Matapos kong ayusin ang sarili, dahil nga kakatapos lang maligo, bumaba na ako. Dumiretso agad ako sa kusina kung saan naghihintay sila. Agad silang tumingin sa akin nang makapasok ako. I smiled apologetically at them.
"Sorry. It took me too long," I said with a sincere voice. Nandito parin si Keila, and she's seating beside Hairo, gusto kong umirap buti nalang napigilan ko ang sarili. Umupo ako sa tabi ni kuya James.
"Naligo ka pa noh?" tanong nito sa akin.
I nod. "Uhuh." I simply answered.
"Okay, can we eat now?" Kuya Kino asked. "I'm famished after cooking these dishes!" Reklamo nito habang tinuturo ang mga putaheng nasa mesa.
I eyes all of them. My lips formed an oh. There's grilled meat, embutido, chicken inasal, and... eggplant omelet! Yum!
"Wow, you cooked?" I asked, amazed.
"Yeah. So, please, let's dig in." Pagsusumamo nito. Everyone in the table laughed at him.
And as per as he requested, we finally digged in. Naglagay ako ng omelet sa plato ko at ng grilled meat. I ignored the people around me, specially the two in front of me who is maybe talking, and focused on my food. The foods are delicious that I couldn't help myself but to eat 'til my heart contents.
Nasa pang-apat na plato na yata ako ng kanin nang matigilan ako dahil lahat sila ay nakatingin sa akin, even Keila.
I looked at them with my innocent look. "What?" I asked.
They shook their heads. Hairo chuckled at me. Pinanliitan ko siya ng mata. "What? It's delicious!"
He chuckled once again and raised his both arms as if surrending. "Wala akong sinabing hindi." natatawang aniya.
I rolled my eyes on him. "Stop chuckling at me, then. And please, kung tapos na kayo. Puwede kayong lumabas sa kusina kasi kakain pa ako. Okay? Okay!" I said and gestured them to leave.
Lahat sila ay natawa and did what I told them to do. Except kay kuya James na nakikikain rin kasama ko. Kanina parin siya kumakain kagaya ko. Pero kung makatingin sa akin kanina!
"You sure know how to act natural, huh?" He said while we're eating.
I nodded. "Wala eh, Zairene 'to." May pagmamalaking sabi ko. "At saka, bakit naman ako papa-apekto? Hindi ako kagaya ng mga ibang teenager na mab-broken agad kapag may kasamang iba ang crush nila. Like duh, ang babaw?" May taray na bigkas ko na ikinatawa ni kuya James.
"You're not really affected?" He asked.
Tinignan ko siya at ngumisi ng may pagmamalaki. "Part of me is, but I stayed unbothered because that's me. I've been into this kind of shit like, a lot!" I said, emphasizing the word lot. Well true, I have a lot of crushes noon. At lahat may mga girlfriend.
He chuckled proudly and lifted an imaginary crown and put it on my head. "I stan unbothered queen, y'all." He jokingly said.
I laughed. "Teka, ako lang 'to. Ano ba." natatawang pakikisakay ko sa trip niya.
"Hoy, hoy," kuya Kino entered the kitchen. "Kayong dalawa ha? May pinag-uusapan kayo tapos hindi ako kasama?"
Nagtinginan kaming dalawa ni kuya James. We shrugged.
"Alangang kasama ka namin sa pangb-backstab sa sarili mo?" puno ng sarkasmong sabi nito kay kuya Kino.
I laughed and shook my head.
"Backstabbers, amp." He said and sat at the chair in front of me. "Zai." Tawag nito sa akin.
"Po?"
"Ano'ng sinabi ng gagong to sayo?" tanong niya at tinuro si kuya James na kumakain na.
I looked at kuya James' side and turned to kuya Kino. "Well, he said that you once wore a pink brief." I nonchalantly said.
Gawa gawa ko lang naman 'yon, eh!
"What the fuck, James?"
Napatawa naman ako dahil hindi ko akalaing totoo pala!
"What? Totoo naman ah. Noong high school tayo?" parang wala lang ring sabi ni kuya James.
