Loving Miss Banana

Chapter 14

I woke up way earlier than usual today. The sun wasn't even fully up yet, pero nagising na ako dahil gusto kong magluto. Grabe kasi, simula nung tumira ako dito, si Liblanc na laging gumagawa ng lahat. Siya nagluluto, siya naghahain, siya pa nagliligpit. Eh ako yung nakikitira, pero parang prinsesa pa yung trato niya sakin.

Kaya naisip ko, this time, ako naman. Babawi ako. Nakakahiya naman maging palamunin.

Pumasok ako sa kitchen at naghanda ng almusal Sinangag, itlog, at bacon. Simple lang naman 'to, diba? Akala ko madali lang, pero hindi pala puro kasi si mama nagluluto sa bahay kaya hirap din ako sa ganitong gawain bahay, ako lang kasi taga hugas ng plato. By the time I finished cooking, the whole kitchen looked like it went through a war zone. Puro kalat naghahalo-halo yung mga plato, may natapon na asin sa sahig, mantika na tumalsik sa stove, at yung rice cooker parang binomba.

I was just wiping my sweaty forehead, trying to fix the mess kahit konti, when I heard footsteps.

Lumingon ako and there she was.

Liblanc.

She just woke up, naka-pambahay lang at nakatali yung buhok, pero grabe... she looked absolutely flawless. Yung balat ang kinis, yung mata niyang kulay asul ang ganda.

She looked so fresh and effortlessly beautiful na napahinto ako sandali at napanganga. She really is gorgeous, kahit kagigising lang.

She stopped at the doorway, crossed her arms over her chest, and scanned the whole area. From the messy counter down to my slightly flushed face. Then, a slow, amused smirk formed on her lips.

"Oh?" she started, her voice still a bit raspy from sleep. "What happened here? Did an earthquake just pass through or are you just naturally this messy?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. "I was cooking! For us."

She chuckled softly and walked closer, pointing at the clutter. "I see. Good thing you didn't burn the house down, Khaze."

"Hindi kaya, sakto lang. The food is okay naman. So worth it." depensa ko kahit alam kong medyo sunog yung gilid ng sinangag.

She looked at the plates served on the table, then looked back at me. "Alright, thanks anyway. But next time, just tell me. You'll get more tired cleaning this mess than actually cooking."

Umupo na kami at nagsimula nang kumain. As soon as sumubo ako, narealize ko... sobrang alat yung itlog at medyo sunog nga yung sinangag.

Agad ko kinuha yung plato ni Liblanc para itago. "Hala! Wag mo na kainin yan. Order na lang tayo or kain ka na lang ng tinapay-"

She blocked my hand with hers and pulled the plate back towards her. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"Kasi sunog eh at ang alat. Baka magka bato kapa." nahihiya kong sabi. "Nakakahiya sayo."

She took a spoonful and ate a big bite. I watched her nervously, pero nginuya niya lang nang maayos, nodded, tapos ngumuya ulit.

"It tastes good," she said simply, looking at me seriously.

"Sus, nambobola ka nanaman-"

"No, I'm not." She cut me off. "Because you made it. You put effort into this. Whatever the taste is, it's fine with me. Besides..." she took another bite,

"I'm used to your cooking anyway. Kahit parang galing sa digmaan yung kitchen, okay naman yung outcome."

Napangiti ako. "Seryoso ba?"

"Yeah. Just eat."

Habang kumakain, bigla siyang nagsalita. "I'm going out later. Meeting up with my friends."