APRIL 21, 2023・FRIDAY・18:43
Hazel is holding on to the railing as she walks up the stairs.
JR is following her at a distance.
They're making their way towards a roofed deck that has a wooden log for a bench. The platform is overlooking three large fishponds, illuminated by the string lights installed around the area.
Hazel exhales as she takes a seat on the bench. She stretches her arms and legs as she slips off the tote bag and puts it on the dining table in front.
JR takes a seat a few feet away from her.
"Vegan ba ka?" Hazel asks.
"YOU A VEGAN?"
JR looks at her, unsure of what to say.
"Pwede ka mukaon ug manok?" she clarifies.
"ARE YOU ALLOWED TO EAT CHICKEN?"
He nods and crosses his arms, disinterested.
She offers her a lunch box. "Okay. Beef steak."
"BEEF STEAK, IT IS."
He looks at the box and considers it for a second. But he shakes his head. He resumes passively staring at the pond.
Hazel just smiles and stares at him as she leans against the bench.
"Natagak gud ko dira sa ikaduha nga pond tong bata pa ko," she says with a laugh. "Katong kinder pa ko, ginalaag man ko diri pirmi ni papa kada-mahuman akong klase." She sweeps some of her hair behind her ear and smiles, lost in her memories. "Sa una, dagko kaayo na ang mga isda dira sa pond. Ana gani akong mama nga sa una daw kalingawan daw namo nang mutudlo siya ug isda tapos mangutana dayon siya kung unsa siyang klase. Tapos pirme daw nako itubag kay shark. Kay siguro bata pa ko...Dako gyud sila sa akong utok."
"I REMEMBER I FELL ON THE SECOND ONE WHEN I WAS A KID."
"WHEN I WAS IN KINDER, MY DAD WOULD ALWAYS TAKE ME HERE AFTER CLASS."
"THE FISHES HERE WERE HUGE. MY MOM EVEN SAID, WE USED TO HAVE THIS GAME WHERE SHE WOULD POINT A FISH AND ASK ME WHAT'S IT CALLED. AND THEN APPARENTLY, I WOULD ALWAYS SAY THAT IT'S A SHARK. MAYBE BECAUSE I WAS STILL A CHILD...BUT THEY ALL JUST LOOKED HUGE TO ME."
JR remains silent.
Hazel shrugs and takes out another lunch box from her tote bag. She opens it and starts to eat.
"Nganong naa man ta dinhe, Hazel?" he asks. "Ingon na ko sa imo di ba nga dili ko interesado sa imo?"
"WHY ARE WE HERE, HAZEL?"
"I TOLD YOU I WASN'T INTERESTED IN YOU."
She nods.
"Unsa? Abi nimo'g malooy ko sa imoha kay tungod nag-share ka about sa imong pagka-bata?"
"WHAT? DID YOU THINK I'D SUDDENLY BE FRIENDS WITH YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU SHARED A STORY FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD?"
She takes another bite off her food. "Harsh. Pero okay..." She struggles to finish the sentence with a full mouth. "Dili nako mag-isturya about sa akong pagkabata. Unsa man atong isturyahan?"
"HARSH. BUT FINE..."
"I WON'T TALK ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD ANYMORE. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?"
"Wala, Hazel. Wala ta'y pwede isturyahan kay wala gyud ko'y plano magka-uyab o mag-igat-igat sa karon."
"NOTHING, HAZEL. WE DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING BECAUSE I'M NOT PLANNING ON HAVING A PARTNER OR EVEN FLIRTING WITH ANYONE RIGHT NOW."
"Sige ka'g ingon ana, pero nganong naa man ka dinhe?" she answers in between bites. "Nganong niadto man ka sa terminal? Nganong nisakay man ka sa bus? Wala man tika gipugos."
"YOU KEEP SAYING THAT AND YET, YOU'RE HERE."
"WHY DID YOU GO TO THE TERMINAL, THEN, HUH? WHY'D YOU HOP ON THE BUS? I NEVER FORCED YOU TO DO THAT."
The question takes JR aback a bit. "P...Pero naga-pamugos man ka. Sige ra ka ug text sa akoa."
