Seeking Serendipity

Kabanata 18

Kabanata 18

Star

Mabilis lumipas ang tatlong linggo ng camp. Sa nagdaang mga linggo ay maraming naganap na activities. Mr. Gomez give us tips, we also played games, and we laugh. By that, I found the place where I belong.

Ang lahat ay busy sa pagkain ng meryenda. We bought a burger, pizza, and fries.

Laurence nudge me. "Fries?" sabi niya at inabot ang isang piraso ng fries.

Tumango naman ako. Kanina pa naubos yung fries ko. I'm a big fries eater tho. Lumapit na ako sa kaniya para abutin ang inalok niya. But when the moment I will take it, he chuckled and shove the piece to his mouth. I frowned out of irritation.

"Aleng," he said at patuloy pa sa pagtatawa.

Hindi ko siya pinansin.

"Sorry na Aleng," I can still hear the amusement in his voice.

May inabot ulit si Laurence sa akin, but I refused. Sa ganitong kalokohan ay hindi ko talaga magawang magtiwala sa kaniya. I leaned towards him. At nang nakalapit ako agad kong hinablot ang fries pero mabilis niya ring inilayo ito sa akin. I leaned closer to him, hanggang sa naglapit na ang mga mukha namin.

Hindi ako nagpapatalo sa kaniya, inagaw ko pa rin ang fries at nagulat nalang ako nang bigla niya akong niyakap ng mahigpit. He hugged me very tight. I am unable to move due to his sudden movements.

"You're so cute." he whispered.

Napatulala ako. I barely feel that my face heated up. It turns into scarlet again. Bumilis rin ang pagtibok ng puso ko.

"Ibibigay ko naman tuh sayo, Aleng." saad niya nang bumitaw na siya pagkakayakap. "Ngingiti na iyan......" he teased.

Kahit naiilang ako ay nagawa ko paring nagtaray. "Akin na yan," I mumbled.

Humalakhak naman siya. "My pleasure, Aleng Lauren." he said as he gave me the fries.

Pinagsingkitan ko siya ng mata at tinanggap ang ibinigay niya. His grin became wider. "Oy, ngingiti na 'yan." dagdag pa nito.

Napanguso nalang ako dahil sa mga pinanggagawa niya at kalaunan ay napapangiti rin. I eat and I try my very best not to look at him and just focus on not looking like a fool if he looks over at me eating his fries. I just feel embarassed, lalo na't ito yung kinakain ko. When it comes to my favorite side dishes... I literally ate them with a little bit messy.

***

We wait for it to get dark so that we can have the bonfire. The Arts booth just decided to have a bonfire this evening. Nang nag-alas siyete ay nagsimula na kami.

We put out blankets to sit on if we're not around the fire. Around the fire are a bunch of brenches.

There are three fires going on, the first fire isn't just a small fire, it's huge. They get smaller. One is for roasting marshmallow, one for sitting by, and the last one for just watching.

I sit out my tan fuzzy blanket on a spot of grass to the left of the smallest fire. I sit there for a while until I hear someone say my name or should I say "the palayaw name of mine - Aleng"

I rolled my eyes as I looked at him. Paniguradong mang-aasar na naman ito.

He leans at me and he places his hand on my cheek. What are you doing? Hindi agad ako nakapagsalita dahil sa biglaang galaw niya. He's so close to me. Geez, he's making my heart flutters again.

Wait a sec, is he going to kiss me?

Pero bakit? Bakit niya yun gagawin? Does he likes me? Come on! Can someone tell me what's going on? I panicked.

His lips are approximately two centimeters away from mine and he's staring into my eyes. He brushes my cheek with his thumb right below my eye. Pinikit ko naman ang mga mata ko.

3

2

1

"You had glitter," he said.

Nanlaki agad ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. Damn that glitter! It made me flustered! Nakakahiya.

"A-Ah," wala akong masabi. My brain still processing for what happened a minute ago.

He smiles at me and hops up saying, "Gusto mong sumama, Aleng?"

"Saan?" I asked while breaking our eye contact.

"Wanna go to roast some marshmallows?" aniya.

Dahil don ay napatingin ako sa kaniya. He wiggled his brows. "Sure!" I said.

He gave his hand to help me up and I stand up but he doesn't let me go. My heart is frantically pounding again. We walk over to the small fire and we stick four marshmallows on a stick. He started to roast it.

"Mami-miss ko tuh," banggit niya sabay tingin sa akin. "Akalain mo yun, dalawang linggo nalang at matatapos na ang camp. We've come so far. Parang kailan lang ay pinipilit pa kitang sumali dito." he then chuckled.

Tumawa rin ako. I smiled as I remember those days. "Me too. I'm going to miss these all."

"OH SHOT!" gulat niyang pagkakasabi. His all attention is on the roasted marshmallows and my eyes immediately widened as I looked of it. It burnt!

"Lachimolala!" I almost shouted. Hinawakan ko naman ang sunog na marshmallow. Wariness is all over my face. Pero nawala agad ng iyon nang tinawanan niya ako.

"Lachimolala? Iba ka rin, Aleng ha." natatawa niyang sambit. "Lachimolala!" he jived again with a laughed.

Iritado ko siyang tininganan. "Magluto na nga lang ulit tayo. And please no more talking." paalala ko sa kaniya.

He nodded. "Lachimolala."

Pinagsingkitan ko siya ng mata at agad siyang kinurot sa tagiliran. He grimaced in pain pero wala akong pakialam. Nang natapos na ang drama niya ay naglagay ulit ako ng marshmallow sa stick at ibinigay sa kaniya. I looked at him intently but I only received a boyish grin. He started again to roast it. Nang naluto na ay agad akong kumuha. I throws it on my mouth and it cooled off.

"If ever I'll forget many things in my lifetime... Pipilitin ko ang sarili kong huwag kitang kalimutan... Kahit ano man ang mangyari. Ayaw kong makalimutan kita." he stated in a serious tone.

Natigilan agad ako. Dapat ay magiging masaya ako sa sinabi niya pero kinakabahan ako bigla. Laurence has so many sides and he's very unpredictable kaya hindi ko agad makuha ang pinapahiwatig niya. Will he disappear? Will he leave me?

I have this feeling that he hides a secret, and that is a heavy one. Are you really a star who fought the battle all by yourself, Laurence? Please tell me your problems, I don't want to lose a friend again.