Spectrum (GL / Completed)

Chapter 5: Date, Part II

"Putting them in what?" I asked, confused. Mas lalo akong na-curious sa kung ano mang iniisip niya nang mapansin kong namumula ang mukha at mga tainga niya. Sa sobrang puti niya, madali lang ’yon makita.

"Nothing. Google says it is not the right time yet, so I won’t introduce you to that personality of mine. Hindi ka pa ready." Nakatakip pa rin sa bibig na sagot niya. Mas lalong kumunot ang noo ko.

"And what do you mean by that personality?" Sunod sunod siyang umiling, "you’re not thinking about something dirty naman, noh?" Mabilis lang ’yon pero lumaki ng konti ang mga mata niya. Sabi na nga ba.

"Hindi ah!" Yep, she's defensive, "Anyway, let’s eat cantot," she muttered, clearly changing the subject and she succeeded.

Tama ba ang narinig ko? Kantot? Did she just say kantot?

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

"Cantot," she repeated, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "I want cantot."

"Seryoso ka?"

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused. "Fabien tried it the other day and said it’s good. So I want to try it too."

Seryoso ba talaga siya?

"Alam mo ba meaning no’n?" I asked, trying to suppress my laughter.

"Yeah, noodles, right?"

I facepalmed myself. "Canton yon, hindi kantot." I dusted my pants and fixed my shirt. "May stock ka ba ng canton diyan? Do you even know how to cook it?"

"There’s instructions naman daw sabi ni Fabien, so how hard could it be?" she said sheepishly. "Pero... wala akong stock."

Ang lakas ng loob mag-aya, wala naman palang stock. Good thing may malapit na convenience store dito sa building niya.

We went down to buy some. Akala ko canton lang ang bibilhin namin, but no, she started grabbing candies, chocolates, chips, and soda.

"That’s too much. Hindi natin kakayanin yan dalhin," I said, shaking my head.

She pouted but listened nonetheless. She reluctantly put the sodas back, and we finally paid for our items.

Nang makabalik kami sa unit niya, Chef Marcel offered to cook the noodles, but I declined. Canton lang ito—maglalaga lang ng noodles at tapos na.

Ezria insisted on helping, but I didn’t trust her near fire. Kaya ang sauce na lang ang pinagawa ko sa kaniya. While waiting for the water to boil, I decided to inspect the packet of instant noodles, reading the instructions like a responsible adult. Alam ko kung paano magluto ng canton, it’s just, I have nothing else to do. Ang awkward naman kung tititig lang ako sa pot. Ezria, on the other hand, is busy preparing the sauce. Masiyado siyang focus sa ginagawa niya na parang kasali siya sa isang cooking competition, eh sauce lang naman ng pancit canton ’yon.

After a few minutes, we were done. Ezria set the table. Akala ko kakain na agad kami but I’m wrong. Ezria began rummaging through her cabinets. Parang excited pa siya sa kung ano na namang kalokohan niya. I tried to ignore her, pero masiyado siyang malikot para hindi pansinin.

"Anong hinahanap mo diyan?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Condiments! You can’t just eat plain canton, Athneia. That’s barbaric." I mentally slapped my forehead.

"It’s instant noodles, not fine dining, Ezria." Sabi ko rito na talaga namang idiinin pa ang pagbigkas sa instant noodles just in case hindi niya ’yon maintindihan.

But she was already pulling out bottles—soy sauce, sesame oil, even a fancy truffle oil that had no business being in a dish like this. Seryoso ba siya? Hindi niya ba naamoy ’yong soy sauce sa pakete ng sauce na ginawa niya kanina?