Chapter One:Part Five

Leni locked herself inside her room for entire Christmas vacation. Except on Noche Buena and New Year’s Eve.

“Anak, naghihintay sa’yo ang pagkain!”
Leni got up from bed and washed her face. She stared in front of the mirror and felt that she saw a trash. She noticed the dark circles under her eyes and her hair that has been unruly that resulted from the sleepless nights that she had.

Leni went to the dining room.
“Ate, mabuti naisipan mo ring lumabas ng kwarto mo. Akala ko kasi, may balak kang maging ermitanyo eh.” His brother Gino, commented.
“Leni, is there something wrong?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m probably stressed out from my thesis.” Of course, she just made an alibi. But, the truth is that she spent days crying over Red.
“Anak, It’s Christmas, don’t think about it muna. Teka, why don’t you invite Red on Medya Noche?
“Uhm…He’s out of the country… Gino, please pass the rice.” She said without looking at them.
Leni pretended that everything was okay, but her mother knows she’s not.

She never mentioned about the break-up her family. It’s difficult for her to disclose what happened because the more that she talked about it, the more that the pain lingered.

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Classes resumed and Leni pretended that as if nothing happened.
“Leni, did you join ‘Ambush Makeover’?” Adam asked
“Oo nga, what’s with your new look?” Faith added
“ I have to do this because I don’t want to look pathetic or should I say affected by the break-up. Bakit, pangit ba?”
“Hindi naman, nanibago lang kami.”
When she was asked about the what happened, she would joke about it. “We’re just friends”, she would always say.

She may laugh about it, but she’s really hurting inside. Whenever she and Red would cross paths, Leni would smile at him. But after that, she would hide somewhere, and cry.

School work piled up and so was her emotions. There came to a point that she can’t hide it anymore. After their final exams, she went straight to Faith’s house with Adam. They were watching TV when Leni told them what Red said to her. She cried as she told the whole story. “Guys, it’s difficult for me to deal with this. I know it’s stupid but this is my first time to fell in love with someone and it’s not easy for me to recover with what happened. Ngayon lang ako ulit nasaktan ng ganito. The last time was when my Dad
left us. I was eight then and I can vividly recall what happened. Ayoko ng iniiwan ako.”
“Ang drama mo naman, hindi naman namin gagawin yun sa iyo. Ayaw naming mawalan ng taga-basa ng horoscope at showbiz update. Joke lang! ” Faith said.
“Ang sabi nga ni Kuya Germs, walang iwanan, di ba?” Adam added as the three of them laughed.

“Imbento ka naman eh, walang tulugan kaya yun.” Faith replied as she nudged him.
“Nag-eemote lang ako, may taping kasi ako bukas eh. Basta promise yan ah.” Leni said jokingly.
“O tama na yan nagiging corny na,mag- isaw na tayo. My treat.” Adam said as they walked towards the stall across their campus.
Then, Adam started to talk. “Yan ang gusto namin sa’yo. Magaling kang mag-dala ng problema. Honestly, we really liked you for being real. When you’re with Red,you’re trying to be someone that he liked. But, when you’re with us, you’re just you. Di ka na nagpa-pasikat . Yun nga lang, may ka-baduyan ka minsan. Pero ok lang un.”