Hindi pa nakuntento si Julie sa People's Park. Nag-aya kasi ito sa Little India para kumain daw ng curry.

"Kailangang samantalahin ang libre," dahilan nito.

Cyrus made a deal with Julie. Kahit ilan at ano pa raw ang kainin nito ay ayos lang, as long as they will make Lena eat vegetables. So Julie ordered vegetable curry and was forcing her to eat a chunk of squash.

Kumakain naman siya ng kalabasa, pero ilang piraso lang. They're making her eat a plateful. That's just not going to happen. Fortunately for her, may fish at beef curry din na binili ang mga ito. There's also the catfish and mango salad that she couldn't stop eating.

They ate until their bellies ache. Her three companions seemed to be okay with eating that much food. Mukhang sanay na ang mga ito. Siya naman, nagsimula nang sumakit ang tiyan while they were taking their afternoon stroll.

Julie and Blake weren't done checking every nook and cranny of Little India. Kada souvenir shop yatang makita ng mga ito ay may binibiling pasalubong. She was tailing them when her stomach churned. Tumigil siya sandali sa paglalakad. Cyrus immediately retraced his steps. He shot her a worried look and asked what's wrong. Napangiwi lamang siya. Telling him about her stomach problem was really embarrassing, pero kung hindi naman niya sasabihin, how the hell will she feel better? She's not confident to take a taxi back to the hotel. Gusto niyang may kasama dahil kung magkaka-aberya man, hindi niya iyon kayang resolbahing mag-isa. She's that helpless. So much for independence!

Fortunately for her, hindi judgmental si Cyrus. Siguro ay naiintindihan naman nitong normal lamang ang pinagdadaanan niya. He was even sympathetic. He talked to Julie and Blake, probably made an excuse to not embarrass her, then he went back to her.

"Let's go," he said.

They flagged a taxi and asked to be taken back to their hotel. But in the middle of the ride, pakiramdam niya'y hindi na talaga niya kaya. Pakiramdam niya ay aabutin na siya sa taxi. So Cyrus asked the driver to take them to the nearest mall or any establishment na may public restroom na pwede niyang gamitin.

Thankfully, they found one na hindi restaurant o kainan. She doesn't want to further shame herself. Nakakahiya rin sa mga kumakain.

Cyrus stayed outside the toilet and even gave her a huge pile of tissue and wet wipes. She gave him the camera in return.

--

Lena spent a good half hour inside the toilet. The first fifteen minutes, she was able to release everything. The remaining 15, she spent contemplating on whether to dig a hole on the ground (which would probably be gross, given where she was) or punch a hole in the whole to get out of the place without being seen by Cyrus.

Hiyang-hiya siya sa nangyari.

But she had no escape because Cyrus knocked and asked if she's ever going to come out.

Lumabas siya ng toilet at naghugas ng kamay. She looked so flustered. Pulang-pula ang pisngi niya sa kahihiyan. Ayaw din naman niyang manatili sa loob dahil alam niyang mas kahiya-hiya naman kung may ibang gagamit at makakaamoy habang nandoon siya. So she swallowed her shame and went out.

Cyrus was waiting for her outside.

"I bought some medicine. Saka alcohol na rin," nakangiti nitong sabi.

She snatched those from his hands, with her eyes downcast. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Okay ka na ba?"

Tumango siya at naunang maglakad palabas. She poured some alcohol on her hands and rubbed them gently. Then she pop the tiny capsule in her mouth and wondered if her saliva was enough for her to swallow it. Cyrus had a better idea. He handed her the bottle of water that he also bought for her.

"I told them that we had somewhere else to go, so we can go anywhere you like," sabi nito pagkainom niya ng gamot. "So, where do you want to go?"

Nagkibit-balikat siya. Ang totoo, gusto na niyang matulog. Inaantok na siya dahil sa kabusugan. But it's still a bit early. Pagabi pa lamang halos. If she sleeps now, she'll be awake later.

"Anywhere," she answered.

Cyrus nodded. Naglakad sila sa gilid ng daan, going nowhere in particular. Kapag may nakikita siyang interesanteng bagay ay agad niya iyong kinukunan ng litrato. She didn't know if it was because of what happened earlier, pero kapag napapatingin siya kay Cyrus ay bigla itong ngingiti. Para bang inaalala nito ang kahihiyan niya kanina. But when she's the one looking and he's not, he seemed to be in deep thought. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang tumatakbo sa utak nito, pero hindi na lamang siya nagtanong dahil hindi niya iyon ugali. Her mentality is when a person wants to talk about something, they will open up on their own. There's no need to pry. So she contented herself with just observing him.

--

When they got back to the hotel, Julie and Blake were already there. Gumala rin ang dalawa kagaya nila. Kaya pagkatapos ng kumustahan at kaunting kwentuhan ay nagsitulog na rin sila.

