To Be Loved

Chapter Nine

"My God, Lavie! I'm still freaking out so hard." Alana fanned herself.

I laughed. "Bakit na naman?"

"We went to Galleria Borghese and everything's so beautiful. The architectural design is amazing. And! I even saw Apollo and Daphne sculpture! Nakakaiyak!"

"Why? Does it remind you of Judas and how you'd rather be a tree than be with him?" I laughingly teased.

"Babe, I won't turn into a damn tree for him. Siya ang gagawin kong puno." I could imagine Alana rolling her eyes. "Anyway, if you'll just rain on my parade, goodbye na lang."

"Arrivederci!" I laughed.

She snorted. "Miss you even when you're annoying."

"I miss you, too."

She ended the Facetime video call. I resumed the song that was playing before Alana called. Ibinalik ko ang phone sa armband ko at inayos ang AirPods sa magkabilang tenga. My personal trainer returned, maybe he saw that I was done with my call.

"Ready?" Adrian asked.

"Yup!" I nodded.

"Let's start again with squat jacks." He lifted the stopwatch.

I nodded and shifted to the proper position. He gave me his signal and I squatted down. Hindi ako tumayo agad. Inayos pa ni Adrian ang tamang posisyon ng mga braso ko, pati ang tamang level ng squat.

"Up," he instructed and I followed.

This is how half of my summer vacation went. Nung una ay puro archery range lang ako, pero dahil sa boredom ay naisipan ko na magsign-up sa gym. I'm all alone and I wanted to kill time. Xavi's in Orleans since the Serrano family decided to spend their entire summer there for this year. Alana went to Italy with her family last week.

Nagbakasyon din naman kami, pero hindi buong summer tulad nila. I just realized how boring life is without them.

Alana returned a few days before the start of enrollment period. Si Xavi naman ay kagabi lang umuwi. Magkikita kaming tatlo ngayon para sabay-sabay na mag-enroll. This will be the first time that we'll be seeing each other again after the dreadfully long summer vacation.

Xavi:
I'm outside

I gave myself a one last look through the mirror. I fixed my wavy hair. The blonde highlights were standing out from the caramel color. Hindi ako nagmake-up. My clothes were simple. Gray sleeveless mock turtleneck shirt, black scuba shirt for the bottom, and black ankle strap heels for my feet.

My parents aren't at home, but they know I'll be enrolling today. I just kissed my younger brother goodbye before leaving the house.

Bumugad agad sa akin ang itim na Volvo ni Xavi sa tapat ng driveway. Xavi was leaning on the SUV. He looked like he's in deep thoughts while staring at the ground.

Tatlong buwan lang naman ang lumipas pero pakiramdam ko ay ang daming nagbago sa kanya. His haircut was different, mas maikli na ito sa nakasanayan pero faded pa rin ang style nito. He's wearing a slightly loose white shirt, black denim pants, and white shoes. He looked like he gained some weight and built muscles. He grew taller, too!

After closing our distance, I cleared my throat. It startled him a bit. Umangat ang mga mata niya sa akin. I brightly grinned at him. Natigilan siya pagkakita sa akin. He eyed me from head to toe. His forehead creased.

"You look different." He pursed his lips and brought his eyes back to my face.

"Nagpakulay ako ng buhok." I consciously brushed the tips of my long wavy hair.