To Find You Once Again

Chapter Five

Maagang pumasok si Nikki pagdating ng Lunes at pumunta sa storage room ngunit wala si Matt doon. Tuwing breaks at hanggang mag-uwian ay nagpabalik-balik siya pero wala ni anino ni Matt. Kinabukasan ay ganon din ang eksena. Matt was nowhere to be seen.

On the third day na hindi pa ito pumasok ay nag-alala na siya. Where on earth could he be?

"Is there something wrong?" untag ni Bea na hindi niya namalayang nasa tabi na pala niya. Absent kasi ang isang professor nila kaya wala silang ginagawa.

"Wala naman," kaila ni Nikki.

"C'mon, Nikki. Something's wrong with you these past few weeks. Tell me your secret. You can trust me."

Nikki sighed. What was wrong in telling Bea about Matt anyway?

Ikinwento niya dito ang unang pagtatagpo nila ni Matt, at na lagi siyang pumupunta sa storage room dahil sa agreement nila ni Matt. Hindi niya idinagdag that the agreement had nothing to do with her wanting to spend time with him. Kung hindi masarap kasama si Matt, pwede naman niyang talikuran ang agreement anytime.

Halatang gulat na gulat si Bea.

"Matt? As in Matthew Francisco? That nerdy-deliquent guy?"

Bigla ang pagbangon ng inis niya sa sinabi nito. Bakit ba palagi nalang iyon ang nakikita ng mga tao kay Matt? To her, Matt was the warmest person she has ever known.

"Don't talk about him like that," angil niya dito.

Hindi pinansin ni Bea ang sinabi niya. "So, you were with him all this time? Alam ba ito ni Ryan?"

Napangiwi siya, sabay iling. "That's why I'm telling you. I can't tell Ryan about this."

"Why?" Nakakunot-noo nitong tanong. "Why do you have to keep it a secret? Are you falling in love with Matt?"

Suddenly, it hit her like a bullet train. Was she falling in love with Matt? Kaya ba lagi siyang masaya kapag nakikita ito ay dahil nagsisimula na siyang umibig dito?

"I don't know," she said, confused. "Anyway, I trust that you won't tell him about this. Hayaan mo'ng ako ang magsabi sa kanya."

"But the Christmas Ball is only two days away! Hindi ba at niyaya ka na ni Ryan do'n? Everyone is expecting you to be his muse!"

Nang hindi siya umimik ay nagpatuloy ito sa paglitanya.

"I hope you know what you are doing," inis nitong sabi sa kanya. "To think na ipagpapalit mo ang isang Ryan Ortega sa isang campus nerd? You must be out of your mind." Pagkatapos ay walang lingon itong umalis.

Naiwang nakatanga si Nikki dito. Hindi niya alam ang iisipin sa lahat ng sinabi ni Bea.

***

Hanggang mag-uwian ay binagabag na si Nikki sa mga nangyayari. Tama ba na makipagbreak kay Ryan? But Matt was just a friend. Bakit kailangan pang umabot sa ganito ang lahat?

Before, she honestly thought that Ryan and his group of friends would ease the loneliness she felt whenever she goes home to an empty house. But their relationship was something that she knew would never last. She wanted a friend, and Ryan just wasn't that kind of guy.

Wala sa loob na umakyat si Nikki sa storage room, expecting to find an empty room. Kaya nagulat pa siya when she saw Matt sitting at one of the corners of the room at abalang-abala sa pagsusulat. Hindi na naman napansin nito ang pagdating niya.

Sumandal siya sa hamba ng pinto. She watched him quietly. May hindi maipaliwanag na damdamin ang pumuno sa dibdib niya habang pinagmamasdan si Matt. It was too intense that she had trouble breathing. Mist started forming in her eyes.