"Ang weird mo ngayon", sabi ni Mia habang pababa kami ng hagdan. Berde yung kulay ng contact lenses niya, at halata sa mga mata niya na inaantok siya. "Sinabi ko na nga sayo yung mga answer, nagfail ka pa."

Nahuli akong i-dismiss (nag-sermon pa yung adviser namin), kaya medyo nagmamadali kami. Lalo na't naghihintay sa parking lot yung sundo ni Mia.

"Dapat di ka na naghintay", I complained when we reached the first floor.

Okay lang naman sa'kin na umuwi siya agad, hindi naman niya kailangan maghintay. Pero nag-insist siya e, dahil gusto niyang makipag-chika uli tungkol sa sitwasyon ng catfish. Nabitin kasi yung convo namin noong lunchtime at recess.

Nabitin dahil kinaladkad ko siya palabas ng canteen para hindi niya masuntok si Liam.

"Gusto ko e", she rolled her eyes. Bigla siyang huminto. "Ayan nanaman sila Angelo."

Merong mga bench na nakalagay sa harap ng Senior High School building. Sa kasalukuyan, doon nakaupo si Angelo, Kiko at yung iba nil,ang ka-banda. Dahil kahon yung binuong hugis ng mga upuan (at sa loob ng nabuong kahon, may puno), naka-upo sa berdeng damo yung ibang miyembro.

Ewan ko kung bakit, pero baka dahil gusto nilang magharap sila habang nagtutugtug.

Mukhang nag eenjoy naman sila.

Nagprapraktis ata para sa paparating na Foundation Week.

"Ang ingay."

Napasimangot ako. Wala naman akong naririnig na ingay.

Maliban sa mahinang tunog ng aircon mula sa mga classroom at sa musika na mula sa bandang nagprapraktis, medyo tahimik lang yung paligid namin.

"It's music, Mia."

"Bitter yung song e." She wrinkled her nose. She nudged me. "Di mo sinagot tanong ko. Ba't maliit lang yung score mo?"

"Sorry", I mumbled, fiddling with my uniform's grey tie. The tie matched my inconveniently tight pencil skirt. "Hindi ako naka-focus."

Mia grunted, rolling her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and started walking. "'Bat may sugat ka sa tuhod?"

Nakalimutan ko na nasugatan pala ako, kaya hindi ko nasibihan kay Mia.

Parang insignificant yung sugat e.

Mas masakit yung nararamdaman ko sa puso.

"Ah eto?" I forced a smile. "Nadapa ako kaninang umaga."

Tumawa si Miya, lightly slapping my shoulder. "Para ka talagang bata." Her eyes softened. "Okay ka lang?"

No.

"Yes."

"Sinungaling."

I stayed silent. Nandoon na kami sa covered walkway sa tabi ng building.

"Anong nasa isip mo?"

"Galit siya sa'kin", I sighed, inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers. The vines that slithered up the white poles of the covered pathway sported a few of them. "'Di ko alam kung anong gagawin ko."

"Say the word, bestfriend", sabi niya habang nakangiti. "At susuntukin ko siya para sa'yo."

"Wag nga. Misunderstanding lang naman e."

"Sure ka ba na di mo siya jowa?"

"HINDI NGA!"

"Sayang, crush mo pa naman-"

"Sh!", I clamped a hand over her mouth and she dissolved into a fit of laughter. With a burning face on, I changed the subject.

Nag-usap kami tungkol sa performance task namin para sa upcoming foundation week. Medyo nahirapan akong mag-focus dahil binibigyan ako ng kakaibang tingin mula sa dumadaang batchmates.

Mia noticed this too, and shot them down with a death glare.

Nakakatakot talaga si Mia.

As soon as we arrived to the parking lot, Mia ran up to her dad. Nag-mano ako sa kanya at tumango lang siya.

"See you tomorrow bestie!", Mia called, climbing into her car and blowing me a kiss. "And don't worry, we'll catch that catfish!" She pumped her fist up into the air and the black-tinted window concealed her face.

Umalis yung mamahalin nilang kotse at tumalikod ako upang maghanap ng upuan.

Pumunta ako sa isa lang covered pathway na nakaharap sa parking lot, sa likod neto ang canteen. Naiiba ito sa ibang pathways dahil may mahabang kahoy na in-attach sa puting railings, isang makeshift bench na tinatambayan ng mga estudyanteng naghihintay sa sundo nila.

Sa kasalukuyan, walang naka-upo doon. Malapit kasi yung admin building namin at aircon doon, kaya feel ko doon na sila tumatambay.

Liam.

I pushed the thought away. Inilagay ko yung bag ko sa tabi ko at kinuha yung cellphone ko.