Tumawa lang ako sa kanilang dalawa habang nagbabangayan silang dalawa dahil lang sa sinabi ko. Tinapos ko nalang ang pagkain ko atsaka nilagay sa sink. Natapos naring kumain si Kuya James and he told me na siya na bahala. Nagpaiwan naman si kuya Kino dahil gusto pa yatang makipag-bangayan kay kuya Kino.
Dumiretso ako sa sala. Akala ko nandoon pa si Keila pero nagulat ako na si Hairo nalang ang nandoon. Perhaps... umuwi na?
"Umuwi na si ate Keila?" I asked.
"Uhuh," he answered. Napataas naman ang kilay ko nang mapatingin siya sa damit ko. "Siraulong Villamora?" basa nito sa nakasulat na statement sa damit ko.
"Ah." I nod and tilted my head. "Personalized tee shirt namin. Sadyang siraulo lang ang nagpagawa kaya ganito." I explained.
"But why 'siraulo' tho?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Kasi parehas kaming siraulo. Gano'n kadali. May ganito din si Zep at kuya." Sagot ko pa.
"Oh. I see." Tumatangong sagot nito.
"Yeah." I said and cleared my throat. "Anyways, punta na ako sa kwarto ko." paalam ko.
His forehead knitted. "What's with you and your room? Lagi ka don ngayon.."
I chuckled. "Nah. Just... you know." I shrugged. Dito kasi Keila eh. "Me and ate Zurie will talk with each other, like today." I told him. "And I want to talk to Mikell too." nakangiting sabi ko nang pumasok sa isipan ko ang mukha ni Mikell.
"Mikell?" he asked.
Nagkibit-balikat lang ako at ngumiti. I waved him good bye before running upstairs. Naks, parang walang sugat makatakbo ah!
→←
"Ate Zurieeeee." Nakangiting bati ko kay ate Zurie nang bumungad sa akin ang mukha niya through screen.
We're video calling each other right now. And I'm using Juri's laptop na naiwan niya dito. Ate Zurie waved at me.
"Zai! Missed you!" nakangiting sabi nito.
"Missed you too!" nakangiting sabi ko rin sa kaniya.
"Oi, you're wearing the tee shirt Juri gave?" she asked. I nodded. "I see. I'm wearing it too." aniya at pinakita sa akin ang kaniya.
I smiled. Binasa ko ang statement na nakalagay do'n. Kay ate yata ang pinakamatinong statement eh! Nakalagay sa kaniya ay: “magandang villamora”. Kay Zash kasi ay “gashina nana villamora”, the statement is so weird but Zash loves to wear that shirt! For the rest, ang nakalagay ay: “sana all matino na villamora”. Epal kasi, Juri!
"Anyway, what do you want to tell me?" she asked.
I pursed my lips and sighed. "Ate... I just realized earlier that... I'm in love with someone." I told her and bit my lower lip.
Natahimik saglit si ate Zurie sa kabilang linya. "Wow..." she uttered. "Who's this someone, Zai?" she asked. "And why do you look so problematic? Aren't you happy to know that you're still a human after all?"
I chuckled because of what she said at naalala ko nanaman ang sinabi ng magaling kong kuya; "Kung malaman mo mang in love ka sa isang tao, wow! Hindi ka pala abnormal? Tao ka pa rin pala!"
I shook my head. "Well, parang wala namang bago sa pakiramdam ate, eh. Kaya parang wala lang din naman sa akin na in love ako at that certain person."
"Hmm. You missed my first question, Zai."
I bit my lower lip. "He's Hairo, ate. Achairo Lopez."
"Wait... what?" hindi makapaniwalang sabi nito. "As in... your brother's friend?" panigurado nito.
I nodded. "Yeah..." I drawled.
"Woah.."
Katahimikan ang namayani sa pagitan naming dalawa... until ate Zurie spoke.
"Well, Zai. Wala naman akong problema diyan. I can't blame your heart for loving someone older than you. At isa pa, hindi naman problema yon. Ilang taong agwat lang naman." She said. "Pero bakit ka ba na-inlove sa kaniya?"
