Avenues of the Diamond (University Series #4)

03

"Kinilig ka roon, 'no?" 

I gave Clyden the fakest smile ever before sipping on my mango shake. I asked him to meet me in Robinsons Manila so we could talk about the stupid house. I heard my parents talking about it last night. Mayroon na rin silang kausap na agent. I never thought it would be that fast. 

"Why would I be? Ano'ng nakakakilig sa will you marry me when it comes from an asshole like you?" I raised a brow. He shrugged before sipping on his watermelon shake. 

Nakaupo kami ngayon sa table at magkatapat. I chose this place because it was the nearest to his unit. I mean, vacation naman 'ata niya pero roon pa rin siya nakatira sa unit niya so I had to adjust... for now. Hindi ko vacation since I was taking my practicum this summer in a media company. The one Arkin was working for. Hindi ko lang alam kung si Clyden may summer din.

"Last year ko na sa Ateneo this August papahirapan pa 'ko mag-travel from that house to my school?" inis na sabi ko sa kanya. 

"Oh, bakit sa 'kin ka nagagalit?" inis na tanong niya rin sa 'kin. "Ako ba bibili ng bahay? Gusto ko bang kasama ka? Hindi, kaya sa iba mo ilabas galit mo. I suggest, sa dad mo na lang." 

"Can you be serious for a second?" 

He scoffed before leaning on the table to get closer to me. He stared at my eyes which made me feel awkward. 

"Seryoso ako. Akala mo ba nagbibiro ako?" He raised a brow. 

"Okay, so this is the plan. I heard before mag-start 'yong school year nating dalawa, ready na 'yong house. Pwede namang during weekends lang ang uwi roon. Of course, they will hire helpers to spy on us, so we need to go home when we have time-"

"Paano kapag wala akong time?" he cut me off. 

"Then make time," simpleng sabi ko. 

"Wow." He sarcastically laughed. "I can't just 'make' time. For some reason, nagkasundo na lahat ng tao na twenty-four hours lang ang mayroon sa isang araw." 

I groaned and massaged my head in frustration. He was so hard to deal with! I had already met a lot of people, but he was the most difficult one to communicate with! I just wanted a nice conversation, but it ended up with me getting pissed off again. 

"You know, I think there's something wrong with your attitude," I said bluntly. 

"You know what I think? I think there's something wrong with my fucking drink." He stood up and went to the counter, ignoring my words. 

"Good God, please guide me," I prayed silently. 

I watched how he talked to the lady in the counter. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang nirereklamo niya sa inumin niya pero hindi naman siya mukhang galit. This guy, really. Kapag talaga may mali, sasabihin niya. He was a vocal person. He was the opposite of me.