The following contest debate piece is based on Arirang TV's "Intelligence: High School Debate".
それはいいですね
I Like It
Isang munting ungol ang pinakawalan ni Suzanne nung magising s'ya sa inookupahan n'yang hotel room. Unti-unti s'yang umupo sa kanyang higaan at napatingin sa bintana kung saan nagsisimula nang sumilip ang sinag ng araw.
"Waah," hindi maiwasan ni Suzanne ang mamangha habang nakatingin sa cherry blossoms. Parang bata s'yang tumakbo palapit sa lilim nito para saluhin ang mga nahuhulog na petals mula sa cherry blossom tree.
Strings of giggles escaped on Suzanne's lips and her companion was silently watching her with warm eyes.
"Do you wanna take a picture?" napatingin agad s'ya kay Mark na ngayon ay nakatingala sa cherry blossoms.
Bahagyang napakamot ng ulo ulo si Suzanne. "Gusto ko sana kaso... walang camera ang cellphone ko eh. Hehehe."
"It's okay," nagkibit-balikat si Mark at agad kinuha ang kanyang cellphone. May kung anu-ano s'yang tinipa rito bago n'ya ito itinapat kay Suzanne. "I'll take a photo of your instead."
"Talaga?" agad nagliwanag ang buong mukha ni Suzanne. "Okay lang ba?"
"Yes," tumango si Mark bilang tugon. Ngumiti nang malapad si Suzanne sa binata at excited na excited s'yang nag-pose sa lilim ng cherry blossoms.
Mark chuckled silently as he snapped so many photos of Suzanne. "I'll e-mail this to you later."
"Okay," nakangiti parin nang malapad si Suzanne sa kanya at agad bumalik ang tingin nito sa cherry blossoms.
Napansin agad ni Mark ang dumapong petal sa buhok ni Suzanne kaya agad s'yang lumapit sa likuran ng dalaga para kunin ito. Saktong pagkakuha n'ya sa petal ay tumingala sa kanya si Suzanne.
Even if her face is upside-down on his sight, she still looks cute.
'Damn.'
"Bakit?" inosenteng tanong ni Suzanne sa kanya.
Agad s'yang tumikhim at pinakita kay Suzanne ang hawak n'yang petal. "Nasa buhok mo, kinuha ko lang."
Agad namang humarap sa kanya si Suzanne at inilahad ang kanyang palad kay Mark para tanggapin ang cherry blossom petal.
"Kahit papaano naman, may kabaitan pa rin talagang taglay ang mokong na 'yun," napatitig si Suzanne sa nag-iisang cherry blossom petal na binigay ni Mark sa kanya na nasa kanyang side table.
Hindi na n'ya maiwasang mapangiti.
"Kon'nichiwa Buriruyan'su ni yōkoso tībui de kōkaisareteiru kōkōsē tōron'kai. Hello and welcome to Brilliance, high school debate edition on TV. I am your host, Minatozaki Satomi," nakangiting nakatingin ang host ng nasabing patimpalak sa telebisyon ang host. "Have you heard about the three gates of speech? According to this old proverb 'your words should pass the three gates before you speak them out.' At the first gate, ask yourself: Is it true? At the second gate: Is it necessary? And at the third and final gate: Is it kind? Now I think this is not only applied to everyday speech but also in debating as well. So now, let's open the 22nd episode of Brilliance, the battle of minds, high school debate edition."
Mula sa labas ay rinig na rinig ni Suzanne ang palakpakan ng mga tao sa labas. Pero kumpara kanina, mas lalo pang ginapangan ng kaba ang buong sistema ni Suzanne kaya halos hindi s'ya mapirmi sa kanyang kinauupuan.
"What's wrong with you?" nakakunot-noong tanong ni Mark sa kanya.
Bahagyang napakagat ng ibabang labi si Suzanne at tinipa-tipa ang kanyang paa sa sahig. "Kinakabahan ako. First time ko lang ito gagawin, at lalabas pa tayo sa TV."
