•RICHARD•
"Meng, ano bang bibilhin mo?" I asked her. "Kanina pa tayo paikot-ikot dito sa mall eh."
Kasama namin sina Paolo and Kevin sa mall para bumili ng regalo namin for Gio and Karla's 17th birthday. Sabay na kasing gagawin yun this saturday, saktong after our midterms, our last exam for the year. Yung dalawang mokong na kasama namin, hindi rin makapagdecide sa kung anong bibilhin.
"Alam ko na!" Maine's face lit up as she turned and saw one of the boutiques we passed by earlier. She held my hand and pulled me inside the store. Nilapitan namin yung display of shoes na nasa may bandang dulong kaliwa. "Gio likes this one, Kev," sabi ni Maine pagkakuha niya sa slip ons na nakadisplay. "We were talking about this one last week, bibili na dapat siya kaso na-out of stock naman nung pumunta kami. Yan na lang bilhin mo."
"Size 7 diba?" Kevin asked Maine. "Baka kasi magkamali ako eh."
Maine flicked his forehead which made him wince a bit. "Aray naman, Nicomaine! Inaano ka ba?" Natatawa kami ni Paolo habang si Kevin, hinihimas-himas yung noo niya.
"Grabe ka, shoe size ng girlfriend mo hindi mo alam."
"Kaya nga sinisigurado ko sa'yo eh!"
Iniwan namin sila ni Paolo habang nagtatalo, kami naman yung nag-ikot sa store, looking for something to buy. May nakita akong bag that I know Maine would really like. Black siya na backpack with floral patches on it. Medyo nahihilig kasi si Maine sa mga patches kaya alam kong magugustuhan niya yung bag. I'd give it to her as my gift this Christmas, itatago ko na lang mabuti kasi baka makita niya sa bahay pag pumunta siya. But I wanted to be sure kay—
"Oh, wow ang ganda!"
Nagulat ako nung marinig ko si Meng sa tabi ko, her eyes fixed on the bag I was looking at. She grabbed it from the display and inspected the insides. I was mentally praying inside my head na sana gusto niya pero hindi niya muna bilhin, na sana kulang pa yung pera niya. She did look at her wallet to check if she has enough money to buy the bag for her own, at nakita ko kung pano bumagsak yung mga balikat niya. Napa-'yes!' ako ng mahinang-mahina, I can buy it tomorrow pagbalik ko. She put the bag back on the display rack.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked her as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "May problema ba?"
Binalik niya sa bag niya yung wallet niya saka lumingon sa akin, then half-heartedly smiled at me. "Wala naman. May napili ka na ba for the girls?"
"Wala pa eh," I told her as we started walking around again. "Ikaw na lang pumili then I'll pay for it."
"Hala, seryoso ka ba?"
"Ikaw ba?"
"Ikaw nga tinatanong ko eh," she chuckled.
"Sige na, ako na magbabayad," nilingon ko si Paolo na may kinukuhang sapatos sa kabilang rack, a pair of heels ata? Basta may takong. "May napili na rin naman ata si Paolo for Karla."
Maine picked up two different bags from the display. A black handbag and a brown sling bag. "The brown one's for Gio since she likes sling bags better, the black one's for Karla since she likes this one."
"Sure na? Yan na bibilhin natin?"
She nodded. "Yup, ito na."
Tinawag ko na sina Paolo and Kevin para makapagbayad na rin kami. After paying, we went straight to the bookstore to have our gifts wrapped. Si Maine na ang pumili ng gift wrapper kasi wala daw siyang tiwala dun sa dalawa.
Nakaupo kami sa bench while waiting for our gifts nung biglang nagsalita si Paolo.
"Poks, ano tong nabalitaan kong nasigawan ka ni Maine kahapon dahil sa Mobile Legends?" he asked with that smirk on his face.
Maine looked at me, an eyebrow raised while her hand gripped my thigh. Napakamot na lang ako sa ulo saka sumagot. "Oo eh, hindi ko kasi siya pinansin nung una kakalaro ko."
Tumawang bigla sina Paolo at Kevin sa sinabi ko, literal na roll on the floor laughing pa si Kevin kasi nalaglag siya sa upuan. Siraulo.