As usual, tumabi na naman siya kay Cyrus. He was unusually quiet that night. He would usually ask her random things before they go to sleep. Ngayon ay nakatitig lamang ito sa noo niya.

Hindi pa naman nito pinapatay ang lampshade kaya hindi pa siya makatulog. It's like he wanted to say something but he's stalling.

Napatingala siya nang bigla itong bumuntong-hininga. His breath smelled like mint.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Tumingin ito sa kanya. "I was just thinking... No. Never mind."

"Okay."

"Why are you like that?"

"Like what?"

"You always cut the conversation short," he observed. "It's like you don't want to get to know the person you're talking to and you don't want them to know anything about you. You don't like going beyond the surface."

She frowned. She doesn't think of it that way. Para sa kanya kasi, ayaw niyang pinanghihimasukan ang ibang tao, at ayaw din niyang may nanghihimasok sa buhay niya. She will take what they give her and she expects them to do the same to her.

Pakiramdam kasi niya, kapag nagtanong siya nang nagtanong ay nanghihimasok na siya. Like she's crossing invisible boundaries already.

"I just don't like prying," she told him.

"You have to do a little prying if you want to get to know a person," sabi naman nito. "If you cut the conversation like that, the other person will think that you're not interested in knowing them. Is that the case?"

Umiling siya. "Interested naman ako. It's just that some people don't really relate to me and I couldn't relate to them. So minsan may sinasabi sila tapos hindi ko naman alam kung paano magri-react kasi hindi ko alam kung ano 'yon."

"But would it hurt you to ask?"

Again, she shook her head.

"I guess I'm just not a good conversationalist."

"You might be. Baka hindi mo lang sinusubukan," he said thoughtfully. "Okay. Let's try. Ask me something,"

"Uhm..."

Pakiramdam niya ay napakarami niyang gustong itanong dito pero hindi naman niya alam kung anu-ano ang mga iyon.

"Anything, Lena."

"Aren't you sleepy yet?"

"No."

"Okay. I-I mean... why not?"

"Because something's bothering me."

He should have told her why, but Lena figured that he wanted her to ask. So she indulged him.

"What's bothering you?"

"Who," he corrected.

"All right. Who's bothering you?"

"This girl that I like." Nag-isip pa siya kung sino ang tinutukoy nito. Inaalala kasi niya kung may nakwento ito sa kanila. It's not until he spoke again that it all made sense. "She doesn't even know that I'm talking about her."

Ngumiti ito nang magtama ang mga mata nila.

"Me?" she squeaked.

He chuckled. "Of course you, silly."

"You like me? As in like like me?"

"Yeah."

She blushed. "W-Why?"

"Because you're too adorable for words," mabilis nitong sagot.

"You find my clumsiness and discomfort adorable?"

"I find everything about you adorable."

She lowered her gaze. Unti-unting lumakas ang kabog ng dibdib niya dahil sa sinabi nito. She's never met anyone as direct as him. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang isasagot dito. He might ask her if she likes him that way too. She wouldn't know how to answer that. She could pretend that she suddenly fell asleep, but that would be stupid.

"Can I ask you something, Lena?"

Napalunok siya. Would this be it? Itatanong na ba nito iyon sa kanya?

"U-Uhm... okay?"

"Do you like me?"

Hesitantly, she nodded. "But-"

"-not like that," he continued.

She nodded again. She could hear the disappointment in his sigh. "But I... I do find you attractive."

There, she said it. She hoped she didn't sound as though she just said that to compensate for her answer.

"Really?" he asked. Her gaze was still up to his nose so she saw him smile. "What do you find attractive about me?"

Naturally, she would think first about his physical appearance. She touched his pointy nose and said, "This." Then she traced his jawline and finally... his Adam's apple. It was awkward for her to admit, but she finds his Adam's apple sexy. Lalaking-lalaki kasi ang dating nito dahil doon.

Tumaas ulit sa mukha nito ang tingin niya. Her gaze landed on his lips. She didn't forget about those, but she won't be able to say that she's attracted to his lips without making it sound like she wants him to kiss her. It would definitely send that message.

But he seemed to get it, kahit hindi niya sabihin. Hindi na siya nasurpresa nang halikan siya nito. She was kind of expecting that. Sa takbo ng usapan nila, imposibleng hindi iyon mangyari.

What surprised her was her reaction to the kiss. When they stopped kissing and he was just staring at her, she got up, hopped to her own bed and covered herself with the blanket. Wala na siyang pakialam kung ano ang iisipin nito dahil sa ginawa niya. Hindi niya pinansin ang pagtawag nito sa pangalan niya. She simply shut her eyes and forced herself to sleep.