She Crossed That Bridge

18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The plan . . .

"JESUS. Are you serious?" My eyes widened in disbelief.

"You heard it right, my friend. Turns out, Zeke was my online ex-boyfriend who broke up with me. God! I was so obsessed with Zeke! I literally had no idea that he was the one who broke my heart!"

She chopped the pork with a knife, imagining the visuals of Zeke. Well, I can't blame her for the brutality. Grabe 'yong panlolokong ginawa sa kanya ni Zeke, huh.

"He's such a jerk! I was following him around all the time without any idea that he's my ex!" she exclaimed, chopping nonstop. Oh, God. Somebody please stop her.

Well, I still couldn't blame her. When we were in Realgorez, umalis siya no'n sa venue para makipagkita sa ex niya. And there she found Zeke waiting for her. Isn't it—romantic? I mean . . . she should be happy with how things turned out. It's Zeke we're talking about here. The guy she's been crushing on for years turned out the same guy she dated online.

"So, you and Helix, huh," she said, turning around to give me a mischievous smile.

"How did you know?" I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Iniiba niya na naman 'yong usapan at sa 'kin niya na naman nilalagay 'yong spot light. Minsan nakaiirita rin kausap si Kath. Mahilig mag-change topic kapag love life niya na 'yong pinag-uusapan.

"Duh. I know everything." She winked. Ew, gross.

"Zeke and I went Downtown to find you because your dad was freaking out. He thought Helix brought you in a motel or what. And guess what? The biggest plot twist was the sight of you asking Helix to accept you as his girlfriend. Like what the hell, Shin? I'm proud of you!" masayang sabi niya saka niya pinisil ang ilong ko.

Uhh, great. They saw it.

Now I don't know how to face Zeke in school.

"By the way, isn't it too early for that? Pauline just died, and here you are, nag-vo-volunteer na maging girlfriend niya."

I left her in the kitchen and sat on the couch placed on the veranda.

Umupo siya sa tabi ko saka niya iniabot sa 'kin 'yong vegetable salad na ginawa namin.

"Did he say yes?" she asked again.

"You shouldn't be asking that, Kath. You heard everything."

"No, I didn't. I immediately grabbed Zeke somewhere else the moment we heard you—"

"Alright, shut up. 'Wag mo nang banggitin ulit," reklamo ko sa kanya saka ko siya inirapan.

She crossed her legs and stared down at me, waiting for an answer.

She's my best friend, but she's so annoying. Hindi siya nauubusan ng tanong. Kulang na lang pati kulay ng panty na suot ko itanong niya.

Napabuntonghininga ako.

"He said no."

Agad na nalaglag ang panga niya. "Seriously? Oh my God, okay ka lang ba?" nag-aalalang tanong niya.

Marahan akong tumango.

"Just don't tell Gerald about it, alright? Lalo na kay Dad. He'd probably kill me once he finds out that I got rejected by the guy who kissed me in front of him."

She rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be thinking about that, Shin. Jesus. Nasa'n na ba utak mo ha? Jusko."

"What do you want? Cry myself to sleep? No way in hell I'm gonna do that."

She placed her hands on my shoulder and flashed me a wide grin.

"I think you should date Nico. You guys look good together! The hell we care about Ger? Nico's the perfect guy for you. We could use him to get Hel's attention. Trust me, magseselos si Helix."

"Are you nuts? Why would I use Nico? He's my friend. A good one."

"Well—okay, we could be honest with him and ask for his help to accomplish our mission?" she suggested.

Seryoso ba talaga siya na idadamay pa namin si Nico? I hated the idea of using him because he's my friend. But . . . I think Kath's right. We needed his help.

"And if we fail?" taas kilay kong tanong.

"So be it. At least we tried. Isn't that the most important thing before giving up? Trying all possible solutions kahit 'di ka sigurado kung papasa ka o babagsak ka?"

***

UMUBO-UBO ako habang pasimpleng napatitingin kay Nico na naglalakad sa tabi ko.

He intently put his hand on my waist as we entered the cafeteria.

"Do you think they're going to notice that we're just . . . faking it?" nag-aalalang tanong ko.

He smiled at me and grabbed me even closer to him. "They won't," he whispered.

Nabanggit namin kay Nico kahapon 'yong tungkol sa plano and he said that we can count him in. Ang bait niya, 'di ba? Babawi talaga ako sa kanya kahit itaga pa niya sa bato.

"What the hell? Pina-prank niyo ba kami?" Andrew nearly choked as Nico and I sat across from them.

"Actually, no. This is all an act. Gustong pagselosin ni Shin si Helix," biglang sabi ni Nico at agad na nanlaki ang mga mata ko.

Bakit niya sinabi?! Jusko!

Few minutes later, I intently rolled my eyes.

"I told you not to tell them. Damn it, Nico."

Hindi ko alam kung saan banda sa sinabi ko ang hindi malinaw para hindi maintindihan ni Nico! Akala ko naman ay naintindihan niya ang sinabi ko! O sinadya niya talagang sabihin sa kanila?

I groaned in frustration, not knowing what to do.

"Relax. We won't tell Hel," Zeke said.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You're really good at keeping secrets," I countered. That made him shut his mouth. Huh. That was for Kath, you dumbass.

"Drop it, sis. You plan will not work," Gerald commented, raising a brow at me and Nico.

"It will. Trust me. Gusto ko lang namang ma-realize niya na may gusto siya sa 'kin at kailangan niya ako."

Confident na kung confident. Assuming na kung assuming. Pero ano'ng magagawa ko? Siya ang gusto ko.

"But what if it's not the case?" Zeke asked.

Akmang hahampasin ko siya pero buti na lang ay inunahan na 'ko ni Andrew.

"Shut up, Zeke," Andrew said, hitting him on his shoulder.

~

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