When she got home, Leni thought about what Aldo told her. It really made sense because she finally realized that Adam and Faith were right when they told her that she was not herself when she was with Red. She can display her wacky side around the people in her class and her friends from the theater group. But, when she was with Red and his teammates, she wears another mask by pretending to be “sosyal”. She has to do this, in order to get accepted by them because they were the kind of people who go for the obvious. She was liked by both parties, but it didn’t last for long. When he dumped Leni, his teammates and their ‘girlfriends’ began to ignore her. Cocoy, one of Red’s buddies labeled her as a ‘has been’. He bullied Leni most of the time. On the contrary, her classmates and closest friends were there for her.
There was one time when Leni got picked by Cocoy. It happened during final exams, Leni, Ode, and Faith were reviewing inside La Prinsesa when Cocoy and two of his friends approached them.
“How’s the ‘has-been’ after the break-up?” Cocoy said as he put his arm on her shoulder.
Annoyed with the guy’s gesture, Leni removed his arms and said, “We’re not close. So, I’m not obliged to answer your question.” She tried to ignore him by scribbling notes.
“Aba, ang taray mo ah. Parang ang ganda mo. Pasalamat ka at naging kayo ni Red. Do you want to know the truth? The reason why he asked you out when you were in second year was because I told him na pag-tripan ka niya. I can’t understand why the he took you seriously. But, it was good that he dumped you. Ang corny mo kasi eh. O ano, pahiya ka?”
“So, you’re saying that I’m a stupid bet?”
“You got it.”
“Eto pa ang hindi mo nalalaman, ung ex mo pinagpalit ka sa team captain ng cheering squad kasi hindi na niya kaya sakyan yung mga trip mo sa Teatro. Ang laki nga ng sakripisyo niya nung naging kayo. Mabuti na lang at nakinig siya sa payo ko. Ang hirap naman sa tulad ni Red na magka-girlfriend ng gumamagaya ng boses ni Kiko Matsing at avid fan ni Billy Crawford.”
Leni got lost for words because she really wanted to cry.
“Cocoy, get a life. Mag-aral ka na lang.”
He was about to leave when Faith and Ode defended her.
“Ano ba ang ginawa ni Leni? Nanahimik lang kami dito.”
“Wala, trip ko lang siya asarin yung mga trying hard na katulad niya. Another thing Leni, you never fitted in the group.Wag mo nang ipilit yung sarili mo.”
“Oh my God Cocoy, I can’t believe na pumapatol ka pala sa babae. Para kang bata.Grow up! Ang laki mong bulas, pero ang utak mo, pang five years old.”
“Pag-pasensyahan nyo na wala kasing pumapansin dyan eh. Palibhasa, kamukha ni Yoda, yung sa Star Wars”
Then, Ode finally took the chance to speak.
“Guys, this conversation won’t get us anywhere. Let’s go.” She said as the three of them stood up.
After hearing these words, Cocoy got humiliated. “Pare, sapul ka dun ah. May hawig ka nga kay Yoda.” His friends said.
“Bye Yoda!” The three of them said in unison as they left the café.
After walking a few steps, Faith and Ode noticed that Leni was bothered.
Faith patted her back and said, “Leni, just ignore everything that he said. He doesn’t have the right to label you as a ‘has-been’.”
“Faith is right. He’s not worth your time. Cocoy is a loser, not you. I heard from someone that he won’t be able to graduate this year because of his back subjects. He’s just being defensive. Don’t go down on his level.”
“Thanks, gusto ko lang na matahimik ang buhay ko.”
“Leni, why don’t you take a vacation outside Manila after our graduation? This school year has been stressful for us, we need to re-charge ourselves.”
“Pwede rin, iisipin ko pa kung saan.”
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