Spaces Between Us

Chapter twelve

“Bye, tita. Ingat po kayo. Manong paki-ingatan tong si tita, pag may nangyari dito ipapupulis kita” dumungaw pa siya sa bintana ng taxi at pabirong dinuro ang driver.

“Ingat din kayo. Mauuna na ako sa inyo”

We all nodded and waved goodbye at the moving car. Once the car is gone, I turned to them with my hands on my  hips.

“Ano yon?” I glared at them.

“What the fuck! Good influence? Sa'yo pa talaga nanggaling” Dan burst out laughing but Cleo just shrugged her shoulders off.

“I told you, basic lang sakin ang mga ganyan. I went to countless bars kaya kayang-kaya lang si tita. . And now she loves me,” she said grinning and turned to Dan. “Atleast pumayag na siya na isama natin si Lucia. At ang ganda pa ng impression niya satin, kinikilig ako.”

I glared at her but I couldn't help to laugh. “What if she finds out you’re not exactly the ‘good girl’ she thinks you are?”

“Then she'll discover yours, too. Na ang only daughter niya ay isa ding party girl” she retorted and stick her tongue out.

“Well, thanks to you.” I shot back.

“Oh come on, Luciana.” she even teased me. I quickly grabbed her hair and we both laughed.

“Stop that, will you? Ang baduy pakinggan ng pangalang yan.” I reason but the truth is, I remember a person everytime they mention that name of mine.

Dan stepped in, spreading his arms. Hindi kasi siya maka-relate dahil hindi naman siya party person. “So, what's next? What's our plan for today?”

“Let's watch a movie.” I suggested, thinking about the Studio Ghibli movie I saw earlier. Showing ulit ang The Boy and The Heron sa mga sinehan.

“Then, let's go. Dan, treat us.” Cleo demanded without hesitation.

Lumabas na nga ang totoong ugali niya. Parang kanina lang kung makipagtalo siya kung sino ang manglilibre sa kanilang dalawa.

Dan didn't protest so we headed to the theater to watch a movie. Siya na din ang bumili ng popcorn at soft drinks habang kami ang pumila para sa ticket.

The day went well. We enjoyed the rest of our day at the mall. Pinag-shopping din ako ni Cleo sa Sephora nang maisipan niyang dumaan muna doon. And Dan was our bodyguard for the day, following us and carrying paper bags for us.

We also went to powermac, an iphone store. They bought the phone they promised. I was hesitating at first, but Cleo just paid it already leaving me with no choice but to accept.

Iyong latest pa talaga ang binili niya.

“Wag na pakipot, Lulu. Don't worry, hati naman kami diyan ni Dan. And don't even bother returning the money we spent, mahal ka naman niyan kaya di ka na sisingilin.” she teased as we walked outside the store, her hands on my shoulder.

I heard Dan hissed behind us. I just convinced myself that it's a better deal compare to what Julio offered to me.

“This is too much, so next time don't treat me. Ako naman ang manglilibre sa inyo” I said, para mabawasan naman kahit konti ang pressure.

“Sureness, gusto ko don sa mga turo-turo. Yung may fishball at yung orange ball na may itlog sa loob. . . Anong tawag do'n?” maarteng sabi niya, she obviously doesn't know the name of that street food.

I laughed..“Kwek kwek yon. . . Okay, sige next time. Libre ko kayo"

“Yey!” she removed her hand on my shoulder and clapped like a child. “Then are we settle?”