Chapter 61

I had no response when I heard what he said. I was shocked and no words entered my mind and in a few seconds of silence that enveloped us, he just laughed because he heard nothing from me. Who wouldn't be shocked to hear that? I didn"t expect that because we had conflicting beliefs in the banner I made. He said it was adorable, but it is not for me. Maybe he just said that because he wanted to make me feel better which he did.
I was surprised, however I couldn"t help but feel delighted. I am glad that he like my banner; I"m glad this is one of the things he drew strength to have the courage to fight. I don"t know if I did well for other people, but it no longer matters to me what their opinion is because importantly, the person I dedicate liked it.
"I will end the call, El. Let"s just meet later," he stated and even though we couldn"t see each other, I nodded in response to him.
He ended the call and I hung up my phone as well. I looked at Aly who was currently looking at me as well. "Do you have a problem?" she asked and I immediately shook my head. "Why is your expression like that? Who were you talking to earlier?"
I gulped and I averted my eyes at her. "Ivan was the one I talked to earlier, Aly. I just can't believe she liked the banner I made," I responded to her.
"Why? Who says your banner is unlovely? There"s nothing tell you that, isn"t it?" She asked and I shook my head in response to her. "That"s my point, you did well. You just don"t really have confidence in yourself and you prefer to compare your work to other people"s. You underestimate yourself, El. You don't know how to be thankful for what you have," she stated which made me gulped.
I realized what she said and just like I was speechless earlier while talking to Ivan, that is also my situation now with Aly. No idea enters my brain and all I can do is stare at her now reason for her to barely laughs.
"You are becoming more shocked by what you hear, El. That"s not normal anymore," she said, chuckling and then she reached for my wrist and walked down to where we were sitting. I could do nothing, but follow her and we went through the field.
There is only a small audience left and most of them are taking pictures. I know most of the students who watched went straight to the cafeteria because it was lunch time or if not in the cafeteria, they might have left campus to find something they could eat. I don't know where Aly and I will have lunch, but I want to take her to the mall. I'm sure there are a lot of people in the cafeteria today and I also don't want us to have lunch there because there is a possibility that I will see the team captain of the other group there.
I didn't want to see that man for the reason that I was sure he wouldn't let me go without revenge for what I did to him. There is a possibility that they are still here so I have to be careful first. He"s a man and I"m a woman so if he plans to take revenge on me, I know I can"t fight back.
As Aly and I walked out on the soccer field, I looked all around. If before I wasn't worried, now I can't help but be nervous because of what happened earlier. I knew that man hated and mad at me and even though he came from far away, I was still nervous that he might see where I was going home. I can"t forget what he said he would look for me and when he told me that earlier, I didn"t think of that so I also can"t understand myself why I"m nervous now.
Aly stopped walking and looked at me. I force myself to smile at her so that she can"t notice the nervousness in my face. She smile as well before she wrapped her hand in my arm before we continue to walk. "Where are we going to have lunch, El?" she asked.
"Let"s eat at thr KFC, Aly. I'm sure the cafeteria is full of customers," I stated and she nodded in response.
Aly and I went out on campus and we just walked towards the mall. When we entered, I could clearly see the scattered audiences earlier in the tournament. They"re still wearing their uniform so you can quickly tell what team they supported earlier.
Aly and I went into KFC and then I chose the spot that people didn"t look at too much. We sat at the chair and she ordered our foods. She soon arrived so I wasted no time in asking permission to leave.
"Aly, I'm just going somewhere," I stated and she immediately asked me.
"Where are you going? There is a comfort room here," she responded.
I smiled at her bofere responding to what she said. "I don't need a comfort room. Don"t worry, I"ll be back. I'll be right back, promise." I slightly raised my palm to show that I was being truthful with what I was telling her.
She chuckle as she nodded so I gave her my genuine smile as well. "Go ahead, leave and just hurry up and come back because I will consume your food," she stated.
I nodded to her before I stood up and then I walked out to KFC. I walked up the escalator to the second floor and then went to the penshoppe store. I immediately went to the cap area and picked up the plaine color black. I put it in my head and picked up my phone to look at the camera if the people I would meet would no longer recognize me.
I removed the cap and then I went to the counter to pay it. I didn"t put it in their plastic bag because I immediately put it on my head when I came out of the shop. I wanted to change the clothes I was wearing because that man could still recognize me if he remembered my clothes so when I got back to KFC, I went straight to the comfort room. I was carrying the shirt I was wearing when I went to campus earlier and if Ivan and I would ever meet later and he would ask why I changed my dress, I would say it was stuffed with food. I was quick to think of an answer so I didn't hesitate to put on my white t-shirt again.
