Famous Last Words

1ST NOVEMBER OF 1989: True Beauty

1ST NOVEMBER OF 1989: TRUE BEAUTY

Akala ko ang mag-asawang Wilson lang ang kasangkot ni Arwen sa plano niyang pagpasyal sa'kin, nang matapos niya kasi akong isayaw no'ng gabing iyon ay hindi ko inaasahang sasalubungin ako ng iba pang mga kaklase namin.

All of our classmates and mr. Wheeler appeared from nowhere and that's just when the real fun began. I definitely didn't see that coming, knowing the fact that I thought Arwen's plan was going to circulate from both of us alone with the Wilsons in the entire evening.

Speaking of mr. Wheeler, his presence was there because his intention too was to apologize to me for what had happened earlier that night which then I happily accepted.

Si Arwen ay inihatid namin sa kanila, hindi ko alam kung napagalitan ba siya o hindi dahil madaling araw na kaming nagsipag-uwian. Ako naman ay inalok pa muna ng mag-asawang Wilson na pansamamtalang mamalagi sa kanila, sa halip na pumayag ay tumanggi ako.

Sobrang nerbyos at tensyon ko nang makauwi sa bahay dahil sa mga antisipasyon ko patungo kay Michael at sa mga hindi malabong mangyaring gawin niya sa akin, pero nang madatnan si Jennifer na gising na gising at inaabangan ako ay naglaho ang pagkabahala ko.

Hindi umuwi si Michael. Madalas naman niyang gawin iyon, trabaho lang ang laging dahilan kay Jennifer kapag nakauwi na, pero halata namang may kabit siya dahil una palang ay hindi naman niya talaga mahal si Jennifer, sadiyang nabuntis lang niya ito at wala siyang kawala dahil makapangyarihan ang pamilya ni Jennifer.

When the morning came, it felt like it was the start of a new chapter of my life. I swore to myself to be more socially active and open to everybody in class and mrs. Wilson. I would take that as a stepping stone for me to expunge all of my scars inside and outside despite there's a prominent quotation that 'The axe forgets, the tree remembers'.

"You alright?" Tanong ko nang makarating sa kusina't madatnan si Jennifer na mukhang namimilipit habang nakahawak sa bar counter.

Umayos siya ng tayo bago nakaismid ang mga labing tumango-tango. "Y– yeah, it's just a cramp. It's basically a normal thing when you get pregnant."

I didn't utter a word, I went straight ahead to the table with my satchel and sat my ass down for breakfast.

"How was last night?" Jennifer slightly walks toward the microwave nearby, opens it, and pulls out a perfect slice of pie. "One of your classmates' mother, mrs. Feldman came here last night and brought me a cherry pie. You gotta try it though, it's so good! There's more in the fridge in case you're still hungry."

Hindi na ako umimik pa nang ilapag na kapagkuwan ni Jennifer ang platito sa harapan ko, the pie's smoking hot. Dinampot ko na ang kasamang kutsara at pinira-piraso na ang pie.

"So?" Malawak ang ngiting nilapagan din ako ni Jennifer ng isang basong fresh milk.

Napalabi ako habang ngumunguya saka lantang nagkibit-balikat. "Yeah, the pie's good."

"Not that, silly." She pulls a chair and sits closer to me, she then hangs her hands over my shoulder with an overwhelming excitement. "I'm asking about last night. I'm thrilled to hear everything, come on, enlighten me."

I quickly cast out my mind back to everything within the short moment of silence. "It was fun."

Humiwa ulit ako ng pie atsaka inihip-ihipan bago isinubo.

A short deafening silence passed by.

"T– that's it?" Hindi makapaniwalang tono ni Jennifer. Her hands over me loosened.

"Hm-m." I nodded nonchalantly. "Besides, some of my classmates were there too, it was pure fun. We went crazy last night and a little too far."

"Oh yeah?" Her hands tightened and twiddled in glee.