Night of the Ball. February 13.
6:00 pm pa lang ay marami na ang tao sa loob ng gym. Everyone was excited, especially the freshmen.
Handa na ang lahat, except kay Zeke. She's still at their house. Vince called her a while ago. Susunduin daw siya nito, but she rejected it. She said na maghintay na lang ito sa gym. Vince hesitated a moment, parang nagdududa ito kung pupunta ba talaga si Zeke.
Nagtatalo pa rin ang kalooban niya. Napapikit siya.
She could see the sarcastic smiles of the girls around her.
"EEEEEHhhh," sigaw ng isang babaeng may matinis na tinig.
Ang lahat ay nakatingin sa isang babaeng naka-casual attire. JS Prom nila 'yon. That was the first time that everybody sees Zeke actually wearing dress other than her usual chucks and shirt.
Napalunok si Zeke.
"You look so funny," natatawang saad ni Beatrice habang palapit sa kanya.
Noon pa man ay hindi na talaga sila magkasundo ng babae.
Zeke was so sure that she heard her Mom and sister telling her that she looks perfect in her night dress. What went wrong?
"Wag mo na nga silang isipin," saad ni Mark sa kanya. Ito lang ang tanging naging kaibigan niya sa school nila sapagkat kapitbahay nga nila ito.
Everyone was staring at her. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang reaksyon ng mga ito. It's like they're laughing at her, thanks to her insecure mind that it made it felt so real.
The night turns out a disaster. Beatrice and her friends spilled lemonade juice on her dress. She was voted as a candidate for Ms. Valentine, but she knew it was just for joke. Umuwi siyang basang-basa ang damit -- at MGA MATA.
She opened her eyes when she suddenly heard a knock on her door. She looked at the blue night dress that Dee gave her. Wala siyang lakas ng loob na suotin 'yon.
Again, she heard the knock.
When she opened it, it was Maki and her Tita Queenie that she saw standing. Nagtaka siya.
"I called him," paliwanag ng Tita niya. "I know naguguluhan ka. It's red alert, and he knew what I meant. You need a little make-over, my dear."
"Ako nang bahala, Tita," ani Maki.
Ngumiti lang ang Tita niya saka ngumiti. Iniwan na sila nito.
Pagka-lock ng pinto ay marahas na bumuntung-hininga si Maki, tanda ng pagsisimula nito sa dapat sanang mga litanya nito, but Zeke raised her hand.
"Wala na tayong oras sa mga litanya mo, Maximillo. Dalian mo na," malamig na saad ni Zeke.
Tumaas ang kilay ni Maki. "Mabuti nalang, good mood ako ngayon!"
Ngumiti nalang si Zeke.
Inirapan siyani Maki saka nagsimula na sa pag-ayos sa buhok niya. Hindi nito iyon inilugay. He then made her wear a black sequined headband.
Minutes later, Zeke can't even recognize her face.
"Light make-up lang ang nilagay ko sa'yo, sistuur."
Zeke sighed. "Thanks."
"It's still makes me wonder kung bakit bigla mo nalang naisipan na mag-attend na ng ball."
Zeke shrugged. "You better not know."
"Oh, bro? Sa'n na ang partner mo?" tanong ni Ralph saka tinapik sa balikat si Vince.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Keeping Up With Vince
किशोर उपन्यासVince faced her. "Well, I saw you walking alone... I guess patungo ka sa quarter niyo. I thought to myself, you'll never get to the hotel alone because you see... YOU'RE VERY BAD WITH DIRECTIONS--" "Sorry about being 'bad with directions'," sarkasti...
