Gal
Staring at myself in the mirror, I take a deep breath.
Okay, Gal. Kaya mo 'to.
It's already 8am and I know any moment now, susunduin na ako ni Ike para sa date namin.
Shit. The mere thought of it sends shivers down my spine. It still sounds foreign to me.
"me" + "Ike" + "date" in one sentence? Brr.
When I read Ike's text yesterday, naramdaman ko talaga kung gaano siya kaseryoso sa sinabi niya. I tried to complain pero wala rin akong napala. Besides, he specifically said "no but's". Pero ang ipinagtataka ko lang, bakit biglang okay na lang sa kanya na gawin namin 'to? I mean, he sounds like he's about to kill me when he called me yesterday, right? Tapos ngayon...
I heard my phone beep. Agad kong kinuha 'yon just to see Ike's name on the screen.
> Im here outside
I sucked in my breath. Wow. This is really happening.
I looked at myself in the mirror once again. Sighing, I angled my head to the right as I took in my appearance.
I'm actually just in my white and mustard yellow striped dress, paired with white shoes and a coffee brown sling bag. Yep. My usual gala outfit.
Ugh. I suck. This is my 'first ever date' with my 'first ever boyfriend' and I don't even know what proper clothes to wear.
Tsk. Wala naman kasi akong ideya sa mga bagay na 'to, e. I don't have a lot of dresses but I would have wore something... great. If only I didn't decide against it. Kasi naisip ko, "It's just Ike,". Nakasama ko na siya sa mga lakad before so this is nothing special. Hindi ko na kailangang mag-prepare ng husto... right?
My phone beeped once more. Another text.
> Gal im not rlly a very patient boyfriend kaya lumabas ka na
Typical bastard.
Umirap ako sa kawalan bago nagreply.
> Whatever. oo na lalabas na
At 'yon nga ang ginawa ko. Pagkalabas ko ng bahay nakita ko agad ang sasakyan ni Ike na naka-park sa harap. Hindi ko siya makita sa loob dahil tinted 'to. Ewan ko pero bigla akong kinabahan.
Una namin 'tong pagkikita after a few months. The last time we saw each other was on Tresh's birthday last February.
More and more, my heart pounded faster.
Gosh, Gal. Calm down. It's just Ike. It's just Ike.
Paulit-ulit ko 'yong sinabi sa isipan ko habang naglalakad palapit sa kotse niya. When I reached his white sedan, I immediately opened the door and hopped in. Oo. Ganoon talaga dahil hindi man lang nag-abala si Ike na lumabas para pagbuksan ako ng pinto. Tss.
Walang pag-aalinlangang humarap ako sa kanya gamit ang blankong ekspresyon. Napadaan ang tingin ko sa katawan niya saglit bago bumaling ulit sa kaniyang mukha.
Okay, honestly? He looks good today. Well, he looks good everyday naman talaga.
Today, he's wearing a white polo shirt that perfectly hugs his well-defined body. Naka-itim na maong shorts naman siya sa ibaba.
I noticed his chiseled chest under the shirt and some muscles on his biceps, too. Somehow, it kinda served like a sign that he goes to the gym every week.
Ewan ko ba. Hindi naman ganito kaganda ang katawan niya noong nagka-"something" kami, e. I don't know when he started working out pero it did him well, clearly. Pero hindi naman siya ganoon ka-masculado. Saktong muscles lang for a 23-year-old guy. Plus, his natural light brown complexion makes him give off this 'tall-dark-and-handsome" kind of vibe. He looks more mature now at hindi ko mapagkakaila na mas gumwapo siya ngayon.
He's already looking at me when I faced him. His brown eyes met mine. Hindi ko maiwasang i-examine ang kaniyang buong mukha. He looks really different from the guy I had a "thing" with back in high school. His dark brows remained the same, and his pointed nose as well. But his jaws are much more prominent now and some stubbles are quite evident on his face. His black wavy hair grew longer compared to the last time I saw it. Some of it falls just a little above his forehead.
"What? You're not going to give your boyfriend a hug?" he drew me out of my trance. I don't even realize I'm staring at him for too long. Hearing his deep voice in person is way, way different than hearing it on the phone.
