Bat kaya ako nandito?
I’m at the park, and it was beginning to rain. Waaaaa ayoko mabasa! said my nine year old self, as I began to ran towards the playground. I was running towards the yellow plastic tunnel, which connects the slide to the rest of the elevated playground, until I saw another kid inside the tunnel blocking the entry.
“Uyyy gusto ko pumasok” I told her, but she was still lying down at the entrance.
“Padaan naman bata” I said, and she still didn’t move.
The rain was starting to pour down real hard, so I just crawled over her to get in.
“Aray!” She screamed, then she punched me.
“Aray! Sakit naman!” I screamed, and I pushed her out into the rain.
“Ako nauna diyan” she yelled as she was getting wet by the rain.
“Di mo ako pinapasok eh”, my little nine year old self yelled back.
“Eh di kita narinig eh” she said as she pushed her way through toward the tunnel.
I pushed her back, but she was stronger than I was. We both fell inward, breathing hard and lying down. After several minutes of laying flat on the tunnel, we finally sat up. We were both wet from tip to top, and the raining didn’t seem to get weaker. I guess we’re both stuck for a while, tough luck.
“Bata ano pangalan mo?” She asked me. She has this long hair that’s really black above then becomes light brown as it goes below her shoulder.
“Bata ka ng bata eh bata ka rin” I said rather annoyed.
“Eh, mas matanda ako sa iyo eh” she replied. Well, she was obviously taller than me…
“Ilan taon ka na ba?” I asked, really annoyed
“Nine, ikaw?”
“Eh pareho pala tayo eh!”
“Kailan bertdei mo?” (Yes, that’s how she pronounced it)
“Feb 19!”
“Ako May 23! Mas matanda ako sa iyo!” I said, finally winning.
“Mas matanda ako sa iyo oh, nauuna bertdei ko!”
“Di kaya, mas matanda ako sa iyo kasi mas malayo sa january bertdei ko”
“Di kaya!”
“Oo!”
“Di eh!”
“Tanungin mo pa sa tatay mo eh”
“Ha?!” tears began to stream down her face
“Bat ka umiiyak? Ha?” I asked, still annoyed.
“Eh ikaw kasi eh.. “*sobs**sobs*
I started to feel really guilty. I mean, it was my first time making a girl cry…….
“Uy wag ka na umiyak” I said, but she was still sobbing.
“O, ikaw na mas matanda” I said just to make her cry stop.
Her sobbing decreased by a lot, and now she was trying to hold back her tears. After a few minutes, the only signs of her cry was her red puffy eyes. After a few minutes, I decided to break the silence.
“Ano pangalan mo?” I asked
” ********* ” She said. For some reason, I heard it, but I can’t understand it, but then…
“Hirap naman banggitin iyan, tawagin na lang kitang Ayl” I smiled.
“Ano ba pangalan mo?” Ayl said, starting to smile with that red puffy eyes
“Ako si Axel”
“Axel?” she repeated
“Oo”
“Axel”
“Ano?”
“Uy Axel!” a voice cried out
The tunnel’s roof suddenly broke on top of me. GUSH! went the water on top of me…
.
.
.
GUSH
“Uy Axel, stop sleeping in class!” The teacher yelled. She was the english teacher I saw the other day, the lady in the other room.
Apparently, Ma’am Annalyn (she introduced herself a little while back) drenched me with water.
“Waaaa! Basa ako!” I yelled. The class laughed again.
“Next time, DON’T SLEEP IN CLASS, AND SPEAK ENGLISH!” she scolded me
I looked at everyone around. “Sorry, it won’t happen again, Ma’am, I promise”, I said in perfect english, just like I did months ago.
“Here, use this” my seatmate, Kayle said, as she gave me her handkerchief. She wasn’t even looking at me as she said it.
“Ah thanks… I guess”, I smiled at her, I took her hankerchief and wiped my face with it. It was a red and white handkerchief with her name sewn at the corner, Kayle.
Kayle. Kayl. Ayl.
Was she the friend I was with seven years ago?
“Listen class, listen” Ma’am Anna said.
I looked at the whole class, their minds going back to the lectures Ma’am Anna was giving. A lot of guys weren’t paying attention to the lectures. I saw Miguel scribbling down notes like there was no tomorrow, Stacy half listening to the class because her ear was still connected to her earphones, Stephen was just looking at the black board staring, David looks like he was really listening, and Lyla was staring out the window.
“Thanks Kayle” I told my seatmate, but she just ignored me.
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When It Rains - Paramore
