Rule #1: Rule of Fate

[5]

"Grazielle May, yan ba ang tinuturo sa'yo nang Tita Maris mo?"

Tanong ni Gray sa kanya. Napakamot naman yung bata sa ulo. I'm assuming, yung Maris yung younger sister ni Gray. She still looked cute while she's being scolded by her uncle.

"Sabi ni Tita, malungkot ka daw kase wala ka girlfriend. Tinanong ko siya kung ano yung girlfriend, tapos may pinanood kami na mga movies. Sabi niya, ang girlfriend daw dapat maganda, mabait at mahinhin. Kaya nung una kong nakita si Ate ganda siya ang una kong naisip na maging girlfriend mo! Para hindi ka na malungkot!" sagot ni Grazielle.

Napasapo sa noo si Gray. Tawang-tawa naman si Prince. Grazielle is just looking at him innocently, na parang wala talaga siyang alam sa nangyayari.

"Tangina, dude. Hindi mo naman sinabi sa akin na malungkot ka dahil wala kang love life, marami akong kilala, ireto kita." sabi ni Prince.

Sinamaan ni Gray ng tingin si Prince. "Tumigil ka nga," suway ni Gray.

Tumawa lang naman ulit si Prince. Tuwang-tuwa na naiinis ang 'best friend' niya.

Binuhat ni Gray si Grazielle. "Tito Dad, ayoko! Gusto ko dito kasama si Ate ganda, isa pang ate ganda at Kuya Prince!" she complained.

"Wag na makulit, Grazielle May."

Grazielle pouted and looked at us. Naawa naman ako. Dinala siya ni Gray kung nasaan sila kanina at kinausap niya ito. Yung ate naman ni Gray nakatingin sa kanila at lumapit din dun. Mukhang pinapagalitan ata yung bata.

Emma quickly turned to Prince, her eyes full of questions. "Best friends pala kayo? How?" she asked.

"Employee ni mama yung mama niya," sagot ni Prince. "We often play basketball together in the village, sinasama ko rin siya tuwing may basketball camp. We often see each other when we were kids because mama often invites them in our house."

"He's also one of the first real friends I had, kaya kahit magkaiba kami ng school we meet up during the weekends," tuloy niya sa kwento.

Emma nodded. "Interesting. Parang kami ni Lia! Except that, we actually met in school..."

Prince smiled. Nagkwento nalang si Emma ng tungkol sa debut niya. Kinulit din ako ni Prince tungkol kay Gray. I don't know if he knows something but I don't wanna certainly tell him about my conflicting feelings towards Gray. Lalo pa ngayon at best friend niya pala itong si Gray.

"Oh, shit." Emma said, looking at the entrance. "Don't turn around."

Nagtataka naman akong tumingin sa kanya at sinunod ang sinabi niya. Prince looked at us like he had a question in his head. He also looked at where Emma is looking.

"Anong problema kay Kale?" Prince asked.

"Shush!" Emma said trying to hide me from being seen by Kale.

Kale. The last guy I actually liked. The one I cried about. What a coincidence na andito rin siya. Parang nagsama-sama tuloy silang lahat. Prince, my first kiss. Kale, the last guy I liked and Gray, the guy I think I have feelings for right now, but still not totally sure about it.

Kumunot naman ang noo ni Prince. Tinatago pa rin ako ni Emma. He looks genuinely confused on why we are trying to hide our faces. As if naman hindi pa kami gaano ka eye-catching dahil nandito si Prince Asuncion.

"What's with him? Nag-away na naman ba kayo?" he asked.

Napatingin ako kay Emma. Pinsan niya si Kale?

"Yeah... but he can't see Lia, okay? There's just something..." Emma said, she looked at me with guilt, probably because she didn't tell me that.