Chapter 6

Well, my hope was immediately shattered.
 
Nang makapasok ako sa campus ay tinry kong tawagan sina Yna at Alice pero bago ko pa man mailapat sa tenga ko ang phone ko ay nawala na ‘yon sa kamay ko. When I turned around, the most annoying face came into view.
 
“Yo, Tiffany,” he greeted with that ever-annoying grin on his face.

“Give me back my phone,” I calmly said, trying to be the bigger person.
 
He lifted my phone higher as I attempted to get it from his hand. I honestly wanted to punch him on the stomach but there were people around us, watching. Baka ma-report pa ako.
 
“How are you?”

With the sweetest smile I could muster, I looked at him straight in the eyes. “I am really annoyed right now.”

He chuckled in return. “Really? You’re kinda cute when annoyed.”

“Give me back my phone. Now,” I repeated, this time, with a hint of warning.
 
Nagulat ako nang bigla niyang ibinaba ang braso niya at marahang iniabot sa akin ang phone ko nang nakangiti. Was this some kind of a trick?
 
“Okay,” he softly said. “If that’s what my girlfriend wants.”
 
Halos mabilaukan ako sa gulat nang marinig ko ‘yon mula sa kanya. Was he serious with playing with me? Ano bang problema ng taong ‘to sa akin? Why does he act like the world revolves around him? Sobrang narcissist! Nakakainis!
 
“Oh, god, please kilabutan ka nga!” sabay tulak ko sa kanya palayo.
 
I walked away from him after securing my phone, but he started following me. Ngayon ay kasabay ko na siyang maglakad at kahit anong madali ko ay naaabutan niya ako. Curse these wedge shoes! Sana pala ay nag-sneakers na lang ako.
 
“Oh my god, they are together!” a student squealed.

“So it’s true na sila na nga?”

“Maybe? Kasi they are walking together oh!”

“They look good, in fairness.”

“Man, I want a girlfriend, too.”
 
Now, students are talking about us. Ugh! And he had the audacity to smile as if he was enjoying what he was hearing?!
 
Fortunately, malapit na ako sa building kung saan ang first class ko kaya noong malingat siya saglit ay tumakbo na ako kahit mukha akong sira. I heaved a sigh of relief when I got into the classroom. At last, peace.
 
***
 
“But he’s such a tease! Nakakainis na minsan.”

“Maybe because you’re easy to tease.”

“I’m not!”

“See? You’re already provoked. Well, kung hindi madaan sa pakiusap, then do it the hard way.”

“H-hard way?”

“Do it his way. Get aggressive, too. Para ma-realize niya kung anong feeling. Malay mo ma-intimidate.”
 
I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of my classmates. Somehow, I could see myself in one of them and the latter had a point. But would that be effective against that freak?
 
Dumating naman ang prof namin at agad na nag-discuss. After the class, halatang dejected ang ilan dahil may homework at reading assignment agad na ibinigay si Ma’am.
 
I have a thirty-minute vacant period before my next class kaya balak kong mag-stay muna sa library or garden pero napatigil ako nang makita ko ang lalaking ‘yon sa first floor. He was surrounded by girls and guys, maybe from his earlier class, and it looked like he was having fun. If I didn’t know his personality, I would think he’s a warm person, but that was just a façade.
 
Our gazes suddenly met each other. He smiled and waved at my direction, prompting others to look at me, too. I turned around to escape but halted when I remembered what my classmates were talking about earlier.
 
“Do it his way. Get aggressive, too. Para ma-realize niya kung anong feeling. Malay mo ma-intimidate.”
 
Would that really be effective? If it would be, then that would be for the better. If not, hindi ko na alam kung ano pa ang dapat gawin nang hindi masyadong nakaka-attract ng attention ng iba.
 
Huminga ako nang malalim at muling humarap sa direksyon niya. I smiled in return and for a second, he looked confused. Did he not expect it?
 
Somehow, my confidence to do this was slowly building up. I walked toward his direction without breaking our gaze. His classmates were suppressing their giggles while looking back and forth at us. Huminto ako sa harapan niya at muling ngumiti.
 
