Kabanata 1

It's June. I need to pack my things up kasi ba-byahe na ako bukas papunta sa Cagayan de Oro. I miss school. I miss my friends. Summer is over and now it's back to school. Simula na ng klase next week sa Liceo kaya kailangan ko na talagang umalis for the reason that I'm still not enrolled.

"Tita?" Sumungaw sa pinto ng kwarto ko ang pamangkin kong si Andres. Pumasok siya at tumakbo papunta sakin. "I heard you're going back to Cagayan tomorrow." He said saka nag pout.

"Yes babe. Mag-aaral na si Tita." I smiled at him. 

"Can I sleep with you tonight Tita? I'm gonna miss you." He wrapped me in a warm embrace. Aww ang cute talaga ng pamangkin ko. He's 5  years old and I'm sure he'll cry tomorrow pag alis ko. Ayaw niya kasi talaga malayo sakin. He's protective and loving and sweet, manang mana sa kuya ko.

We watched movies before we slept since marami akong downloaded movies sa laptop ko. I sighed and smiled when I saw Andres sound asleep like an angel. Kinurot ko ang pisngi niya. I'm definitely gonna miss this little dude so much kapag nasa Cagayan na ako, bihira nalang talaga ako umuwi dito sa dami ng mga paperworks, projects at performance tasks na ginagawa ko sa school.

Binalot ko muna ng kumot si Andres saka ako natulog.

Maaga akong nagising at hindi ko na ginising si Andres upang hindi ko na siya makitang umiyak dahil sa akin. It breaks my heart to see him cry. Nagpaalam na ako kay kuya Simon at sa asawa niyang si ate Angel. Mom and Dad kissed me goodbye.

The whole ride from Malaybalay to Cagayan de Oro, natulog lang ako. I dislike traveling. Minsan nasusuka ako when traveling. Good thing mabilis magdrive ang driver at nagising nalang ako, walang kamalay-malay na nasa Cagayan na pala kami. Dumiretso na kami sa subdivision para makapagpahinga muna ako bago pumunta sa school.

"Hi mam welcome back!" Ani ate Issa ang nag-iisa kong yaya dito sa bahay. Minsan lang siya dito. She's only here when I really need someone to accompany me or when the house needs cleaning. Most of the time, I'm all alone in this house. "Kamusta po mam?" Naglagay siya ng tray na puno ng fries. Ate Issa really knows what I want. She prepared ahead of time when she knew I was coming back.

"Okay lang naman ate Issa." I said as I sat on the stool and ate fries.

"Balita ko mam nasa Zambales daw kayo nung nakaraan!" Aniya. Tumikhim muna ako bago tumango. "Naku ang ganda roon mam nakita ko sa google." Totoo. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the beach and its surroundings. Ayaw ko ngang umalis doon.

Nagpatuloy lang kami sa pag-uusap tungkol sa summer getaway ko.  

My phone rang. It's Ellie, one of my best friends.

"Hello?"

"You home?"

"Yep."

"I'll pick you up in 15 minutes." I glanced at my wrist watch to take a look at the time. It's 10 am.

"Sure, sige bye."

Umakyat muna ako sa kwarto ko to fix myself. I'm not fond of makeups and I would rather go out bare-faced than with makeup, unlike most of my friends. Ellie on the other hand, well, she loved makeups and putting stuffs on her face and I'm not against it kasi bagay naman sa kanya.

Maya maya, dumating na si Ellie kasama si Carla, my other bff. Before I went out, nagpaalam muna ako kay ate Issa so that she wouldn't worry about me and my whereabouts and of course para malaman din nila Mommy at Daddy kung anong ginagawa ko.

Pumasok na ako sa Lexus ni Ellie.

"What's up homies, miss me?" I kissed their cheeks.  

"We're heading school and then attend a party afterwards." Ani Ellie na siyang nagda-drive. I shook my head at the latter statement.

"Oh Ellie, you do know what happened the last time I went to a party right?" I exclaimed. The last party I attended was too eventful and the rest didn't turn out as good as I thought it would be. Humalakhak siya habang nagmamaneho, probably recalling what happened that time.

"That was a disaster Mars! But that experience was worth it." Of course not! That was a total humiliation to me! I was so embarrassed I nearly fainted.

