FEBRUARY 21, 2023・TUESDAY・17:21
Maya is sitting on the edge of her bed and is typing a message on her phone.
MAYA: GAB, PLEASE REPLY. DID YOU TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THE KISS?
She bites her nails as she waits for a something to happen. She lies down on her bed.
Outside, Ante Kakay is cooking dinner.
The scent of garlic being sautéed seeps into her room.
Maya panics a little and scrolls up. She unsends all the messages that could be read as her flirting with him.
The phone vibrates.
Gab replied.
Maya changes to a more comfortable position on her bed as she scrolls down to see the message.
Outside, the doorbell rings.
Maya takes a deep breath and braces herself before reading his reply.
GAB: NOPE, DON'T WORRY.
She lets out a sigh of relief and puts down her phone. She stares wt the roof, still deep in thought.
The doorbell continues to ring outside.
Maya gets another notification. She opens her phone and sees that Gab has sent her another message. She taps the notification.
Her eyes widen and she immediately gets up from her bed and calls him.
The doorbell rings again outside.
"Maya! Paminaw langga. Nagluto pako," Ante Kakay says from the kitchen.
"MAYA, DARLING, PLEASE LISTEN. I'M COOKING."
"Kadali lang te!" She purses her lips, waiting for him pick up.
"JUST WAIT A SEC!"
The phone rings for a while.
Maya hears the sound of indoor slippers, slamming against the tiled floor outside.
"Hi," Gab says.
Maya jumps, a little bit surprised.
"Unsa tong emoji, Gab? Abi ba nako'g wala ka'y giingnan?"
"WHAT WAS THAT EMOJI GAB? I THOUGHT YOU HADN'T TOLD ANYONE?"
"Oo. Wala." He chuckles.
"NO, I HAVEN'T."
Maya purses her lips. "Tarong Gab ba."
"PLEASE BE SERIOUS."
"Wala lagi, Maya. Pramis. Joke lang to. Ikaw ba, seryoso ra kaayo."
"I HAVEN'T, MAYA. I SWEAR. I WAS JUST JOKING. RELAX."
"Alangan, after atong post sa Confessions, nakulbaan ko."
"WELL, I CAN'T. AFTER THAT POST IN CONFESSIONS."
"Post? Asa ato?"
"POST? WHICH ONE?"
"Katong kang Julio."
"THE ONE WITH JULIO'S LIST."
"Ay kato." He breaks out into laughter. "Oo. Gago kaayo gipost sa among kauban. Sa man to namo."
"OH THAT ONE."
"YEAH, ONE OF OUR CREW MATES POSTED THAT. SO HILARIOUS."
Maya clenches her jaw. "Gab, wala man kaha ka'y giingnan?"
"GAB, YOU'RE SURE YOU DIDN'T TELL ANYONE."
"Wala lagi, Maya. Seryoso."
"NO ONE. PROMISE."
"Okay. Pero ingna imong amigo—"
"OKAY. BUT TELL YOUR FRIE—"
The door opens Maya turns and sees that it's Noel.
"I love you ma. Bye!" She drops the call.
"I LOVE YOU MOM. BYE!"
"Hi!" Noel says, closing the door behind him. "Ikaw ba. Ganiha ra ko nag-text sa imo. Nakadisturbo na hinuon ko sa imong Ante."
"WHAT'S UP? I TEXTED YOU THAT I WAS OUTSIDE. I THINK I DISTURBED ANTE KAKAY."
She forces out a smile. "Sorry. Nag-isturya man gud ming mama."
"SORRY. I WAS TALKING TO MAMA."
Ding.
She gets a notification. "Sorry Ante!" she absentmindedly exclaims as she checks her phone.
"Ang purtahan Maya!" her aunt replies.
"THE DOOR, MAYA!"
Noel opens the door a little.
GAB: YOU WANT ME TO TELL MY FRIEND, 'I LOVE YOU, MAMA?' 😂
Maya rolls her eyes and sets her phone to Airplane mode.
"Kumusta man siya¹?" Noel says as he hops onto Maya's bed.
"HOW ARE THEY?"
"Ha?" Maya asks, still distracted.
"WHAT?"
"Imohang mama." He extends his arms, asking for a hug from her.
"YOUR MAMA."
She smiles. "Aw. Gani. Okay lang man siya. Nag-donate daw ilahang company atong linog sa Turkey."
"OH. RIGHT. SHE'S OKAY. SHE TOLD ME HER COMPANY DONATED MONEY FOR THE EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY."
"Ay, shit." He shakes his head. "Tama diay no?"
"OH. SHIT."
"YEAH."
They both fall quiet for a while, just lying there on the bed.
Noel kisses the side of Maya's head. "Kumusta man ka, babe? Okay lang inyong mga bag-o nga teachers?"
"SO HOW ARE YOU, BABE? HOW ARE YOUR NEW TEACHERS?"
Maya nods and looks up at him. "I love you," she says.
"Okay?" he says, a bit confused.
"Wala lang. Panagsa makalimtan lang nako kung unsa ko ka swerte nga uyab tika."
"I JUST...SOMETIMES I FORGET HOW LUCKY I AM THAT I'M WITH YOU."
He smiles. "Ako ang swerte. Nakuha nako ang best girlfriend ever in the world."
"I'M THE ONE THAT'S LUCKY. I GOT THE BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER IN THE WORLD."
"Diri na lang ta sa kama bi. Hangtod mahuman ang kalibutan."
"CAN WE JUST LIE HERE IN BED UNTIL THE WORLD ENDS?"
He leans over and kisses her. "Dili pwede. Manan-aw man kaha ta'g Derry Girls?"
"WE CAN'T. WE HAVE TO WATCH DERRY GIRLS, REMEMBER?"
"Ay tama diay no?"
"OH. YEAH."
"Tsk. Maya. Nakalimot ka?"
"DID YOU FORGET?"
She just gives her an embarrassed smile.
"Nge. Muuli na lang ko uy. Kalimot man diay ka." He gets up from the bed.
"TSK. OKAY. I GUESS, I'LL JUST GO HOME THEN."
Maya holds on to her hand. "Ayawwwwww." She almost falls off the bed as Noel playfully pulls her.
"NOOOOOOOOOO."
"Okay." He sits back down. "Ay tama diay."
"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT."
Maya gets up and sits on the bed.
"Honor gud ko sa first sem. Ganiha ra giingon sa akoa."
"I GOT ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR FIRST SEM. THEY TOLD ME EARLIER."
"Ha? Wow! Congrats baby! Ka bright sa akong uyab uy." She kisses him on the lips and puts her arms around his shoulders.
"WHAT? THAT'S GREAT NEWS! CONGRATS BABY! MY BOYFRIEND IS SO SMART."
Noel pulls away and kisses her cheek. He looks her in the eyes.
They stay like that for a while.
Suddenly, Noel's serious face breaks and he smiles, his face turning the color of red. "Nagdala ko ug condom," he whispers shyly.
"I...ERM...I BROUGHT A CONDOM."
"Unsa?"
"WHAT?"
Noel leans in towards Maya's ear. "Nagdala ko ug condom."
"I HAVE A CONDOM WITH ME."
Maya fake gasps. "Noel." She bites her lip and kisses him. "Okay. Pero unya na after dinner."
"OKAY. BUT MAYBE LATER AFTER DINNER?"
"Okay," he says excitedly.
---
1: SIYA - we use non-binary pronouns, that's why Maya is confused.