1:04 PM.
Nag-ring na ang bell. Dismissed na ang last subject before mabalik sa afternoon classes.
Nagkita kami sa hallway.
Or rather—nagkasalubong.
Ako, may dalang folder at phone na may flashcards app na naka-pause pa. Siya, may dala lang na sarili niyang aura. Untouched. Unbothered. Parang 'pag may hangin sa paligid, iniikutan siya nito imbes na tamaan.
We didn’t plan to meet. Pero hindi rin kami umiwas.
“Hi,” sabi ko, casual lang. Kaya ko ‘to.
“Hi,” sagot niya. As if hindi kami nagka-mini moment kanina over ampalaya flirtation.
Then, out of nowhere.
“May binili ka kanina?” tanong niya.
“Huh?”
“’Yung hawak mong cup.”
“Taho.”
Napakunot kilay niya.
“Taho?” he echoed, parang foreign word.
“You don’t know taho?”
“I mean… naririnig ko. Pero never pa ako nakakain.”
“Wait—never?”
He shrugged. “Hindi ko trip 'yung mga binubuhos lang sa tabo tapos ibebenta. May silk something raw ‘yan? With syrup?”
I stared at him. “You mean tofu. With arnibal. And sago.”
“Exactly,” he said, still looking mildly suspicious of the cup I was holding.
I blinked. “So you’ve never tried taho in your entire life?”
“Sorry. I was a cereal-and-croissant kid,” sabay tingin sa cup like it was a science experiment.
I scoffed. “Wow. Expensive.”
“Convenient,” he corrected. “But sure, expensive works too.”
May konting pause.
Then he added, almost too casually, “Masarap ba talaga?”
I raised a brow. “Gusto mo tikman?”
He looked at the cup. Looked at me. Then back sa cup.
“…Pwede ba ‘wag ngayon? I feel like I’d be betraying my croissant roots.”
Umirap ako. “Baka madehydrate ka sa culture shock.”
He smirked. “Worried ka?”
“Hindi.”
“Hmm.”
He walked past me, pero this time, may slight bump ng shoulder. Not harsh. Not aggressive. Just enough to say, see you later without saying it.
And just like that—
We walked in opposite directions.
Pero hindi rin naman.
Kasi with every step I took palayo, may something sa dibdib kong parang... sumisilip.
Like something started.
Something inconvenient.
Something dangerously close to almost.
Pagdating ko sa classroom, as expected, puro kalat.
May nag-iiwan ng Milo pack sa ilalim ng desk. May nagkikibit-balikat na lang kahit obvious na sila ‘yung nanggulo sa whiteboard. And as usual, wala na namang eraser ‘yung marker.
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Strings of Fate
Random"Hindi ako magbo-boyfriend. Hindi ako iiyak sa lalaki. At lalong hindi ako magpapakatanga sa love." That's Eli's rule. After seeing her friends fall apart because of boys, she promised herself she'd stay focused. No distractions, no commitments, no...
