For a digital copy of the book, check the following:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=ALnyCAAAQBAJ
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/509824
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Matagal nang nakaalis sa bahay sina Macky at Akiko pero parang tulala pa rin ako. Ang hirap paniwalaan ng mga sinabi nila. Tinawagan ko agad si Rhea.
"For real?" tanong nito sa tonong hindi rin makapaniwala.
"Yeah. Akiko told me herself. They were here a while ago. They came to visit because I didn't attend her cooking party last night," sagot ko naman.
"I'll drop by your place later. I'm here at the supermarket. I'm queueing at the cash register now. In a few minutes I'll be done."
"That would be great. They brought some food so we'll have something to eat."
Pagkatapos naming mag-usap pinatong ko na ang cell phone sa kama at hinugasan ko ang mga basong ginamit namin nila Macky at Akiko kanina. Ang gaan-gaan ng loob ko.
Mayamaya pa, narinig may buzzer. Si Rhea na siguro yon. Tama. Siya na nga.
"Hey!" bati nito at nagbeso-beso kami. May dala-dala itong supot. Puro tsokolate ang laman ng dalawang plastic bag.
"You seemed to be in a panic-buying mode. You bought all the chocolates in the supermarket," nakangisi kong puna.
"These are not for me," kaswal namang sagot niya habang ibinababa sa sahig ng living room ang mga supot. Naupo ito sa sofa.
"Not for you?" pag-kompirma ko.
"These cheap chocolates are for my male colleagues whom I don't really like," at napahagikhik ito. "The Japanese call it, giri-choco. It means obligation chocolates."
"I still don't get it," sagot ko.
"Here in Japan, it is only women who give presents, mainly chocolates, to men on Valentine's Day. Yeah, shocking, right? They say it's because Japanese women are shy to express their love. Therefore, by having this Valentine's Day tradition, women get to express their feelings in a subtle way."
Shy? Talaga lang, ha?
"Should I also do the same? I actually didn't know about this," sagot ko naman. Medyo nabahala tuloy ako. Baka isipin nila Kōchō at Kyōto-sensei na wala akong pakialam.
May kinuha siyang apat na pirasong black Meiji chocolates at inabot niya sa akin. Balutin ko na lang daw nang maayos. Okay na raw yon dahil kung sobrang espesyal naman ay baka ma-misinterpret pa ako.
"Now, I understand why my boys are so excited about Valentine's Day," natutuwa kong sabi.
"Valentine's Day is actually good for the popular boys. They get to brag how many girls like them by the number of special chocolates they receive. But it's really a sad day for the nerdy ones. That's why, they have giri-choco so those boys will not feel left out," pagpapaliwanag pa nito. "Okay, back to your story. How did Akiko know?"
"One of their students got involved in a gang fight two weeks ago. So last week, all the members of the rival gang went to their school to get even with the boy who had badly hurt their comrade. So there was a commotion. Mayu was with Akiko on the third floor. She was actually teaching Akiko's class some basic first aid techniques when it happened."
"And?" excited na tanong ni Rhea.
"The members of the rival gang threw stones at the classrooms. Two of the windows in Akiko's classroom were hit and they cracked. So everybody panicked. They all rushed to the door. Mayu and Akiko were among them. They thought it was a grenade or something. In Mayu's haste to get to the first floor, she fell down on the stairs, butt first. Akiko said it was a bad fall so she panicked. The first thing she thought was the baby. With the help of another teacher, they rushed her to the hospital."
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