If Val had her way, she would just dress down to a plain tee and shorts for the blind date. But since she’d be going to the birthday bash at the bar after, she had no choice but to dress her best.
While riding a cab to the date, she realized that she didn’t know anything about Dessa’s cousin apart from the fact that he was a balikbayan. She didn’t even bother to ask how he looked like because—what was the point, anyway?
When it came to dating, Val had an iron-cast rule: No blind dates. She wanted to at least see the guy before giving him a piece of her valuable time, thank you very much. Seeing the guy meant scrutinizing him in the flesh, not in some Facebook photo that showcases his best angle in the most flattering lighting, made to pass him off as some celebrity look-alike.
But obviously, the rule was about to be broken. It was just last week when she finally gave in to Dessa’s pestering while hanging out in between classes in their favorite bench along the hallway right across the cafeteria.
Dessa was going all out with her powers of persuasion, her voice getting more high-pitched with each sentence. “He saw our picture on my phone and I swear it was love”— she paused when she saw Val roll her eyes—“okay, like at first sight. He’s been an avid volleyball fan since, and he never misses a single game we’re in.”
“Forget it, Dess.” Kat didn’t even look up as she tapped and swiped on her iPad. “Blind dates are beneath Val.”
Dessa shook her head vehemently. “You shouldn’t think that, Val. Some of the greatest love stories on the planet were built on blind dates.”
“Such as?” Val studied her manicure, which were getting a bit chipped at the edges. Time for another salon trip, she noted mentally.
There was a lengthy silence as Dessa pondered. Finally, she let out a sigh. “Okay, I can’t think of one right now, but Val, he’s a decent guy, I promise.”
From her manicure, Val had moved on to studying her toenails.
“No dice, Dess.” Kat grinned.
Dessa got up and started pacing up and down in front of them. After a minute, she finally sat down on the bench. “Well, if you’re going to be this difficult, I’m using the BFF card.”
Val’s head jerked up, her eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t.”
“What’s a BFF thingee?” Kat looked puzzled. Unlike Dessa and Val, she was still in her junior year, and had transferred to the University of Saint Francis only that year, which meant she wasn’t yet privy to the mechanics of Val and Dessa’s long friendship.
It was Dessa’s turn to grin. “I just did.”
Val moaned, and started stomping her feet in mock-tantrum. She was wearing wedges, which made a terrific racket on the concrete. People started looking their way. Some smiled while staring, as if wanting to be let in on the joke. Others whispered among themselves. Val couldn’t care less what people thought of her. The BFF card was irrevocable, and she had no way out.
The deal had started when she and Dessa were on their third month of being best buds—an alliance that started during their Freshman Orientation Seminar, where the entire batch was herded like sheep by the upperclassmen as they toured the university facilities.
It had taken Val extreme willpower not to gape at the school’s sprawling grounds, which was about a hundred times bigger than her high school. It had taken even greater effort not to stare at her batchmates, who looked like they had stepped out of fashion magazines.
Val looked down at her own outfit, which suddenly looked pretentious though she had planned it for weeks. Her blue, stretchy shirt had the words Calvin Klein studded in silver beads right across the chest—a hand-me-down from a cousin abroad. She had paired it with a pair of dark skinny jeans—the one that she wore sparingly so as not to wear it out. The jeans were okay, but the shirt—oh, the shirt—was the dead giveaway that she was not one of them.
By using her keen powers of observation, Val deduced that the privileged species preferred subtlety when it came to branding. A tiny Ralph Lauren logo? Acceptable. The words Ralph Lauren screaming on the shirtfront? Downright tacky—which included the cringe-worthy classification of pirated clothing to which brand names like Bebe, Juicy, Tommy Hilfiger, and yes, even the brand she was wearing—as proven by the manang she had brought her iced tea from in the cafeteria. She was wearing a loose, white shirt printed with an even bigger font size of Calvin Klein. Val wanted to cry.
It was when she was contemplating on wearing her shirt inside-out when a shadow fell across her table.