"Bakit naman kasi hindi mo pinansin?" Kevin said in between his laugh. "Sabi ko naman kasi sa'yo wag mo nang iinstall eh. Maaadik ka lang. Kita mo nagpahuli ka pa."
"Hula ko, hindi ka nakaangal nung dinelete ni Maine yung laro no?" Paolo asked.
Napatingin ulit ako kay Maine, her eyes rolling at me. "Eh hindi na. Yung tingin kasi ni Meng parang sasakmalin ako anytime eh," sabi ko sa kanila. "Natakot na ko paps. Kinabahan ako talaga eh."
"Anong sabi ko sa'yo diba?" Maine said. "Makuha ka sa tingin."
"Sabi ko nga po," tinawag na si Maine since tapos nang ibalot yung mga regalo namin. "Balik na lang ako sa Pokemon Go," sabi ko kina Paolo nung nakalayo na sa'min si Maine.
"I heard that, Faulkerson."
Pucha, wala pa rin palang lusot.
***
Kinabukasan, bumalik ako sa mall para bilhin yung bag na gusto ni Maine. Luckily, I was able to get the last piece bago pa ma-out of stock. Matatagalan pa daw bago magkaroon ng stock ulit kaya laking pasalamat ko na din na nakuha ko yung huli.
Palabas na ko sa mall when I passed by a jewelry store, and something caught my eye on one of their displays. I went inside and saw a birthstone choker necklace. Naisip ko agad si Maine upon seeing the necklace since Aquamarine yung birthstone na nasa display.
"Sir, that's one of our bestsellers," sabi nung attendant sa akin. Kanina pa kasi ako nakatingin sa necklace. "Gusto niyo po bang makita? Ano pong birthstone?"
"Aquamarine," I said, my eyes still fixed on the necklace. She immediately grabbed one and handed it to me.
"14k solid gold po yan, sir," she started. "You can also choose po yung 14k rose gold if you prefer that for the base."
I looked at her and smiled. Without hesitating, I told her, "Sige, I'll get the rose gold."
"Great choice sir," she said while smiling. She put the necklace inside a small box. Dumiretso na kami sa counter para makapagbayad ako and as she handed it over to me, I am hoping that Maine will love it when she sees it.
•MAINE•
"I don't think that you even realize, the joy you make me feel when I'm inside, your universe
You hold me like I'm the one who's precious, I hate to break it to you but it's just the other way around
You can thank your stars all you want but, I'll always be the lucky one,"
I woke up with my phone constantly ringing. Akala ko pa nga kinakantahan ako ni Rico Blanco ng Your Universe sa panaginip ko, yun pala tumatawag lang sa'kin si RJ. I would know it's him since I specifically set that ringtone for him. I looked at my alarm clock, and saw that it was just half past 6 in the morning. My half-asleep self picked up the phone with my left hand rubbing my eye. "RJ I swear to God I will kill you. 6:30 am pa lang utang na loob," I told him.
"Babe, you need to wake up. May change of plans."
Nagising akong bigla sa pagtawag niya ng babe. He never calls me babe. "Sinong babe yan?"
"O diba nagising kita?"
"RJ, isa."
"Susmaryosep sino bang kausap ko ngayon?"
"Ricardo sinasabi ko sa'yo kapag may babae ka lagot ka talaga sa'kin."
"Luh siya. Wala ah!"
"E why are you calling me babe?"
"Wala lang, cute lang. Teka nga nalilihis tayo eh! Kanina ka pa tinatawagan nina Karla hindi ka sumasagot."
"I was probably sleeping, hello. Anong oras pa lang kaya. Ano bang problema?"
"Tinawagan na ko ni Karla. Change of plans daw. Pupunta daw tayong Pampanga."
My brows furrowed. "Anong gagawin natin sa Pampanga? Diba may party for Gio and Karla mamaya?" Actually, nung thursday yung birthday nilang dalawa but they decided to throw a party today, saturday, para wala nga namang pasok. And we have our midterm exams nung thursday and friday, syempre kailangan magreview kaya ngayon na lang daw yung party.
"E nagkaroon ng water leakage dun sa venue nung party kani-kanina lang. Kaya hindi na matutuloy yung party."
"Ha? Pwede namang ayusin yun diba?"
"Apparently, medyo malaki yung damage ng leakage kaya madaming aayusin sa venue. Hindi rin pwedeng gamitin yung electricity since nabasa nung nagbaha sa loob, yun ang sabi ni Karla."
