8 // What a Circle of Friends

After the birthday, I thought people won't be as crazy anymore. Akala ko lang pala, dahil ang event naman ni Lesly ang agad na kasunod.

Apparently, charity Fun Run pala iyon for the children diagnosed with depression. Even at first, the event was automatically a go for me just because it was Lesly's. But after I knew what it was actually for, I'd be honored to participate even if it's owned and arranged by someone else.

"Les, what's the white shirt for anyway? Diba may provided na kayo na shirt for the people who will run?" tanong ni Cara.

Kakatapos lang ng mga klase namin ngayong araw. During Wednesdays, magkakasabay ang tapos ng last courses namin. So if we have anything to plan out, rant about, or chismis to personally share, then you know it, it's all going to happen today, a Wednesday.

"Iyong white shirts ay gagawing canvas ng mga bata. They will paint on it while you run. Then after, they will give it to you guys as a commemorative shirt," Lesly explained.

"What, that's so cute!" kumento ni Cara sa matinis na boses na dala ng excitement.

"Yup! By the way, there are still a couple of slots left. Kung may kakilala kayo, please please encourage them to join."

Napatigil sa paglalakad si Cara. Like, she just abruptly stopped. Kaya kami ni Lesly, nagtatakang tumigil din para hintayin siya. We're looking back at her, on the lookout till she gets back to reality.

"Cars?" tawag ni Lesly.

"Hmm," Cara hummed out loud while she gathered her thoughts. Her eyes were even rolled upwards as her forehead creased. "I'm just curious. Friends na ba natin officially si Jerrick?"

Nagkatinginan kami ni Lesly for a good five seconds. Siya, naka-recover na. Ako... I didn't think I ever could.

Really? That's what she was just thinking about?

I looked back at Cara. She's really waiting for an answer. Me, not knowing what to say, I just blinked, and blinked, and blinked.

Tumawa si Cara dahil siguro sa hitsura ko. Naglakad na ulit siya. Kinawit niya iyong braso niya sa akin para maisama ako sa paglalakad. Maybe because she knew that I wouldn't recover from that out of the blue question easily.

"I mean, si Kurt gets ko pa na acquaintance lang since his role is only to pick up and drop his best friend at Mostaccio."

"Hindi pa rin naman natin kilala nang ganon si Jerrick. Well, that's besides the rumors, if we aren't going to consider them," sabi ni Les kasabay ng pagkibit niya ng balikat.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Just how much rumor you two know about him?"

Sila naman ang nagkatinginan bago sabay na tumawa. Umiling-iling pa si Cara na tila hindi makapaniwala sa akin.

I'm already hearing Jerrick's name even before Jules told me her story of him. Pero noon ay wala naman akong pakialam sa kanya. Kapag may mga tea naman na pinaguusapan iyang dalawa, pasok at labas lang sa magkabila kong tainga. Maybe I heard it, but I didn't bother to comprehend.

"Interested ka na ba? Baka mawindang ka, sunshine?" panunukso ni Lesly. Sa tabi ko naman ay hindi mapigilan ni Cara ang hagikhik niya.

"Fine, don't tell me. Never naman akong naging interested sa mga 'yan," sabi ko kasabay ng pag-irap.

Just as we were nearing Mostaccio, I felt my stomach turn at the sight of the subject of our conversation. He was with his best friend, occupying a table outside the cafe, drinking iced coffee.

"Gusto ko silang maka-close!" Cara shared unapologetically after she saw the two guys herself. Mabilis siyang tumingin sa akin at tsaka nag-peace sign. "Sorry. Weird ba?"

I just grunted and rolled my eyes for the nth time.

Hindi ko naman sila pipigilang makipagkaibigan sa ibang tao. But then, I also foresee that them being friends with each other would definitely have an impact on me. Alam kong madadamay at madadamay ako sa kanila dahil talagang idadamay nila ako.

I totally didn't want to be friends with Jerkrick!

Nang mas lumapit na kami sa cafe ay binilisan ko na ang lakad ko. Habang si Cara naman ay sinasadyang magmabagal at tila hinuhuli pa ang atensyon nina Jerkrick so that they would be invited to their table.

