485 C
Yes. Magcommute nalang ako. Yup. Kaya ko. As if may choice ako? Bye.
The person ended the call. Naman talaga ang buhay ko! Hello pollution. Nakakainis ah…commuting galore. Sino kaya pwede sabayan?
* * *
He was in the car with her, parked near the school gate, readying to leave.
Tap. Tap. Someone’s knocking on the car’s window.
She opened it a bit.
Can we talk? Sandali lang ito. The person outside said.
Yeah, wait lang. *yawn* She went out of the car and followed.
A few minutes later, she returned to the car and talked to him.
Please babe? She said while looking from him to the person outside. *yawn*
Whatever you say. But, you know my stand. I still don’t like that person.
Yehey! Thank you, babe! She is…nice. She kissed him on the cheek.
She rolled down the passenger seat’s window.
Hey! Sabay ka na sa amin! Daan ka na namin hanggang Quirino. Dun ka nalang magbus or cab kasi pa Roxas Blvd kami, ikaw papuntang North. So, ok ba yun sa iyo? She called out to her.
Nagliwanag ang mukha ng sinabihan. Wagas itong napangiti sa pagpayag ng kakilala.
Yey! Thank you, thank you!
She turned to him, smiling.
Naku, bahala ka dyan ah! Nakasmile na naman yang isang yan hanggang mamaya. Magfefeeling na naman yan. Hay…
Pagbigyan mo na. Patay na patay sa iyo eh. Classmate ko naman.
Oo nga. Classmate mo na nang bully sa iyo at sobrang feeling. Lakas na mang stalk, lakas pang magtweet ng kung ano ano. Pati ako biniktima nyan at patuloy na binibiktima. Ewan ko ba sa iyo, ang bait bait mo sa kanya.
She was looking at him with puppy dog eyes. Malamang may problem siya sa childhood kaya nagkaganyan siya, bully. Hahaha! Can’t we give her a second chance?
Sige na. One random act of kindness. Second chance pa. Sighing. Wag mo akong tutulugan ha? Let’s just hope that I can fulfill this act of kindness. What if hindi ko magawa?
Kaya mo yan. I believe in you. At oo, di kita tutulugan..sana lang. Hahaha. *yawn*
Shaking his head, he whispered and smiled, mahal talaga kita, walang duda.
Tap tap. The person was knocking on the car’s window.
Click.
Sorry, forgot to unlock. I did not do that on purpose. Automatic eh. He said smiling. Looking at his girlfriend.
She flung her arms around him. Thank you, babe.
Salamat ha. Super hulog kayo ng langit sa akin. Wala kasi susundo sa akin eh. Nakakainis nga sila eh. Coding pa. Sambit ng taong sumakay sa likuran ng kotse.
* * *
Red light.
*Yawn* She faced the window, looking at the people walking at the sidewalk.
Babe?
Tulog na ata, Moe. She commented from the backseat.
It’s Elmo.
Ang taray mo naman. Ang yabang lang. She mocked him.
Babe? He saw her sleeping. He held her left hand and squeezed it gently. She smiled.
Still red.
It was eerily quiet inside the car, so he turned on the car stereo.
Why can’t it be?
Why can’t it be the two of us?
Why can’t we be lovers?
Only friends?
You came along at the wrong place at the wrong time
Or was it me?
Ayun oh! She excitedly commented from the back.
Shhh… ano ba? Please keep it down.
But, she was too caught up in her own little world.
Elmo, bakit naman kasi di pwede maging tayo? Bakit kasi di mo ako niligawan? Maganda naman ako ah…
Kasi hindi kita gusto. Kasi ayoko sa iyo. At dahil hindi lang sa kagandahan nasusukat ang pagmamahal. Hindi ako nagagandahan sa iyo.
Huh? She surprisingly asked.
Oo. Kung marami ang nagagandahan sa iyo, ako hindi. And could you please mind your voice? Ang lakas din ng boses mo, may natutulog oh.
She was shocked with his answers. She just realized that she rather asked those questions loudly. Nakakahiya. Sobrang nakakahiya.
Red. No movement still.
He silently asked himself, bakit naman ang tagal maubos ng sasakyan galing Estrada? Argh!!!
Sakit mo naman magsalita.
Just saying what I feel. I am not my girlfriend. I speak my mind. You can still get out of the car if you want. The traffic light’s red.
Bakit naman? Bakit ba galit na galit ka sa akin ha?
Green.
Finally. He shifted the gears to drive and stepped on the gas pedal.
Bakit ka galit na galit sa akin? Pag uulit nitong tanong sa kanya.
Hindi ako galit sa iyo. I just don’t like you. You hurt people.
Why? And how did I hurt people? She demanded.
Yes. You pester people just for the sake of doing it. You enjoy making fun of others. I see them on your tweets. You like doing these things. You once, not only once, bullied my girlfriend with your barkada. You annoy me. A lot.
Stop. Red.
This is your stop. Quirino.
Lauren eventually stepped out of the car. Not saying anything.
Elmo on the other hand, woke Julie up. I dropped off Lauren in Quirino earlier. Sorry, I wasn’t able to do my act of kindness.
Why, babe? What happened? How was it?
Let’s just say that the ride with Lauren was the worst 10 minutes of my life.
-FIN-
