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Nagkita kami mga... two weeks ago, I think? Hindi ko na alam pero naalala ko kung pano kami nag kita. It was raining at that time and, unfortunately, school wasn't canceled. I hate this weather because of a certain event in my life. Dati pa iyon nangyari pero naalala ko pa sya. Two years ago, on a day like this, my mother died in front of me. So, sa tingin ko you could say that that's the reason I hate this fucking weather. But that's not my point. Two weeks ago, I went behind the school for a light smoke. Alam ko naman na bawal manigarilyo, but aren't rules made to be broken? So that's what I did. Sa likod nang school namin, mayroo'ng parang gazebo na nakadikit sa wall nang likoran. May malaking bintana sa pader kung saan tumatakas minsan and mga studyante. But, as for me, I don't resolve to such poor skills to escape the torture of school. I just literally walked out of class. Hindi din naman ako pinigilan nang teacher ko so okay lang naman. I was standing under the roof of the gazebo with my back to the wall when I heard the hinges of the windows. Parang may tatakas nanaman.
To my surprise, it was no one but our top student, Angelo Acherly-Miller. Tahimik lang sya lagi at parang hindi sya friendly type. Pero kahit SOBRANG sungit nang mukha nya, andaming mga babae na lumalapit sa kanya. I mean, I've never seen him that close before. He had ruffled hair as he popped out of the window and rolled onto the floor, hugging his backpack. Sure enough, kahit magulo yung itsura nya, his looks (and grades) make up for his attitude. After he got up, we stared at each other for a moment.
He saw me, Nathaniel Reyes, the top student in the school, smoking and I caught him, Angelo Miller-Acherly, the top student in his grade and model student for the school, sneaking out and skipping class. Nilabas ko young box nag sigarilyo ko at inabot ko sa kanya, "Uhm... Want a smoke?" tanong ko sya na may pangiti pa for extra effect. My charms never not worked on anyone so let's see if he can turn his back on me. And he did turn his back on me. Parang may binulong sya sa sarili nya tapos bigla syang tumakbo paalis, into the rain. I don't know what got into me but I put out my cigarette and followed him into the rain. Thinking back to that moment, I'm also surprised at myself. I'm pretty sure I made it clear na ayaw ko nga nang ulan. So... why?
I followed him all the way to the warehouse behind the school wall. Napansin ko na hindi nya pinang silong yung bag nya, instead, he protected his bag from getting wet. I was only 8 feet away from him so I'm sure na alam nya na sinusundan ko sya. Gawa sa kahoy yung warehouse kaya mero'ng kaunting leak from the roof. He went inside first then left the door open for me. We were both completely drenched. Sinarado ko and pinto sa likod ko na masyadong malakas. Tumalikod sya at tumingin sya sa akin, "Shhh!" sabi nya. I nodded my head then continued following him farther in to the small warehouse. Bigla lang syang tumigil so I also stopped. He stomped on the wooden floor until there was a hollow sound. He knelt down and opened a trapdoor on the floor. What the heck? Was it always there? Naka-freeze lang ako. Hindi ko alam and gagawin ko. Pumasok sya sa loob. I was certain that I wasn't following a random classmate that I don't even talk to down to a hole in the ground. But, again, he continued to surprise me. Sumigaw sya from inside the cellar, "Susunod ka ba o hinde?" To be honest, nagulat ako sa boses nya. He had a stern, deep, breathy voice. His voice wasn't quivering at all. He spoke straight. I guess that's the type of voice women find attractive?
"Uhh. I'm coming, yeah." sagot ko naman. nagmadali along bumaba sa kahoy na hagdan. When I reached the bottom, I saw that the cellar was almost as big as the warehouse. It was... surprising, of course. "Nandito pala to?" bulong ko sa sarili ko. Nakita ko si Angelo na lumingon sakin na parang mero'ng sasabihin but he just clutched his bag tighter then continued to walk. Hini ko na sya kailangan sundan at kitang kita ko naman kung nasaan sya. I took a wooden crate and sat on it while watching him check all the wooden crates for something. Finally, he walked toward me and motioned for me to stand up. So I did. Binuksan nya yung box and, again, to my surprise, there was a mother cat inside. There were also little kittens. Hindi na masyadong gumagalaw young nanay na pusa. Dinampot ni Angelo yung mother cat at inisa isa nyang nilabas ang mga maliliit na pusa. He unzipped his bag and brought out a small syringe and a water bottle with milk. "Hawakan mo to," he tossed me a needless syringe and pointed at the water bottle, "Fill that up with milk then choose a cat to feed." He spoke to me with a stern voice and a blank face. Natawa ako nang konti. Napaka seryoso nang itsura nya akala mo naman boss yun pala kitten nanny lang. "Natawa ka ba?" I instantly shut my mouth and picked up a kitten gently. He already had a kitten in his arms. I copied what he was doing carefully. He put the mouth of the syringe in the water bottle then gently aloowed the kitten to drink milk. The milk was slightly overflowing to the corners of the kitten's mouth. I did the same.
There were a total of 5 kittens. Dalawa lang ata yung napa inom ko. Pagkatapos ko painumin yung last, I cassually glanced at Angelo. I saw him smiling, which, again, surprised me. His eyes were sparkling as he held the little animals. He had slightly longer hair than me. We both had black hair, given na yon. Mas matangkad ako sa kanya and even when we were sitting down, I was looking down at him. Bigla syang tumingin sa'kin and we suddenly locked our eyes. His soft eyes became stern. "I only brought you here because I knew you would be of help." sabi nya.
Grabe naman tayo. And sama nang tingin sakin pero and bait bait naman sa pusa.
He put down the cat, stood up and patted himself down. He held out his hand to help me up. "Baka lang maisipan mo na magsumbong," his eyes threw daggers at me, "just know that I also have dirt on you."
Okay, sheesh.
Tinaas ko ang dalawa kong kamay, "Fine! I wasn't- it's not like I was planning on telling anyway!" He squinted at me then put the kittens back in the crate. Hindi nya binalik and nanay na pusa but he picked her up and told me, "Help me bury this one." his eyes and the tone of his voice were unexpectedly soft. The rims of his eyes were a little bit reddish. Parang iiyak na sya any moment. "It's dead?" Tanong ko.
"Hindi nya nakaya young lamig. She gave her warmth to her kittens," he paused and said with a broken voice, "It's because of this fucking rainstorm."
After burying the cat, I left for a while to get some flowers but pagbalik ko, he was gone.
Habang pabalik ako sa school, I thought to myself,
I guess that's another thing we have in common... he also hates rainstorms.
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