I didn't have many friends at DRMEF (only about 3 close friends, including Mia) but I did have a squad outside of school.

Usually, pupunta kami sa mall o sa bahay nila AJ o Mia para manood ng movies. Pero dahil may lakad yung pamilya ni Mia, at nandoon ata si AJ sa gamer squad niya, tinext ko nalang yung mama ko upang kunin niya ako mula sa eskwelahan.

---------

From: Mama Globe

okay.

---------

"Oi pandak."

AJ.

I turned around and scowled. I hate being called short. "Oi maliit-"

I choked.

AJ smirked, flashing a dimple, when my jaw fell open at the sight of Liam beside him. Liam's expression was unreadable.

"Akala ko pupunta tayo sa canteen?", Liam asked, clearing his throat. He avoided my stunned gaze. "'Bat mo ako dinala dito?"

"Well", AJ said, adjusting his glasses with a mischievous smile. "Since mag jowa na kayo-"

"WE'RE NOT!", Me and Liam yelled at the same time. Our eyes met and quickly looked away.

Imagination ko lang ba? Or parang naging kulay rosas yung tenga niya?

AJ blinked, halata na nalilito siya. Tumaas siya ng kilay.

"Oooohkay?"

Liam opened his mouth but I cut him off.

"Hindi ko yun account", I defended. I stiffened when I saw the intense gaze Liam was sending my way.

Crush wag naman please, I'm trying to focus here.

"Catfish account ata yun. Ginamit yung pangalan at mukha ko. Promise hindi talaga ako yun. Hindi ko siya jowa-"

"Seriously?!"

Stunned silence fell on me and AJ at the sound of Liam's angry voice. I didn't dare look at his face.

Nagpasalamat ako dahil kami lang yung nasa parking lot (maliban sa ilang magulang na nasa loob ng kotse nila), mamamatay ata ako sa hiya kung may makarinig sa convo namin.

Nagpapasalamat rin ako sa batang nasa loob ng pulang Mitsubishi Mirage, dahil binukas niya yung bintana.

Liam's outburst was drowned out by the sound of "Baby Shark."

"Kung totoo yan-" He inhaled sharply- "Then sino ba yung kausap ko kagabi?! Bat alam niya yung sekreto ko?! Ikaw lang naman yung may alam tungkol doon!"

Secret? Anong secret?

He took a step forward and sneered at me. "Why did she call me Li?"

It felt as if an invisible person was squeezing my heart.

Li.

That nickname carried so much memories. So much that I had to mentally fight against them to keep them from resurfacing.

Li yung nickname na binigay sa kanya noong elementary kami. Ang tagal na non, pero naaalala niya pa rin.

Ako lang yung tumatawag sa kanya non.

"Just admit it."

"It wasn't me-"

"Then who was it ba Aya?! Lola mo? Na hack account mo? Yung aso niyo na kumakain ng assignment mo?"

"Now now-" , AJ tries to step in but Liam ignored him and stared me down with gritted teeth. He was so close I could smell his cologne, it flooded my nostrils and made me feel dizzy.

"That doesn't explain why the person who messaged me knew things that only you knew about. My parents. The fight-"

He caught himself and looked away, muttering, "Admit it. You're just an attention whor-"

I snapped.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?!"

AJ and Liam stared at me, stunned. The heat of the sun from this morning suddenly found itself in my veins.

"FIRST OF ALL TANGINA MO I SAID HINDI NGA AKO YUN EH", I got all up in his face and pushed him, hard.

Hindi ko pinapansin yung hagikgik ni AJ- kinailangan ko pa kasing tumalon ng konti para maabot height niya.

"Tch", Liam cursed, stumbling back. He didn't look me in the eyes.

"HINDI KO ALAM KUNG BAKIT ALAM NIYA YUN! IT WASN'T ME SO SHUT THE HELL UP BECAUSE YOU KNOW NOTHING."

"Aya please-"

"I will not allow myself to be treated like this", I whispered. AJ backed away slightly. My anger faltered.

But then I saw Liam's face. It was icy.

The anger consumed me.

"You think of yourself sooooooo highly", I scowled. Stepping forward and jabbing an accusing finger at him. "Akala mo everything revolves around you. But NEWS FLASH! It doesn't! I don't have a crush on you and I would never use you to climb that stupid social ladder."

"Tama na Aya!", AJ was suddenly beside me, a hand on my shaking shoulder, trying to calm me down. But the words came tumbling out like a waterfall.

"You think you're so attractive. Akala mo any girl would throw away her dignity mahalik kalang. Bakit ba huh? Gwapo ka ba? Type ba Kita? DAKS KA BA-?!"

