Blog Twenty One: Ice Cream
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I was sitting on the grass here sa gitna ng open field. Medyo hindi ko masikmura ang pambu-bully ng kapatid at mga pinsan kong lalake lately kaya nilayasan ko sila. I need peace and quiet and they aren’t generous about giving me those.
I was still stuck with the role of Serenity. But I am doing my best to project the role properly and not hate it too much. Medyo nababawasan na rin ang pagtatalo namin ni Cyber—oh, yes, madalas kaming magtalo ni Cyber dahil diyan sa lecheng play na ‘yan. Medyo nabawasan naman, pero kanina lang eh nasigawan niya ako sa rehearsal kasi hindi ko na naman naiwasang alisin ang contempt ko while delivering my lines. At dahil inis na inis ako, I walked out.
As if naman hahabulin niya ako, right? Siyempre hindi niya ako hinabol. At ang kapatid at mga pinsan kong ginawa nang habit ang panunuod ng practices slash rehearsals ng play namin eh pinagtawanan lang ako. Ang babait nila, really. Mabuti na lang at maganda ako sagad.
“Cel?”
Nilingon ko ang nagsalita. Umupo si Cassiopeia sa tabi ko. Medyo nagulantang ang kagandahan ko sa mga strawberry accessories niya sa buhok. “What’s with your hair?”
“Oh, these? Curlers!”
“You, excuse me, wear curlers while in school?”
“Eh kasi I don’t have time to curl my hair today eh! May concert ang Zeus later, so I have to be ready!”
“Zeus again?” reklamo ko. “Can’t you just, like, bilhin their kaluluwas and pakasalan kung sino man ‘yung bias mo doon?”
“OMG, no way! I’m not a sasaeng fan!” she cried in horror. “Why are you sulking here, anyway?”
After I finished telling her what happened, tumawa siya.
“My gosh! Where did that cheerful Celeste Cheng go? Napapadalas ang maldita mode mo, which is madalang!”
“Shut it,” I muttered.
“OMG, Celeste, you were always so happy and cheerful! Minsan nga nagtataka si Bubbles kung noong nagpaulan ba ng electrons eh tulog na tulog ka kasi palagi kang masayahin at positive eh. Pero I heard lately eh nagkaka-mood swings ka na rin at my gosh, sa tanang buhay raw nila eh ngayon ka lang nila nakitang nakipagtalo sa isang tao!”
Obviously, they are tinutukoy si Cyber.
I wrinkled my nose. “Eh kasi he is getting on my nerves eh.”
“Who? Cyber Sandejas?”
“May iba pa ba? He’s the director of the play and he’s always nagging, nagging, nagging at me!”
“Eh ‘di ba Hashtag Best Friend Forever mo siya sabi mo?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, bakit ka naiinis sa kanya?”
I gave her a curious look. “Hindi ba dapat? I mean, kapag ba Hashtag Best Friend Forever, hindi na puwedeng mainis?”
“Of course… not! Ako nga bias forever ko si Zero Choi, pero minsan naiinis sagad ako sa kanya eh! Normal naman daw ‘yun eh. Normal na makaramdam ka ng halo-halong emosyon para sa isang taong importante sa’yo. Kasi kung hindi sila importante sa’yo, you just won’t care about them.”
I nodded in understanding. “Point taken,” I said, nodding.
She gave me a cheerful smile. “So cheer up, Celeste! Besides, I think normal lang naman ‘yun.”
“Ang alin?”
“Ang BFQ.”
“BBQ? Pagkain?”
“Not BBQ! Naman! BFQ! Best Friends Quarrel!”
After saying that, she waved and left. I crossed my arms and stared at the other students lauging and joking around.
BFQ, huh?
I dunno for how long I stayed here. Isinaksak ko my earphones na kasing-cute ko at pinanuod lang ang mga tao.
I just watched the students until someone tapped me on my shoulder. Paglingon ko, bumungad sa akin and isang ice cream in a cone.
I blinked and stared at Cyber. He was holding another cone sa kabilang kamay niya.
“Ayaw mo?” he muttered.
I accepted it. “Thank you.”
Silence crept upon us until he spoke again. “About earlier…”
“What?”
“Sorry, I yelled,” he muttered.
I stared at him. OMG. Did I just hear him say sorry?
I must be staring at him for a long time kasi he suddenly snapped his finger.
“Ice cream mo, Celeste, tumutulo na.”
I quickly licked it and got some on the corner of my lips. Cyber leaned over and wiped it with his thumb.
Something stopped.
I dunno what it is, but I am pretty sure something stopped for .000001 second.
The earth’s rotation?
Time?
My breathing?
Or something inside my chest?
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Blog Entry # 21:
Okay, so I don’t know what happened to my kagandahan earlier. I mean, it’s a normal scene lang naman. Cyber and I were eating ice cream. I got some on the corner of my mouth and he wiped it using his thumb.
All of the sudden, something stopped. I’m pretty sure it’s not the earth’s rotation or the time. It’s not my breathing, either.
But I’m really 100% sure that something stopped for .000001 second.
And I’m sure the abnormality came from something inside my chest.
I dunno. Ewan ko, ewan ko.
Ang alam ko lang, matutulog na ako kasi kinakabahan ako na hindi ko maintindihan.
P. S.
OMG. Is this the rumored curse!? I’m really, really getting paranoid na.
Celeste Cheng
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