Cafeteria was packed. Amara and I had to sit with Herra and her friends. I was sandwiched between her and my cousin habang nasa harapan namin 'yung dalawa pa n'yang kaibigan.
We already had our food in the table. Nagsimula na rin kaming kumain. It was extra quiet because I was there. It was awkward for them whenever I was around.
"So, I did my research about your boyfriend." Herra bumped her knee to mine. Lahat ng nasa table ay natigil sa pagkain at sabay-sabay tumingin kay Herra.
"Speaking of the hot devil," ani Herra. Sinundan namin kung saan s'ya nakatingin. Caius was holding his food tray and made his way towards the table in front of me. Naupo s'ya sa tapat nu'ng dalawang lalaki na nakaupo sa table na 'yon. To make the description short, we were both facing each other. Natatakpan s'ya nung mga kasama n'ya but I could still see his beanie because he was tall. Hindi n'ya yata ako napansin.
He was wearing a black jacket this time. Kanina sa stadium, hindi naman n'ya suot 'yon. Baka nga may sakit s'ya dahil nabasa s'ya kagabi. He was still pale.
"You have the time to do a research about some guy when you can't even write a simple paper without copying from Salem." mataray na sabi ni Amara. Herra's friends laughed.
"It's Salem's love life, Amara. Priorities."
I eyed her. She didn't budge this time. Nagpatuloy nalang ako sa pagkain. Hindi naman magpapapigil 'tong si Herra.
"Well, he was in 11th grade and he got the same strand as ours. He'll turn eighteen this May 6. Pasang-awa lahat ng grades. He's addicted to online games and he doesn't even have a sport." pagsisimula n'ya. His birthday would be this May? So I was five months older than him.
Caius couldn't have sports.
"Halata naman na hindi nag-aaral ng mabuti." side comment ni Amara.
"Well, he's extremely good in science and math. I saw his records in junior high. Hindi ko lang alam kung anong nangyari ngayon. Well, that doesn't change the fact that he's hot. Right, Salem?"
Hindi ko s'ya pinansin. I couldn't believe that Herra got that far. She even looked through his grades in junior high.
"He likes drinking and he's close to girls. They said he's super sweet and clingy but very immature. He also have a bad temper."
She wasn't done yet. Sino ba 'yang source n'ya? I sighed and continued eating. The girls were all listening to Herra, pati na rin si Amara. Her face was contorted in disgust.
"Sabi nila, he got three ex-girlfriends. The former break-up was eight months ago. The longest relationship was five months. Wala daw nakakatagal dahil immature s'ya."
Nagsimula na akong mainis dahil personal na ang mga sinasabi n'ya. She shouldn't be spilling those. I mean, I didn't care about the information. She was just making him look bad with all the rumors she got.
"His bright smile is attractive, though." sabat ni Bomi.
"True." sang-ayon ni Eden.
"He's the youngest of five siblings. He got two sisters and two b---"
"Three sisters and a brother." Everyone stopped eating and looked at me. Pati ako ay natigil bigla dahil sa pagsabat ko. Hindi ko intensyon pero bigla nalang lumabas 'yon sa bibig ko.
"Uy, papansin ka! Kunwari ka pang hindi interesado d'yan!" panunukso ni Herra. They laughed except for Amara who was scowling at me. "Jowa mo na talaga, 'no?" tanong n'ya ulit.
Knowing his family doesn't necessarily mean that I was dating him.
"No." sagot ko ulit. My eyes caught Caius who was currently coughing. What happened last night came back to me. I watched him as he gulped his water. He hastily removed his beanie and brushed his hair up. He looked so uncomfortable.
YOU ARE READING
Salem's Eyes (COMPLETED)
General Fiction[Completed] Salem Ysabel Joson convinced herself that she was content of being numb- just generally devoid of any emotion. Given the fate that she has been given, she lived her life trying to strain herself from associating with anything that could...