"Oo."

Pota.

AJ bursted out laughing and I shoved him, blood rising to my face. Patuloy pa rin yung tawa niya kahit na nakahiga na ito sa sementong sahig.

My mouth sputtered. "I-what-"

I cast my gaze to my black school shoes; my face was boiling hot.

Whoa may sahig pala dito?

Ang ganda ng sahig ah.

Sana sahig nalang ako.

"Whatever!", I cursed, turning around and stomping away. The sounds of my footsteps sounded harsh in my ears.

Traydor talaga yung bibig ko.

Pumasok ako sa canteen. The multicolored food stalls were slightly deserted, since most of the students went home already. The rectangle- shaped hall had it's chairs and tables pushed to the side- probably by the batch of scouts gathered there.

Stupid Liam.

I let out a yell. Nagpapasalamat ako na naka parade march yung mga scouts, walang pumansin sa akin.

Problema lang, may ilang teacher na kumakain ng bananaque doon, kaya umalis ako sa canteen.

A few soccer players cast me weird looks when I ran in the middle of the field towards the junior highschool building. The black and white ball skidded to a stop at my feet.

I kicked it so hard that it tumbled out of the field and into the basketball court.

Both the basketball and soccer players gave me glares.

Ma-guiguilty sana ako.

Pero sa sandaling iyon, wala kong pake.

I just wanted to get away from the stupid, selfish, icy-cold -

"Aya!", AJ called, suddenly rushing over to me, noticable tears in his eyes. Umiyak ata siya sa kakatawa. He was breathing heavily, so I slowed down. "Totoo ba? Hindi yun account mo? And hindi kayo?"

"Oo", sabi ko, pero wala yung mind ko sa conversation. "Kung hindi ka maniniwala, sumama ka sa kanya."

He threw his hands up as he walked. "Whoa chill I believe you. For one thing, I doubt type ka niya."

Ah gusto mo pala ng suntok e.

"And also magaling ka mag edit ng pics kaya medj nagduda ako sa post mo."

"Not my post"

"Eh ano insta mo?"

"Uhh..."

'Di ko pwedeng sabihin, mga pics ng anime boys lang yung andoon.

"Liam isn't a bad guy you know", AJ said and frowned when he heard me grunt. "Galit lang siya ... And not over Hannah yet. Umaasa siya na babalik yun. Inisip niya na makakahurt sa chances niya yung post na yun."

"Huh? Kala ko matalino siya? Nag-cheat si Hannah. Ba't niya babalikan?" I muttered, tugging on my bag's straps. "Kami nga ni Nina yung nakakita sa kanya."

"Ah si Nina pala yung nagsabi kay Liam"

I bit my lip.

"Anyway, 'wag kang mag-alala, matatapos na'to."

"Hm?"

"Akala ko nagjojoke lang si Liam nung sinabi niya na hindi kayo magjowa", AJ chuckled. "Sabi niya na pagpo-post siya about it mamaya. Akala ko mga cringy- lovey-dovey-sakit- sa- ulo- sana- masagasaan- kayo- but- also good- for- you- guys couple pics, pero ngayon, feel ko i-dedeny niya na kayo."

I should be glad.

Pero bakit parang disappointed ako?

"Hmph. Ano yung story niya? Sasabihin ba niya na fame whore ako?"

"More like 'issa prank' ata."

AJ suddenly stopped, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, Aya."

"Oh?"

"Bat pala papunta tayo sa male cr?"

Hays lutang talaga ako ngayon.

My phone suddenly chimed and I pulled it out from my pocket. A text message from an unknown number flashed on the screen.

--------

From: Unknown number

I've got a good deal for you

---------

"Sino yan?", AJ asked, peering down at my phone. "Drug user ka ba?"

"Baliw." I elbowed him lightly before opening my phone.

'Sino toh?', I texted.

"Dapat 'who dis' sinabi mo."

"Shut up, AJ." I rolled my eyes. "Oo nga pala, ano yung itatanong mo sa'min ni Liam?"

A call from my mom came before AJ could answer. I hastily answered the call.

"NASAAN KA?! NANDITO AKO SA PARKING LOT NAGHIHINTAY. BILISAN MO MAGLULUTO PA AKO."

Mama ended the call.

I winced, tucking my phone back in my pocket. "I gotta go galit si mama. Next time nalang"

AJ laughed before waving me goodbye.

Today was one hell of a day.

~~~
A/N:

It's so tiring to write in Tagalog hnghhh.

Dedicated to my friends ha 'Jogging na Drawing' GC who rlly rlly wanted to read this chapter.

Don't forget to vote and comment <3

Thanks for reading!

~~~