I left the comfort room and then went straight to Aly. The waiter was currently placing our food and Aly was staring at me as I pulled the chair. The waiter had left and she was still not speaking while looking at me so I removed the cap I was wearing.
"Did you leave to buy a cap?" she asked and I nodded in response to her. "Why did you buy that? You are like a criminal fleeing from her sin, El. Are you hiding from someone?"
I bit my lower lip before I shook my head. I salute her; she was always just guessing things. Just one look at something brings an idea into her brain. The effect of mystery and science fiction genre she always read was so cool and amazing. Being a secret agent or detective suit to her very well; her look also suited to being a genius because of the round eye glasses she wore.
I force myself to laugh at her after a second of silence between us. "What are you thinking? Why did that come to your mind?" I asked. "Do I look like a criminal? What crime will I commit?" I added and the smile never faded on my lips.
"I"m just sharing my view, El. I'm not used to you looking like that," she responded.
"I found it cool, Aly. At least, they can no longer see my eyes and I will not be embarrassed every time I walk in a public place," I explained.
Actually, I used to want to buy a cap. Only now did I really have the courage to buy because I was hiding a bad guy. I have to be careful, I"m sure he"s still here in our area so I don"t have to be complacent.
Aly didn't respond to what I said and we started eating. We quietly ate our lunch and when we were done, we headed to the ice cream parlor. We also went to the book store and we almost stayed there for two hours because we were already reading a book that was not wrapped. We also didn't miss the time zone and take playing an hour.
It"s already 4:00 pm we"re currently eating fries, burgers, and Mc float at Jollibee. We were hungry because we walk the whole floor of the mall and even though we wanted to watch the cinema, we couldn"t do that anymore because we were running out of time. Ivan still doesn"t text me so I have no idea where he is right now. Maybe he was with his teammates and they were celebrating their win.
I'm going home after Aly and I snack because I feel tired. I just want to sleep when I arrive and I won't prepare dinner because I'm still full. When Aly and I finished, we went out to the mall and there her driver was waiting.
"Thank you for the day, El, take care," she said as waving her hand.
I nod and smile at her as I waved back my hand. "Bye, Aly."
Aly turned around and got into her service car. I walked back to school and there I waited for the bus. The sun's rays no longer hurt my skin and I was standing alone in the waiting shed across from our campus. The gate was also closed so I was sure there were no students inside. Tomorrow is Friday, but we don't have a class so we'll be back on Monday. I'm sure the students didn't talk about anything else on Monday but about the tournament that took place.
Soon, a bus was approaching so I immediately signaled that I would board. When I got on the bus, I tried to fight the drowsiness I was feeling for fear that what had happened before would happen again when we got to the other city because I fell asleep on the bus. It was only a 30 -minute drive so when I arrived at the apartment, the sun was setting. The sky in the west is orange and red and the birds that land on the electric poles and wires have also appeared, so the silhouette looks very lovely.
Before entering my apartment, I took my phone in my bag and then I took a picture of my beautiful sky and silhouette of a bird, wire and electric pole. I wanted to put it in my day stories on Facebook so when I got into the apartment, I went straight to the room while holding the phone.
I reduced the highlights and exposure of the picture so its color became even more vivid. I adjusted the black color, reason for the silhouette to make it darker to match the vivid color of the sky in the west. I put a caption on it, "sunset tells me to take a break and continue tomorrow". I smiled before I posted the photo on my Facebook stories and in the first minute after I uploaded it to my story, it immediately had 20 viewers coming from people I didn"t know. They reacted heart and care to my story and I was literally surprised because all of a sudden my phone rang and it was too late on the screen that Ivan was calling Messenger.
I swipe the answer button and I don't open my camera. I waited for him to speak because he was also off-cam like me. "El, are you home yet?" he asked. "I'm sorry if I didn't message, El. We"re at Baki"s home and we were celebrating our victory," he explained. I can hear the background music in his line and he seems to be really raising his voice for me to hear.
I chuckle before responding to me. "Yup, I'm home. Don't apologize because you didn't do anything wrong. Just enjoy there, Ivan. You deserve to have fun today, "I responded.
"We are also close to finishing, El. Can I go to your apartment? " he asked.
It took me a few seconds before I answered his question. "Sure," I simply answered. "Just text me if you're coming here," I added.
"Thank you, El. Please be patient if my voice is loud. The sounds are loud so you might not hear me, "he stated. "By the way, I"ll gonna hang-up the call. I will just tell my teammates that I will leave then I will go there," he added.
"Sure, take care," I said before I ended the call.