Wait ed. (Carla-Billy's Story)

Officially Unofficial

I shook my head, waking me up from that impromptu walk down memory lane.
Now that I am about five years older (and maybe a bit wiser), bakit parang ang cute namin ni Billy dati. Parang story lang sa Flames or sa pocketbook yung mga ganap namin.

I smiled, shaking my head.
Then realizing that the room is almost empty, most probably because everyone has a date this Valentine's Day, I chose to stay for a couple more minutes, and re-read that note from the third bouquet I got.

~Patricia, I love you!~

That's the simplest among all the notes, but somehow that got me teary eyed the most.
Totoo na nga yata yung love story namin nung best friend ko.

I took a deep breath, not wanting to cry.
Ang panget namang maglakad ako mag-isa, bitbit lahat to, tapos wala akong kasama.

I closed my eyes, somewhat trying to have a feel of my heart.
I've dreamed of this for long, but I have never once considered that it could actually come true.

I was about to put that bouquet inside the paper bag, when I noticed that there's actually a box inside.
Curious, I took the box out.
It's a papemelroti gift box and inside are scrolls of papers, greeting cards, and some random notes.

I took one just to have an idea what it is which that the guy has put inside.

I opened a note which was written on a 1/4 sheet of paper. Seriously...

~20 July 2012~
I've been looking at you since you came back after lunch.
You didn't eat lunch with us, and I searched the whole school ground looking for you, but you're nowhere to be found.
Then before the bell rang, you came, but your eyes were zeroed in on your seat, not giving me even a glance when I called your name.
Your cheeks are tear-stained...
I've been making you cry a lot lately...

I'm sorry you heard what I told Carlo just now.
But I'm not sorry that I told him you liked girls.
Mukha kasing desidido si loko na ligawan ka.
Sana hindi nya ituloy.
Kasi kung hindi, pasasabugin ko talaga yung mukha nya.

I missed you, Carla.
Nagkikita at nag-uusap nga tayo, pero hindi na katulad ng dati.

I weakly smiled when I read that last part.
Sure, we got over that awkward stage when he got himself a girlfriend, but there's been this invisible wall... a gap between us since then.
I started to pretend that I was sleeping everytime he would come to our house to watch Discovery Channel with me.
I stopped going over to their place to play Nintendo with him.

———
I saw him brought his guitar one day.
He was very cute, having his guitar case hanging on one of his shoulders.
He smiled at me when he saw me, and for the first time in months, I smiled genuinely at him because I knew how shy he was playing that instrument in front of other people, and I somehow felt proud when he has a group of girls sitting around him. I stayed on my seat, near the window, away from all of them, and closed my eyes.

The moment he started strumming his guitar, I smiled, imagining the chords, the placement of fingers which he taught me two summers ago. I didn't realize that I was moving my fingers, imagining that I have his guitar on my hand, when Carlo came and sit in front of me.

"You do know how to play the guitar", he stated, not asking a question.

I was surprised when I realized that he was just in front of me. "Hm... I do know some chords, but not really good with it", I said, smiling at him.

"I can teach you. I've actually been taking guitar lessons since I was twelve. So, I think I can manage to teach you", he said, and I felt a bit shy because his eyes were just on me.