Tinampal ko siya sa braso dahil sa inis.
"Tanga, hindi pa start!" sabi ko na siya namang nagpataas sa isa niyang kilay.
"It's already 8am, Gal. Kung hindi mo alam, nags-start ang 24 hours during 12 midnight so kanina pa nag-umpisa ang challenge natin," he explained.
Labis akong nairita sa sinabi niya.
"Oh, come on, Ike. This is my first time to have a boyfriend at nag promise ako sa sarili ko na dapat special ang first relationship ko kaya pwede ba? At least give me a damn proposal!" I said, irritated.
Okay, when I said we are 'friends', I meant we are casual friends. Chill friends. But now, I don't know what changed. We're suddenly back with the banters and sarcastic remarks. It's like SHS days all over again. Siguro dahil first time namin magkasama na kami lang? Kasi these past years, hindi naman kami gumagala nang hindi kasama ang barkada.
Imbes na mainis rin, he just gave me an amused look.
"A proposal?" sabi niya na medyo natatawa. Umirap ako bago sumagot.
"Oo! 'Tsaka teka nga," giit ko nang may bagay akong napagtanto. "Why are we doing this stupid challenge, anyway?"
Now, it's his turn to raise a brow.
"You really don't remember, do you?" he asked and fished out his phone from his pocket. May pinindot siya doon. "Here. Allow me to remind you, Galeley."
Napakunot ang noo ko sa sinabi niya. Ngunit kalaunan, nakuha ko rin kung bakit.
"I said, I'm doing the fucking challenge! Magiging girlfriend ako ni Ike Sonja Claveria sa loob ng isang araw! I'm going to be Ike's girlfriend. You hear that? You hear that, Ike?"
My loud voice blasted from Ike's phone and I don't know if I widened my eyes in horror because of the voice record or because of the fact that my voice sounded so horrible!
Namimilog pa rin ang mga mata ko habang siya naman ay tinitingnan ako na parang naghihintay ng sagot.
Bahagya akong nainis.
"Ugh, that's not what I meant!" I said in frustration. "Naaalala ko naman na ang mga nangyari kagabi kaya hindi mo na kailangang iparinig sa'kin 'yan."
I made a mental note to strangle Tresh until he dies after we're done with this. Bwisit na 'yon. Sinend pa talaga kay Ike, e!
Ike gave me a puzzled look. I sighed.
"What I mean is, pwede ka namang humindi kay Tresh, 'di ba? Kaya bakit pa natin gagawin 'to?"
That's my so called 'idea' yesterday. Sinubukan 'kong sabihin 'yon sa kanya kahapon pero he kept on saying na hindi niya 'yon magagawa. Pero hindi niya naman sinabi kung bakit kaya ngayong nag-uusap na kami ng harap-harapan, tinanong ko siya ulit. This time, sigurado na ako na sasagutin niya na ang tanong.
He slowly nods his head to show me that he gets my point. However, he wore a wincing expression.
"Yeah, well... about that." he trailed off. May pag-aalinlangan sa boses niya. "You see... Tresh threatened me about..."
My forehead creased. Unti-unti akong naaasar dahil hindi niya pa masabi ng diretso ang kung ano man yung rason niya.
"He... I mean, he threatened to tell you about..."
Ang sama na ng tingin ko sa kanya habang naghihintay. And to my surprise, he suddenly let out a groan as he brushed his hand through his hair. He looked straight ahead for a moment before looking back at me with an annoyed expression.
"You know what? Screw it. Let's just get this over with," aniya at umaktong paaandarin na ang kotse. My mouth hung open as I looked at him in disbelief. Wow. Tahimik akong naghintay sa kung ano man yung balak niyang sabihin tapos ngayon hindi niya itutuloy?
Tinampal ko uli ang braso niya. "Hoy! Ano yung sasabihin mo? Ba't di mo tinuloy?"
He just met my gaze with the same annoyed face. "Wala, okay? Wala 'yon. Kaya tara na, tapusin na lang natin 'to."
My eyes narrowed into slits as I sat properly with my arms crossed. Hindi na lang ako nakipagtalo pa dahil siguradong mapupunta lang sa wala ang energy ko.