Dumating na kami sa school at nag dirediretso na para mabilisan akong ma-enrol. Buti nalang medyo late na at di na marami ang mga estudyanteng nagpapa-enrol today unlike the past days. Late enrollie as always. I'm always late at almost everything but it's okay because 'too late' is a statement that people always use as an excuse but it's never really proven true. 

We spent our girly time inside the mall. Kumain muna kami ng lunch. Habang kumakain pinag-usapan namin ang mga nangyari sa summer namin. We were separated for two months kaya catching up time. Pagkatapos namin kumain, pumunta kami sa salon kasi Carla was complaining about her hair. She said it was too long and too thick, hindi na raw kaya ng ulo niya. Napagpasiyahan namin na magpa-haircut kaming tatlo since nandito narin kami sa salon. 

We went shopping. As a girl, it's never really fun to just stare at clothes inside the boutiques through the humongous glass window. Mas masaya magsukat ng mga damit at bumili. 

"I feel like pumayat ka, Martha." ani Carla habang ineeksamina niya ako mula ulo hanggang paa suot ang isang skimpy dress na kapit sa bung katawan ko. Iginawad niya ang kaniyang atensyon sa kalalabas lang sa fitting room na si Ellie. Tumili si Ellie habang nakaturo sa akin. 

"Ohmygod! I knew it! Bagay sayo!"

I looked at the mirror and stared at my reflection. I like this but it reveals too much of my skin. I am too conservative that I don't think I have the confidence to wear this party dress in front of many people. Bago ko pa ito hubarin, inunahan na ako ni Ellie.

"You are certainly wearing that tonight!" 

Ngumiti si Carla sa akin bilang pagsang-ayon sa sinabi ni Ellie. At wala na akong ibang magagawa kahit pa sabihin kong I'm not comfortable with this, hindi ko talaga sila mapipigilan.

"Mars, a little lipstick won't hurt, you know." I rolled my eyes at Carla. She's been prompting me to put makeup on my face kasi I look haggard daw. Minsan lang mag-ayos ng mukha si Carla kaya sa tuwing nag-aayos ito, lagi niya akong hinihikayat na magpaganda rin kasi hindi kami tulad ni Ellie na laging naka-meykap. 

"I'm fine Carl, just don't mind my face." Siya naman ngayon ang umirap sa akin. 

Noong nasa sasakyan na ulit kami, Ellie INSISTED that I should really put on some makeup. Ayaw ko talaga pero wala akong choice. I never win an argument against her. They always do what they want with me. Ugh!

"Oh my goodness! Look at you Martha! You look fabulously fascinating and alluring." Ellie says. She's just saying that to ease up the tension that is inside the car. Naiinis na ako.

"Curse your psychotic asses." I said and immediately covered my face with both my hands. What have they done to my face?

I HATE to admit it but I actually look good. Red lips with dark eye shadow and a perfectly shaped brows. Ellie envied how my eyebrows look naturally shaped. She even told me I should be thankful that I don't have to go to school late everyday because of shaping my brows. The way I look reminds me of Cheryl Blossom.

"I think I look better with nude." and with that they instantly laughed. If we weren't in the car right now I bet they would be rolling on the floor from laughing too much. I didn't get what's so funny with what I said.

"I think so too. Now why don't you start stripping right here and then so that we'll see how good you look while you're nude," binatukan ko si Carla at humagalpak na naman siya ng tawa. That's not what I meant!

"I was referring to my lipstick!" We're always like this. Lagi namin tinutukso ang bawat isa.  I guess today isn't 'my day'.

"Now you're ready! We can finally go wiiii!"

I was wearing a black skimpy dress which is above my knees and a black stiletto. Grabe, we spent half of the day shopping.

We ate dinner first before we headed to Lifestyle District.

Nakarating kami doon ng alas nuebe ng gabi. Ang aga pa ngunit marami nang lasing sa mga oras na ito. I hate the smell of alcohol. Hindi naman kasi ako alcoholic at inaamin kong mababa ang tolerance ko sa alak kaya mabilis lang akong malasing. Some faces here are familiar so I smiled whenever someone smiles at me.

"Heyyy!" It was Agatha our friend. Hindi kami masyadong close ni Agatha kasi minsan lang kami magsama atsaka stick to trio kami eh. Us against the world ang motto namin tatlo. Si Ellie ang nakaisip non. Ang mahiwagang kaisipan ni Ellie.

