Lunch

She watched as the second hand sweep the face of the clock and the minute hand move to eight. Right on the dot, the school’s bell rings, and the professor gives a final word to the class. She stood up, went out of the classroom together with her classmates, and started talking about their plans for the rest of the day.

“Saan tayo kain?” one of her friends asked.

“Kahit saan!” another one replied.

Here we go again, she thought, smiling as she rolled her eyes. They always had this debate on where to eat, and as always, it cost them twenty minutes before they finally got to decide where to eat.

They all headed for their college’s building to meet up with other friends who might want to eat lunch with them. They found seats in the building’s eating area, left their bags with some friends and headed out to buy their lunches.

She glanced around the lobby, looking for someone who might be there already. When she didn’t see the person, she followed her friends and talked to them, but she was well aware of her peripheral version. She was obviously waiting for someone to arrive.

They went out to the side street where cheap lunches were sold. She glanced around again, hoping to see the person she was looking for. No sign of that person yet.

After buying their lunches, they happily went back inside and sat on their table to eat. She listened to their usual chatter – the teases, rants about schoolwork, and all other things that they could talk about. But even as she joined the conversation, she was still watching her peripheral vision for that someone.

And at last, she saw him.

He entered from the main gate of the building, and then walked to the lobby. She tried not to look at him too long and focused on her food and her friends, but a telltale smile was on her face. She glanced at him again and for a moment, she thought he looked at her, but it was most probably through her, not at her.

She focused on her friends again and ignored a momentary stab of pain in her heart. She tried not to think of him again, at least for the time being, just so she won’t make a fool of herself. A moment later, as she threw her Styrofoam container, she looked around the lobby and couldn’t find him anymore. Disappointment flashed in her eyes and she tried to dismiss it.

“Uy, samahan mo ko sa bookstore, bili lang ako ng ballpen.” A friend told her.

She said yes and they walked to the bookstore. For a while, she forgot about him as she and her friend talked about other things that didn’t make life complicated. Like him, she thought.

On the way back, she was laughing at a joke when she saw him again, standing alone. Her heart skipped a beat and she wondered if she would say hi. She doubted he saw her already. Accidentally, her friend stepped on her shoe which made her say “Ouch” loudly, making him see her. She tried to calm herself as she walked towards him to say hi.

“Uy,” she said, smiling.

“Uy,” he said. He hesitated, and then just as she was about to leave, he called her again. She looked back and raised an eyebrow, wondering what he wanted to ask.

“Kumain na ba kayo?”

Dumbstruck, she looked at him for a while before answering, “Uh…yeah. Kumain na.”

“Ah…okay. Sige.” She couldn’t read his facial expression. She could swear it was disappointment, but she didn’t want to think of that.

She and her friend went inside, and then once she got in, she stopped short.

Stupid. She should’ve said no.

Help me get to Sydney next year! Click here for more details. :)
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you  subscribe to my RSS feed