“Hi! This seat taken?”
She looked up to see a pair of the big, thick-lashed eyes framed by a head full of the springiest curls she had ever seen.
Val shook her head as the girl collapsed on the seat in front of her.
“Finally! I was wondering when they’d give us a break. Can you believe the amount of walking we just did? This school is humongous.”
She dug into her large paper cup of fries before remembering her manners. “Want some? I’m Dessa, by the way. You’re a freshie too, right?”
Val sighed inwardly, wondering what else about her made her stick out like a sore thumb while Dessa rattled on. “I think I saw you earlier while we were touring the covered courts.”
Val took a french fry covered in dark orange seasoning and munched on it. Barbecue flavor. “Thanks. Yeah, I’m Val.” She took a swig of iced tea as she discreetly studied Dessa’s outfit—a collared loose, black shirt-dress printed with tiny white hearts. It was a bit too baby-dollish for Val’s taste but at least it didn’t scream out a brand name.
Dessa swept her curls into a high ponytail as she studied the sheet of paper she had removed from her big canvas bag. “It says here that after this, we’re going to Benito Hall for the big talk from the org leaders. Ooooh, recruitment time.” She nudged the cup of fries closer to Val. “Have you chosen your orgs?”
Val shook her head as she took another fry. “No time. All my free time will be spent on training.”
“For what?”
“Volleyball.”
A scream echoed throughout the length of the cafeteria that had half of its inhabitants looking at Val’s table.
“Ohmygosh, OHMYGOSH!” Dessa was practically bouncing in her seat, along with her high ponytail. “You’re in the team? Me, too!”
With this new development, Val forgot about being embarrassed by her companion’s outburst and bounced and squealed along with her.
Time flew by as they compared notes on how they both ended up being recruited for the Phoenix Volleybelles. Val marveled at how similar their stories were—how they were scouted from their high school varsity teams and offered almost-full college scholarships, providing they passed the entrance exams, which they did, of course.
From then on, the two had become inseparable. Aside from adjusting to a whole, new culture, they also had to juggle their training with academics—which was how the BFF card started.
Val had only a week left to finish her book report for English class, but she wasn’t even halfway done.
“I could do it, you know.” Dessa said as they stood in the waiting shed. “I’m a whiz with words.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup.” Dessa hailed a jeepney and they both got in. “But to be fair, you owe me one.”
They had both agreed to the arrangement, which they had eventually coined the “BFF card.” As the months went by, the rules got more specific: 1) each was entitled to three BFF cards a year, 2) favors shouldn't be life-threatening, and 3) money shouldn't be involved.
Since then, the BFF cards had been invoked for favors ranging from baby-sitting Dessa’s younger brother, to buying Val’s hair-smoothening serum just before the mall closed for an emergency date that same night.
And now, the BFF card had brought her here. Val sighed as she paid the cab driver and alighted to a blinking neon sign that called attention to The Best Burger in Town.
Oh, well. She smoothed down her shimmery silver top, and raked her fingers through her hair before pushing the glass doors open. You could definitely go wrong with a blind date, but not with a good burger.
* * *
Val was losing it, saying fudge over and over in her head. She had been going around in circles, going up and down the stairs of the two-floor burger place for the past ten minutes, and she still had not spotted her date.
“He’s going to wear a green shirt,” Dessa had told her the night before. Val was adamant about having no exchange of mobile numbers with said blind date, so she had no choice but to hunt for the right green shirt just to get this over with.
So far, she had spotted three green-shirted males—the first was a lolo, the second was a toddler, and the third—well, the guy was cute and all, but he already had a date, who was giggling at him with adoring eyes while spooning chocolate sundae into his mouth.
When Val passed by their table, the guy raised his head, his face breaking into a friendly smile. Val allowed a hint of smile to play on her lips a millisecond before looking away. From the corner of her eye, she saw the girl whip her head towards her direction. Val already had her back turned to them when she heard the guy squeak out a guilty “What?”—most likely in reply to his date’s accusing look.
