For Jinnie -- i always enjoy reading your comments; they inspire me to write some more :)
***
I received two more notes this day. The other note, which I found again slipped inside the pages of my book, said:
"Your hair is as soft as the silk spun of gold...
Your lips are as crimson as a blood red rose..."
The other one went like this:
"Your smile captured my soul...
Your touch gave warmth to a night so cold..."
The last note was handed to me by a ten year old boy from the elementary department of our school. The kid would not give me the description of the guy who asked him to deliver the note.
"I promised him I will never reveal his secret," the kid answered me.
I tried bribing him with a fifty peso bill. The boy gave me a frown and said, "Bribery is bad."
And so I felt ashamed of what I did and just allowed the boy to go.
I went out of the campus to grab some coffee since I still felt sleepy this morning. I spent my evening reviewing for the mid-terms this week. And thankfully, Mer decided to drop the Mystery Man hunting for a while, just until the mid-term exams end.
I used the alley beside the school as a short cut and that was where I saw Franco being held by two guys while another one thrust a fist on his stomach.
I didn't know what came over me --I suddenly shouted "hey!" with a clear intention of saving Franco from getting beaten to death by possibly a rival gang member, when the group's leader cried an order "get her!" I know, I know. That wasn't a very smart move on my part.
The two guys dropped Franco's arm and was about to go after me when suddenly I saw Franco swung his arms towards his assailant and delivered a very nasty jab on his face. He then shoved the two guys out of his way and ran towards me. Grabbing my wrists, he tugged me along and we sprinted to a run.
We ran for I had no idea how long. I just allowed him to lead the way as we turned to a corner and ran towards an abandoned building. We went inside and stopped, both of us trying to catch our breath. And I realized he was still holding my hand. My hand! And there's that weird electric current on my arm again. Oh god, why did electricity suddenly felt good? It felt as if my skin was alive. And on fire. Was I making any sense?
Not letting go of my hand, he gave it a light tug and said, "This way."
We walked further inside, passing along a hallway until we reached a large hall. As we stepped inside the hall, I let out a gasp. The walls of the room were covered with murals --landscapes, abstracts, you name it and it's painted on the wall.
"Wow." I couldn't let my amazement escape from my mouth. "This is incredible. Do you know who painted these?" I approached the wall and touched a picture of a mountain.
"I did," he answered gruffly.
I snapped my head at him, my face clearly showed I did not believe him. He might have noticed my disbelief because of the frown he gave me, so I schooled my facial expression. "You're good."
"Thanks." It seemed he was really not used to hearing someone giving him compliments for he avoided my gaze. He rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. "I'd really appreciate it if you'll keep this a secret."
"But why? Other people should see this. You have talent!"
"Because Franco the gang member and Franco the painter are really two different people," he answered. "Besides, no one will believe you."
I remembered our conversation at the coffee shop. Somehow, now I understood what he meant by his questions. "You should not think too much on what other people might say about you and your talent. I can see that you really love to paint and draw. If you care too much about what other people might think, then you will never be happy."
"They say painting is just a waste of time."
"They?"
"My dad."
"Well, I'm sure if you showed him your murals, I bet he would understand. In fact I think he would be proud of you and your works." I gave him an encouraging smile. "You're really good at this. And you not painting is a waste of God-given talent."
He gave me a lopsided-grin that suddenly gave my heart arrhythmias. "You're a bad influence, Ice Cream Girl."
I giggled. "Nobody ever said that to me before. Usually my friends say I am dependable."
"You're cool," he said. "I think I like you."
That was the second time I heard him say that. But he sounded casual. Too casual. Should I put any meaning to what he said? Oh no, I blushed.
He suddenly turned towards the exit. "C'mon. I think its safe outside. I'll walk you to school."
I followed behind him. I could not let him see the smile spread across my face.
***
"You've been losing weight, Ky."
"Oh you think so, Ry?"
"Yeah. You're looking good. But you know, you always look good, Ky."
"You are such a friend, Ry!" I said followed by a chuckle. "Maybe it's because of those salads you've been giving me for lunch at school? I think it helped me to lose some pounds."
Ever since I told him that I liked the Caesar salad he had given me before, he started supplying my every lunch with salads or salad wrap. Again, I saved lunch money, and avoided eating my used-to-be-favorite dish: Pork adobo with rice for lunch. Mom and I really liked eating authentic Filipino cuisine, which was the reason why our small restaurant offered different variety of Filipino food with a twist. Our Favorite was pork adobo with coconut milk.
"Well, glad to be of service," he said.
It was a Saturday morning, and our exams finished yesterday. Ryan woke me up as early as six and hauled me out of bed to accompany him to jog at the oval inside the Grand Stand which was located near our school.
It felt good, actually, to feel the morning sun touching my cheeks and feeling the sweat dripping from my forehead. Disgusting, I know, those sweats that is. But I imagined them as "fats burning" and it encouraged me to just keep on jogging.
"We should do this more often, Ry," I suggested.
"Sure. I'm free Wednesday morning."
"Yeah, okay. Wednesday it is."
"Cool. So it's a date then."
"Yeah. It's a date." Then I remembered what Mer had said about Luke feeling threatened with my closeness to Ryan. What if Olivia felt the same way? "Uhm, Ry. Do you think it'll be okay with Olivia if you and I still hang out like this? I mean, wouldn't she be jealous or something?"
Ryan shook his head as he wiped the sweat of his brow with his forearm. "Nah. Olivia's cool about it. Nothing to worry. Why you ask?"
"It's something that Mer told me. Luke asked me about you, and Mer said he probably feel threatened. Anyway, I know it's stupid and it's nothing. But you know Mer --she has this crazy idea that Luke might be jealous."
Ryan looked to be pondering on his thoughts before he looked at me in the eye. "So you and Mer think he's the Mystery Man?"
"What? Oh, no. not yet. He's one of the candidates, though."
"And who are the others?" Ryan asked as we made our way towards the bleachers.
I sat on the first surface while he settled on the one above me. "Franco and Mark."
"Franco? The Franco Soriano? The gangster Franco?" he asked incredulously.
He was directly behind me so I craned my neck and looked over my shoulder. "Why do you act so surprise? Bad boys could be my type, you know?"
He opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to me. "Okay, if you're really into leather-wearin', summer lovin' guys."
I rolled my eyes before I took a swig of my water. He just had to mention Grease. Why couldn't he just let it go? It was just one time when I drooled over John Travolta singing Summer Nights. "You and the rest of our generation have no respect over the utter coolness of Grease."
He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pulled my back towards him and started massaging my shoulders. "And Mark Cruz? Have you forgotten I picked a fight with him for making you cry? I lost my front tooth when he punched me in the face."
"That was long time ago. And you exaggerate --you did not lose a tooth. Besides, people change. Mark seemed to be a nice guy. We've been exchanging text messages now. A little to the left please."
He placed a slight pressure on my left shoulder. "He still calls you Dumbo."
"His name of endearment for me," I joked. "You worry too much over me. I thought you and Mer wanted to prove that the curse is not real?"
"Yes. But I just don't want to see you get hurt."
I twisted and faced him. Placing my hand on his knee, I said, "I will get hurt, eventually, if the curse is real. But everyone will experience getting hurt from time to time. I just need to suck it up when that time comes. Don't worry, I'm a tough girl now."
He gave me a small smile. "You know I'm always here for you, Ky, right?"
"Yes, I know, Ry. And I'm glad you're always here beside me."