Almost, But Not Quite (COMPLETED)

Chapter 11

#ABNQ11 Chapter 11

"So... where are we gonna eat?" Matt asked. After a few minutes, natapos na rin sila sa wakas sa pag-entertain sa mga supporters nila. Kitty was observing them, while I quietly sat down and waited for them. Isa-isa ko lang tinitignan iyong mga kaibigan ko, wondering about the most random things in the world... Kasi minsan napapaisip ako kung bakit sa dinami-dami ng tao sa mundo, kami pa iyong mga naging magkaibigan. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason—lahat ng bagay, maganda man o masakit. If it hurts us, then it will only make us stronger. And if it makes us happy, then it will make us appreciate life more.

Sabay-sabay kaming naglakad, although nauna si Matt at Simon na sinabayan si Kitty dahil inaasar nila. Nasa likuran nila ako, at kasabay ko si Psalm. Hindi naman masyadong obvious na sinadya nila na kami ang magkasama sa likod. Grabe na 'yung pagpe-play cupid ng mga kaibigan ko.

"Ano'ng iniisip mo?" Psalm suddenly asked.

"Nothing," I replied.

"You look bothered."

"Lagi namang bothered ako sa paningin mo," I shot back.

He laughed. "Because you are, Joey. You always look like you're carrying half of the world's problem."

I wrinkled my nose. "Marami lang akong iniisip," I replied.

"Like?"

"Okay lang ba na kumain tayo? I mean, hindi natin kasama si Anj and Steele... 'Di ka ba nakokonsensya?"

Psalm didn't reply immediately. Malamang nag-iisip na naman siya. Ako naman, hinahanda ko na iyong sarili ko sa mga sasabihin niya. Minsan kasi, nakaka-mind blown.

"You know what's the secret to living a happy life? Stop worrying about things you have no control over," he said. Wow, ang tagal niyang pinag-isipan 'yun, ha!

"Well, sorry, I'm a worrier," I replied.

"I know, but with Steele and Anj, you really can't blame yourself for that, Jo. They're both adults who make their own decisions. If they want to hang with us, believe me, they know. We still talk to them, you know."

"Talaga?"

He nodded. "Yeah, of course. They're still our friends. They just made stupid decisions, but that doesn't mean that they're bad people."

Bigla akong napa-ngiti. Hindi ko kasi talaga masyadong nakakausap si Psalm madalas dati kasi si Anj and Kitty iyong madalas kong kasama. Siguro blessing in disguise na rin iyong breakup namin ni Steele, at least nalaman ko iyong ganitong side ni Psalm.

And honestly? He's a breath of fresh air. Masarap kasama iyong tao na hindi puro negativity ang pinapairal sa buhay. Mas masaya kapag may tao na nagpapaalala sa 'yo na life doesn't always suck.

Pagdating namin sa napiling resto ni Kitty, umorder na kami. Kitty and I were both wincing sa dami ng order nung mga lalaki.

"Last supper na ba?" tanong ko sa kanila after nila sabihin iyong order sa waiter.

Kitty looked really worried. "Aren't you worried about cholesterol or something? Wala man lang salad sa inorder niyo..."

Matt almost fainted at the mention of the word salad. Bakit daw kasi siya magbabayad ng malaki para lang kumain ng damo. "Nag-e-exercise naman ako. Hindi ako naninigarilyo. Pabayaan niyo akong kumain, please lang," Matt said. Kitty looked disapproving.

The guys, then, talked about the game. I tried to tune them out dahil hindi naman ako interesado. Kausap ko si Kitty, kaya lang biglang may tumawag sa kanya for council kaya lumabas muna siya. Bigla namang nagvibrate iyong phone ko.