His Plastic Doll

Chapter Nine

"May ginawa ka 'no?" sabi ni Ryle. He was standing beside me, sa may lababo, tinutulungan ako sa pag-try gumawa ng sarili kong noodles. Homemade noodles.

"Marami akong ginawa. Alin doon ang tinutukoy mo?"

"Iyong tsismis na may gusto ako kay Inesa?"

"Ahh." I let a few moments slide with just me focusing on mixing the ingredients. "Ain't that true?"

Dumiin ang paghiwa niya sa gawado ko nang noodle dough.

Napasilip ako sa kanya.

"Why did you tell them that?" His face spattered with betrayal. It was as if he's saying, 'akala ko ba hindi ka mahilig magdaldal?'

Kumunot ang noo ko mula sa pagtaas niya ng boses. Hindi ganito ang tonong inaasahan kong manggagaling sa kanya. "I was cornered by Ella. She asked me whether we have a thing nang dahil lang sa pinasakay mo ako sa bike mo."

"Then you should have said no."

"I did, but it wasn't enough."

"Edi nag-isip ka pa sana ng alibi."

I stopped mixing. Nilingon ko siya nang nakakunot ang noo ko. "You sound mad."

"Of course, I'm mad! Ako lang dapat ang pwedeng magsabi ng bagay na iyon, kung kailan, at kung kanino ko man gusto."

"Would you have preferred then if I told Ella you slept over here, at my apartment?"

"Better! Bakit, may malisya na ba agad kung maki-sleepover ang isang lalaki sa friend niyang lalaki?"

Friend. Kinailangan pa talaga niyang sabihin iyon.

Hinarap kong muli ang ginagawa ko. "That was Ella, Ryle. You know her. She can see through lies kahit gaano ka pa kagaling. The only way to beat her is to tell a truth. The other truth."

He stared at me for a long time. His face hard to read.

What the hell. Nitong mga nakaraang araw ay good mood ako dahil proud ako sa kung paano ko na-handle iyong pangko-corner ni Ella sa akin. Tapos wala man lang akong salamat na matatanggap?

Ryle continued his task again without uttering a single word.

He's pissed. Aura pa lang niya, halata na.

"Okay, I'm sorry," sabi ko, kahit pa hindi ako sigurado kung kailangan ko ba talagang mag-sorry. Sinabi ko na lang para matapos na agad.

Nothing.

I waited a few moments for any little reaction I could get from him. Still, nothing. I faced my work again when I realized he really had no intention of interacting with me.

Sige. Bahala siya. Mas mabuting bigyan ko na lang muna siya ng time to cool down. Tutal, unang beses naman namin ito na nagtalo, hindi ko rin naman gaanong alam kung paano siya mag-kontrol ng galit. Baka mapikon ko pa siyang lalo kung magtuloy-tuloy lang ako sa pagdadaldal.

Nang matapos siya sa kanyang ginagawa, humakbang lang siya paatras at nagbukas ng TV.

Bumuntonghininga na lamang ako.

Ano ba kasing ikinagagalit niya?

Hindi ba nga't dapat pa siyang magpasalamat dahil malaking advantage din iyon, na malaman ng iba iyong tungkol sa pagka-crush niya kay Inesa? Kung malaman ni Inesa ang tsismis na iyon at paulit-ulit iyong tinukso ng mga kaibigan, malamang bibigay iyon agad. And Ryle would easily get what he wanted.

But what if that's what he was trying to avoid? What if he didn't want to get what he wanted so easily? What if I robbed him of the thrill?

Whatever. He's weird.

Nang maluto na ang ramen, sinamahan ko na siya sa panonood ng TV. I realized he's still not on the mood when he didn't even say thank you when I gave him his share of food.

"You know I could take my words back kay Ella," sabi ko. "I could think of a lie na hindi niya mabibisto."

"Don't bother."

I blinked.

I thought I should get scared, but he no longer sounded mad.

"I'm sorry," sabi niya. "I was so childish; I didn't realize you just did the right thing."

"Are you sure you're fine with it?"

"Yeah. We're cool."

I was still startled. I tried pinching myself several times to check if this was real. It was.

"Ano ba kasing ikinagagalit mo roon? Ang nasa isip ko noong nasabi ko iyon e pasasalamatan mo agad ako. Hindi ko naman akalaing baliktad pala ang mangyayari."

"Ano kasi..." Itinabi niya sandali ang kanyang pagkain. "I was just afraid of losing this so soon."

At the same time, he looked at me.

It was so intense that I felt like I was being sucked in by his eyes. I couldn't move.

Is this a confession? Pinalalabas ba niyang meron talagang namamagitan sa amin?

I laughed it off as a way to break the spell. "Kung makaasta ka, parang sure na sure ka nang sasagutin ka niya agad ah?"

"Hindi ka man lang ba magre-react sa kasasabi ko?"

"Ah, iyon? Bakit, gusto mo ba akong makitang kiligin?" In this, I put on my childish face and acted cute in front of him. "Grabe ka naman, Ryle. Hindi ko akalaing masasabi mo iyong matatamis na salitang iyon."

"Just quit it," sabi niya nang naaasiwa.

Pinagtawanan ko tuloy siya.

It's good that he had been fooled by the impression that I wasn't even affected from what he just told me. Pero ang totoo niyan, sapat na ang mga iyon para buhayin muli ang puso kong sa pagkakaalam ko'y matagal nang sira.

I don't really know what to feel about this.