H. J. Dipasupil, eleventh grade
Harvey woke up in an instant on that Monday morning. It was the "next week" his professor was talking about and he was more than ecstatic to see Badjao again. His grin never left his face.
"Aba, maganda ata gising ni Jerome, ah." Mr. Dipasupil remarked laughingly once he saw his son practically skip to give him a kiss. "What's the occasion?"
"Wala naman po." Harvey shrugged, planting a kiss on his mother's cheek. "Sadyang masaya lang po 'tong araw na 'to."
"Hindi ito 'nothing' anak," Mrs. Dipasupil added, using air quotes, "ano ba nangyayari?" the eldest son opened his mouth to say something when a shrill shriek was heard from the stairs. It came from Sadie, who was grabbing on to the railings dramatically.
"Oh my God! Nananaginip ba 'ko?" Kuya Harvey? Gumising ng maaga?" she exclaimed, exaggeratingly. "Is this the apocalypse? No, no. 'Di pa 'ko ready mamatay! This is-"
"Bunso." Mr. Dipasupil reprimanded. "Kalma. Hindi pa katapusan ng mundo. Now come down. We need to be presentable pag dumating ang Ate Bev mo." Sadie nodded and proceeded to go down to the dining table.
"She'll be so shocked." Harvey mused as he was getting rice. "I can't wait to see the look on her face once ako ang nagbukas ng pinto and go like "surprise" with matching jazz-hands."
He was about to grab some tocino when a knock has heard on the door.
"Buksan mo pinto, 'nak." Mrs. Dipasupil absentmindedly ordered, recieving a snort from both Harvey and Sadie.
"Ma, dalawa po anak niyo." the two said in unison, in between chuckles. Their mother raised her eyes at Harvey and he didn't hesitate to run to the door.
"Hey Bever-" were the only decipherable words that came out of his mouth before a shrill shriek elicited his lips. Rushed footsteps were heard from behind, followed by a disappointed yet relieved sigh from Mr. Dipasupil.
"Surprise?" Badjao greeted, wagging his hands and donning a forced grin masking the tone that means "I fucked up real bad".
---
"Tito, Tita, I'm so sorry, dapat 'di pala po ako pumunta." he apologized, poking his tocino with a fork.
"Oh no, Gab," Mrs. Dipasupil said, grinning, "'Di dapat ikaw 'yung mag-sorry sa'min. Si Harvey ang dapat mag-sorry sa kanyang behavior kanina."
"Hala, Tita 'wag na. May reason naman kung bakit po gulat na gulat siya."
"Yes I do!" Harvey chimed in, raising his spoon. Mrs. Dipasupil lightly nudged his knee with hers. "Sorry po."
At first, Harvey was scared of leaving Badjao alone with his parents who always had a dozen of questions prepared for every unknown classmate who step foot inside their house, but luckily, the Dipasupil couple was preoccupied with some early morning paperwork, making Harvey feel at ease.
Soon enough, the two boys were walking alongside each other, an awkward silence engulfing both of them.
"So," Harvey begun, slipping his hands on his pockets, "kamusta 'yung Battle of the Bands?" he saw Badjao's eyes light up.
"Ayos!" he beamed. "Sinubukan namin na mag-perform ng original na kanta. Sabi nila baka 'di raw mag-click sa mga judges 'yung kanta, pero nanalo pa rin kami. Second place, baby!"
"Congrats! I'm sure pang first place 'yung performance niyo, biased lang 'yung judge." the two shared a hearty laugh before Badjao's arm made its way on top of Harvey's shoulders. The latter's cheeks went red from the contact.
"Look, sorry kung naging MIA ako since nagsimula ang practice. Kailangan ko kasing mag-focus for the band."
"I completely understand that." Badjao breathed deeply.
"Alam mo, pinagsisisihan ko na 'di kita inanyayahan man lang. I would have been more insipired dahil miss kita. As in. Miss na miss kita for the past few weeks."
Harvey felt a surge of butterflies burst in his stomach. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He missed him.
Kinuha nga talaga ako ni Lord 'nung pumunta kami sa Jollibee. Nasa heaven na ako myghad. he thought to himself, grinning.
"Namiss din kita. Sobra." he added, holding Badjao's hand that was hanging from his shoulders.
They resumed to walk in silence, now a comfortable one, and it wasn't long until they reached the school grounds, to be greeted by a smiling Bev.
"Oh, hi Bev!" Harvey greeted his bestfriend (who he totally forgot because he was in a state of euphoria half an hour ago). She leaned in near Harvey's ear and whispered,
"Tell me everything later." she then recoiled from his ear, gave Badjao a smile and ran off.
"Well, I guess, tara na sa classroom?" Badjao nodded as he lead the way towards their first class.
Their first class was Arts and Crystal's jaw was on the floor once she saw the two boys come inside, and she didn't hesitate to sit on the empty seat beside Harvey.
"What was that?" she breathed out, her eyes going back and forth to him and Badjao, who is minding his own business in his seat. "What happened, Harv? Tell me everything I have the whole day."
"Well, sinubukan akong i-surprise ni Badjao. But medyo pumped ako dahil babalik na siya ngayon at 'di ko talaga ineexpect nasusulpot siya bahay ko." the boy explained quietly.
"Medyo lang?"
"Okay, sobra. But that's not the point! Sa sobrang pagka-excite ko, napatili ako 'nung binuksan ko 'yung pinto at akala tuloy ng pamilya ko kung ano nangyari sa'kin kanina." Crystal let out a loud snort, making Harvey laugh.
"But, how are you feeling na bumalik na siya? I mean, hinihintay mo 'tong araw na 'to for a whole month."
"I feel at peace, honestly. Kalmado, you know, the good stuff."
"Good morning class! Today we will start the project!" the MAPEH teacher shouted from the doorway, a big smile on his face. Badjao's hand shot up in the air. "Mister De Castro."
"What project, sir?" he queried.
"What project? Of course the project wherein you kids are going to take a picture of something or someone that depicts peace and it will be passed next month." Another hand shot up in the air. "Miss Topacio."
"'Di po ba kayo papasok, sir?" A series of chuckles spread throughout the class, to which was brought to a halt by the teacher giving them the stink-eye while walking towards the board.
"Happy now, Miss Topacio?" he asked sarcastically. Topacio muttered a "yes" but he didn't hear it. "Okay, I will be announcing the groups and you are instructed to stand up once you are called."
"Jobli, the leader." Harvey felt Crystal swiftly stand up beside him.
"Dipasupil." he stared at the teacher for a second until he registered that he was the one being called. He gave Crystal a high-five.
"And lastly, Balajadia." a girl from the row behind them. "I suppose you two will give her a high-five too." the girl gave them a small smile.
"Now go to your group and discuss." both Harvey and Crystal turned around to face the girl.
"I'm sure na 'di niyo ako masyadong kilala kasi Arts lang ang same subject na'tin." she said as she outstretched her hand. "So, I'm Aimee. Aimee Balajadia." Crystal was the first one to shake her hand.
"Crystal Jobli." she said, giving Aimee a grin.
"Harvey Dipasupil." Harvey spoke up, reaching to shake Aimee's hand. "It's nice to meet you." she smiled at him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Harvey."
( author's note! )
okay so yung relationship nina crys at harv ay parang sina rosa at jake (from brooklyn nine-nine if you didn't know)
also sorry dahil medyo late at sobrang sabog ng update ko HAHAHAHAAH
nag-binge watch kasi ng b99 HAHAHAHAH