Chapter 66
Kairi finally closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair.
The familiar ache in her shoulders immediately made itself known.
"Ow."
Iniunat niya ang dalawang braso sa taas, fingers reaching toward the ceiling until her back gave a satisfying pop.
Two hours. Not bad.
Napatingin siya sa digital clock sa desk niya and she felt a small sense of accomplishment. Tapos na ang notes. Tapos na rin ang readings. The quiz she had been preparing for was still three days away.
For once, she didn't immediately open another document. Instead, tumayo siya at lumabas ng kwarto.
The sound of a movie drifted from the living room.
As expected, Zoe and Maya were sprawled across the sofa. Maya sat cross-legged on one end while Zoe somehow occupied most of the sofa with one leg thrown across Maya's lap habang kumakain ng chips.
Neither of them noticed Kairi approaching. So she grabbed Zoe's ankle and pushed it aside.
"Move, move."
"Hey!" Zoe jerked upright, nearly spilling chips everywhere. "You're so aggressive."
Maya laughed while Zoe pulled her legs away para magbigay ng space.
"You deserved that."
"I did not!"
Kairi ignored both of them and squeezed herself into the space between them. Maya immediately paused the movie.
"Done studying?" tanong niya.
Tumango si Kairi. "Yes. Finished."
Maya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Finished finished?"
"Tapos na ako for today."
For some reason, masyadong concerned ang dalawa sa sagot na iyon.
Nagkatinginan sina Zoe at Maya bago muling bumaling sa kanya si Zoe.
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Napakunot-noo si Kairi. "What are you talking about?"
"You've been acting weird lately."
"No, I haven't."
"You have," Zoe insisted.
"Actually," singit ni Maya. "Medyo tama si Zoe."
Kairi stared at them. "What did I even do?"
"You studied for only two hours," Zoe said dramatically.
Kairi blinked. "And?"
"And then you stopped."
"Kasi nga, tapos na ako."
"The thing is, Kairi Lei," sabi ni Zoe habang tinuturo siya. "Kahit tapos ka na, usually, hindi ka naman tumitigil."
Maya immediately joined in. "Especially ngayon na second year na tayo. Akala ko nga mas lalala ka."
"Same," Zoe agreed. "First year, medyo understandable pa. Adjusting tayo lahat. Pero ngayong second year? Akala ko magiging full academic weapon ka na."
Kairi rolled her eyes.
Maya continued. "Kapag natapos mo na ang kailangan mong gawin, hahanap ka ng ibang aaralin."
"Or you'll review the thing you just finished," Zoe added.
"Or gagawa ka ng bagong notes."
"Or aayusin mo ang notes mo."
"Or make notes about your notes!"
Kairi looked personally attacked. "Okay, first of all, hindi ako ganyan."
Neither of them answered. Tiningnan lang nila ang kaibigan.
The silence dragged on long enough that Kairi eventually sighed. "Fine! Maybe a little."
"A little?" Zoe repeated.
"Sobra pa nga," Maya corrected.
Kairi huffed. "You two complain when I study too much."
"Because you do."
"And now you're complaining because I'm studying less."
"That's right."
"Alam niyo bang walang sense 'yan?"
"It makes perfect sense," Zoe replied confidently.
Kinuha ni Kairi ang throw pillow at ibinato kay Zoe who caught it without even looking.
"Isa pa," Maya said, leaning back against the sofa. "Napapadalas na rin ang pagsama mo sa amin."
Kairi frowned. "What does that mean?"
"You had lunch with us four times this week."
"What? Normal lang naman."
"For normal people, yes," sabi ni Maya. "Pero for you, it's not."
Kairi groaned at isinandal ang ulo sa backrest. "So? Ayaw niyo ba?"
"No," agad na sagot ni Zoe. "We love it!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"Wala namang problem."
"So bakit ang daming tanong?"
Zoe and Maya simply shrugged.
"Ang dami niyo yatang time para bantayan ang buhay ko."
Honestly, gets naman ni Kairi ang punto nila. Something had changed.
She wasn't rushing back to the the library nor their apartment after every class anymore. Hindi na niya ginugugol ang bawat free hour sa pag-aaral. Hindi na rin automatic na 'no' ang sagot niya kapag may nag-aayang lumabas.
Life felt lighter these days. The pressure she constantly carried seemed easier to set down.
And maybe Zoe and Maya had noticed the difference before she did.
After a while, Kairi pushed herself off the sofa and stretched, earning another satisfying crack from somewhere in her back.
