Chapter 39
Later that night, in a quieter part of the city, Miss Herrera sat curled up on Ella's living room sofa, a wine glass balanced loosely in one hand, the other holding her phone.
A movie played quietly in the background pero hindi naman talaga sila nanonood.
They were drinking for no particular reason. Just to unwind. To slow the day down.
Her screen lit up with a new notification—an email from Kairi.
Just wanted to say thank you for helping us earlier especially for stepping in when we got that impossible question.
Hope you're resting tonight.
– Kairi
She stared at it for a second longer than necessary.
Napalingon si Ella mula sa kabilang dulo ng sofa, one eyebrow raised. "What was that?"
Hindi niya napigilang tanungin—Miss Herrera had been staring at her phone too long.
"Email from a student," Miss Herrera said absently, still staring at the message.
"Asking for an extension?"
"No. Just a thank you."
Napatawa si Ella. "You see? That's cute. You should cut your students some slack, you know. You scare the hell out of them."
"I do not."
"Oo kaya," sagot ni Ella, grinning.
Miss Herrera rolled her eyes, pero bahagya ring napangiti.
Then the front door clicked open.
Sabay silang napatingin sa pinto.
And there stood Kairi in soft pajama pants and a loose white shirt.
All three of them froze.
Kairi's eyes widened. "Oh. Uh—hi?"
Miss Herrera straightened immediately. Nagtagpo ang mga mata nila ni Kairi, and the shift in the room was instant—silent tension that wrapped itself around every inch of air.
Ella raised an eyebrow. "Kai? Anong ginagawa mo rito?"
"Nag-text si tita," sagot ni Kairi, stepping inside awkwardly. "Asked me to check on you. Hindi mo raw sinasagot calls nila."
Ella groaned. "I'm not a child."
"You kind of are when you disappear and get home drunk," sabi ni Kairi habang tinatanggal ang slippers.
Napatingin si Kairi sa kanilang dalawa, and slowly, na-realize niya what she had walked into. "Wait. Were you guys—like, hanging out?"
"Obviously," Ella said, stretching. "Come join. We're drinking and pretending to watch this slow-motion disaster of a romcom."
"No," Miss Herrera said quickly. "She should go home."
Tumingin si Ella sa kanilang dalawa, looking far too entertained. "Oh, come on, Gianna. It's not like it's the first time she's joined us. My birthday, remember?"
Miss Herrera exhaled slowly. "That was different."
"Relax. It's fine," Ella said with finality, then stood, yawning dramatically. "Anyway. I'm getting more wine. You two—play nice."
Pagkaalis ni Ella papunta sa kitchen, naiwan ang sala na puno ng tension.
Miss Herrera sighed. "You should go home."
"I'm not going home," Kairi said, already walking over and plopping down beside her.
Miss Herrera turned sharply. "Kairi—"
"I won't do anything," mabilis na dagdag ni Kairi, hands raised in mock surrender. "Promise. I can behave. Uupo lang ako rito. Quiet. Respectable. Very unproblematic."
Miss Herrera stared at her—unsure kung maiinis ba o matatawa.
Kairi leaned back into the sofa, teasing, "Weekday drinking, Miss? You must've really exhausted yourself grilling students today."
Miss Herrera tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "I wasn't that bad."
"You commented on our formatting and our literature review flow," Kairi deadpanned. "That's like a double kill."
"It was necessary," Miss Herrera replied. "Figure 3 nearly gave me a headache."
Kairi laughed. "It gave us a headache."
A soft pause settled between them.
Then Miss Herrera said, almost under her breath, "Email, huh?"
Kairi side-eyed her. "Hmm...I didn't have your number."
"You could've asked Ella."
"Aasarin lang niya ako."
"You're not wrong."
Miss Herrera looked down at her half-full glass. "Still. You didn't have to send anything."
"I wanted to," Kairi said simply. "Felt right."
Bago pa man sila makasagot ulit sa isa't isa, bumalik na si Ella—wine bottle in one hand and a triumphant smile in the other. "Refill?"
Miss Herrera declined with a small shake of her head. Pero si Kairi, walang pag-aalinlangang inabot ang glass niya.
Makalipas ang ilang sandali, Ella's phone buzzed. She looked at the screen, rolled her eyes, and stood up. "I have to take this. Be back."
"Boyfriend?" tanong agad ni Kairi.
Ella gave her a mock glare. "Mind your business."
"So it is your boyfriend," pagpupumilit niya kahit hindi naman siya sigurado kung may boyfriend ba si Ella o wala.