"Hala sayang naman yung set-up."
"Oo nga eh. Ang naisip na lang nila ni Gio, sa Sandbox tayo magcelebrate."
"Are you serious?! Sandbox?!"
"Yup, so get your sexy ass out of your bed and get ready. We'll pick you up in half an hour. Bilisan mong maligo, Meng. Nako. Ang tagal mo pa naman maligo."
"Says who?"
"Says me. Dali na, ligo na."
"Oo na ito na."
"Okay good. Love you."
"Love you too pangit mo tse."
I heard him chuckling at the other line before it went off. Nagmadali na kong maligo kasi hindi nagbibiro yang si RJ na in half an hour nandito na sila kasi juskolord tinototoo niya talaga. Record time yung pagligo ko, ten minutes! I chose to dress up comfortably since puro outdoor activities kami sa Sandbox. I wore my gray sweatshirt, sleeves hiked up to my elbows, paired with denim pants and white sneakers para makakilos ako ng maayos. Hindi ko na muna tinali yung buhok ko, mamaya na siguro pagdating namin sa Sandbox. Usually, it takes me an hour to prepare kapag aalis ako, even for school. Pero grabe, ngayon 20 minutes lang bihis na ko, nakapagtoothbrush na, nagspray na ng pabango, nakapaglagay na ng clip sa buhok at nakapag-apply na ng powder plus lipstick na hindi dark kasi hindi naman ako sa party pupunta.
Pagbaba ko, nakita ko sina nanay at tatay na nag-aalmusal. I kissed them both on their cheeks before pouring some fresh orange juice.
"Tumawag si Karla dito kanina, Menggay. Ipinagpaalam ka sa amin ng tatay mo," sabi ni nanay sa akin. "Sayang naman yung venue na nakuha nila ano?"
"Oo nga po nay eh. Madami daw aayusin kaya hindi na lang tinuloy."
"Paano yung ibang gastos nila?" Tatay asked.
"Hindi ko pa po alam, tay," sabi ko pagkainom ko ng juice. "Baka daw sa bahay na lang daw po i-set up yung food bukas. The rest refund na lang po ata."
Narinig na namin yung busina ng kotse nina Karla, I bid goodbye to my parents and immediately ran towards our gate with my backpack. Yung regalo kasi namin ni RJ, siya na ang nagdala. Pagbukas ko, my friends are waiting inside the van while RJ, who is casually dressed in a white shirt with his hoodie jacket, is waiting for me in front of our gate.
"Ang bilis mong nakaligo ah," he said and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "10 minutes no?"
"Ikaw kasi eh, agad agad naman," I told him. Inalalayan niya na ako paakyat sa van. Niyakap ko kaagad sina Gio and Karla pagkaupo ko. "Happy Birthday, you guys!!!" I greeted them as I pulled off our hug. Nagsettle na ako sa may unahang row katabi si RJ. Nasa likod namin sina Karla and Paolo habang si Gio lumipat na sa bandang likuran katabi ni Kevin.
"Ready na ba lahat?" Karla's brother, Kristoff asked us. Siya kasi yung designated driver namin for today.
"Yes!!!" we all said.
"Okay, good. Ihahatid ko lang kayo sa Sandbox kasi may gagawin din ako pagkahatid ko sa inyo. Baka si dad or si Kuya Kurt na yung susundo sa inyo mamaya ha?"
We arrived at Sandbox after three hours of travelling. Pumasok kami agad sa loob after namin bumili ng tickets. We decided to try a little bit of everything upon entering the premises.
"Hoy, seryoso kayo na lahat?" Gio asked us. Nilalagyan kami ni RJ ng harness kasi kami yung unang susubok sa Giant Swing. "Hoy!!! Takot ako sa heights!"
"The more you need to try para mawala yung takot mo," Kevin assured her. "Di ka naman namin itutulak."
"Siraulo ka!"
"Nako paps, wag mo na masyadong takutin pa yan. Baka umiyak eh," Paolo said while laughing.
"Okay na po, ma'am?" the attendant asked us. She smiled as we both nodded. "Enjoy po kayo."