"Okay," she said, reaching for her phone. "Mag-o-order ako ng pagkain."
Parehong napalingon sina Maya at Zoe mula sa TV.
"What?" Zoe asked.
"Food," Kairi repeated.
Maya glanced at the time on her phone. "It's almost ten."
"Uh-huh."
The answer only made Zoe more suspicious. She narrowed her eyes at Kairi as though examining an impostor.
"Who are you and what have you done to Kairi?"
Kairi rolled her eyes. "I studied for two hours. I deserve food."
"You've studied longer than that before and survived on water."
"I've grown."
"You've become weird."
"Fine." Kairi immediately lowered her phone. "Never mind. Hindi na ako mag-o-order."
The reaction was instant.
"Wait!"
Napaupo nang diretso si Zoe, muntik pang malaglag ang blanket sa lap niya.
"No, no. You already offered. Hindi mo na pwedeng bawiin!"
"I changed my mind."
"You don't get to do that."
"I absolutely do, Zoe."
Hindi na napigilan ni Kairi ang ngiti niya habang nakatitig si Zoe sa kanya na parang personal betrayal ang nangyayari.
"Looks like someone's desperate."
"Spicy chicken," Zoe said without shame. "Large order."
Kairi laughed. "I'm not even ordering anymore."
"And fries."
Maya, sensing an opportunity, immediately joined in. "Add onion rings!"
Kairi stared at both of them for a moment before shaking her head and reopening the delivery app.
"Ang demanding naman."
Somehow, nakabuo si Zoe ng meal na parang para sa anim na tao na. Maya spent several minutes pretending to be the reasonable one before adding desserts to the cart. In the end, sumuko na lang si Kairi and confirmed the order.
Pagdating ng pagkain, gutom na silang lahat para ituloy pa ang movie.
Unti-unting napuno ng containers ang coffee table. The apartment quickly filled with the smell of fried food and a series of very questionable life choices.
Zoe opened one container and spread her arms dramatically.
"This," she declared. "This is what friendship looks like."
"Sure, sure," Kairi replied.
Maya laughed as she handed everyone their drinks.
For a while, kumain lang sila.
The conversation drifted naturally from one topic to another. They complained about professors and instructors, compared assignments, and exchanged stories about particularly terrible classes.
Unti-unting naubos ang pagkain.
Leaning back against the sofa, Kairi watched Zoe and Maya argue over the last few fries in the container.
A smile tugged at her lips.
"We haven't done this in a while."
Agad natigil ang bangayan ng dalawa.
Maya looked around the cluttered coffee table. "Actually..."
"Yeah," Zoe agreed.
They were right. The three of them still lived together. Nakikita pa rin nila ang isa't isa araw-araw.
Pero naging busy na ang lahat with classes, requirements, relationships, and endless responsibilities.
Hindi nila namalayan, pero naging bihira na pala ang mga gabing kagaya nito.
"We should do this more often," Maya said.
"We say that every time," Zoe pointed out. "Pero hindi rin natin nagagawa."
"Because we're responsible adults."
Zoe snorted so loudly that both Kairi and Maya laughed.
"We are absolutely not responsible adults!"
Mas lalo lang tuloy silang nagtawanan.
At some point, napatingin si Kairi kay Zoe.
"Have you called Sophie?"
Zoe immediately focused very hard on her glass.
"No."
"Magkaaway pa rin kayo?"
"We're not fighting."
Maya laughed. "Kanina mo pa chine-check ang phone mo, every five minutes."
"Hindi kaya!"
"You literally checked it twenty seconds ago."
"That's because she might message."
Kairi and Maya exchanged a look.
"Tawagan mo na kasi."
"I'm not calling her."
"Why not?"
"Because she's being unreasonable."
Kairi immediately pointed at her. "Which means pareho lang kayong unreasonable."
For the next several minutes, pilit na dinepensahan ni Zoe ang sarili niya habang sina Kairi at Maya naman ay tumangging kampihan siya. Eventually, sumuko rin siya at tumayo mula sa sofa.
"I'm going to my room."
Maya smirked. "To do what?"
Zoe sighed dramatically, already heading toward the hallway.
"To continue losing an argument."
"Meaning?"
Huminto siya, lumingon sa kanila, and rolled her eyes.
"I'm calling Sophie."
"There it is," Kairi said.
A second later, Zoe's bedroom door closed behind her.
Parang biglang mas tahimik ang apartment pagkatapos niyang mawala sa sala.