"Don't pull me back, Cars!" naiinis kong sabi. Pinipigilan niya kasi ako sa pagmamadali ko. Kung ganito, mas lalo kaming mapapansin nito.

"'Wag ka kasi masyadong magmadali."

I already saw Jules inside the cafe working on something on her laptop. Kating-kati na akong tumakbo para makapasok at tumabi sa pinsan ko. Iyon lang ang gusto ko, please, Lord!

"Ikaw naman pala ang may gusto sa Jerkrick na 'yon. Nililipat niyo lang sa'kin!"

Si Cara naman ngayon ang umirap. "Girl, 'wag kang magselos. Si Kurt ang bet ko."

Muntik nang magkatama ang paningin namin ni Jerrick, mabilis lang akong nakaiwas bago siya makalingon sa akin. Sa gilid ng mata ko ay nakita kong tumango siya, pero wapakels ako. Si Cara ang sumalo ng pagbati.

Bago pa sila nagkaroon ng chance na makapagusap-usap ay nakapasok na kami sa loob ng Mostaccio.

"Cars, 'pag niyaya nila tayo sa table nila o kaya pumasok sila dito, I dare you to find a way to shed a little light on some of the rumors," hamon ni Lesly sa kanya.

Umupo ako sa tabi ni Jules habang ang dalawa kong kasama ay sa tapat naman namin. Umangat ang tingin ng pinsan ko sa aming tatlo, probably confused on what Les was talking about.

Cara looked at Les incredulously. "Gaga! Di pa nga close friends tapos babarilin ko kaagad ng ganong conversation?"

Nagkibit lang ng balikat si Lesly at tsaka inayos ang eyeglass niya. Confused pa rin si Jules pero mukhang walang may balak na mag-explain sa kanya ng nangyayari.

Ilang segundo pa ay naaninagan ko na paparating na iyong mga pinupuntirya nila. I think my friends saw them, too, because they unnaturally fixed their posture. They even quickly pretended to do something on their phones.

Ang bibilis nilang magpanggap! I just stared at them unbelievably. Thank heavens, same lang kami ng reaction ni Jules sa dalawang nasa harapan namin, or else malapit na talaga akong ma-convince na weirdo akong tao.

Hindi ko kasi sila ma-gets minsan. And I think hindi rin nila ako maintindihan minsan. So there's that. We have that kind of connection.

I puffed out a sigh. "I miss Saige."

Tumaas ang dalawang kilay ni Jules at umiling. "Things would be much more chaotic with her here. Mabuti na iyong nasa Camea siya."

"True, true. But still," I argued with a pout. "I miss Snooki."

A few moments later, the two guys finally reached out to us. Hindi sila kaagad tinaasan ng tingin nina Cara. I knew they were waiting for them to greet us first. But after they did, everything was really cringe-worthy because of the way my friend answered.

"Uy! Nandito pala kayo?" Halos pumiyok si Cara dahil sa taas ng tono niya. Halatang-halata mo na nagkukunwari siya, siya lang ang hindi nakaramdam.

Lesly followed her suit but in a more subtle way. Ngumiti at tumango lang siya kina Jerrick at Kurt.

"Wow, what is happening?" Jules murmured to herself while looking at our friends.

Jules, they're mainly your friends. Of all people, you should understand them first.

"Yeah, we saw the three of you walked in," Jerrick started. "Tara sa labas? Table's bigger."

Ngumiwi si Cara, still onto her mediocre acting. She wrinkled her nose after taking a quick glance outside.

"Hmm. But mainit yata sa labas."

I groaned in my mind. Cara really needs to do better than that. Palubog na kaya ang araw at presko na ang hangin sa labas. Iyong tipo ng hangin na nakakaantok pero masarap sa pakiramdam. Maliwanag pa ang ulap kaya marami pa ring estudyante na customer ang nakatambay sa lamesa sa labas at nag-aaral.

I saw Kurt nudged his best friend, as if he was urging him to do something to convince us. Pero nabalewala lang siya dahil hindi naman nag-react si Jerrick, kaya siya na ang nag-butt in.