Val’s ankles were protesting in her high-heeled pumps. It was a Saturday night and the place was filled to the rafters. She would’ve loved to rest her feet but there wasn’t an empty chair in sight. People were starting to stare—granted that her sparkly, sequined gold halter top was too dressy for the laid-back ambiance. She felt that if she stood on one spot for too long, people would mistake her for a discoball and start dancing the shuffle around her. So up and down the stairs she went, searching for the elusive green shirt, until her ego finally accepted the fact that she was stood up. Fuming, she headed towards the exit.
“Val?”
Val whirled around and came to face to face with… hair. It was of significant volume, tamed in vain by some sort of sticky hair product, which just highlighted the fact that the tresses were naturally curly.
She had to lower her gaze a few inches to meet his eyes—which were smiling to the hilt.
“I’ve already been waiting for half an hour so I decided to scope out the place in case you’re already here.”
Val quickly picked up on his California accent. If only his voice was as cute as he actually was.
“I guess you didn’t see me. The only table I could get was hidden away in that corner.” He indicated a spot that Val totally missed.
But what she wouldn’t, couldn’t definitely miss was the shirt he was wearing. It was the color of puke, mixed with a bit of slime. It was green, all right—but of the icky kind.
Puke-green shirt was talking. “I’m EJ, by the way.”
Val gave his hand a limp shake. “Hey.”
As he led them to their table, Val had half a mind to turn on her heels and make her escape. She couldn’t believe her bad luck—not only was her date fashionably challenged, he was even shorter than she was. She made a mental note to strangle Dessa.
“Let’s order?” He motioned to a server nearby. He leaned conspiratorially to Val. “Just between you and me, I’m torn between the Kpop and the Health Nut.”
Val stared at him blankly until she realized that he was talking about the burgers.
“Beef bulgogi patty with kimchi or the chicken patty with walnuts and cranberries?” EJ clutched his head. “Oh, the pressure!”
When the server finally arrived at the table, EJ winked at Val and said, “I’ll have the Brawn Burger—“ He read the menu aloud to Val. “Two half-pound patties smothered in steak sauce and caramelized onions. I bet it’s a winner!”
With pen poised over his notepad, the server turned to Val. “And you, ma’am?”
“I’ll have an orange soda.”
EJ gaped at Val as she handed back the menu. “That’s it?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Not hungry. Also, I can’t stay long. I have somewhere to go after this.”
“Oh.”
There was complete, utter silence as EJ leaned back, as if contemplating the situation. Val dealt with it by busying herself with her phone. Then after a few seconds, EJ shifted in his seat and straightened up with a bright smile.
“Well, if that’s the case, then we should make the most out of it,” he said, his voice enthusiastic. “Let me start off by saying that you guys played an awesome game last week. It’s like you and Dessa are mentally connected or something. How the hell can you tell when she’s going to give the ball to you?”
Val put down the phone, a bit thrown off. She hadn’t expected EJ to rally on with the conversation just after she had given him the cold shoulder. He reminded her of those little plants that thrived through the cracks of concrete—unexpected and a bit annoying.
She shrugged her shoulders, picked up her phone again and replied in a bored tone. “Oh, you know, sometimes she signals to me, or I just read her body language.”
EJ then started to regale her about his own athletic pursuits—turned out he was in the varsity wrestling team from high school until he graduated from college last year.
“People think it’s just a lot of muscle, but wrestling is mainly a tactical sport. You have to learn to read your opponent even before he makes a move. Strength isn’t everything.” He tapped one side of his head. “This one here is the real deciding factor.”
Val had started toying with a paper napkin, hoping he’d get the message. Granted that he had a well-built body—this, she concluded, by sneaking glances at him---at this point, nothing he could say would interest her.
“Here you go.” The server broke into her thoughts, setting down the biggest burger Val had ever seen. “Brawn Burger and two sodas.”