"Mind. Your. Business," ulit ni Ella, this time with a grin, bago tuluyang umakyat sa taas.
Once Ella had left again, the silence returned—softer this time. The kind that settled between two people with too much to say, too little safety to say it all, and still no intention of walking away.
Kairi glanced sideways at Miss Herrera, who was gently swirling the wine in her glass pero hindi naman iniinom.
She rested her chin on her palm. "Miss, can I ask something?"
Miss Herrera gave her a brief glance. "You already did."
"I mean another one."
"That depends," sabi nito, still not looking at her.
"On?"
"Whether it's invasive, ridiculous, or impossible to answer."
"So basically all my questions," Kairi said dryly. "Great."
Miss Herrera finally turned. "Kairi."
"I'm just talking," Kairi said, shrugging one shoulder, playing casual though her eyes were sharp. "You don't have to answer."
There was a pause. Then—
"Have you ever dated someone?" she asked softly.
Hindi agad nag-react si Miss Herrera. She just breathed in once before answering.
"Yes."
"When?"
"High school," Miss Herrera said, after a pause.
"That's it?"
"And college," dagdag niya, just to shut her student up.
Kairi's head tilted. "And after?"
Miss Herrera raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden interrogation?"
"No reason, Miss," Kairi said, not convincingly. "Curious lang."
"Curious about what exactly?"
"Everything," Kairi said. "What they were like. If they were the serious type. Or just...experimental."
Miss Herrera gave her a look. "You're dangerously close to sounding like a guidance counselor."
"I just want to know," Kairi said, quieter now. "Were they women?"
Miss Herrera didn't answer right away. Then—
"Mostly."
Kairi caught that word immediately. "Mostly?"
One word. Open door.
"May lalaki ba?"
Miss Herrera looked back at her slowly. "One."
"Was it in college?"
"Yes."
"Was it serious?"
"Not really."
Bahagyang umatras si Kairi sa pagkakaupo niya, narrowing her eyes—not out of jealousy, but more like uncertainty. "So it wasn't just one thing."
Hindi sumagot si Miss Herrera.
"You've been through things, I guess," Kairi added, less confident now. "Met different kinds of people."
"That's what happens when you live long enough," Miss Herrera replied. "People happen."
Kairi didn't laugh. She was thinking again. "Do you still talk to any of them?"
"No."
Kairi kept her voice neutral. "Did they leave?"
"No."
"So you did."
Miss Herrera met her eyes. "You know that's not a fair conclusion."
"But it's the truth, right?"
Another silence stretched.
Miss Herrera's gaze sharpened now—not annoyed, but focused. "Why are you asking me all this?"
Kairi blinked. "What?"
"These questions," Miss Herrera said, her voice a little lower now. "They're not coming from nowhere."
Kairi looked away, trying to play it off, pero hindi siya sumagot.
"Kairi, napag-usapan na natin ito," dagdag ni Miss Herrera. "No pretending. No circling around what we mean."
Still, tahimik lang si Kairi.
Then Miss Herrera's tone softened. "What are you afraid of, Kairi?"
That landed.
Kairi sat back on the sofa, arms crossed, chin tilted upward like she was guarding something. "I'm not afraid."
"You're asking about people I've been with. People I've left. Like you're trying to predict the ending before anything even begins."
"I'm just figuring things out," Kairi said. "That's allowed, isn't it?"
"You can ask anything," Miss Herrera replied. "Pero I want to know why."
Tumingin ulit si Kairi sa kanya and now may kakaibang tapang sa expression niya, like she had suddenly decided to shift direction. A smirk tugged at her lips.
"Okay," she said. "What if I asked if you've ever dated someone younger?"
Miss Herrera raised an eyebrow. "Is that the real question?"
"I mean really younger," Kairi said, motioning vaguely between them. "Not like a three-year gap. Like—stupid-young. Like...this."
Miss Herrera didn't blink. "What are you trying to do?"
"Testing a theory."
"You're not a theory."
"Feels like it sometimes."
Miss Herrera set her wine glass down. "You're not serious."
"Miss, hindi ako nagbibiro."
A quiet breath escaped Miss Herrera's nose—half-laugh, half-defeat. "This is dangerous."
"You're the one who said no pretending," paalala ni Kairi, tilting her head slightly. "I'm just following the rules."
"That doesn't mean you get to ask questions like that without consequences."
"Oh," Kairi said, her tone softening but not backing down. "So there are consequences?"
Miss Herrera didn't respond.