"And I wonder,
is it better to get it over with?
The illusion, can shatter before we begin"
FIVE
On Sunday night Ice had to message the Stats group chat na hindi makakapasok si Ma'am Claud kinabukasan dahil may biglaang lakad ito.
Instead of letting Ice fill in katulad ng original na plan, Ma'am Claud gave her a day off. On time naman daw sila sa lessons and the students deserve a time off.
Lalo na after manalo ng Wolves sa basketball game kahapon. They’re officially in the semis.
Hindi ito napanuod ni Ice but may nabasa naman siyang updates sa twitter. Two more wins and pasok na sila sa Finals.
Naisipan lang niya mag message kay Dos nung kinagabihan. Isang simpleng congrats lang naman at sumagot din ito ng isang simpleng Thank You.
Hindi pa niya nakikita ang results ng pagtuturo niya kay Dos since wala silang klase bukas. Sana naman effective ang tinuro niya para hindi masayang ang binayad nito.
Nakakadalawang session palang sila.
Hindi niya naisip yung bayad nung una since she agreed to help him kasi naaawa siya.
Naalala niya lang ito when Dos insisted na siya ang mag set ng price per session nila last Friday.
Hindi naman niya kailangan ng pera so she insisted na hindi na kailangan ng bayad but Dos didn't back down either.
In the end, they agreed for Dos to pay Ice 500 pesos every session.
Totoo namang hindi niya kailangan ng pera. May allowance naman siya from working in the center at may allowance din siya from her Parents then extra money from her Kuya Lex.
Minsan if Lex is being too galante, lalagyan pa nito ng pera ang account niya ng di niya alam.
She lives alone right now, konti rin lang naman ang kailangan niya. Kaya madami na din siyang naipon.
Since Ice is done with homework and ready for upcoming activities in school, hindi niya ako kung anong gagawin niya pag tapak ng Lunes.
Ice frustratedly blows the stray hair on her forehead. Wala siya sa mood mag basa, buong linggo na siyang nag basa.
She wished Lex was here at a time like this. He knows how to turn boring stuff into something extraordinary. He can think of something spontaneous to do in boring hours.
Naalala niya tuloy noong high school siya. Bigla siyang napatawag sa office dahil daw sa isang emergency.
Naabutan niya doon si Lex looking all worried. Next thing Ice knew the school is letting her go with her brother.
Bawal lumabas ng campus unless may emergency at may sundo.
Pero wala naman talagang emergency.
Lex just busted her out of school with his superb acting skills because he wanted to eat at some Japanese restaurant he came across the past week. Hindi ito makapag hintay ng weekend.
That's why she loves her brother even though they're polar opposites.
Lex was the rebel, the one who doesn't obey the rules. Ice was always the one who goes with the flow of life.
She always plays on the safe side.
Their parents wanted Lex to be a Lawyer but he chose to be an artist.
Naalala pa niya ang nangyari noon.
They had one big fight hanggang sa umalis si Lex ng halos isang buwan but he kept in contact with Ice, assuring her that he's alright.
She finally convinced him to come home.
Nang umuwi nga ito, hindi pa din nagbabago ang isip ng parents nila.
So Lex had to support himself when it came to school. He thrived as an artist and made money out of it but it wasn't always easy. Lex had to apply for odd jobs, iyong hindi daw nakaka "bore to death".
Their parents slowly realized na hindi nila mababago si Lex kaya binalik na ng mga ito ang monthly allowance and supported his school tuition too.
Now, Lex made a name for himself in the art world. At ngayon nag aaral ito ng film sa ibang bansa.
He's not done dreaming. She won't be suprised if he suddenly messages her that he's in Hawaii learning how to surf.
Since Ice has nothing better to do, she decided to bother Lex while marathoning old Nick shows she loved.
Nasa gitna ng panunuod ng movie ang Kuya niya sa klase kaya mabagal ito mag reply.
Na realize ni Ice na ito ang dahilan kung bakit ayaw niyang mag stay sa bahay minsan. Yes, she has her occasional lazy days but hindi ito ngayon.
There are days when you feel comfortable alone. And some days you just feel lonely.
Today is the latter.
Ice's phone vibrated while she's choosing a movie to watch, thinking it'a just Lex again, binuksan niya agad ito.
A new message from ✌ a.k.a Dos Romero.
Kunot noong binuksan ni Ice ang message nito. They're not really the type of acquaintances who messages one another out of the blue. Labas doon yung pag congratulate niya syempre.
What can this guy possibly want now?
Usually she doesn't entertain people sa text lalo na't wala namang sasabihing importante. As she's getting to know Dos, she learned not to take him seriously sometimes.
Kahit sa text pag ti-tripan siya nito?
Ice sighed before typing a reply.
Ice thought of something first. Gusto niya bang mag interact sa humans ngayon or hindi?
Kahit na medyo annoying si Dos, okay naman ito kasama. Nauubos lang talaga ang energy niya.
He wants them to eat out at mukhang susunduin pa siya nito.
Why her out of all people?
Since he's a basketball player for sure may magandang set ng friends ito bukod sa teammates.
So why Ice?
Ice still spent a good few minutes thinking if her decision. Kung pumayag man siya, she can still cancel but nakakahiya din naman kay Dos kung susunduin siya nito.
Oh, fuck it.
Nag handa na si Ice and texted Dos na sa labas nalang sila magkita instead na pumasok pa ito sa village.
Nang lumabas siya, naghihintay na ang Black Fortuner ni Dos sa gate.
Binaba agad nito ang bintana and greeted her with a wide grin and she returned it with a dry smile like always.
"Good day, Miss who is not friends with me but still said yes." Sabi agad nito. "I really thought you were going to put up a fight. Tatawagan ko na sana yung PI namin para alamin ang bahay niyo."
"Don't start, Dos." Ice sighed, keeping her eyes on the road.
Dos laughed.
His laugh gets on Ice's nevers sometimes.
"All jokes aside. Thanks for coming with me."
"You're very persuasive kaya ako andito."
"And for food." Dos grinned.
"That too." Ice nods, hiding her smile when Dos turned his eyes back on the road.