Moving Forward ✔

Twenty

Third year, first semester.

Last year in my crash course.

Almost there in the business industry.

Internship. Research.

These are the things I have been looking forward to.

Sounds tough but for me, these made me eager to finish my major.

I seriously can't wait to unload my academic requirements soon!

It has been draining me since then. But I am lucky enough to have crazy people beside me.

"Uy, gaga! Wag kasi!" Alvin protested when Jewel instantly hugged him from behind. According to him, he got chills whenever his girl cousins did that to him. Mas okay daw kung lalaki gagawa sa kanya. Ilusyunada talaga, di ba?

"Yieee! Dali na! Libre mo na ko!" Jewel stomped and cooed at him.

We were at the canteen browsing over our notes in Advertising. A quiz is expected after lunch today and as usual, instead of doing it in the library, we prefer it in the canteen.

Food will always be our comfort zone even if our schedules are hectic. And today, Jewel, has been bugging Alvin since this morning.

"Jew ha! Naiimbyerna na ako! Hindi ako makapag-aral dito." Alvin exclaimed sternly. His voice became deep and I raised an eyebrow amused at his reaction. "Stop being so clingy!"

Jewel rolled her eyes and made a space between them. Usually, they sat close together and have been inseparable.

But, for some reason, they have been in constant arguments and then would make up after. Typical cat-and-dog fights between friends.

Jewel fished out silently some cash and stomped to where Joana is at the counter. Tristan and me exchanged glances and we noticed how Alvin sighed in defeat. The latter stopped flipping through his book and pulled out a couple of bills. He hurried to where our friends are.

"I really think something is going on between those two." Tristan commented not leaving his eyes from the book he is reading.

"Really. Paano mo naman nasabi, Aling Marites?" I joked and he chortled.

"Their gestures toward each other. Parehong hindi nila matiis ang isa't isa. One gets frustrated pag natatampo ang isa't isa sa kanila. Palaging hinahanap ang isa kapag nawawala sya." He pointed out and we looked at them at the counter. Alvin's arm is now over Jewel's waist. Joana doesn't seem to notice it or chose not to say anything.

My eyes widened with Tristan's words. Mukhang tama nga sya.

"But, isn't it too early to say? Unless, he said something to you?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Hindi ka ba naniniwala na actions speak louder than words? Just look at how they care for each other. Which don't apply to how they both treated us."

He indeed has a point.

"Wait 'til I asked one of them." I said confidently.

"Don't do that. Mahihiya mag-open up sila. Worse, baka maging uncomfortable sila. Let them tell us voluntarily. We don't need to pressure them. It's not our story to tell." Tristan said and we both closed our books as our friends started to come near our table with our orders today.

"Hay! Sa wakas! Tenchu, papa Alvin! Kaya love kita eh!" Jewel said with a winning smile. She sat beside him and hugged him tightly.

I noticed Alvin blushed and I bit back a smile. I busied myself with distributing our foods so we can eat properly before we face our quiz later this afternoon.

We ate lunch and just like our usual routine, throw questions at each other as our way of studying.

Yup. This is our own version of group study.

Studying with food in front.

We even squealed when Tristan pulled out our favorite chocolate bars as our comfort food bago kami sumabak sa quiz today.

"OMG! The best ka talaga, Papi Tristan!" Jewel cried out and she excitedly opened her Hershey bar and broke a piece of it before putting it in her mouth. "Hmmm. This is heaven."

"Time check, guys. Thirty minutes before class. Do you want to take a nap or should we just stay here?" Joana, being our Nanay, asked us.

"Oks na dito muna tayo. Maaga naman uwian natin today. Bawi na lang ng tulog sa bahay mamaya." Tristan said and we all agreed.

Shortly after agreeing to that, our discussion about our quiz resumed and we left canteen after fifteen minutes before we proceeded to our classroom. An hour later, we found ourselves planning to watch the latest movie on Netflix.

We suddenly agreed to watch it in Tristan's house which is only a few streets away from the university.
We were outside the main campus until a car honked at us.

I winced when I remembered my schedule today.

It's our dinner date day. Babe time.

"Oh, hi, Damon!" Jewel smiled at him when he got out of the car. "Tara, sama ka samin! We are planning to watch a movie at Tristan's house!"

"Really, huh." Damon commented, meeting my eyes. "Movie night."

I gulped and I asked him thru our eyes. He raised an eyebrow at me.

That was my cue.

"Oh, guys! Sorry! I forgot, may lakad pala kami ni Damon ngayon." I said breaking the awkward silence.

"Aw, sayang naman!" Alvin remarked and shook his head.

"You guys can go ahead with it without me. Wag nyo lang akong bigyan ng spoiler ha!" I chuckled lightly, pretending not to sound disappointed.

"Oh okay. Una na kami, guys. Ingat kayo ha." Jewel said and waved at us. "Bye, lovebirds!"

We watched them go to the direction of Tristan's house before Damon opened the car door for me, his hand on his pocket.

"Movie night. What a nice idea." He said sarcastically.

I heaved a deep breath.

Mali na naman ba ako?

Bakit parang ang laki ng kasalanan ko na naman?

Honestly, what is going on with him?

He's becoming too toxic lately!