"How are you guys!"

Ngumisi lang kami sa dami ng mga bumabati sa amin. Kilala si Carla kasi marami itong nakakasalamuhang mga tao dahil dito siya lumaki sa Cagayan de Oro. Si Ellie naman ay taga Cebu. Their family transferred here when we were Senior High School. Classmates kami noong SHS and until now we're still best of friends. Time management is the foundation of a strong friendship. 

Inilapit ni Carla ang mukha niya sakin at bumulong, "You will surely have fun tonight, Martha." Tinignan ko siya at ngumisi siya ng loko. Ano naman kayang nasa isip nito.

"Fun your ass." Umirap ako at tumawa naman siya. Luminga linga ako nang mapansin kong hindi namin kasama si Ellie. And as if reading my thoughts, Carla pointed at the dance floor and there I saw Ellie dancing wildly.

"Come on let's drink and enjoy the night! Don't be such a killjoy." Okay. Just for tonight.

I drank whatever tonic she gave me.

We talked about things while drinking. Sana hindi ako malasing agad. Baka may masabi akong hindi maganda. 

Kasali sa usapan namin ang kung saan saang lugar na napuntahan namin noong summer. Well, she loves traveling. Hobby niya ang mag explore parang si Dora.

Bigla nalang lumakas ang music kaya pinuntahan kami ni Ellie at niyayang sumayaw. Ayoko sana kaso pinipilit niya ako. Hindi ako marunong sumayaw at feeling ko ang awkward.

"What are you? Hahaha Stiff!" I am not stiff! I just don't know how to dance! "Just move your body according to the rhythm of the music!" Ellie yelled. I could barely hear what she was saying because of the loud music.

Paano ba sumayaw?

Argh! Ayoko na sumayaw! Screw dancing! Umirap ako kay Ellie na may kasayaw ng ibang lalaki, si Carla naman ay nasa kabilang side na sumasayaw. As I turned to leave, nag-iba ang music. From loud, now it was slow and mellow. Not that kind of music should be played here. Nawawala ang fun.

Umupo na ako sa sofa. I looked at the dance floor and saw that people are now slow dancing. Natawa ako nang makita ko si Ellie na tumatalontalon pa na para bang hindi slow ang music na pinapatugtog. Baliw talaga kahit kelan. 

Inilibot ko lang ang paningin ko hanggang sa may kamay na sa harap ko. And here is a gentleman, offering his hand unto me for a dance. He has this angelic face. Mapupungay na ang kanyang mga mata and medyo may tama na siya kasi namumula na ang kaniyang mukha. I accepted his hand.

"What is your name pretty lady?" tanong ng lalaki. Hindi ko siya sinagot. I don't give my name that easily. Nang mapagtanto niyang hindi ko sasagutin ang tanong niya nginisihan niya ako as if telling me he understands. He pulled my body closer to him. Tinitigan ko siya. Bakit pamilyar ang mukha niya? Parang nagkita na kami dati...

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6..." Hindi ko maintindihan ngunit nagbibilang siya na para bang may inaantay siyang mangyayari pagkatapos niyang magbilang. Nilapit pa niya ang mukha niya sa akin habang may malapad na ngisi sa mukha. "Prepare yourself in 3, 2, 1. Here he comes."

I didn't understand what the guy was telling me. Nagulat nalang ako nang may bigla nalang humatak sa akin. Itinulak nito ang kasayaw ko kanina saka minura ito. 

"Fuck off, Raf!" Nanindig ang balahibo ko nang marinig ko ang boses na iyon. NO! It can't be!

Hinila ako ng lalaki at saka ko lang napagtanto kung sino ito nang humarap ito sa akin. Ipinulupot niya ang kamay sa bewang ko ng mahigpit kaya napakapit ako sa leeg niya. Ginalaw niya ang mga katawan namin, isinasabay sa himig ng kanta. Hindi ako makahinga sa sobrang lapit namin sa isa't isa. I didn't think I'd see him again. It has been two weeks since I last saw him.

"Hey baby, I missed you." Napasinghap ako pagkasabi niya noon. Mariin ko siyang tinitigan. God. Hindi ko alam ngunit ang lakas ng tibok ng puso ko. Bakit siya nandito? Anong ginagawa niya rito?

"Andre."