an answer before turning my phone off.

If you can find me before PL class tomorrow, then you can borrow it :D

Gotcha.

-

The screen went black as I turned my phone off when a jeepney zoomed in my peripheral vision. I raised my hand so it'd stop by me, and how glad was I that one seat beside the exit was vacant.

Settling down after handing over my payment and getting my change afterward, I wrapped my arms around my backpack on my lap. I shifted my gaze from the all-too-familiar suffocating morning view of my fellow passengers to the slightly flooded roads outside.

The sun was on the rise, but the air was still cool, thankfully. And the wet tracks where the jeepney drove by must've meant that the other towns past my own began drowning their roads for the daily morning flood.

The jeepney would stop now and then, and maybe schoolmates of mine rode along and noticed my uniform, or perhaps someone I knew from high school or the market would stare at me long enough to confirm they knew me and see if I'd look back, and smile as a greeting.

But, there's nothing else more amusing than watching the bottom of my bluish-grey slacks fold as it bumps on the instep of my black socked feet slid into a pair of black flats or the purple zipper slider bumping the white parts of my backpack along the rocky ride.

I'd really instead not look up and not see the stars I want to reach.

"Ekswayzey College." This vision of mine that was glued only to my bag and my feet ran up to the person right in front of me when he mentioned that same college I attend.

There's been someone in front of me since I rode the vehicle, and there were ruffling noises. As if the person had been fishing their stuff for some coins, but I didn't even notice his uniform.

I need to pay closer attention to my surroundings. This habit of ignoring and blocking everything else could prove dangerous in the future, wouldn't it?

With an ugly expression after counting his change with his thumb, he slid them into his bag's pocket and squinted at me. Me? Does he know me?

"..Shane?

He does?

"You know me?"

His eyes widened a bit, but he nodded afterward.

"How?"

Could this be that again? What am I doing right to gain admirers everywhere? I hope he won't be so aggressive with his feelings, though—that can be scary!

"We're classmates," Wait, what? "in Philippine Literature."

"We are?" Oops, did I blurt that out?

His slightly tensed shoulders dropped, and I could've sworn he threw me a frown for a split second.

"Yes. Anyway," he opened a palm between us. "your PL notes."

My PL notes?

"Why?"

He hissed, "Don't look at me like that. You said I could borrow it, didn't you?"

"J. Lacanilao?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, who else? Did anyone else ask for your PL notes?"

"None that I remember of."

His eyes shifted to the side quickly, then back at me with more urgency in his expression. Why? Is he feeling conscious?

"So? Your notes?"

Ah, right. I allowed him to borrow it if he could find me, and just how lucky is he to have met me on the way to the school?

Before handing it over to him, I squinted long enough for one of his eyebrows to ascend.

"What?"

"Give it back during PL class."

"I will."

"The final page is blank—if you're ever going to write anything to me, do it there. And please use only the appropriate space you need for whatever it is you want to say to me."

His hand flinched.

Did he react to that? So, did that mean he did have a thing for me?

"Whatever." He spouted, taking hold of the small notebook I handed over, before going down when the jeepney stopped. "Later."

Oh, we're here?

Did I bathe too much in the weirdness of that sudden meeting? I really need to learn to pay more attention to my surroundings...

Despite that, when I got down the vehicle, that guy ten meters ahead of me avoided getting the small notebook in his hands to bump into anyone he walked by.

A smile and a head shake came over me.

Maybe he does like me, after all.

-

A/N:

Stress in the pronunciation of the surnames mentioned here is capitalized:

uMAli
lacaniLAO