Then the ride started. Para lang kaming mga batang nakasakay sa Anchor's Away ni RJ, but this was a bit different since literal na swing siya pero malawak ang reach. We stretched our hands up, enjoying the wind gushing on our faces. Tili nga lang ako ng tili but I enjoyed it, sobra. Inalalayan ako ni RJ after the ride and we had to step out naman kasi sina Karla and Paolo na yung susunod.
"Oh, inom na muna ng water," RJ told me and handed me a bottle of water. "Dapat hydrated ka lagi."
"Uminom ka na din kaya," sabi ko sa kanya. Inabot ko na sa kanya yung bottle saka siya uminom.
"Hoy kayong dalawa, naghahalikan na naman kayo," Gio told us. Napakunot yung noo naming dalawa ni RJ sa sinabi niya. "Ayan oh! Indirect kiss! Sa iisang bote umiinom."
"Tigilan mo na yang dalawang yan, tayo na yung sasakay sa Giant Swing," saway sa kanya ni Kevin. Tapos na rin pala sina Karla at Paolo kaya pagbaba nila, nagready na yung dalawang maingay.
And as expected, kahit sa Giant Swing nagtatalo silang dalawa. Hay nako.
We tried the Mini Golf next, Free Fall, Roller Coaster Ziplines at yung ATV ride. RJ let me drive sa ATV ride for thirty minutes and I really enjoyed it. Kaso siya kapit na kapit sa bewang ko, di ko alam kung takot lang ba talaga siya sa pagdadrive ko o minamanyak niya lang ako. Joke. Takot yon kasi puro "susmaryosep Meng dahan-dahan naman!" yung naririnig ko sa kanya eh.
After the ATV ride, nagpahinga muna kami sa snack bar at kumain na din. Napagod din naman kasi kami sa first set of activities na ginawa namin.
RJ and I decided to buy two slices of cake para kina Gio and Karla. Sakto, meron silang available na chocolate cake. Sabi namin, i-serve na lang after they give out our burgers.
"Guys, thank you ha kahit short notice lang to," Karla told us cheerily. "Hindi namin ineexpect ni Gio yung nangyari sa venue kaya we had to come up with something agad eh."
"Kayo lang may gusto nitong Sandbox no, alam niyo namang takot ako sa heights eh," Gio said.
"Asus, naenjoy mo nga yung free fall kahit tili ka ng tili," I chuckled. I went to sit in between them. "Happy birthday, mga bakla! Thank you so much for being my good friends. Love ko kayo sobra, alam niyo yan," I told them. I hugged Gio first, then si Karla. "Pag sinaktan kayo ng dalawang pangit diyan nako sumbong niyo sa'kin!"
"Tapos si Poks lang ang gwapo?" Kevin asked, kunyari nagtatampo.
"Syempre, baby ko yan eh!" They all laughed as RJ and I bumped our fists together. I called one of the crew out to serve the cakes. Nilagay na nila yung cakes in front of the girls then we all started singing.
"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to youuuuuu, happy birthday Gio and Karla, happy birthday to youuuu!!!"
I raised my glass of iced tea. "To Gio and Karla!"
What a fun day it is.
***
A/N: Sorry na-late, these past few days nahihirapan akong magsulat. Sinabi ko na yun sa isang chapter eh. Nahihirapan akong i-put into words yung thoughts na nasa utak ko so forgive me if may inconsistencies kayong makikita sa buong kwento, all those mistakes are mine. I'll edit this ng buo kapag natapos ko na.
Alam niyo bang dumating ako sa point na muntik ko na to iunpublish? Sorry guys kasi ang pessimistic ko when it comes to writing, sometimes I feel na hindi niyo nagugustuhan or ano. Feeling ko ang daming mali, ang daming kulang. Labo ko ba? Pero kahapon, nakita ko to.
I don't know kung #17 pa din siya ngayon but I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been very supportive of this story. Thank you, sobra. Salamat kasi mahal niyo yung kwento kong nagsimula talaga sa pagtitig ko sa picture nina Alden at Maine. Hahaha! I'll try my very best to give you guys a good story, kahit puro pabebe talaga to. Haha. Salamat sa suporta! Love ko kayo 😘 At sa nagbabasa nito, Happy Mother's Day to your mom. ❤️
- Louise 💛
PS. Para may visual kayo nung necklace, simple lang to. As in super simple tapos cute. Hahahaha.