Bumuntong-hininga si Mark. "I told them that having you here is really not a good idea."
Tumingin agad si Suzanne sa kanya. "Aba talagang—"
"But it doesn't matter. I know you can do this," tumingin na rin s'ya sa dalaga. "And I trust you."
"La Orian Academy, on your cue. You gonna step up the studio," hindi pinansin ni Suzanne ang sinasabi ng TV Program staff at nanatili lang ang atensyon n'ya kay Mark. Si Mark na mismo ang nag-iwas ng tingin at naunang maglakad.
Kinapa ni Suzanne ang kanyang dibdib at sa mga sandaling iyon ay hindi n'ya alam kung ang nararamdaman n'ya ay dahil sa kaba o dahil sa sinabi ni Mark.
Ipinilig na lamang n'ya ang kanyang ulo at sumunod kay Mark.
"Without further ado, let's meet our students from different countries. The first batch to have their debate for this episode. Now students, your teams and sides will be chosen by draw lots. So each school, please step forward and choose your scrolls," hinarap ng host ang kinaroroonan ng mga contestants. "From South Korea, we have Seongnam Foreign High School, Kang Ji Hyun and Nam Seo Eun. Let's see what they have chosen... please show it on the camera... okay, they chose Opening Government."
"Next, from Japan. We have Tamashiro Aya and Matsunaga Naoki of International High School of Tokyo. Let's see what they have chose... they chose the Opening Opposition.
Next is from Canada, we have Scott Cowells and Aleesha Wesley from Augustus High School. They chose... Closing Government and last but not the least, from Philippines, we have Mark Andrew Gosiengfiao and Suzanne Matanguihan..."
Napatingin si Suzanne sa mga audience nung nakatoon ang mga atensyon nito kay Mark.
"Nee, sono senotakai otoko wa totemo hansamu de kūruda ne, ne?" (*Hey, that tall guy is so handsome and cool, right?)
"Soo dayo!"
"Kakkoi nee!"
"Kare wa totemo hansamu de segatakai!" (*He's so handsome and tall!)
"Kanashī koto ni, sono shōjo wa kare no supottoraito o dainashi ni shite imasu. Watashi wa kare no soba ni itai!" (*Sadly, that girl is ruining his spotlight. I wanna be beside him!)
Hindi n'ya mapigilang mapakunot ng noo. Ano bang pinagsasasabi ng mga 'to? Napatingin naman s'ya kay Mark. Pati ba naman dito pinagkakaguluhan s'ya? Tsk, tsk, tsk.
"That means, by the process of elimination, they are the closing opposition. Now students, please take your seats."
Agad namang pinakita ni Mark sa camera ang scroll na may nakatatak na closing opposition bago pumunta sa designated seats nila ni Suzanne.
Bago pa man makaupo si Suzanne ay palihim s'yang nilipat ni Mark ng upuan kaya agad s'yang napalingon dito.
"You're the member of the opposition. I'm the opposition whip," bulong ni Mark sa kanya.
Kumunot naman ang noo n'ya. "Ha? Bakit? Akala ko ba napag-usapan na nating ako ang opposition whip?"
Sa pagkakaalala ko kasi, mas madali ang opposition whip dahil 'yun ang parang summary ng debate.
Balak ba akong ipahiya ng kumag na ito kaya iniswitch n'ya ang mga posisyon namin?
"I have an idea and just trust me on this," sagot nito.
Lihim na lamang na napairap si Suzanne. "Okay. Sabi mo eh."
Nakakapagod din minsan makipag-away sa mokong na 'to edi sige, s'ya na bahala. Hindi naman siguro n'ya gagawin 'to kung ilalaglag n'ya kami.
At muntik ko nang makalimutang hindi pala tumatanggap ng pagkatalo ang isang Mark Andrew Gosiengfiao.
"So now students, you got your designated teams, let's meet your teams. From Korea, the opening government, we have Seongnam Foreign High School."
