Fidelity

43rd

Kahit ano pa ang sabihin

A day before my graduation, I was awakened by the sound of people chatting. Si Theo at Austin ang unang pumasok sa isip ko. Kagabi lang ay inaya nila ko na sabay magbreakfast ngayon. Kakabalik lang kasi nila mula sa 2-week team building ng Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) sa Cambridge.

Humihikab pa ko nang lumabas sa kwarto upang sundan ang pinanggagalingan ng mga tinig. From the sounds of it, they seem to be in the balcony.

"She's good at what she does, isn't she?"

Nakaharang man ang kurtina ng sliding door sa paningin ko habang papalapit ay natigilan ako sa pamilyar na tinig. Davion?

"Good?" natatawang tanong ni Theo. I'm pretty sure it was Theo. "You've got to be kidding me, man. She's way beyond just good. She's amazing!"

Sa anino nila ay kita ko ang pagtango ni Austin. I can tell it was him based on the physique.

"She's the best at what she does. Ang laki ng respeto sa kanya ng lahat sa Academy. Mapa-instructors man o kaklase. She was literally considered a genius pero ayaw niya ng special treatment,"

Nagreklamo pa si Theo sa pagtataglish ni Austin dahil naleleft-out daw siya pero tuloy pa rin ang usapan.

"Genius?" ani Davion. Hindi niya nga pala alam ang buong detalye ng admission ko.

"Yeah," ani Austin. "Don't you know? She didn't just get in as a regular student. I heard the whole school even made a huge fuss to welcome her on her first day."

"Man, I had no idea she was on another level until her schoolmates threw a housewarming party for her and we heard about it from them." kwento pa ni Theo. Kumurba ang labi ko nang maalala ang gabing iyon. "Imagine how shock I was. I suddenly want to kneel and beg for her forgiveness for treating her like an equal. I can't believe I even thought of hitting on her before! I was so intimidated that I couldn't look at her in the eye for a week,"

Theo and Austin laughed but Davion remained silent. Hindi ko mawari kung nakangiti rin o ano dahil tanging anino ang nababanaag.

"It's good to know she's making friends here.." malumanay na kumento ni Davion kalaunan.

"Of course." Austin said. "Everybody loves her."

"Yeah man, even our own homies admire her." ani Theo. Ewan ko kung bat napapangiti ako sa pinagsasabi ng dalawang to. I don't really hear praises like these from them when we hangout so... it's quite refreshing. "People look up to her for doing good not just in school but also in business,"

"Business?" ani ulit ni Davion.

Austin gave a nod. "She owns one. She started it and manages it by herself,"

"Impressive, right?" I can almost hear Theo grinning proudly. "At such a young age, at that."

Hindi ko na napigilan at tuluyang binuksan ang siwang sa glass door.

"Why are you all here so early?" bungad ko.

Nanlaki ang mata ni Theo. "Fifi!"

Don't even ask me why he calls me that. Ang alam ko lang, manghang-mangha siya nang kwentuhan ng schoolmates ko tungkol sakin at lagi na kong inaasar na Fashion Icon. From the initials itself, he started calling me Fi until it became Fifi. He's got some weird way in giving nicknames.

He ran to me and encircled my lower thighs with his arms. Binuhat niya ko na parang sako ng bigas. I shrieked and threw punches at his back. Panay lang ang tawa niya. He always does this! Hindi pa ko ibababa kung hindi sinaway ni Austin.