"I... uh." I cleared my throat. "Noong nag-aaral palang sila kuya, may crush na talaga ako sa kaniya, ate. Kuya actually knows that at wala namang problema sa kaniya, kasi nga, crush lang naman. At isa pa, you know... Hairo's courting someone noon so... yeah." I shrugged. "Matagal ko ring naging crush si Hairo, ate. Kahit noong graduate na sila from college. Tapos last week, hindi ko expect na dito din pala sila mag-bakasyon kaya ayon. As days passes by, naging close kaming dalawa. We usually talked about random things. We're like friends. And just earlier, I realized that I'm really in love with him. With the loud beating of my heart, hindi pa ba in love yon? Tapos ewan!"
Ate Zurie chuckled. "Wow, Zai, ha?" tanginf komento nito. I pouted. "So... you're in love. Okay, I get it now. So... bakit ako ang unang sinabihan mo imbes ang kuya mong ulupong?" she asked.
"Kapag ka dumating nalang siya rito, ate." Sagot ko.
"Oh... he's going home? That's nice."
I smiled. "Yeah... so nice."
"Anyways... may continuation ba ang kwento mo?" she asked.
I nodded. "Meron, ate."
"Okay. Spill."
I took some air and blew a loud breath. "You know his... ex, right?" I asked.
"Uhuh. Keila Jyn. Why?"
I pursed my lips. "Well, you know how much he loved that girl. Kanina kasi, habang nagm-meryenda kami ni kuya James––"
Hindi ko pa natatapos sasabihin ko when she interfere. "Wait. James Henry?"
"Opo. Why?"
She shook her head and smiled. "Nah. Nothing, just continue."
I nodded. "With kuya Kino... dumating siya sa kusina kasama si Keila. I was shocked, of course. At yong akala kong parang wala lang kapag in love ka, biglang nagbago. I mean, noong crush ko siya hindi naman nawawasak puso ko kapag nakikita sila ni Keila, ah. Pero kanina, noong nakita ko sila, I feel like my heart's breaking into pieces. Syempre, hindi literal at bakit ang exaggerated pakinggan?" I shook my head because of my last sentence.
"Zairene..." ate Zurie shook her head. "Parang seryoso na kanina, but then you... bakit ba nakalimutan kong kapatid ka ni Zach?"
I chuckled. Magsasalita pa sana ako nang may narinig akong cute na boses.
"Mommy!"
I automatically smiled when I saw Mikell on the screen. "Mikell!" I exclaimed.
"Tita Zai!" He waved at me. "Missed you!"
I chuckled. "Missed you too, lil gal." I smiled at him. "Ahh, you're so big na." I pouted. "Don't be like tito Juri, ha?"
He acted like shocked. Tinakpan pa niya ang bibig niya gamit ang kamay niyang napaka-cute. "Hala. To Juri nga." He said.
Ate Zurie shook her head. "He's playing with Juri a while ago," she informed.
And speaking of the hakdog...
"Zai, narinig ko iyon!" He shouted but I can't see his face. He's probably on the couch in ate Zurie's room. Maya pa ay nagpakita siya sa harap ng camera. He smiled at me. "Masakit noh? Diba? Ang makita siyang may kasamang iba––"
Ate Zurie stopped him from speaking. "Juri, stop. Just go play with Kell." Utos nito sa kapatid. Ngumuso naman si Juri at binigyan ako ng isang ngiti. Ngiting minsan lang niya pinapalabas.
"Okay lang 'yan, Zai. Zairene ka naman, eh." He grinned and took Kell from her mother. Kell waved good bye at me before sila nawala sa harap ng camera.
Natahimik kami saglit ni ate Zurie bago ako magsalita. "I really wanted to be jealous, ate. Kaso wala naman akong karapatang magselos diba?" I smiled bitterly.
"Yeah..." She drawled.
Ngumuso ako. "Luh. Drama 'yon." I shook my head.
"Zai." She called my name. "Just tell me what you wanted to say. I'm all ears, okay?"
I smiled and nodded. "Actually... hindi naman ako masyadong affected, ate eh. Kasi alam ko naman na nandiyan parin siya. Hindi naman kasi nawala sa isip ko 'yon. Na may Keila siya. At mahal niya 'yon. To be exact, nakapaskil na 'yon sa utak ko." I chuckled. "Pero gagi naman, na in love pa. But I never regretted falling for him, tho. Ang saya kaya minsan maging bitter sa kanila at maging immature."
–– MA(i)REVE ––