"Hello, we are the students from Seongnam Foreign High School in South Korea and we'll try our best to this season's debate."
"Thank you. Let's also have our students, the opening opposition, from International High School of Tokyo."
"Hello, we are the students from the International High School of Tokyo and we will do our best."
"Thank you. Let's also have our students, the closing government, from Augustus High School."
"Hello everyone, we are the students from Augustus High School in Canada and it's a great honor to us to participate in this debate and we'll do our best. Thank you."
"And lastly, we have our students, the closing opposition, from La Orian Academy."
"Hello—" natigilan si Mark nung marinig n'ya ang malakas na palakpakan ng madla at 'yung mga babaeng estudyante ay tila'y kinikilig pa habang ginagawa ito na agad ikinairap ni Suzanne sa kanyang isip. "ōen'arigatōgozaimasu. Thank you. We are the students from La Orian Academy from Philippines and we'll do our best to have a fair and logical debate," ngumiti pa si Mark at tumango bago muling pumalakpak ang madla.
"Kakkoi nee~"
Muling napairap sa isip si Suzanne. Nakakairita.
She didn't notice the amusement in Mark's eyes while looking at her uptight expression.
Ipinakilala naman ng host ang tatlong judges mula sa mga sikat na unibersidad maging ang kampyeon sa isang prestihiyosong patimpalak rin sa debate. Sinabi na rin n'ya ang mga guidelines at patakaran sa nasabing patimpalak.
"We also have our special judges, our fifty students from Fujioka Foreign Language High School. Hello and welcome to our show," pinahupa muna ng host ang palakpakan bago s'ya muling magsalita. "Our audience judges will show their support to the speaker using the green lights. If they agree with the speaker, they will turn their lights on and if they're not, they'll leave it off. The number of lights that the speaker got will be reflected to their final scores and the final results so please, make your decision carefully. All right, let's know now the motion for this episode's debate."
This House Believes That The Government Should Provide A Guaranteed Universal Basic Income.
"Woah, 'yan 'yung isa sa mga motion na pinag-aralan natin, 'di ba?" tanong ni Suzanne kay Mark habang nakatingin sa VCR kung saan pinakita ang nasabing motion ng debate ngunit wala s'yang nakuhang sagot sa binata kaya hindi na s'ya nag-abalang pansinin ito.
"As you saw just saw in the video, the concept of Universal Basic Income is about providing a fixed cash grant to every citizen regardless of their employment status or wealth. Let's see what our students have to say on the matter. First up is the Prime Minister. Please step forward to the podium," agad namang tumayo ang isa sa mga estudyante ng Seognam Foreign High School na si Kang Ji Hyun at lumapit sa podium. "Honorable judges, audiences, and the chairwoman of this debate, this is the Prime Minister of this house and this house believes that the government should provide Universal Basic Income. In 20xx, Finland started an economic experiment which provides 2,000 people a minimum income for two years. These randomly selected participants will continue receiving our money even if they got a job. This experiment is the largest experiment looking at happens when you give every citizen a Universal Basic Income. This policy gaining support around the world from Silicon Valley to India. Since the global financial crisis in 20xx, many experts view this UBI as the best way to solve economic inequality and promote the overall wealth of society. And this house believes that the government should provide a Universal Basic Income to every nation. Before we start, this speaker will declare the definition of UBI. UBI, also referred to a guaranteed income has a simple concept in order to ensure that every citizen can offer to meet their basic needs, the government provides every citizen with a set of amount of money on a regular basis enough to lift them above the poverty line...
To make it clear, what we are arguing is not about fully eliminating the gap between the rich and the poor. Our claim is the UBI will be an open door and an opportunity to the people who are trying to make a new start in life and the point is that they were starting to argue about the long-term benefit of this policy...
Therefore, the UBI system will become a route and a basic of the civil rights and moreover, highlight the basic standard of living of the society. To conclude, according to economical, humanitarian, and sociological evidences, this house is strongly believing that the government should provide Universal Basic Income to citizens and promote the well-being of society. Thank you."
