Perfect Pleasures (PUBLISHED UNDER SUMMIT MEDIA'S SIZZLE)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 

I sighed heavily bago ako lumabas ng kotse ko. It’s the fifth day of school. Kailangan ko nanamang makipagtalasan ng dila kay Tessa. Ganito ba ang magiging buong semester ko? I thought college is fun?

As I locked my car, I turend around to check the doors if they were really locked. And to my surprise, pagkaharap na pagkaharap ko, nakita ko ang lalaking nagmamay-ari ng katabi ng kotse ko. Ni hindi ko man lang napansin na may nagpark pala sa tabi ko? Kanina eh wala yan.

“Hey.” He grinned. “It’s nice to see you, girlfriend.” Pangaasar nito. Hanggang ngayon ba ay hindi pa rin sya makamove on sa nagawa kong paghila sakanya? My gosh! Pang-apat na araw na ng pasukan pero ang memorya nya, nasa unang araw pa rin.

I just rolled my eyes at him tapos ay tuluyan na akong naglakad.

“Woah, why so snob, missy?” Narinig ko pang sabi nito. Sa sobrang inis ko ay minadalian ko ang paglakad. “Hey, I don’t bite! Oh, I mean I do bite but in a yummy way.” Manyak nitong tugon sa pinakapilyo nitong tono. And why the hell did he sound like he’s just behind me?!

Lalo kong binilisan ang paglakad.

“Hey, dahan dahan lang naman!” Dagdag pa nito.

That’s it! Naiirita akong humarap sakanya and yes, tama nga ako! Sinusundan nya ako!

“Unang una sa lahat, hindi hey ang pangalan ko. It’s Maxine. Pangalawa, wag mo akong susundan kasi naiirita ako sayo!” Medyo pasigaw kong sabi. Akmang tatalikod na uli ako ngunit ay sumagot sya.

“Is that your way of telling me your name? Nice. Now, you interest me, Maxine.” Aniya pa sabay kindat.

“You know what – you.. you.. – Urgh!” Sa sobrang inis ko ay tuluyan na akong tumalikod sakanya at maglakad papalayo. Pero iilang hakbang pa lamang ang nagawa ko, naramdaman ko na lang na may humila sa braso ko – making me turn around. Naramdaman ko ang pagkakakulong ko sa matikas na katawan at malaking bising.

“Kung magpapakamatay ka, wag mo ko idamay!” NArinig kong sigaw ng isang lalaki mula sa akinbg likuran.

“Gago. Over speeding ka, nasa parking lot ka, lul!” Sigaw ng lalaking nakayakap sakin. I looked at him and stared with disbelief. Muntikan na akong masagasaan, he saved me. “Are you okay?” Tanong nya bigla nang sinaulong nya ang mga titig ko.

I was unable to answer back, hindi rin ako nakagalaw. Ayaw kong gumalaw. Hindi ko maintindihan pero habang yakap nya ako, pakiramdam ko safe ako.

“I will let the admin know about that guy. I’ll make sure he gets his car pass invalid. Okay?” Malumanay nyang sabi before letting go of me.

Nilunok ko ang laway ko. I am torn between my pride and my gratefulnes towards him. He did save me, yes, but he is irritating and a playboy and a manyak and mayabang and a whole lot more. I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “Thank you.” I kind of shouTed immediately and then ran away afterwards.

Whew! I know it isn’t the proper way of saying thanks to someone who saved your life but as I’ve said, I have a lot of reasons why I can’t just swallow mg pride for that Dylan-whatever-his-name-is-guy. I don’t want my ego to get hurt too!

I was running until I’ve reached the floor for my class when I suddenly heard Tessa’s laughter. “Wow! Nakakatakbo ka pala, Maxine? And you’re even wearing red! You looked like a running longganisa!” She exclaimed and then everybody on the floor laughed. Dammit! Di porke mas malaki ang bewang ko sakanya ng 2 inches ha!

Alright. Way to start the day. Una ay ang boyfriend daw nya, pangalawa naman ay itong bruhang ito. Dahil sa pinagsama samang pagkairita ko sa mundo, I turned around and faced her.

“Hindi kulay red ang longganisa, boba! Mag-aral ka nga muna ng colors bago ka manginsulto. Imbyerna ka!” I shouTed loud enough, and boom, I heard louder laughters from the others. Nakita ko ang pamumula ng mukha ni Tessa plus her bitchy friends. A dose of her own medicine. Matapos nun ay tumalikod na ako tsaka tumawa rin ng malakas.

When I reached our room, my mates clapped and cheered that what I did was really good and it was a pretty fine comeback. Natawa raw sila. Nakitawa na lang rin ako sakanila. I sat beside my two bestfriends, or maybe still ex-bestfriends dahil parang may tampo pa rin sakin si Faith. And speaking of Faith, she was eyeing me as I sat down.

“Is that how you wanTed to spend the rest of your college life? Gusto mong araw-araw sa loob ng apat na taon ka makikipagsagutan kay Tessa?” Bigla nyang sabi. My jaw dropped.

Roxy faced me too. “Maxine, namiss ka namin talaga at gusto ka namin maging kaklase pero hindi yung ganito.”

I was unable to speak for a moment. I tried to find for the right words pero hindi ko iyon nahanap.

“Bestfriend, college should be your stepping stone to your dreams. Hindi stepping stone para ipahiya si Tessa.” Faith suddenly said. She called me bestfriend. It means balik na ang pagkakaibigan namin, right? I was kind of relieved with what she said pero hindi nun naalis sa isip ko ang nais nilang iparating.

Minabuti kong isipin ang mga sinabi nila. Iyon lang talaga ang laman ng isip ko sa buong magdamag. Habang naglalakad ako papunta sa kotse ko sa parking area, sa kamalas malasan ko, nakita kong nakasandal sa katabing kotse si Tessa habang kausap nya ang boyfriend daw nya. Won’t this day get any better? I sighed.

Okay na sana eh, tahimik na, kaso nga lang kinailangan kong buksan ang kotse ko and that sound caught their attention. When Tessa saw me, she immediately held Dylan’s waist and then looked at me. What was that for? Like as if I like that guy. Duh. I mentally rolled my eyes. And when I though na yun na lang yun, papasok na sana ako sa kotse ko nang nagsalita si Tessa.

“Hey, Maxine.” She said. Nilingon ko sya. “I heard a student got his car pass invalid dahil daw sayo? Muntikan ka na raw nya mabanga?” Aniya na may ngisi sa labi. Napataas ang kilay ko. “My gosh naman this university. Dapat ang rights mo bilang student ang naalis, imagine pag nabangga ka nya, wasak ang kotse nya and he might even have died! I’m so glad di mo binunggo kotse nya.” Aniya sabay tawa ng malakas. Another insulto from the queen bee. I sighed. And when I looked at Dylan, his jaw was clenched and he was staring straight at me. Di ko na lang iyon pinansin at pumasok na sa loob ng kotse ko.

My bestfriends were right. I should live my college life the way I want to see myself in the future, and not the way I want to get even with those kind of people. College life is about me and my future. Past is past anyway.

It’s settled, tomorrow, I will go here and shift to the course that I really like.