I'm In Love With HIM

CHAPTER 2: The Face-off

BLUE

“Yes, Mom. I’ll take good care of myself. You must too,” sagot ko sa babaeng kausap ko sa telepono.

“That’s good to hear, Blue. By the way, I need to hang up now. I still have a lot of office stuffs to do. Bye,” she uttered from the other line. I think she’s now already at the house.

“Bye, Mom. Please don’t stress yourself too much. Dad would be angry,” I spoke before she ended the call. I slid my phone to the side-pocket of my shorts.

I am now on my way to a school’s cafeteria, nearest from the boys’ dormitory. It’s already seven in the evening and a perfect time to have my delicious dinner. Hoping that it would be delicious as I would like to describe it. I have no one with me tonight because, obviously, this is my first night here in the campus, and I haven’t seen anyone that I knew [if there were any].

Actually, nagising ako mula sa ingay na likha ng aking telepono dahil sa sunod-sunod na tawag mula kay Mom. As expected from her, ang daming habilin. Habilin dito, habilin doon. Ingat dito, ingat doon. Bawal dito, bawal doon. Kulang na lang, gagawin na niyang aklat dahil sa dami. I can’t blame her though. She’s just doing her job as a mother to me.

As soon as I got in the entrance of the cafeteria, I smelt something good already that made my tummy ask for it. Marami-rami na ring mga estudyante ang nandirito. Kadalasan ay mga lalaki dahil malapit nga lang ito sa boys’ dormitory, ngunit may mangilan-ilan ding mga babae na nakaupo malapit sa counter.

Wala nang nakapila sa counter, kaya kinuha ko na ang oportunidad na pumila upang umorder ng hapunan. I knew that tonight’s meal will be all free, saan mang cafeteria dito sa loob ng campus, bilang pagbati nila sa pagsalubong sa bagong academic year. Pero kahit na libre lang ang pagkain ngayon, we still have to think about the others. Since this is a boarding school, sure ako na maraming estudyante ang kakain dito.

Nang makalapit na sa akin ang isang babaeng nakasuot ng apron at hairnet, agad na akong nag-order. Based on the physical details on her face and body, she’s still on her mid-30s. The minimal creases on her forehead tells me that she is not on her 20s anymore. Her loose and dry skin on her arms also tells me that she isn’t a virgin anymore. So, she definitely is already married. Hindi naman siguro siya pokpok, kasi wala naman sa itsura niya at parang hindi din siya marunong maglagay ng mga kolorete sa mukha.

“Heto na po ang pagkain niyo, Sir,” the lady vendor uttered as she placed the food tray on the counter.

Even the way she handled the tray is so gentle. I can sense that she’s a kind person. Agad ko namang naalala si Manang Esther mula sa kanya.

“Thank you po,” tipid kong pasasalamat sa kanya nang nakangiti.

Pagkatapos kung makuha ang aking pagkain, agad na akong nagtungo sa isang natitirang bakanteng mesa na malapit sa isang water dispenser. Wala pang niisang nakaupo nito, kaya dito na lang ako dumeritso. Ngunit laking pagtataka ko nang pinagtitinginan na ako ng ibang mga estudyante na nasa loob ng cafeteria.

What’s their problem, by the way? Ngayon lang ba sila nakakita ng intsik na pogi? What surprised me is that, pati ang mga lalaki ay nakatingin na din sa akin.

Stop it. I don’t want so much attention. I just want to study here peacefully.

“Transferee siguro,” narinig kong bulong ng isang babae na nasa kaharap na mesa.

What’s the problem if transferee ako?

“Naku! Lagot siya mamaya.”