Work in Progress

Chapter 34: Three + One

"Tera!" Eli shouts at her surprised but soon becomes relaxed when Jane and Kate laugh.

"Yeah, Eli wouldn't really bother with us if we weren't Sam's friend," Jane smirks at Eli.

"Hey, I was friendly with Kate even before I was friendly with Sam," Eli says defensively.

"No, don't say that," Kate pretends to be scared as she sees the frown on my face.

"Don't take it personally, Sam. Eli befriends anyone and everyone," Tera tells me.

"I think flirt is the more appropriate term," Kate corrects her.

"So how far into childhood do you two go?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.

Tera's eyes light up and Eli slides in her seat embarrassed. "We've known each other for what?" She looks at Eli, "seven years now?" Eli nods. "Eli was such a stuck up nerd."

"Excuse me, I was not." Eli interjects.

"Yeah, you were!"

"How was she a stuck up nerd?" Kate laughs, moving forward in her seat wanting to hear more.

"Oh my god where do I even begin? She wouldn't let anyone copy her homework, she ratted on me for forging my mom's signature, she rejected anyone who asked for help, she--"

"I think I was just shy and being a good student," Eli puts her hand on Tera's mouth to stop her from talking. I couldn't help but frown at how comfortable they were with each other.

"So how'd you two become friends?" Jane asks curiously.

"I had just moved from the Philippines and absolutely knew no one. I heard Eli talking to her mom in Tagalog when she was being dropped off so I made it my mission to cling onto the only other Filipino there."

"I was not the only other Filipino there," Eli rolls her eyes. "You could've clung onto anyone else but me."

"Yeah, but I liked you," Tera clings onto Eli's arm and looks at her acting cute. I couldn't help but feel a pang in my chest when Eli just smiles at her. Seeing how I was watching them, Tera quickly sits up straight and gives me an apologetic look.

"So anyways, I basically annoyed the heck out of Eli til she had no choice but to be my friend. Being neighbors also helped."

"You were neighbors?" I ask. Eli hadn't mentioned this. Just think of all the sleepovers they would've had. No-- don't.

"Yeah, and she never made me forget about it. I had to keep my curtains closed because she kept on shining a flashlight into my room at night." Eli looked at Tera annoyed.

"Hey that was only during the first year! Do you know how hard it was to catch your attention? I lost sleep doing my flashlight shadow dances for you," Tera sticks out her tongue at Eli.

"Ahh so hindi lang pala ako yung napuyat? (Ahh so I wasn't the only one who lost sleep?)" Eli says nodding her head at Tera with raised eyebrows. Jane and Kate were looking at them amused and surprised at Eli suddenly speaking Filipino. I was also surprised at the foreign language and how easily it slipped through Eli's tongue.

"Grabe! Pinagpaguran ko yun. Complete with facial expressions kahit hindi mo naman nakikita (Hey! I worked hard on that. Complete with facial expressions even though you couldn't see it.)"

Eli laughs at her, "Akala ko kaya minumulto ako. (I thought I was being haunted.)" Tera slaps Eli's shoulder and makes a face.

"Are you guys speaking in Filipino right now?" Jane asks them interested.

"Were we?" Eli looks at us wide eyed. "I didn't notice. Sorry. It's been a while since I talked to anyone in Filipino." She scratches her hair and looks at us apologetically.

"Aren't there other Filipinos at your school?" Tera asks.

"I don't know. Are there?" Eli looks at us.

"I think there are a few," Kate says, looking up trying to remember.

"Eli, you really have to pay more attention to the people around you." Tera says, clicking her tongue.

"I do. Just not a lot." Eli gives a small laugh.

"Do you want a drink?" Tera suddenly asks. "I'll just get you the usual. Black right?" Eli nods as she stands up. "What about you guys?" She looks at us.

"We're good, thanks!" Jane says politely. We still had our drinks from when we were waiting for them. Tera nods and skips to the counter.

"So... umm... How...? What...?" I watch as Eli tries to find words to say.

"She seems nice," I tell her, putting my hand on her knee and squeezing it to assure her. She smiles at me and puts her hand on mine.

"You think so?"

"I think you attract people with the opposite energy level as you," Kate laughs.

"She's cool," Jane adds.

Eli breathes out a sigh only I could hear. "Thanks, guys. I'm not really sure what I'm getting myself into." I smile at the flustered look on Eli's face. If it makes her happy that we be friends with Tera then I'm fine with that. I'm always gonna be jealous at how close and comfortable they are plus having a language between them that I couldn't understand but I'm collecting my own time with Eli and making our own language and maybe she can teach me Filipino someday. Her holding my hand right now makes everything else worth it.

A/N: As promised, double update today. I've got a big one prepared and I'm excited for you guys/gals/pals to read it.