DV Series: decoding the boys (under revision) ??

56 | always

"Well, that sounds disheartening," rinig kong sagot ni Kuya Chris. Doon ko lang naisip na baka naka-loud speaker si Kuya Travis. "Don't drift too far! Ikaw pa rin ang bunso namin."

"And I still am." That made me smile. "Ayoko lang maabala pa kayo."

"You're not." Tumawa nang malakas si Kuya Chris. "At isa pa, nagmamadali na rin umuwi 'tong si Kuya. May hinahabol yata."

That surprised me. I shifted my phone to the other ear. "What? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know. Nagalsabalutan lang naman si Francheska," natatawang sabi ni Kuya Chris.

"Shut up," matigas na sabi naman ni Kuya Travis. I could imagine him stealing the phone back from Kuya Chris as he walked away.

"Francheska, huh? 'Di naman pala ako ang rason, e."

"Not you, too," he said in a gruff voice. "I'll see you when I come back. Anong gusto mong pasalubong?"

"'Wag 'na. Habulin mo na lang yung Francheska," I said, laughing until he disconnected the call.

In a way, it felt refreshing to talk to them. Napagaan ang loob ko at kahit sa saglit na panahon lang, nawala ang isip ko sa pinoproblema ko. Medyo na-mi-miss ko na rin sila. Silang lahat, actually.

Hindi ko alam kung sobrang paranoid lang ba ako pero hindi ko kasi nakita ang boys kanina sa school. Like they were avoiding me on purpose. Dati naman kasi'y nagkakasalubong kami sa campus grounds kahit na iba-iba kami ng schedule.

Maybe they were really disappointed. Mukhang lahat sila, walang balak na pansinin pa ako.

I sighed miserably.

#

Kinabukasan, kumalat sa klase ang balitang nagkasagupaan daw kagabi sina Racel at Kuya Jacob. Binalita 'yon ni Princess sa mga kaibigan niya dahilan para maglapitan sila sa 'kin at humingi ng juicy details.

I fumbled for words, shocked.

Nag-away sina Kuya at Racel? Kailan? Saan? Paano?

The thought that they got hurt by each other's hands made me feel sick.

"Was anyone badly hurt?" mabilis kong tanong kay Princess.

"Wala naman daw at saglit lang naman yung naging away dahil pinigilan nung isa pang kapatid mo. But Racel babes took a hit daw. 'Di mo pala alam?" dismayado niyang tanong.

I winced. Kung sa tawag niya kay Racel o sa balitang nasaktan ito ay hindi ko alam.

I hastily walked out of the room to place a call but it wasn't getting through. Kagabi daw 'yon nangyari. After namin mag-usap? Nung mga oras na kausap ko sina Kuya Travis?

I cursed under my breath, every fiber of my being twisting in worry. Alam kong hindi sasagutin ni Kuya Jacob ang tawag ko kaya si Racel na lang ang kakamustahin ko.

But he wasn't picking up.

I fidgeted and kept on dialling. After a few more tries in vain, I gave up and went back inside the room. Baka nasa klase 'yon kaya hindi makasagot. Susubukan ko na lang ulit mamaya.

At dismissal, napansin kong maraming nagkukumpulan sa gate habang papalabas ako ng Psychology building. There were whispers and murmurs, but I couldn't catch kung tungkol saan ang mga 'yon.

Nang makalabas ako ng campus, doon ko lang namataan ang pamilyar na BMW na naka-park sa labas ng gate.

Racel was sitting on the hood of the car, his eyes fixed on the phone. May mga tumatawag sa attention niya but in his true Gutierez fashion, he spared them no glance.