Caught up in Your Storm

Chapter Four

The junior high school and senior high school never meet at all. Hindi na nga sabay ang lunch at recess namin, hindi pa sabay ang uwian namin.

I thought of ways to get Law alone with me. Syempre hindi ako papayag na ililibre niya ako tapos kasama si Kuya Ansel! Ano 'yon, joke?

So I came up with the best idea to get him to the canteen during class hours and make him buy me turon or some snack.

Bago ako magpaalam mag-cr, I took out my phone and went to his profile on Facebook. Hindi kami friends kaya baka hindi niya makita 'yung chat ko. I was unsure at first if he would show up but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I say that as if I'll lose anything in the process.

I typed out my message and sent it after much deliberation. I could already feel the gut punch and my ego deteriorating if he didn't respond.

Binaba ko ang phone ko sa desk ko. I was facing upward so I could listen to the lecture and see the notification in my peripheral vision.

I tapped my fingers on my desk continuously. Walang pumasok sa utak ko except sa hintayin ang sagot niya. Seconds felt like hours waiting for his answer.

Ano ba, wala ba siyang interest sa akin o pakipot lang siya?

My phone screen lit up. I leaned in within a flash only to see the notification was not his reply. Some stupid shopping app notification.

Sumandal ulit ako sa upuan ko at nakinig sa tinuturo ng teacher namin. Something about chemical bonding that I cannot make myself listen to.

After another lengthy minute, a notification popped up my phone screen. This time it was actually him. Agad kong dinampot ang phone ko mula sa desk ko at binuksan ito.

You
hiii

u said ililibre mo aq dbaa

libre mo aq ng turon s canteen hehehe

Law
Ngayon na?

You can now message and call each other and see info like Active Status and when you've read messages.

Agad-agad akong nagtype ng sagot. I tried various replies but ended up with the most basic one. I wanted to punch myself.

You
yesssss

Law
Ah sige, punta ako dyan

I couldn't believe it. Hindi ko inakala na gagana pala talaga siya. Or maybe he just felt like he had no choice but to do it? I started to overthink. What if ayaw niya naman talaga pero kapatid ako ng kaibigan niya so it's like an obligation?

Law
Papunta na ako

Malapit lang sa building namin ang canteen pero hiwalay ang senior high so medyo mahaba ang lalakarin niya para makarating sa canteen. I tried calculating the distance and the time it would take for him to get there.

Mga four minutes nakapunta na siya doon pero I can't immediately go to the comfort room kasi baka hanapin ako ni Ma'am. She's one of those teachers pa naman na mahigpit magpalabas ng students.

A minute passed and I raised my hand to signal that I had to go to the comfort room. Tumango siya at lumabas na ako.

I walked to the canteen and sat on one of the chairs to wait for him. It didn't take long for him to get to the canteen. Mukhang hinihingal pa nga siyang pagdating niya.