"Ano 'yan? Suhol? If you want to bribe me you can do better than that."
I put the parcel at the top of the table. I grab Denise's hand and pull her to sit beside me. "Sorry na nga. Hindi naman 'yan suhol, it's more of a peace offering."
She push my face away and rolled her eyes. Umupo na rin siya ng maayos sa tabi ko. "Why are you so upset with Kuya Iros? Ang bait naman niya. When I called him yesterday na wala ka to support me he immediately came to my school," sabi niya habang binubuksan ang parcel.
"Usapang matanda, Denise. You will not gonna understand."
I mirror her smile after she saw the art materials. "Try me. Si Kuya Iros nga naglalabas ng sama ng loob sa akin. He told me he really does love you and he mess up big time. Sabi rin niya nasasaktan siya kasi it seems that you already moved on from him."
She put the materials aside before looking at me na parang inaantay niya ang reaksyon ko.
"Nahuli ko siya with some other girl. And he did many things that made me confuse and hurt."
"But Kuya Iros told me that Remi is just his friend. Nagkataon lang, you misunderstood things and he lied telling you he didn't care. Natakot daw siya with his feelings. He is scared to love lalo at ikaw pa but he also said it made him crazy letting you go. Wala raw araw na hindi ka niya naisip."
She's being Iros' spokeperson. Ayaw ko na rin makipagtalo kaya tumango nalang ako at sumandal. I close my eyes. "I really don't know what to believe, Den. Too many confusing things happened, and I was hurt badly."
"I will not gonna say it's the right thing to do but you know giving Kuya Iros the second chance will give you a peace of mind, ate."
Napamulat ako at niyakap ko siya kaagad. This is the first time she called me ate like she really mean it. Maybe Iros is a good influence to her somehow.
It's Friday at walang pasok si Denise kaya hindi na rin ako pumasok for us to have a girls day out. Pero nang makarating na kami sa mall ay sinalubong kami ni Iros, napataas ang kilay ko pero hindi na ako nagulat.
He's leaving in three days kaya gusto ko rin pagbigyan si Denise, he's like her big brother.
"Saan niyo gusto?"
Kumapit si Denise sa braso niya tsaka hinila rin ako palapit. Napapagitnaan namin siya ni Iros. "Pwede bang magbati muna kayo, para sa akin?" lambing niya.
"Gusto ko naman, ewan ko lang sa ate mo."
Denise lean her head on my shoulder at lalo akong niyakap gamit ang isang kamay. "Please, ate?"
I sigh. "Fine, just today."
Kumain muna kami bago pumunta sa arcade. I thought I won't gonna enjoy it but I caught myself laughing hard with the two of them.
"God, my arms are hurting," I complain after few rounds shooting the balls
Pinagtatawanan nila akong dalawa dahil kahit isa wala akong naipasok.
"Let's play a different game," hinila ko silang dalawa papunta sa alam kong laruin.
We played everything sa arcade, and it's either Denise is winning or Iros. Nakanguso lang ako sa isang tabi nang nagclaim sila ng prize. Denise got a very cute bracelet at si Iros naman ay kumuha ng purple bear.
"Sayo na. Baka tuluyang humaba ang nguso mo diyan."
I was about to get the bear nang maalala ko ang hidden camera na nilagay sa bear na niregalo sa akin ng stalker. Napaatras ako. "Please, put that away from me." I almost lost my voice saying those words.