"B...BUT YOU DID FORCE ME. YOU KEEP TEXTING ME."
"Okay. Sige. Awon nato ha." Hazel puts down her food and takes out her phone. She goes through her messages with him. "Mao ni akong mga gipang-text sa imo: 'see you' tapos...oras ug lugar kung asa ta mag-kita. Wala gyud ko nag-ingon dinhe sa mga text nga dapat gyud ka muadto. Wala gyud tika gipugos ug buhat maskin unsa."
"OKAY. FINE. LET'S SEE..."
"THESE ARE WHAT I TEXTED YOU: 'SEE YOU' AND...THE DETAILS - WHERE AND WHAT TIME WE'RE MEETING. NOTHING HERE FORCING YOU TO GO. AGAIN...NEVER FORCED YOU TO DO ANYTHING."
JR falls speechless, flustered, struggling to come up with a reply. He looks at the lunch box Hazel offered to him earlier. He takes it.
Hazel resumes chewing on her food. She crosses her legs. Clearly pleased with herself.
"Niadto ko dinhe kay gipugos ko sa akong amigo nga mu-third wheel sa date nila sa iyahang ex. Kani akong excuse."
"I WENT HERE BECAUSE MY FRIEND WAS FORCING ME TO THIRD WHEEL HIS DATE WITH HIS EX. THIS IS MY EXCUSE."
"Pero pwede man ka mangatik nga naa ka'y laing lakaw. O...Ambot. Pwede ra man ka dili musipot. Pero niadto gihapon ka sa bus station. So meaning..." She gives him a playful look, pointing at him with her fork. "Ganahan ka sa akoa."
"BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS LIE, JR. YOU CAN LIE THAT YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT PLACE TO GO TO. OR...I DON'T KNOW. YOU COULD STILL SAY THAT YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH SOMEONE AND JUST NOT GO TO THE TERMINAL. BUT YOU STILL DID. SO MEANING..."
"YOU LIKE ME."
JR rolls his eyes. "Ambot nimo." He munches down on the beef stake.
"OKAY, RELAX."
The two of them fall quiet as they continue eating.
"Nganong ganahan man ka sa akoa, Hazel?"
"WHY DO YOU EVEN LIKE ME, ANYWAY?"
"Hmm..." She turns to look at him and takes a deep breath. "Sa tinood? Gwapohan lang ko sa imoha."
"THE TRUTH? I JUST FIND YOU SO ATTRACTIVE."
JR light-heartedly scoffs and shakes his head at the idea. He puts the now-empty lunch box on the table.
"Bitaw. Gwapo bitaw ka," she reaffirms. "Pero kato..." She takes her time and looks him over. "Giresearch tika. Gitan-aw nako imohang Instagram, gipangutana nako si Ma'am Zamora about sa imo. Ug...kato, ganahan lang ko nga dili ka gago. Ug sigurado ko sa akong ginaingon kay expert na baya ko sa mga gago. Sa among dance crew pa lang daan, napalibutan na ko'g mga gago. Amigo mi pero kabalo ko nga mga gago to sila."
"IT'S TRUE. YOU'RE GOOD-LOOKING."
"BUT..."
"I ALSO RESEARCHED YOU. I STALKED YOU ON INSTAGRAM. I EVEN ASKED MA'AM ZAMORA ABOUT YOU. AND...WELL, I JUST LIKE THAT YOU'RE NOT AN ASSHOLE. AND I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE I'M AN EXPERT ON ASSHOLES. BEING PART OF A DANCE CREW ALONE FULL OF DOUCHEBAGS...WE'RE FRIENDS BUT THEY'RE STILL DOUCHEBAGS."
JR nods his head no. "Dili ka makaingon ana, Hazel. Wala man ka kaila sa ako."
"BUT HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE, HAZEL? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME."
"Ngano? Gago ba ka?"
"WHY? ARE YOU AN ASSHOLE?"
He falls into a silence, ambushed by her question. Despite trying his best to form a response, he can't. He swallows as his arm, as his arms defensively fold in on each other. "Humana na ta?" he says, his words piercing.
