Summer Sham

06 - Garlic Pepper Beef (Recipe Chapter)

Bree

"Hoy gaga ka! Ano 'yung IG story ni Keith Borja? Ba't nandon ka?" pambungad sakin ni Ate Pat when I answered her call.

I just arrived from fetching Drew sa summer camp. Medyo na traffic pa kaya mga almost 6 PM na kami nakarating. At eto pa talaga 'ang ibinungad sakin ni Ate pagpasok ko ng kwarto ko.

"Huh? Anong story?" siyempre kinakabahan na ako. Hindi naman kasi ako sanay ma-issuehan kasi hindi ako ganon ka extrovert sa school. Tapos ngayon, ano na naman 'to?

I placed my bag sa study table ko and put my phone on loudspeaker habang nagbibihis ng pambahay, while Ate was elaborating.

"I was just randomly surfing sa mga IG stories tapos bigla ko nalang nadaanan 'yung story ni Keith. At first mga random basketball pictures lang kasi parang may summer camp sort of sa dati niyang school. And then suddenly, laking gulat ko sumulpot nalang bigla 'yung mukha mo."

Napatawa naman ako sa paraan ng pagkukuwento ni Ate. "Grabe, Ate. Sumulpot talaga?" But of course, hindi ko rin magawang hindi ma-curious sa IG story na sinasabi niya. "Pero kakarating ko pa lang kasi galing sundo kay Drew. Ano ba kasing meron?"

"Well, why don't you check it yourself."

So, I did. I opened my Instagram and saw two notifications: one saying that @keithm_borja started following me, and the other saying that he tagged me on a story.

I first followed him back, then immediately checked the said story. It was me noong hinatid ko siya pabalik sa BVIS. Apparently, he stole a picture of me while driving tapos sabi niya sa caption, "Thanks for the lunch and ride" with that face emoji with sunglasses.

Napaupo nalang ako sa kama ko. I didn't know how to react.

Gosh, marami na ba nakakita nito? I mean, he's popular so... I guess?

"So, nakita mo na ba?" Oh, I kinda forgot I was still talking to Ate Pat.

"Ah, yeah. You know Kuya Keith pala?"

"My gosh, Aubree. Una sa lahat, classmates kami noong Senior High. Parehas kaming ABM. Kaso siya, Business Management 'yung course niya ngayon so basically, in lined naman parin siya sa strand namin unlike mine. And did I mention that he graduated as our class valedictorian and student government president? Girl, alam mo ba gaano ka ideal yang lalakeng 'yan? Gwapo, matalino, athletic, mayaman, tapos mabait din naman ng konti."

Mabait ng konti. Lol, that made me laugh. But wow, I didn't know all that about Kuya Keith. I mean, I'm familiar with his family name. Pero him, personally, not quite pa.

"Crush mo rin siya dati noh?" I teased.

"Malamang! Lahat naman kami may crush sa kaniya! Kaso at that time, crush niya 'yung si girl from abroad. Although minsan lumalandi-back din naman siya sa iba. Tapos ngayon, nandiyan ka na. Hindi naman kita aagawan noh, hello? Anyway, ano nga meron sa inyo?"

Napaisip naman ako. Hindi ko alam anong sasabihin ko kay Ate, to be honest. I mean, we're starting a fake relationship. Kami pero hindi talaga kami.

I don't know.

I just settled for what I think is a safe answer, "Uhm, we're talking? If you know what I mean."

I heard a loud shriek on the other end, "Oh my, Bree! What?! Grabe kaya mong ma-reach 'yung landi levels ni Keith?! Wow, I did not see that coming. Alam na ba 'to ng parents mo?!"

My parents. Oh gosh. Do I need to tell them? How do I tell them? Why did I not think about this beforehand? Gaga ka talaga, Bree.

"Hindi pa. But I will tell them naman," iyon na lang ang aking naging sagot.