[quote][align=center]@ russell 18: hehe. tnx. hanging? well, un nga ung maganda dun. may thrill haha @ gossipgirl03: thank u. i'm reading ur s2ry 2. both? well, you're two-timer ah. haha @ rikodlaya: gnun. o xa xa, e2 na ang update. --this is quite long pero msya xe may flashback--[/align][/quote] [u][i][b]CHAPTER 4[/b][/i][/u] “Nung sinabi ko kay Dervin na umalis ka kahapon mag-isa, he showed us na okay lang sa kanya. As if wala namang mangyayari sa’yo. Yet he’s my best friend so I can see with the way he fidgets his wrist band and constantly check the time that he was worried about you. I dismissed the team early kasi alam kong wala sa sarili si Dervin. When I talked to him he insisted that nothing was wrong kaya sabi ko uuwi na ako pero hindi ako umuwi. Hinintay ko siyang umuwi. He tried calling you but I guess he couldn’t. Nag-stay siya hanggang 7:00PM sa school then went home. Pagkauwi niya, he called me and asked me whether you called. Talagang nag-alala siya although ayaw niyang ipakita.” “Oh. Hindi ko expected na gan’on siya mag-aalala para lang sakin. It’s not everyday that a guy tells me he cares for me.” “You know what Steph, you should realize na kahit boyish ka and halos lahat ata ng lalaki sa campus komportable sa’yo, tinatawag kang pare or dude or bro, you’re still a girl. You’re sweet and caring. You might not realize it but you’re beautiful too.” “Sa’n ba papunta ‘yang sinasabi mo?” “Hmm… I guess iiwan ko na lang na palaisipan ‘yan sa’yo.” “Huh? Ano ngang ibig mo sabihin?” “Wala. Let’s go, it’s 5:30AM. Uwi na tayo para makaprepare, may pasok pa.” “Oo nga pala. Waah. Teka—“ Nagulat ako kasi bigla akong binuhat ni Tristan. “Sasakit lang ‘yung paa mo kapag pinaglakad kita kaya bubuhatin na lang kita. Isipin mo si Superman ako. haha” “What?! Adik. Ang corny mo ah! Bagay nga kayo ni Meg, pareho kayo corny. Haha” “Siyempre bagay kami ni Meg noh. Gwapo ako eh. Haha. Kapit ka na. Express ‘to!” Tumakbo si Tristan habang buhat ako. Ang loko talaga nito oh. Superman daw. Parang bata lang eh. Pero in fairness, natuwa naman ako. ** FRESHMEN ORIENTATION Ano ba namang klaseng school ‘to. Ang laki naman. Feeling ko langgam ako, nakakaintimidate lalo na’t galing ako sa maliit na school dati. Orientation ngayon, wala pa si Meg. Siya pa naman sana ‘yung kasama ko kasi old student na siya dito. “Aray” May nakabunggo sa’king guy. “Ai sorry. Teka lang.” Pinulot niya ‘yung gamit ko tapos inabot sa’kin. Whoah, ang tangkad. Mga 5’6” siguro ‘yung height nitong taong ‘to. 5’2” lang ako, ang liit ko naman. Senior siguro ‘to. “Thank you kuya.” “Ayan, sorry talaga ha. Anong grade ka na ba? Hatid kita sa room niyo.” “Uhmm… Freshmen Orientation ngayon ‘di ba?” ”Wah, sorry ulit. Akala ko elementary ka. Naku, strike 2 na ‘ko.” “Hindi, okay lang. Maliit naman kasi—“ “TRISTAAAAN!” “Meg?” Sabay naming nasabi nung guy. “Hoy Tristan anong ginagawa mo kay Stephie. Tae ka, naghahabol ka agad ng babaeng new student. Layuan mo nga ‘tong kaibigan ko.” “Hindi Meg, nabangga niya ako tapos tutulungan niya lang sana ako.” “Fine fine. Anyway, Tristan, si Stephanie, long-time friend ko. Stephie, si Tristan, freshmen student aiming for basketball varsity.” “First year ka lang? Akala ko senior ka! And here you were thinking that I was an elementary student.” Nagtawanan kaming tatlo. Then Meg said, “Hai naku Tristan, hindi maliit si Stephie, matangkad ka lang talaga.” And we laughed again. We entered the multi-purpose hall dahil d’un gagawin ‘yung orientation. 10 minutes after we started, may pumasok na guy. Halos ka-height din siya ni Tristan or probably taller, I couldn’t distinguish that time. Medyo maputi siya,singkit and his hair was black. ‘Yung mata niya parang black pero ‘pag tiningnan mo mabuti, you’ll see the hints of brown. Lahat ng nasa MPH (multi-purpose hall) napatingin sa kanya. “Sorry I’m late.” Tapos umupo siya sa row namin. Tumabi siya kay Tristan. “Late ka na naman, Dervin.” Magkakilala sila? “Hindi ka pa ba sanay?” “Anyway, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends. This one’s Meg and the other is Stephanie. Girls, dati kong schoolmate, si Dervin.” Meg and I smiled at him but he didn’t even exert enough effort to give a genuine smile. Halatang pilit ‘yung ngiti niya. But then that’s better than not reacting. Two weeks after that, nag-open ng tryouts and basketball team. Tristan was automatically a member already dahil varsity siya when he was in elementary and he has a recommendation letter. Dervin and I needed to undergo the tryout to be a regular member. ** “Ui Steph, tahimik mo ah. Masyado ka nang nasarapan sa pagbuhat ko eh.” “Loko ka talaga, Tristan. Hindi noh, may naalala lang ako.” “Ano naman ‘yun?” “Remember when Dervin and I had our tryouts in Freshmen year?” “Yup. I remember, hindi ako nagtake nun kasi magaling ako eh, haha” “Oo na magaling ka na pero hindi ‘yun ‘yung tinutukoy ko. ‘Yung pinagalitan ako ng senior dahil hindi ako maka-shoot ng bola.” “Oh, that one. Oo nga, I remember may recommendation ka rin from your previous school pero ayaw ka nila tanggapin kasi hindi mo mashoot ‘yung bola dahil sa sobrang kaba.” “Yeah. Kinakabahan talaga ako. Intimidating kasi matatangkad ‘yung kasabayan ko. I remember biglang lumapit si Dervin sakin. Hinawakan niya ‘yung kamay ko and assisted me in shooting. After that, tuloy-tuloy na, nagawa kong maka-shoot kahit three points. Alam mo ba n’ung time na ‘yun, parang sa kanya ako humugot ng lakas. Hanggang ngayon, tuwing may competitions iniisip ko ‘yung nangyaring ‘yun para maka-shoot ako.” “I see. Steph, you know that you can trust me with anything right?” “Yes, of course. Bakit?” “Well, can you answer my question honestly?” “Sure. Ano ‘yun?” [i]“Do you like Dervin?"[/i]