For the first time, that annoying grin was nowhere to be found. He looked bewildered with my unusual response. Hah. Maybe it was, indeed, effective.
 
“Darryl,” I called.

“H-hm?”

“Oh, sorry, bebe boy,” I corrected. “You want me to call you that, right?”
 
Pagkasabi ko no’n ay nagtawanan ang ilan sa mga kaklase niya. One said it was too corny; others cringed at it so hard, and I silently agreed. This time, Darryl looked offended kaya bago pa siya makapagsalita ay nagpaalam na ako.
 
“Ah, may class pa pala ako. See you later, bebe boy.”
 
I didn’t wait for him to react and bolted through the hallway.
 
***
 
Oh my god, what the heck did I do?! Bebe boy? Kadiri! That was so cringey!
 
I was in the library, all curled up on my seat because the embarrassment had caught up on me. My god, dapat hindi ko na sinunod ang narinig ko sa classmates ko! But . . . he seemed too appalled by it. Maybe he’d stop now? I hope so, because that humiliation was enough for this lifetime.
 
“That was really embarrassing,” I muttered, covering my face.
 
My body shivered in disgust as I recalled what I did earlier. Ang init din ng pakiramdam ng mukha ko. I never did something like this in my whole life kaya sana ay tigilan na niya ako. I hope he felt so embarrassed that he’d deny everything and tell them it was all lies.
 
For the next two days, I was anxious. Fortunately, I hadn’t crossed paths with him. Maybe he really hated that endearment and decided to stay away from me. Then that’s good.
 
“Alam mo, Steff, kung may magsasabing may ginawa kang krimen, maniniwala ako,” Alice said while we were eating snacks in the garden.

“Huh?”

“You kinda look like a guilty person, Steff,” added Yna.

“So, may ginawa ka nga?”

“No. Nothing.”
 
Dinivert ko kaagad ang topic sa iba at buti na lang ay interested sila sa gossips. Yna said she was spending a lot of time reading articles from the university’s portal—a gossip site about students, staffs, and activities in the campus. According to Yna, it mostly contains rumors and hearsays but those are what the students want to read. It had become an infamous site that almost all students knew about it.
 
“Actually, one of the trending articles few days ago was about you and Darryl—”

“What?!” Halos mapatayo ako nang marinig ko ‘yon.

 I suddenly felt bad because Yna looked taken aback. “I mean . . . a lot of students heard him saying . . . saying he’s your boyfriend.”

“Then, is it still trending?”

She slowly shook her head. “Not anymore. The Elites from the higher batches are dominating the hot list right now.”
 
Para naman akong nakahinga nang maluwag nang marinig ko ‘yon. At least, it was just one article. At mukhang hindi naman lumabas ‘yong pagtawag ko sa kanya ng bebe boy. Kinikilabutan pa rin ako kapag naaalala ko ang ginawa ko noong araw na ‘yon.
 
Nagpaalam ako sa kanila na mags-stay muna ako sa library para basahin ang reading assignments na binigay ng prof namin sa Eng 1. Malapit na ako sa library nang mapansin kong parang may kulang . . . oh, god. I forgot my mini attache case on the table.
 
“Stupid,” I muttered. “Why am I so distracted?!”
 
I fished my phone out of my bag to call Alice but before I could even open it, I bumped into someone. Natumba ako at nabitiwan ko ang phone ko. What’s worse was there were a lot of people on the hallway. Nakakahiya!
 
“I’m sorry,” I said while standing up.

“Okay ka lang?” Napahinto naman ako nang marinig ko ang boses ng nakabanggaan ko. When I looked up, his face came into sight.
 
The students started whispering to one another, and I immediately got conscious.
 
He stepped closer and smiled. “Please be careful, bebe girl.”
 
His words sent shiver down my spine, but what made me want to disappear was the sudden cheering and teasing of those around us.
 
“Oh my god, did you hear that?”

“Bebe girl? What’s up with that endearment?”

“That’s kinda corny, no?”
​
“Eh, it’s kinda sweet?”
 
Realization suddenly hit me. He didn’t back down. He was waiting for the right opportunity to get back at me. And he succeeded. Because instead of retaliating, I ran away.

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