Six Degrees Of Separation

Winner

"Jho, can we talk?" I was jogging to keep up with her.

"I think it's best to focus on the hunt muna. Ilang hours na lang oh." She wasn't quite meeting my eyes.

"Look. What happened with Toni---"

She halted to a sudden stop.

"Bakit ka nag e-explain?" She had an odd expression on her face.

"I just.." I wrung my hands in frustration. "It's not what you think."

"Bea," She kept walking again, intent on not meeting my eyes. "You don't have to care about what I think."

"But I do!" I continued to walk with her. "I--"

"Save it. You don't. Ano ba. Wala namang tayo."

I stopped walking.

She hesitated, stopping a little bit, but continued walking after a while.

...

"Babe!" Ria called. "Pahinga muna tayo!"

"Babe babe mo mukha mo!" Jessey stuck her tongue out.

"Ooh. What happened last night?" Kathy poked Ria.

"Magka-hug sila." I commented.

"Yiiiii!!" Kathy squealed.

"Pano mo naman nakita?" Ria looked at me. "At hindi lang ako yung may ka-hug kagabi ah!"

"Bati na kayo?" Kathy looked from Ria to me.

"No." I sighed. "You know, I don't even care anymore. Ayaw niya ako pansinin, fine by me."

Ria and Kathy both exchanged looks.

"Are you sure?" Kathy said.

"Positive." I held up my thumb. "Now, let's go have some fun!"

For the next few hours, I was actively participating in all the activities. Not once did I went to Jho or even looked at her. She was busy avoiding me and talking to Marci anyway.

When nighttime came, the group decided to ditch the tents and just sleep together under the stars. I grabbed my sleeping bag and dragged it to the fartherst possible area from Jho.

"Hey. Mind if I bunk next to your sleeping bag?" I said.

"Not at all." Toni smiled.

I sat down and played with the sand.

"Looks like everyone's having fun, huh?" She gestured to the rest of the group.

She was right. Kathy was with Peter, Jessey was bickering with Ria, the two boys were talking about stuff, and worst of all, Jho was laughing with Marci.

"Yeah." I said, not looking at them.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Wala. I'm just tired, siguro." I sighed and laid back, staring at the stars above.

For lack of a better thing to do, I just talked to Toni, since we were the only pair left. I asked her about her work life, her ex, and practically anything I could think about. Anything to take my mind off Jho.

Sometimes, I sneak glances at Jho and we even catch each other's eye every once in a while but she was always the first one to break contact. Eventually, I bid Toni good night and proceeded to walk along the shore, flashlight in hand. I wasn't sleepy anyway and I just wanted to be alone for a while.

After walking for what seemed like 20 minutes, I looked back at our camp to see how far I've walked. The bonfire was only a speck in the distance so I decided to head back before I got too far.