Love Under the Starry Skies

02

"Happy Birthday, Ailey!" Bati namin sa kanya ni Verl at inabot ang isang glass ng Blackjack.

We finally made it to the new bar dito sa BGC. It took us about half an hour bago matunton ang bar na 'to. All we knew is that there's a new bar here named "Night Out" but not it's exact location.

I really thought that we wouldn't be able to convince Verl to celebrate Ailey's birthday in a bar but good thing, Ailey used her persuading skills.

There seems to be a lot of customers already. There are couples enjoying their date, group of friends enjoying their night, just like us. May mga napansin din akong ilang member ng Aces kanina. Looks like they took a liking in this place too. I guess that's normal sa mga gangs, you know, bars, fightings and stuffs. I didn't notice Harris though. Hindi ko naman nacheck kung nasa bahay siya kanina nang umalis ako.

Sumilip-silip pa ako sa paligid para icheck ang bar at hanapin din si Harris pero kinulbit na ako ni Verl at binulungan.

"Let's focus on Ailey for now. It's her special day." Sabi niya. I nodded and sighed. I was just checking the bar lang naman e.

Humarap na uli siya kay Ailey.

"We couldn't prepare a cake so instead of blowing a candle, drink the first shot instead." Verl suggested as Ailey gladly took the glass of blackjack and drank it like a glass of water. Ailey is obviously a hard drinker. Malakas pa ata siya kay Harris, eh.

"Buti naman nakasama ka Verl, akala ko naman ipagpapalit mo na ako sa mga libro mo." Ailey joked as she put the glass back on the table, making it produce a thud sound.

We really knew that Verl couldn't stood us up even if her books mean so much to her. Though busy siya siguro palagi but she always makes time for us. She's our life saver afterall.

"Malapit na." Verl answered with a serious face. We didn't expect Verl to say that. Hindi ko alam kung nagbibiro ba si Verl o hindi. She's not the kind of person who will joke around.

Natahimik at napakurap-kurap si Ailey dahil doon.

"I'm just kidding! Let's just enjoy your night, Ailey. Don't make me regret abandoning my study and joining you guys here at the bar." Dugtong ni Verl ng mapansing hindi nagets ni Ailey ang biro niya. She was just joking! Good thing she still have a sense of humor.

Winter rolled her eyes as she poured the glass of black jack in her bottle. She lifted it up using her left hand and pointed her right hand at Verl.

"You look so serious all the time that you wouldn't look like joking!" she exclaimed before drinking.

"2." I agreed.

Kumunot ang noo ni Verl at humalukipkip.

"Try to practice distinguishing joke from a serious word nuts. Observe the facial expression, look at the body movement and think about the words if it suits the situation." Verl explained. I thought we were in a bar. Why does it feels like we were in a classroom and Verl as our teacher?

Halos mapahilot ako ng sentido dahil sa narinig mula kay Verl. This girl really know how to discreetly show that she's smart.

"Oo na, oo na! Nagbibiro ka na!"