A Summer to Forever

10

All morning long, I was on my phone as there were not much customers who passed by the shop. I felt bored that I ran through my Twitter and Instagram feeds twice already. I couldn't wait for noontime so I could go out, explore other shops and eat. I still had a few minutes to spare so I stood up, went around the store and looked through the items.

"Meng, break ka muna. Alas dose na," I saw Tito Allan approach me.

"Okay tito, balik na lang po ako. May gusto po kayo?"

"Wala naman. Mag-iingat ka, ha!"

I smiled and started leaving the shop. Finally! A breath of fresh air. It was nice to be walking around this part of Batangas again that wasn't too crowded unlike in the mall. I recalled my childhood memories here, when I used to bike with Ate Jules and Sam, racing to the tailor shop at the end of the strip. The winner gets to have another 30 minutes of break, while the last one to reach the finish line would have to bear another 30 minutes on store duty. Sam was always the first one to reach the end, while I always place last. However, Tito Allan always asked Sam to get 30 minutes from me because I was the youngest and Sam was the only boy. Fun times.

I finally got to the area of food stalls and stopped by at every booth to see what's on their menu. I was on the stall that served different kinds of barbecue meat when I heard a familiar voice behind.

"Mengmeng?"

There was only one person who called me that from way before. I turned my back and saw my childhood friend.

"Batot!!!" People call him Baste, short for Sebastian, but I call him Batot. He used to smell really bad before because he played outside in the scorching sun for hours without changing his shirt. I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I started calling him Batot, which he had no idea what the real reason behind it was. I just told him that I had trouble pronouncing the letter 'S'.

"Anong ginagawa mo dito?" He looked surprised.

"Nagbabakasyon, malamang! Ikaw ano ginagawa mo dito?"

"Hahanap ng pagkain," he laughed.

Baste used to be really chubby when we were little kids because he kept on eating fatty foods and sweets. It surprised me that he lost weight and grew up to be a a good-looking guy with a toned body.

"Baka tumaba ka ulit niyan, ha?" I joked.

"Sira! Hindi mo ba nakita ang batak ko na?" He flexed his arms.

"Ang yabang mo porke't payat ka na!"

"Eh ikaw? Kailan ka tataba?"

"Oo nga eh. Sana binigay mo na lang sa'kin taba mo," I pinched his stomach, joking him of his fats but it felt hard. Must be his abs.

"Uy! 'Wag ka nga mang-hipo!" He stepped back and laughed.

"Excuse me! Kung manghihipo man ako, sa iba na lang 'no!"

"Mengmeng talaga!" He jokingly wrapped his arms around my neck, choking me.

"Neng, eto na 'yung order mo," said the seller of the barbecue stall.

"Tara, upo tayo. Gutom na ako, eh." I led Baste to the eating area.

"Kamusta naman ang buhay, Mengmeng?"

"Okay naman, ikaw?"

"Eto, gwapong-gwapo pa din," he flashed a smile and brush his hair up and ended with a flex.

"Hay nako, yumabang ka na talaga! Pumayat at gumwapo ka lang, eh!"

"Gwapo ako? Uy, thank you kahit ba marami nang nagsasabi sa'kin niyan. Iba pa rin 'pag galing kay Mengmeng," he touched my chin.