Nang naramdaman ko ang pag andar ng kotse, may naisip ako bigla. Kaya naman umupo agad ako ng matuwid.
"Wait!"
tumigil ang makina at bahagya siyang napatingin sa'kin. He gave me a death glare. Sus. Ito naman. Ba't parang atat na atat 'to na umalis kami? Nagmamadali?
I rolled my eyes and began to talk. "Tayong dalawa lang naman ang nandito ngayon. Why don't we..." I gave off an evil smile. Mukhang nakuha niya ang gusto kong ipahiwatig at labis akong nagtaka nang may kinuha siyang video recorder mula sa dashboard.
"THAT'S why we have THIS," he gestured at the video cam. "Inutusan ako ni Tresh to record some snippets of our date. It will serve as proof na magkasama nga tayo at ginawa nga natin yung challenge."
Napanganga ako. Naisip ni Tresh 'yun?!
Parang gusto kong maiyak. Talagang pinag-isipan niya 'to ng mabuti, ah. Sinigurado niya talaga na wala kaming kawala ni Ike. Leche.
Ibinalik niya ang video recorder sa dashboard.
"Kaya naman, Gal, we really don't have much choice but to get this done. Gawin na lang natin 'to para matapos na," sabi niya at tuluyang humarap sa steering wheel. He sounds quite defeated.
Iniwas ko ang tingin ko at umayos din ng upo. Gaya niya, nararamdaman ko na rin ang kawalan ng pag-asa. I sighed.
He's right. We don't have a way out of this unless we do it.
I breathed in as I finally made up my mind.
"Okay, then." sabi ko at tumango-tango. "But, if we're going to do this, we need to have some ground rules."
Napatingin siya sa'kin.
"Ground rules?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
I rolled my eyes again.
"Duh? Oo nga't 'mag-jowa' tayo today pero pretend lang naman 'to, 'di ba? Kaya kailangan nating pag-usapan kung ano ang gagawin natin at kung hanggang saan lang dapat."
I heard him snort.
"Okay, okay, whatever," he answered. "But before that, sabihin mo muna sa'kin kung ano ang plano natin ngayong araw," he threw me a glance. "What do you want to do?"
I paused for a second. I don't know but something about his question made me realize how much serious this is and how we're really getting on with this. Unti-unti kong nare-realize na totoo talaga 'tong nangyayari sa amin.
Tiningnan niya ulit ako, halatang naghihintay ng sagot.
"I-ikaw bahala. K-kahit ano."
Shit, bakit ako nauutal?!
I cursed myself in my head. Pati sa date, wala pa rin akong kwentang kausap. Bakit ko sinabi na siya na ang bahala? I mean, I could've just answered him with something like, "Gusto kong mag-mall," or "Mag-stroll tayo sa park" or any of those usual shit na ginagawa sa isang date! Though hindi ko naman talaga feel gawin ang mga 'yon ngayon. Masyado akong hindi makapaniwala sa sitwasyon naming 'to kaya naman I just feel like sulking today.
I heard him take a breath. And then he turned silent for a few seconds. Diretso lang ang tingin niya sa harap. Yun din ang ginawa ko.
Hindi ko alam kung nag-iisip ba siya o talagang wala lang siyang masabi.
A few seconds more and he talked.
"Is a lazy date still your thing?"
Napatingin agad ako sa kanya. For some reason, my heart throbbed.
He remembers?
Well, it was five years ago. Nagulat lang ako na naaalala niya pa pala ang mga maliliit na bagay katulad no'n.
Dahan-dahan akong tumango, hindi alam kung ano ang dapat sabihin. His lips protruded as he looked away. Akala ko papaandarin niya na ulit ang kotse para tuluyan na kaming makaalis, pero sa halip ay ibinalik niya ang tingin sa akin.
"Before we start, may itatanong muna ako," sabi niya na siya namang nagpakunot ng noo ko. He even held my hand.
"Ike—" I attempted to complain but he cut me off.
"Shh. Let me ask you this first."
O—kay?
Wala naman na akong nagawa kaya hinintay ko na lang siyang magtanong. I gave him a 'I'm-waiting' look as a smile slowly crept on his lips.
"Be my girl?"