Paris"Mommy?" I asked, surprised. Yep. That's right. Standing just outside the door was my mom, Izabella Villaverde. Kaya pala maaga kaming pinauwi ni Mico. I get it now.Kasabay ng tanong ko ang mabilis na paglabas nina Mico at Venny. They both looked like they wanted to stop Mom from going out but were too late to do so. I met Venny's gaze and all she did was smile apologetically to me."What's happening?" tanong ni mommy, bakas ang pagkakalito sa mukha, habang ako naman ay naguguluhan rin. She wasn't supposed to be here yet! Why is she back so soon?"Ah," umayos ako ng tayo at tuluyang hinarap sina mama. I gestured at Ezzio. "N-Nag-uusap lang kami, Mommy."Nag-uusap? Usap pa ba ang tawag doon, Paris? Halos nagsisigaw ka na nga, e."Oh," giit niya. "I'm sorry, I just th

Paris"Why the hell did you do that?" tanong ko kay Ezzio nang makalabas kami sa library. Hindi pa naman lunchtime pero minabuti ko na lang na magpaalam kay King para naman maibsan ang tensyon sa kanilang dalawa. Tatlo kaming lumabas nina Raynold habang nagpaiwan naman roon si King. But now, it's just me and Ezzio. Nagpaalam na rin kasi si Ray agad. He probably sensed the heavy atmosphere between me and his friend.Nakatayo kami sa gilid ng hallway malapit sa Engineering building. He shrugged. "I want to see him play.""Then just watch his damn practice!" Hindi ko mapigilang itaas ang boses ko. Naiinis ako sa kanya! Masyado siyang pa-extra! Niyaya niya pa talaga si King ng 1-on-1 game? Akala mo siya 'tong basketball player sa kanilang dalawa, ah!Tinitigan niya ako ng matagal. Hindi ko mabasa ang ekspresyon ng mukha niya."Why are you so mad about th

Paris"Mommy?" I called as I knocked on her door. My lips were quivering and my face, tear-stained. It didn't take long for her to open up. Inaayos niya pa ang roba niya at bahagyang napatigil nang makita akong umiiyak.The look on her face turned from a look of shock to something that showed genuine concern."Bella," she said softly as she held me by the arm. Hindi ako nakasagot. Mukhang wala naman siyang inaasahan. Inakay niya na lang ako patungo sa kama niya. She hugged me tight once we sat there. My tears fell nonstop on her shoulder."I hate myself," I whispered, unable to stop my sobs. Naramdaman ko ang pag-iling ni mama habang hinahaplos ang likod ko nang marahan."No. Don't say that," she said. "You're just scared and I don't blame you. Maybe because I know that somehow, it's my fault."I couldn't gi

Paris"Your client is Ezzio Martinez?" I asked Venny the moment her meeting with Ezzio ended. Itinukod ko pa ang dalawang kamay sa mesa habang nakatayo. Siya naman ay abala sa pagkulikot sa cellphone niya.I stood in front of her as her brows furrowed without even giving me a single glance."Uhm... yeah?" she said, as if it was no big deal. Napasinghap ako. I know I was only stating the obvious but hearing it from her seemed to have taken me by surprise, still."Bakit hindi mo man lang sinabi sa'kin?!" Hindi ko na mapigilang itaas ang boses. Kasi naman! Halos hindi ako nakagalaw nang makita ko si Ezzio kanina! Kung hindi pa ako tinapik ni Marky

ParisI stopped asking Ezzio for lunch, eventually. Bukod sa napaka time-consuming ng paghihintay sa kanya, naisip ko rin na mukhang isang malaking abala lang 'yon. It's too much of a distraction. And it was somewhat annoying. Of course, I didn't want to be labelled as 'the annoying courter'. Baka mas ma-bad shot lang ako kay Ezzio. Yeah. This was really happening. Talagang lubos ko nang sineseryoso ang panliligaw sa kanya. It sounded so unnatural and desperate, but at this point, I didn't care.Anyways, that was pretty much it. Tumigil ako sa pangungulit kay Ezzio roon sa labas ng opisina niya. Sa halip ay napagdesisyonan kong hatiran na lang siya ng pagkain dahil mas mainam 'yon. And so, whenever it was lunchtime, I went to their company just to drop off the food. Iniiwan ko lang kay Arianne ang pagkain, pagkatapos ay siya na ang bahalang nagbibigay sa boss niya. I'd been doing that for about a week now. Today was no diffe