"Wow, maganda naman pala ang motibo ng motion, 'yung UBI. At least, may makukuhang budget ang lahat ng mamamayan para sa mga pangangailangan nila. Mas mainam s'ya kaysa sa 4Ps," tumango-tango si Suzanne matapos n'yang marinig ang Prime Minister ng Opening Government.
"You got persuaded by her by the idea of the motion," napatingin s'ya kay Mark. "She really indeed a good speaker."
Ilang segundong natahimik si Suzanne at napakurap s'ya nung makuha n'ya ang ibig ipahiwatig ni Mark. "Gano'n ba 'yun?"
Mark almost snorted because of Suzanne's clueless expressions. "That's the purpose of debating. Not just mere arguing."
"Gaya ng madalas nating ginagawa sa klase. Hn."
"Pft. Baichi."
"Okay, so that's the Prime Minister arguing for the motion. So you're arguing that the government should provide Universal Basic Income. So, how persuasive whilst the Prime Minister, let's wind up please switch your lights on if you agree with the speaker and we will count how many lights have been switched on out of fifty..." ani host. "So we have 26 out of fifty. So half of the audience judges. That's great. Now, let's see if the leader of the opposition can persuade us in the opposite direction. Leader of the opposition, please step forward to the podium."
Agad namang tumayo ang isa sa mga estudyante ng International High School of Tokyo na si Matsunaga Naoki at lumapit sa podium. "We are not living in a utopia, ladies and gentlemen. We live in a reality that has many obstacles in life. Therefore, making this 'kind' and 'ideal' policies and like the given motion had, is hard, it's very hard to be realized. We, the opposition side, are here to prove this. As the leader of the opposition, I will present specific reasons that will prove that the UBI will do more harm than good to our society and point out the flaws in the arguments. First, I would like to point out what was wrong with their arguments. They said that this policy can overcome the economic gap between the poor and the rich and they said that this is the only best way that we can solve this problem. But we say that this is wrong because tackling and kind of solve the fundamental problems in our society that led to these kinds of crisis of the gap between the poor and the rich who says unemployment rates or the whole social structure and these societies kind of forcing the rich to become richer and poor people become poorer is something that should be solved and actually just saying that should give out UBI to people can solve all these complicated problems and actually just a prime elementary idea and therefore, is not realistic..."
"Halatang kabado s'ya dahil sa boses n'ya tapos medyo mabilis ang gestures n'ya pero maganda ang argumento n'ya dahil maiintindihan mo kumpara sa Prime Minister kanina. Okay lang naman na mabilis s'ya kaso binilisan n'ya masyado kaya kinakain na n'ya 'yung argumento n'ya," mahinang wika ni Suzanne. Sapat para marinig lang nilang dalawa ni Mark.
"You got now the technique?"
Ngumiti naman s'ya nang malapad dahilan para umangat ang sulok ng labi ni Mark.
Ilang argumento pa ang narinig nina Suzanne at abala naman s'ya sa pagte-take down ng mga points na tinatapon ng bawat team ngunit saglit s'yang natigilan nung mapansin n'yang walang ginagawa si Mark maliban sa pangangalumbaba.
"Huy, wala ka bang balak mag-take down ng points on information?" kunot-noong tanong ni Suzanne.
Mark looked at her in nonchalance. "What for?"
Suzanne chose not to answer. Instead, she mentally rolled her eyes and shook her head then focused on her paper again. Bahala s'ya sa buhay n'ya. Problema na n'ya kung wala s'yang magawang matinong argumento mamaya.
"All right, going in direct opposition is a member of the opposition. Let's see if she do a better job in persuading the audience."
