Thorns of Roses

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

While running under the umbrella in the pouring rain, walang nagsasalita sa amin. Sinusundan ko ang yapak ni Sir Nico palabas and I don't really know where we are headed. But when I saw the Black Vios meters away, ay napag-alaman kong sasakay kami sa kanyang kotse.

The rain poured still, droplets of it found its way to the car's side window. The awkward atmosphere filled the air and us silence enveloped us slowly. I tried my best to strike a conversation. Sitting on the passenger's seat and gawking outside, I realized that I am not fond of silence. But before I am about to speak, nilingon ko siya at nakitang inabot niya sa akin ang kanyang iPod.

"You can tune in some music." He said.

I am actually lost for words. Tumikhim ako at kinuha ang kanyang iPod upang magbrowse ng songs. My brows furrowed at his playlist, most of them were from chill and relaxing artists. Salungat sa akin na mahilig sa metal and pop-punk songs. Although I like this kind too, just not really my favortite. But one song caught my attention, and I instantly played it.

We were humming to The 1975's somebody else before he finally spoke.

"You seemed broken." He uttered, fixing his eyes on the road. I laughed shortly at his remark. Well, we don't like all songs because it depicts our moods, sometimes we just feel good listening to it no matter how damaging it says.

"Hindi po, Sir. Slight lang. Mapanakit po kasi iyong crush ko, Sir." I answered and laughed shortly again. Sobrang awkward ng sitwasyon kaya kailangan kong tumawa.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Mapanakit ka po, Sir." I answered confidently bago tumawa.It felt like I was slowly breaking the wall the stood in between us when his lips rose to a small smile. Na kahit maliit lamang ang ngiti ay kita ko ang pagkamangha sa kanyang mata.

Nakalimot na rin ako sa katagang, uncrush.

Bago pa man siya magsalita ay nagpatuloy ako. "I'm just joking, Sir. Unless you want to make it real, I am very much fine with it." Sa bagong salita ay muli akong tumawa. He looked at me with a grin on his face and he chuckled softly before fixing his eyes on the road.

"I hope you're joking. Bad start for you to admire me tapos nanakit na agad ako sa'yo." He answered that gave me more reason to laugh.

Oo na, ang babaw ko na. But small interactions like this always feels so surreal for me, nagbibigay oras para makalimot ka kahit sa sandaling panahon lamang.

"And please, drop the Sir. You are not my student."

Sa sinabi niya'y halos napanganga ako. I call him Sir to give the both of us boundaries. Para hindi ko malimutan kung ano ba dapat ang iasta ko sa kanya kahit na minsan ay nawawala iyon sa lugar. Clearly, removing his title sure means nothing but he wants friendship between us. I smiled widely at that.

I went out of the car with my ACU pants, boots and white shirt. Nang makalapit sa akin si Sir – na hindi ko alam kung mananatiling ganoon pa rin ba ang dapat kong itawag – our height difference is clearer. I was tall enough for a normal girl, but he still towered over me. My line of vision reached only his lips.

We headed to the hypermarket first dahil iyon ang pinakamalapit mula sa entrance. I gripped the push cart pero lumapit siya sa akin and he gripped it on the other side too. Binitawan ko iyon para siya na ang magmaniubra mag-isa.

Minsan pa naman ay may sariling paa ang mga push cart dito.

Pinuno ko ang cart ng iba't ibang kakailanganin namin. From toiletries , down to veggies, seasonings and such at ang panghuli, sa sweets.