DIARY OF VALERIA - THE WRATH OF GAKUD

Chapter 7 - It's Definitely a Date

It was Sunday and the Avenue was quiet with the absence of the regular clamoring of students from the University. The weather was quite balmy and I inhaled as the gust of wind brushed my face the moment I stepped out of the building.

"Oh summer, you'll make my life a living hell." I murmured to myself.

The restaurants and coffee-shops weren't full, even the neighborhood tea-house was empty. People were at Churches or probably at the Malls. What could I say? The dichotomy of the extremely religious and the what-the-fucks. Martin decided to come to my side of town instead of meeting halfway. I told him it wasn't fair to him but in his defense, he told me he had a car so he could drive. I said ok! Good news for me because I didn't have to pay for Grab. I gave him the address and met him at Katsu Café along Gonzales Street near Café Xocolat.

The place was small and simple. It was situated on the side of the road with a small space for parking in front of the restaurant. It was a glass windowed restaurant with a good view of the street offering authentic Japanese food. On the other side was a convenient-store, a barbershop and a female dormitory. I chose a table beside the glass wall so I could watch what was going on outside. Martin texted that he was on his way so I decided to be there on time so I could browse the menu in advance. When Martin arrived I was already famished. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt with the words "Love Not Hate" printed boldly at the front.

"What a statement." I mumbled as I watched him lock the car and walked towards the restaurant with a big smile on his face. This isn't a date, I thought. I convinced myself that we were just hanging out like normal friends do and telling myself to calm down. I looked up at him and smiled, trying to hide the anxiousness in my face. He grinned as he approached and pulled the chair opposite me and sat.

"Hey what's up?" He said.

"Hi! It's nice to see you again." I blurted and my pitch seemed higher signifying how nervous I was.

"Same here. I'm really glad you invited me here."

"You weren't lost?"

"Nah, waze helped me find it." He said, wiggling his brows. "I'm here on time aren't I?"

"Yeah." I said, trying to relax. His eyes lingered and I held his gaze but I didn't want to have an awkward silence between us so I backed down and offered him the menu.

"Let's order?"

"Sure." He said, taking the menu from my hand.

I got myself a Katsudon while Martin wanted to try the sushi. We also ordered soup and tea on the side. When the waiter left there was just the two of us awkwardly smiling at each other; waiting for the other to talk first. I cleared my voice and decided to break the ice.

"I didn't tell Mitch that you're coming." I said.

"Yeah? I didn't see her as the jealous type." He teased me.

"Oh no not like that." I laughed. "So how are you?"

Spending time with Martin alone was something I had never experienced before. He was easy to be with and he seemed like the person that you could talk about mostly anything. From sports, politics, books, movies or just merely the silly stuff about our lives. He was excited to know that I co-owned a blog and that I wrote about certain events in history. He said he also enjoyed history and we went on talking about our national heroes' reaction regarding social media and their opinions about the new generation called the millennials.

Hours flew by and the next thing I knew it was already late in the afternoon. I noticed this because the people that were walking outside doubled and the young ones were out with their friends enjoying the rest of the afternoon in the Avenue. Martin found me staring outside and he followed my gaze.