"How 'bout I say that we go outside, then I promise your iced coffees are on us, deal?" offered Kurt.

"Yeah, but promises are often broken," I murmured to myself. Pero mukhang narinig iyon ni Jerkrick kasi mahina siyang napahalakhak. Kagat-labi akong nag-iwas ng tingin.

Mabilis pa sa alas-kwartong tumayo si Cara. Nagkibit lang siya ng balikat para hindi magmukhang big deal sa kanya iyon.

"Meh. You had me at coffee," sabi niya pa.

Ngumisi si Kurt. "Okay, great. I'll get our coffees."

Humabol pa siya ng patagong suntok sa tagiliran ni Jerrick bago niya kami tinalikuran at lumapit sa counter para um-order.

Si Pol lang ang tanging barista ngayon. Pasulyap-sulyap lang siya sa amin. Kapag nagkakatama ang tingin namin ay ngingisi siya at guguhit ng heart sa hangin. Iniirapan ko lang ang bwisit.

Cara gave each of one us a sneaky authoritative wide-eye look. Isa-isa kaming tumayo para sundin siya. Hindi na sana ako sasama, that's a default decision if the jerk was also concerned. But I also thought that Kurt's being nice, and he did seem nice.

Pagkatayo ko ay mabilis akong hinarangan ni Jerkrick bago pa ako makahakbang. I looked up to him and glared.

"Woah, sunshine. You went easy accepting the invitation this time, huh?" aniya nang may kasamang ngisi. He really showed it this time.

"Hindi ikaw ang nag-invite so 'wag kang feeling." Umikot ang mga mata ko. I stomped away but he just caught up to me like always.

Ganito pala ang feeling ng hinahabol? Wow. It feels empowering. Chos!

Kaya pala iyong iba ay hindi na bumabagal sa pagtakbo kahit alam nila na may isang taong hinihingal makasabay lang sa bilis nila. Instead, they just run faster and faster with just one thought in mind; that a certain person will always be behind them to chase relentlessly. The people who run, they love it like that.

I'll stop at that. Nalihis na ng landas ang isip ko!

"Tatabi ako sayo," he said. He's decided on his own and didn't even bother to ask me.

Pagkalabas ay sinubukan kong makipagpalit ng pwesto kay Cara na nakaupo sa malayo rito kay Jerkrick pero ayaw niya. Alam ko naman na hindi siya papayag dahil si Kurt ang magiging katabi niya pagkadating nito. Iyong last vacant seat ay sa kabilang tabi ni Jerkrick so wala talaga akong choice.

"Friends na kayo?" biglaang tanong ni Cara kay Jerrick kasabay ng pagturo niya sa aming dalawa.

I got stunned for a second. Itong katabi ko ay ganoon din, pero mabilis siyang naka-recover at tumawa lang.

I facepalmed.

"Uy ano ka ba," mahinang suway ni Lesly sa kanya.

"What? Why? Nagtatanong lang ako!" she said defensively.

Umirap ako. "She wants to be friends with you and your best friend, uhh, Kurt," I flat-out said.

Cara immediately turned red. She shook her head quickly. Cute! Hiyang hiya siya. Buti ay wala pa si Kurt. Magpapakain talaga 'yan sa lupa if ever.

"Really?" He chuckled, looking very amused. "But I thought we were friends already?"

Kumunot ang noo ko at napataas ang isang kilay. Dumating na si Kurt, holding a tray with our iced coffees on top.

"What, really?" Even Cara herself couldn't believe it.

I mouthed a shy thank you to Kurt when he handed me a coffee. He just winked with a click of his tongue. Manang-mana!

"I don't see any reason that we all shouldn't," sagot ni Jerrick, tila nagtataka pa sa reaksyon ni Cara.

Pabibo lang iyan. 'Wag kayong maniwala dyan.

I braved to look at him just so he could see my eyes roll but he was quick to shut me up.

"Especially not now," he said, looking straight to my eyes.

I was stunned. Again and again.

Then everything went silent or I just couldn't hear anything for a good three seconds.

I looked away na lang at tsaka uminom ng iced coffee. Damn, is this really iced or what? Because I need something colder!