EJ smiled across at Val, watching her reaction. “Huge, huh?” Before she could say anything, he cut the burger and plunked down half of it on Val’s plate. “There is no way that I’m going to finish this all by myself. Please? You’ll be doing me a favor.”
Val felt her neck heating up. How dare he bully her into this when she had already told him that she was not going to eat? She was about to protest when the burger’s beefy, cheesy aroma wafted to her nostrils, and darn it, she felt herself salivating against her will.
“I’ll just have a taste,” she told him, reaching for her fork and knife.
Saying that her first forkful made her taste buds happy was an understatement. The full impact of her measly tuna pan de sal lunch hit her on the gut like a prizefighter’s punch. Her mouth clamored for more of the delicious burger. Val had no choice but to give in.
Before she knew it, she was down to her last few bites.
“Like it?”
“It’s okay,” she grudgingly admitted.
EJ gathered his half of the burger in his hands and took a bite. After chewing thoughtfully, he said, “It’s delicious. But I wish it had a bit of contrast in taste. It’s all savory.”
He motioned to the server.
“Can you please get us a bit of mango salsa? You serve it with the Fil-Mex burger, yes?”
“Sure, sir.”
Minutes later, he returned with a small ramekin.
“Try it with this.” He spooned a bit of the yellow-green concoction on Val’s plate.
Val made a face, thinking how weird it would be to eat her burger with mango. But curiosity won over the disgust. Val spread the salsa on the patty, put on the top bun, and bit into it.
Oh. My. Fudge.
“That good, huh?” EJ grinned. “I saw the whites of your eyes appear.”
Val shook her head, unable to hide her awe. “That was the one thing that made it taste absolutely, totally perfect. How did you know?
EJ swallowed before answering. “I’ve had practice. I’ve always been interested in food. In fact, I came here to try my hand in livening up the local cuisine.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “After touring the world, I realized that Pinoy food is still my all-time favorite.”
“Where did you go?” Val sipped on her sofa and leaned back on her chair. She was feeling lazily content. Carbs equals happy hormones, she thought.
“All over Europe. Then I did the Asian thing before finally settling here.”
Val couldn’t help feeling impressed. Travel was definitely on the top of her to-do list once she had the money. She could imagine herself decked in spring wear—a wooly sweater, suede skirt, leg warmers and boots—while posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
“It was an amazing experience, but it wasn’t all glamorous,” EJ continued, as if reading her mind. “I lost my wallet twice, and spent some nights either on a bus stop or a train station because I was way too broke.” He shrugged his shoulders, good-naturedly. “I wouldn’t have been able to afford the whole trip if I didn’t go backpacking.”
Val frowned, thinking how she preferred traveling in style and luxury than lugging a heavy backpack all over the continent. She had seen some photos of female backpackers on the internet and they had all looked spent, with their hair pulled back in unruly ponytails, and clothes that were more practical than fashionable. Think cargo pants and cross-trainers. Ew.
“So now, I’m thinking of opening a food business here. But first I need to have some recipes taste-tested, and find a place to rent. Right now I live with my aunt—Dessa’s mom— but I don’t want to be a burden to them and I want to find my own place—“
He stopped as an insistent ringing filled the air between them.
“Excuse me.” Val swiped her phone. “Hello? Oh, you’re here!” She paused. “Yes, yes. I’ll see you outside.” Hastily, she got up, causing EJ to follow suit. “My ride’s here.”
“Wait, I’ll take you outside.” EJ called to the server. “Bill, please!”
But Val was already looping her bag through her arm. “It’s okay! I have to go now. Byeee!” She waved her hands before striding towards the door, her heels making smart clip-clop sounds on the floor.
EJ stood frozen, very much aware of the heads turning as Val walked past them. Through the glass door, he watched as a tall guy—quite handsome—got out of the gleaming gray SUV, and gave Val a quick kiss on the cheek before opening the door for her.
When they drove away, EJ sighed and sat down. Then he gave a small smile, studied the menu, and motioned for the server.
“A choco-raspberry milkshake, please.”