"ARE WE DONE HERE?"
"Wow. Dili gyud ka ganahan sa ako no?" she observes.
"WOW. YOU REALLY DON'T LIKE ME, HUH?"
He shrugs.
"Nganong dili man ka ganahan sa ako?"
"WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH?"
"Tungod atong gibuhat nimo kay Ma—"
"BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH MA—"
"—Aside ana. Mao raman na imong pirme ginarason, ug gi-explain na nako sa imo nga okay na mi ni Maya nga nag-sorry na ko sa iya. So nganong dili man ka ganahan sa ako?"
"—APART FROM THAT, JR. THAT'S ALWAYS YOUR REASON, AND I ALREADY EXPLAINED TO YOU THAT THE TWO OF US ARE FRIENDS ALREADY. I ALREADY APOLOGIZED. SO WHAT'S YOU'RE REASON?"
The question hangs in the air, waiting on his response. "Kay..." he starts.
"BECAUSE..."
"Kay unsa?"
"BECAUSE WHAT?"
"Kay dili ko ganahan ug mga babae nga parehas nimo," JR blurts out and looks away.
"BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE GIRLS LIKE YOU."
"Babae nga parehas nako? Unsa imohang pasabot?"
"GIRLS LIKE ME? LIKE WHAT?"
"Kanang..." JR scrambles for a proper way to make his point. "Kanang...Parehas nimo nga...Komportable sa mga...laing lalake."
"ER..."
"LIKE...LIKE SOMEONE WHO'S...TOO COMFORTABLE...AROUND BOYS."
"Ha? Laing lalake? Kato gihapon ning about kang Lawrence? Ingon gani ko sa imo nga nangawat siya ug kiss gikan sa akoa, diba?"
"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IS THIS STILL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH LAWRENCE? BECAUSE I ALREADY TOLD YOU, HE STOLE THAT KISS FROM ME."
"Dili...kanang...okay. Sige. Katong...katong sa spin the bottle. Kanang...Wala gyud nimo nahuna-hunaan nga kawatan ka ug kiss ni Lawrence? Kanang komportable ra kaayo ka. Sa akoa. Unsaon man nako pagkabalo nga seryoso ka sa imohang ginaingon nga ganahan ka sa akoa?"
"NO...IT'S...FINE. DURING THAT...THAT TRUTH OR DARE. DID...DID YOU EVEN THINK AT SOME POINT, LAWRENCE WOULD STEAL A KISS FROM YOU? YOU'RE JUST...TOO COMFORTABLE. WITH ME. I MEAN, HOW WOULD I EVEN KNOW YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? THAT YOU LIKE ME."
Hazel doesn't say anything. She bites her lip and wearily nods. She takes their lunch boxes and puts them inside her tote bag.
"Hazel..." he mutters as she looks at her, his voice trembling at the realization he's said something wrong.
She zips her tote bag shut and lets out a weary sigh.
"Hazel...Sorry...Akong pasabot kay—"
"HAZEL...SORRY...WHAT I MEA—"
"Kasabot ko sa imohang giingon, JR," she says with a cold, unwavering certainty. "Nangutana ko ganiha sa imo kung gago ba ka. Wala ka nitubag. Pero karon..." She pushes herself off the the bench and slings the tote bag onto her shoulder. She walks ahead, not even waiting for JR to get up.
"NO, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEANT, JR."
"I ASKED YOU EARLIER IF YOU WERE AN ASSHOLE. YOU DIDN'T RESPOND. WELL, NOW I KNOW..."
"Hazel..." JR's voice cracks.
"Sabay lang ta'g tricycle pa terminal. Pero lahi lang ta ug bus nga sakyan." She doesn't even stop to turn and face him.
"WE CAN RIDE THE SAME TRICYCLE TO THE TERMINAL. BUT WE SHOULD GO ON DIFFERENT BUSES."
JR follows after her, at a loss and the weight of his regret visibly pressing down on his shoulders. He gazes at the back of her head, trying to will her to turn and stop.
She doesn't.
He takes out his earbuds and puts them on. He plugs them into his phone and presses play.