Nasa labas pa lamang ako ng ice cream parlor tanaw ko na si Levi sa loob. Nakangiting parang tanga at kinakawayan pa ako.
Umupo ako sa harap niya, may dalawang serving ng ice cream sa mesa. I guess libre na naman niya. Just when he opened his mouth to say nonsense stuff again, I punched him. Hard, on the face.
"What the--! Ano na naman ba ang ginawa ko!" Hindi siya galit. Siguro inexpect na niya ang suntok ko. He was pouting while, holding his swollen face. Cute.
"Bakit ka pumunta sa bahay namin ng walang pasabi? You even talked to my parents for chrissake!"
Napahalakhak siya sa sinabi ko. My anger was a joke to him, it seemed. Nang makarecover siya sa paghalakhak, saka siya nagsalita.
"Sabihin mo muna sa akin kung sino si Tripp at sasagutin ko ang tanong mo."
"Why the heck are you curious about Tripp? And how'd you know about Tripp?"
"Hindi ba pwedeng sagutin mo ang tanong ko nang wala nang follow-up questions Asi? Minsan talaga naiisip kong sinasadya mo akong kontrahin, para mas matagal tayong magkasama. You're enjoying my company aren't you?"
"Do you want another punch?" Agad naman siyang umiling. He didn't stop bugging me about Tripp though. So I was forced to tell.
"Tripp was my Alaska Young."
"Wait, you've read Looking for Alaska already?"
"Yea, matagal na, actually. Oo nga pala. That means I've done that 'Read a book' thing, in your stupid bucketlist. Now where was I?"
"As I was saying, Tripp was my very own Alaska Young. He was crazy but witty. He made me do dangerously fun things but he took the blame for everything if anything went wrong. He was screwed-up, but so darn fascinating. He made my life make sense."
"Pero pareho kayong Selerio diba? What? Isn't he your brother or something? Ano 'to incest love story?"
"He's my cousin, stupid. And no, there was no incest love story. We were just being awesome as cousins. But all that changed when he died. No, he didn't die in a car crash. It was some stupid disease that's going to kill me eventually, too. When he died, he took a part of me with him. And now I don't feel whole anymore."
"Kaya pala. Belated condolence, Asi." He looked as sincere as he could, but that sincerity was cut short by something so disturbing. "Nga pala Asi, will you be my girlfriend?"
How could he say that so casually? Hindi naman sa gusto kong sabihin niya iyon in a romantic way but still! Iyon ang mga salita na napakahirap bigkasin ng bang tao sa taong gusto nila pero diretso niya iyong nasabi sakin.
Not that I'm flattered or anything. Not that I now believe in forever or anything. Wala pa ring forever and Levi and his antics won't change that.
"Silence means yes?"
"Hell no." Bumagsak ang mga balikat niya dahil sa sinabi. Why would that affect him so much? Hindi naman siya nag-effort na manligaw. Not that I want him to. Damn, what's wrong with me today.
"I just asked you that question because it worked well with Pudge. He instantly had a girlfriend, after asking that question. Kaya akala ko kung tatanungin rin kita ng ganung tanong, papayag ka." He said, innocently smiling.
"You can't just sit and say ''hey be my girlfriend'' and expect me to say yes. This isn't the states boy. In case you didn't notice, nasa Pilipinas ka, kung gusto mong magkaroon ng nobya, dadaan ka muna sa butas ng karayom."
" I roughly translated that to, "Ligawan mo muna ako, and I'll reconsider." Tama ba ang pagtranslate?"
"Shut up." Sabi ko nang hindi nakatingin sa kanya. It's not that it's true, though. Tinawanan na naman niya ang reaksyon ko. Why does everything I say or do seem funny to him?
"Anyway, how do I start courting you?" I gave him a puzzled look. Is he really serious?!
"Too stunned to answer? Okay lang 'yan Asi, ikaw ba naman ang ligawan ng isang Levi Jimenez hindi ka ba matatameme." Tumawa siya sa sarili niyang joke. I'm not sure if that was a joke though, it wasn't near 'funny' to me. Nang marealize niyang hindi ko naintindihan ang joke niya saka siya umayos.
"I should start by making your friends like me right? Tara, puntahan natin si Tripp!"
"Tanga ka talaga. Paano mo malalaman kung nagustuhan ka ni Tripp? He's already six feet below, idiot."
"Well, let's ask for a sign. Kapag hindi uulan mamaya ibig sabihin nagustuhan niya ako, pero kapag umulan, habang nasa sementeryo tayo ah, ayaw ni Tripp sa akin. Game?"
"Fine."
***
True enough, we went to the cemetery. Pinakilala niya ang sarili niya kay Tripp bilang manliligaw ko. If Tripp was here, he'd laugh his ass out at Levi. Paano ba naman kasi nag-susun dance si Levi sa harap ng puntod ni Tripp, begging Tripp to like him.
Mukhang nagtagumpay naman siya. Lumipas ang isang oras na nasa sementeryo kami pero hindi umulan. Take note that there was an eighty percent chance of rain today.
"Paano ba 'yan Asi? Nagustuhan ako ni Tripp. I can pursue courting you."
"Says who?"
"ME. We should celebrate. Sky diving tayo!"
END OF CHAPTER 11
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Teen Fiction| Bucket lists | Petty Debates | Everyday at an Ice Cream Parlor | "So bakit ka nga ulit hindi naniniwala sa forever?" The thing about repetition is it gives you tolerance. And Levi, constantly asking this question gave me a high tolerance of it...