Kaya mo ito, Suzanne! Huminga nang malalim si Suzanne para humugot nang lakas bago tumayo at lumapit sa podium. Pagkarinig n'ya sa beat ay tahimik s'yang tumikhim at nagsimula. "Mister Speaker, first of all, we are extremely glad to find that the government and the opposition side both have the same goal—the ultimate goal which is to achieve civil rights and happiness for every single citizen. However, second, the government's side has provided the model but the opposition today is kind of puzzled about why they chose a model in particular because we believe that that is more ineffective way of achieving the same goal that both the teams would like to pursue today. So basically, before moving on to our arguments, I would like to walk through the arguments presented by the government team today before going on. First of all, they provided a model that gets rid of all the pensions that exist today, for example, unemployment pensions and other kinds of social insurances and all of the social security for the things that are being received by people right now but instead, they would like to provide UBI. However, we believe that under this model, this will become ineffective in two perspectives—the monetary perspective and the civil rights perspective both of which were mentioned by the government side. So, first of all, in terms of monetary, they mentioned how this is better policy because they will be receiving fewer taxes from people and in the long run, people will be getting out of these pensions and there will be more productive members in the society. I would like to elaborate on this point later or in this argument but in regard to having more taxes, we would like to say that this will alleviate the entire society. We believe that this is not a very substantial in the amount of money that can make people graze to other ranks and go to another class to get a better job. But this is just the minimum amount like the government side was emphasizing in regards to the monetary policy. Therefore, we believe that the amount is not substantial enough to support these people to make any significant changes and therefore we believe that focusing on specific goals such as unemployment or health care is the much better solution that we have to pursue today in this society. Therefore, we believe that the model that they provided is very ineffective in terms of monetary..."
Ilang argumento at pagsagot sa isa o dalawang POIs ang ginawa ni Suzanne bago n'ya tinapos ang kanyang argumento at bumalik sa kanyang upuan.
"I really thought you'll gonna agree to the government side because of your opening speech," untag ni Mark.
Lihim naman s'yang pinanlakihan ng mga mata ni Suzanne pero agad ring bumuntong-hininga ang dalaga at nilagay ang mga kamay n'ya sa kanyang kandungan. "Naisip ko nga rin 'yan. Kinakain na kasi ako ng kaba kanina. Grabe, nanginig talaga tuhod ko kanina tas ang lamig ng kamay ko kahit nakahawak ako sa podium. Akala ko talaga hihimatayin ako kanina. Nanigas talaga ang kamay ko sa sobrang lamig kaya natakot akong gumalaw masyado kasi baka bigla nalang akong matumba o kaya manginig ang boses ko. Tapos 'yung argumento ko ewan ko kung ano'ng nangyari bakit hindi ako sumunod sa kopya ko. Feeling ko talaga pumalpak—"
Tahimik na napasinghap si Suzanne nung maramdaman n'ya ang mainit na kamay ni Mark na hinahawakan ang kamay n'ya sa ilalim ng mesang inuukupahan nila. Bahagya s'yang lumingon dito habang ito naman ay naka-focus lang sa harap.
"Stop being so fidgety and shut up, baby," anito sabay pangalumbaba habang nakatingin sa harap at pinapakinggan ang opposition whip ng kabilang panig. "You really did a good argument back there. Don't worry, you didn't fail."
Tahimik na lumunok ng laway si Suzanne at tumingin na lamang sa kanyang papel habang dama n'ya ang mainit na kamay ni Mark na nakahawak sa kanyang nanlalamig na kamay.
Para sa taong may sobrang lamig na personalidad, ang wirdo lang na may warm side s'ya.
May nararamdaman na namang kakaiba si Suzanne at hindi n'ya alam kung pagkabagabag ba ito dahil iniisip n'yang pumalpak s'ya o dahil hawak ni Mark ang kamay n'ya.
"All right, it's time for the last speaker of today's debate—the opposition whip. Please step forward to the podium."
Marahan namang binitawan ni Mark ang kamay ni Suzanne at tahimik na tumayo at lumapit sa podium. Napansin ng ibang audience na sa lahat ng nagsalita ay s'ya lang ang walang hawak na kopya pero nanatiling tikom ang bibig n'ya, maging ang host slash ang chairwoman.