Naka-on pa rin ang TV sa background, pero hindi na talaga pinapansin nina Kairi at Maya. Matagal nang tapos ang movie at napalitan na ng kung anu-anong music videos, filling the room with noise neither of them were actually watching.
Kinuha ni Kairi ang glass niya at dahan-dahang uminom.
Across from her, Maya sat curled up comfortably sa corner ng sofa, a glass resting loosely in her hands.
After watching her for a moment, Kairi smiled.
"You drink pretty well now."
Napatingin si Maya sa hawak niyang baso bago natawa.
"Kasalanan niyo ito. Kayong dalawa ni Zoe."
Kairi snorted. "You're making us sound like bad influences."
"You are!"
Kairi opened her mouth to argue, pero napahinto siya. Honestly, she couldn't.
"Fair."
Maya smiled victoriously and took another sip.
After that, the conversation faded into a comfortable silence.
Kairi noticed Maya staring into her glass. Nandoon pa rin ang ngiti, but it looked tired. Smaller. Like she was carrying something.
"How are things with Ryan?"
Maya looked up.
For a moment, she seemed surprised by the question. Then she sighed and leaned back against the sofa.
"Honestly? Not great."
Tahimik lang si Kairi.
"The frustrating part is wala namang nangyari. No big fight. Walang nag-cheat. Nobody screwed up." She let out a small laugh. "Actually, feeling ko mas mahirap tuloy pag ganon."
Kairi nodded.
"It's just life, I guess. Pareho kaming naging busy. Tapos nasanay na kaming busy. Then suddenly we're spending more time trying to fit each other into our schedules than actually enjoying being together."
"When I need him, busy siya sa projects niya. Kapag siya naman ang free, pagod na ako."
Maya stared down at her drink.
"We'll make plans and cancel them because something comes up. We promise to call later, tapos makakalimutan. Magso-sorry kami, sasabihing we'll do better, tapos next week ganon ulit."
The smile she gave was tired.
"And the worst part? Neither of us is really wrong."
That made Kairi wince.
Some problems would honestly be easier kung may masisisi ka.
"Nasabi mo na ba sa kanya?"
"I tried."
"And?"
Maya laughed softly, though there wasn't much humor in it.
"Sabi niya, he feels exactly the same way."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Kairi wasn't sure whether that made things better or worse.
Eventually she nudged Maya's shoulder.
"You know, mas okay talaga to date women."
Agad napatawa si Maya. The sound echoed through the apartment.
"Talaga ba?"
"Absolutely!"
"Based on what experience?"
Kairi opened her mouth confidently, then paused. A second later she pointed at Maya.
"Actually, never mind."
Maya laughed harder.
"So gusto mong maranasan ko rin ang pinagdadaanan mo ngayon?"
Kairi groaned and leaned back into the sofa.
"Okay, fair. Tama na."
Pareho silang natawa, at kahit papaano, gumaan ang atmosphere.
After that, kung saan-saan na napunta ang usapan.
Nagkwentuhan tungkol sa university gossip. Napunta sa future plans. Then somehow, they spent several minutes talking about Zoe and Sophie's never-ending cycle of arguing, making up, and finding new things to argue about.
Lumipas ang oras nang hindi nila namamalayan.
Eventually, Maya turned toward Kairi and smiled.
"You know..."
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
Napakunot-noo si Kairi.
"For what?"
Maya looked down at her glass before answering.
"For asking. For noticing."
The sincerity in her voice caught Kairi off guard.
She stared at Maya for a moment before shrugging.
"You're my friend. Our friend."
Something softened in Maya's expression.
Without warning, lumapit siya nang kaunti at ipinatong ang ulo niya sa balikat ni Kairi.
Napatingin si Kairi sa kanya pero hindi siya umiwas.
Mula sa kabilang hallway, paminsan-minsan naririnig nila ang muffled voice ni Zoe habang kausap si Sophie sa phone.
Softly playing pa rin ang music mula sa TV.
"You've changed," Maya murmured.
A faint smile tugged at Kairi's lips.
"So have you."
Napatawa nang mahina si Maya, sounding a little sleepy. "No. I mean you."
"Maybe."
Hindi na sila nagsalita after that.
And Kairi found herself completely content with the silence.
Not because she was hiding from something.
Not because she was exhausted. But just because she's sitting beside a friend, listening to the familiar sounds around her.
Letting the night be exactly what it was, without needing it to become anything more.