AVS 1: Catching Flights

XX

Chapter 20 : Cake

Ilang sandali pa lamang ang nakalipas mula no'ng umalis si Claeg ay may narinig akong tikhim sa gilid ko. I dejectedly looked at Doll's face habang tinataasan ako nito ng kilay.

"Kita at rinig namin 'yon." She informed me. "I know, obvious sa reaction niyo. Anyway, hayaan na natin ang tao, we should be grateful that he even helped me even if it's not from his own initiative."

"Bwisit talaga ang taong 'yon! Sorry, Ash. I didn't know that he would act that way. I'll go to their house later to talk to him," Liya offered na animo'y pinapagaan ang loob ko.

"No, no, no. It's fine, really. It's not the first, and definitely not the last." Balak ko pa sanang dagdagan ang sinabi ngunit pinutol na agad ako ni ate.

"If it's not the last then, when? Hindi talaga matatapos ang mga insulto niya kung ikaw mismo hindi titigil." I smiled at her.

"Ate, please. just let me enjoy and savour this moment, okay?" Agad ko ring iniba ang topic kaya wala na silang magaw kung hindi ay sumunod sa initiative ko.

Hindi na namin tinapos ang mga activities sa araw na 'yon. Instead, we went out and celebrated dahil successful ang performance ko.

Itinaas ni Doll ang champagne niya, "This is for Ash's success and may she be successful in every endeavour of hers."

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at sinundan naman siya ni Liya. "Para ito sa pagiging delulu ni Ash at nawa'y maka-move on na siya mula sa walang kwentang taong 'yon."

Agad nanlaki ang mata ko at hinila si Liya na katabi ko lang mula sa pagkakatayo. "Gago ka! Pinsan mo 'yon!"

"Kahit na 'no! Hindi ako nangto-tolerate ng gago kahit pinsan ko pa siya. Takwil ko pa siya e!" Umirap pa ito sa akin na siyang nagpaawang sa bibig ko. Magsasalita pa sana ako nang tumayo si ate.

"This is to mirror what Liya said, cheers." Agad na ininom ang champagne niya habang nakatayo pa. Sabay namang sumigaw sina Doll at Liya ng, "Cheers!" bago binangga ang kanilang mga wineglass at uminom na rin.

Nang matapos ang pag-inom nila at pag-upo ni ate ay tumingin sa akin ang mga ito. "What? Come on, you can't possibly antagonise Clay every chance you get."

"Just drink," sabi ni ate. Due to their awkward gazes, I picked up my glass of champagne and took a small sip. Saka lamang bumalik at nagpatuloy ang masayang vibe matapos kong gawin 'yon. We were supposed to drink the night away nang pigilan ko sila dahil kahit foundation naman ng school at hindi required na pumasok ay mas masaya pa ring magparticipate kami sa iba't ibang activities doon.

We ended the night early. 10:00 pm pa lang nang mapagpasyahan naming umuwi na. We stayed late at the restaurant because apparently they allow drinking and some sort for vip booths. Kaya naman, agad kong naramdaman na medyo may tama sila dahil sa dami ng wine na pinadeliver nila sa booth namin.

After I settled ate and Doll on their beds, agad akong pumunta sa kwarto to freshen up bago dumiretso sa kusina. Liya didn't went home with us kasi hindi raw siya nagsabi sa parents niya na mag-overnight kaya pinahatid ko nalang siya sa isa sa mga driver namin. Dahil medyo tipsy na siya kanina ay sinamantala ko na 'yon, agad ko siyang tinanong kung ano magandang ibigay kay Clay. I told her I would just like to give Clay a gift of appreciation for his help as an excuse. Hindi naman niya ito pinuna at agad nagsalita.

"Sweets. He doesn't like it to much extent, but you can bribe him with one," sabi nito habang sinasandal ang ulo sa backseat at inaayos ko ang upo niya.

"Why does he accept sweets as a bribe when he doesn't like it much?" She just shrugged her shoulders and tried to settle herself more comfortably. Hindi ko na siya pinilit at agad hinayaan nalang na magpahinga.

Remembering our conversation earlier, ito ako ngayon, 12:00 am, naghahanap ng ingredients sa kitchen kasi gusto ko siya i-bake ng cake.

I constantly checked the kitchen clock as I started making cake from scratch. Habang mini-mix ang cake batter ay hindi ko namalayang may tao pala sa bungad ng kusina. "You've been putting effort... too much effort, actually," Doll seriously said.

I looked at her as she made her way to the fridge and opened a bottle of water to drink. "1:30 am and here you are, making a cake that he wouldn't surely appreciate."

I didn't know kailan siya nagsimulang maging sobrang hostile kay Clay lalo na at todo support siya sa akin no'ng umpisa. "Doll, please..."

"What? I am telling the truth. Even if we would tell him that you never slept a wink just to make him a goddamn cake, he wouldn't care!"

"When have you started being so hostile to him?" I blurted out the lingering question in my mind.

"Don't you get it? We were perfectly fine with you crushing or even obsessing with him from the start. Pero ang hindi namin matanggap ay 'yong ginawa niya sa 'yo sa daanan malapit sa east wing ng school! He could've been kinder but he chose to be cruel with you. Ash, you can't just expect us to be idle and let you be when you're losing yourself, when you're losing all rationality because of him."

I put the bowl and mixer down and stared at her. "I didn't lose myself. I am still here, I still know what I desire."

"Really? Kasi tayong dalawa ang laging magkasama at alam ko ang takbo ng utak mo. habang sinasabi mo sa sarili mo na hindi ka mawawala sa landas dahil sa lalaking 'yon, alam kong nawawala na 'yong original reason mo why you entered flight school in the first place. The sole reason for you dreaming to soar above the clouds has been replaced by you dreaming to be a pilot just to be on equal footing with him."

Nagpatuloy ito, "Habang sinasabi mo na pangarap muna bago siya, I know deep inside you, it is slowly changing to him becoming your ultimate dream. Na sinasabi mo sa aming you won't get broken dahil sa lalaki lang, you know yourself na he is already in your system and that you are slowly breaking apart because of him. No amount of dreams can even save you from him now. I just do hope hindi mo ipagpapalit si ate Ice para sa kaniya. Okay lang na ako, pero sana huwag kapatid mo."

Umalis na ito sa kusina. I stared at the opening of the kitchen, just staring at the darkness outside of the kitchen. Every word of hers echoes the deepest of my thoughts. Hindi ko inakala na gano'n kalalim ang mababasa niya sa akin. I smiled bitterly, I didn't want this to happen, but I can't help it. He's become part of my system, and Doll is right, everything I do now is because of him.

I sadly looked at the batter and other ingredients and decided to continue. I swear, this will be the last great effort. What Doll said is a wake up call. I need to redeem myself before this crush obsession will fully break me.