"To our judges, the chair of this debate, to our audiences and both teams, this is the opposition whip and I am here to prove the many fallacies given by the government side. First and foremost, the Prime Minister has introduced us the case of Finland and ladies and gentlemen, where is Finland now? The Finland media called themselves 'hell-thinking' for their capital Helsinki—and beep—and that makes it so clear the Finland's experiment has failed and now the villains, like many other countries in Europe, their economy is in shambles and what the government side is proposing to you, everyone, is that they happily lead the nations into a failed experiment to a mistake. And thank you very much for that, for those absurd proposed in the first place."
Isang manghang ekspresyon ang makikita sa mukha ng mga naroon maging ang host ay manghang nakangiti rin kay Mark dahil sa dating ng birada nito sa debate. Masyadong intense ang birada ni Mark sa debateng ito na iisipin mong hindi s'yang ang opposition whip.
Hindi makapaniwala si Suzanne sa naririnig n'ya ngayon mula may Mark at parang tanga s'yang napatitig kay Mark. Paano n'ya nakuha lahat ng Point of Information na iyon eh hindi ko nga s'ya nakitang nagsulat ng kahit ano! Ni wala nga s'yang dalang kopya eh! Ano'ng utak meron s'ya?! S'ya ba 'yung nagnakaw ng nawawalang utak ni Albert Einstein?! Bakit ang tali-talino n'ya eh natulog lang s'ya kagabi habang nag-aaral ako! Anak ng teteng.
"And also, we agree with the government side that the fundamentals of the purpose of a nation are to safeguard our citizens and help them give us a sustainable economy. However, what the government side did not see is that we stand for equity, not equality. The government side, what they don't know, is that the government side will not give the resources, limited resources, the people in the creative need but rather they would give to everybody else and by that our opposition will give our money to the people in the greatest need will get the help of the government which successfully fulfills the role of the government. And now moving on to the refutes of the government, they have constantly attacked us for having 'no standard' between the rich and the poor now ladies and gentlemen, that is why we have specific policies for each case that is why a government's policy for housing, scholarship, clothing, everything else and who was it that said that they were going to abolish all the policies about it and just give the citizens a bit of cash? And that is why now who doesn't have the standard?" Mark slightly smirked, fortunately, not visible to the camera but Suzanne can see it. She can see that cunning smirk—which means, he'll going to win this. Tops. "We believe that we have the standard and the person who is destroying that standard is the government bench."
Suzanne could see the opposition whip and the Prime Minister of the government side clenching their jaws and having their cold stare towards Mark but the guy seems nonchalant about it.
"Point," napatingin agad si Mark sa opposition whip na si Scott Cowells ng closing government.
"Yes, sir?" kaswal n'yang tanong.
"Can you explain why you said that our motion and our bench will destroy the standard?"
Mark stared at him before roaming his eyes to the government side. "You will have protests right on our doorstep if you abolish those policies. You will not be able to take away the welfare if you look at Greece. If Greece was trying to make spending cuts, there were riots all over the country and that is what's going to happen in the nation if you're making spending cuts. So, to make it crystal clear that we will have to spend more money the nation's household credits or 1.3 quadrillion ladies and gentlemen and the Federal Reserve is implying that they will increase interest rates within this year. Meaning, that our burden for household credits will be ever high and the government side will still use more money for UBI and that leads to the fact that at the end of the day, what the government side is proposing you is the country with bankruptcy, no monetary safety and that just they abolished the responsibility of the state and nation that they have been emphasizing..."
Suzanne couldn't help but stare in awe with this tall jerk who's ruining her mood everyday who's now talking smartly in front of them and in front of the National TV or maybe, international TV.
Ayaw n'yang aminin pero masasabi n'yang worthy maging katunggali at kakampi ang isang Mark Andrew Gosiengfiao.
