Halos tatlong araw din ang itinagal namin sa Manila. Kahit pa man tapos na ang birthday celebration ni Sean ay na-extend iyon dahil sa paggala ng grupo. Kaming magpipinsan ang huling umuwi dahil mayroon naman akong unit doon.
Kaming lima, kasama si Sean, ang mga nagliwaliw at sumulit sa bakasyon. Aside from the various trips and bar hopping, Sean and I made a point to check out our chosen medical school where we will be for the next years.
Most of my batchmates had also chosen this institute, at kung hindi man ay abroad. Papa, too, wanted me to resume studies abroad but I declined. Ayaw kong maging mag-isa nanaman. Atleast dito sa Manila, pwede niya akong dalawin kaagad o ako naman ang uuwi.
Dumating na ang araw na uuw kaming magpipinsan, at tanging si Sean na lamang ang maiiwan sa kaniyang relatives. Ito ang naghatid sa amin sa airport.
"Will you reply to my chats now? Answer to my calls?" Sean leaned on the side of our vehicle once he finished helping with the luggage.
"As far as I know, I don't really reply to you. At all," nakangisi kong sabi ngunit iyon naman ang totoo.
"Why wouldn't you want to reply? At all?" He repeated my gestures and looked at me dumbfounded. Humalakhak ako.
"I'm always busy, pretty boy. And you're busy too yourself. Palipat-lipat ng teritoryo..."
Lumitaw ang nahihiyang ngisi si Sean sa katotohanan ng aking pahayag. Sikat na sikat ang isang ito sa school namin at syempre, lalaki, kay rupok nga naman pagdating sa babae. Siya ang tipo ng lalaking sa dami ng babae, sa unang tingin ay mala anghel pa rin.
"My relationships were always private. I always see to it that everything was discreet and I wouldn't look like a..."
"Fuck boy?" Tumaas ang aking kilay. "Casanova? Matinik?"
"Yes," he answered without a heartbeat.
"Because you are?"
"No..."
"No? Why so?" ngisi ko. Napanguso lamang si Sean.
"Hindi naman ako katulad ni Arjuna na kung sinu-sinong babae lang ang pinopormahan. Hindi pupwede sa akin ang maganda at sexy lang. I've always liked a daring, passionate woman. Its quite the turn-on..."
Tumango ako sa kaniyang katapatan. That's the first thing I want with all the people around me. Honesty, and complete trust with themselves to say the truth.
"And of course, a woman who wears scrubs and knows how to cut open a cadaver," he added and giggled.
I personally wanted to keep that sweet giggle in my sweets jar!
"Gusto mo na pala lahat ng mga ka department natin, ano? Although, if I recall correctly, there was one time you dated a veterinary student, a pretty girl with a very malaking mouth--"
"Oh, Chrissy! Don't ever remind of that girl!" He shrieked but his act stopped when Arjuna was finally done.
"Say 'cheese'!" Mabilis ang pagkilos ni Ramona ngunit mas mabilis si Sean. Bago pa ma-click ay nahablot na ako nito kaagad at naakbayan.
"And die," Beth rolled her eyes at us both.
Muntik nang maghabulan sina Ajruna at Sean sa labas kaya naman napailing na lamang ako. Gwardya pa rin iyan kahit sa barkada pero kapag siya'y walang makakapigil. Kasama naming naghintay si Sean at hanggang sa huling segundo ay naroon siyang nakatanaw.
The familiar southern wind blew me a kiss when we arrived hours later. My soft curls adjusted with the wind as we strode inside, away from the blistering sun. I slightly adjusted my retro sunglasses. It felt like years away from home.