"Congratulations, kids. It's a job well done!" nakangiting wika ng kanilang coach habang hawak ang tropeyong napanalunan nila. Tama, ang opposition side ang nanalo sa patimpalak na iyon. "The school already knew that you won and they're so excited for your arrival—even though they expected that you'll win anyway."
"Miss Paulel!"
"Oh, Professor Ishikawa! Excuse me, kids, I'll just talk to him," paalam sa kanila ng kanilang coach at agad na itong nagtungo sa small circle ng teachers na naroon.
Agad sinapo ni Suzanne ang kanyang ulo. "Ang gusto ko lang gawin ngayon ay umuwi sa Pilipinas, umuwi sa bahay at matulog."
"You're such a busy-body that's why you got tired easily," Mark snorted at her.
Suzanne glared at him and was about to retort but someone shoved her away from Mark, almost falling in the process.
"Gosiengfiao-kun!" napatingin agad si Suzanne sa apat na babaeng estudyante mula sa Fujioka Foreign Language High School. Isa ang mga ito sa audience judges na hindi s'ya binigyan ng green lights kaya 41 lang ang nakuha n'yang puntos kumpara kay Mark na 48.
Kumunot ang noo n'ya sa mga ito at hinawakan ang braso n'ya. Naramdaman ko talaga na hindi ako tinulak eh. Hinila ako palayo kasi naramdaman ko 'yung kuko eh.
"Watashitachi wa anata no shashin o toru koto ga dekimasu ka? Hitotsudakedesu?" sabi ng isa, halatang nagpapa-cute. (*Can we take a picture of you? Just one?)
"Sono hōsōno ato anatawa totemo yūmēnanode watashitachiwa anatano shashin'o ichi baidake toru kikaio nogashitaku arimasen'," kinikilig na wika naman ng isa. (*You're so famous after that broadcast and we don't wanna miss this chance of taking just one photo of yours.)
Nanatiling blangko ang mukha ni Mark sa kanila bago dumako ang tingin n'ya kay Suzanne na sapo-sapo ang kanyang braso.
Muli s'yang tumingin sa apat na babae. "Ano saa, Oreno tomodachio oiharauyori kirēni shashin'o tanomukataga īdesuyo an'nani ran'bōni kanojoo oiharattanoni Oreni shashin'o tanomu yūkiga aruno? Gomen, omaeno konoyōna taidoniwa gaman'dekinai." (*You know, you can really ask a picture nicely than shoving my companion away. After rudely pushing her away like that you have the guts to ask a picture from me? I'm sorry, I can't tolerate this kind of attitude of yours.)
Halatang nasaktan at nakonsensya ang apat na babae sa sinabi ni Mark. Hindi na n'ya hinintay ang sasabihin ng mga ito ay lumapit na agad s'ya kay Suzanne at marahang hinawakan ang kamay nito at hinila papunta sa departure area kung saan tinatawag na sila ng kanilang coach.
"Ano palang sinabi nung apat na 'yun sa'yo?" masyado atang pribado 'yon para itulak ako nang gano'n.
"They just congratulated us, is all," sagot ni Mark.
"Talaga?" napatingin agad si Suzanne sa kanila at binalik muli kay Mark ang atensyon n'ya. "Sayang, 'di ako nakapag-thank you sa kanila."
"Pft. You don't have to," you don't have to thank those nasty brats.
"Hindi! Dapat mag-thank you ka kapag kino-congratulate ka ng tao!"
Nagkibit-balikat naman si Mark. "If you say so."
Pumiglas agad si Suzanne at nagdadabog s'yang na-unang maglakad habang nakahawak sa bag n'ya. "Ewan ko sa'yo Gosiengfiao! Wala kang manners!"
"Suzanne."
"Ano?!—" agad s'yang tumingala kay Mark at hindi n'ya inasahang yuyuko ito palapit sa mukha n'ya at dahil sa gulat ay hindi n'ya magawang iatras ang ulo n'ya para iwasan ang binata.
She saw Mark smiling at her. "You smell like cherry blossoms. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān."
I like it.