Princess By Surprise

Chapter One: Okay, Let's Panick

Chapter One

Natatandaan ko pa nung unang beses kong nakilala si Thaddeus. He was tagging a concrete based floor all the way up the brick wall of an abandoned warehouse. Nakilala ko siya, dahil nag-aaral siya kasama ko, and his bestfriend was freaking outbnang simulan niyang magpintura sa daan. And that bestfriend was Clark Winston, ang kaisa-isang lalaki sa highschool namin na kayang bilhin ang kung sino sa bayan para gawing tagasunod niya kung gugustuhin niya. Hindi pa rin malinaw sa akin kung paano sila naging magkaibigan.

He was spray painting the ground and Clark was being an asshole spraying him with paint. Naalala ko na kailangan ko pang takpan ng buong kamao ko ang bibig ko when Thad turned around and there was a giant set of breasts at the back of his plain white tee shirt. Masyado siyang focus sa art na ginagawa niya para mapansin ang basang likuran niya gawa ng pintura. Pwede na lang sana ako'ng tumalikod at umaktong walang nakita, but it was too late. My own bestfriend Guilliana Johnson dropped her blue Slurpee on the ground when she saw Thad's back, causing a loud slushing noise to break through the night.

Napakarami kong awkward moments sa buhay ko, but this, kasama yata sa top five awkwardest moments. Lahat ng mata ay nakatutok kay Guilliana at sa basang paa niya dahil sa Slurpee. And everything went downhill from there. Nawalan na ng hininga sa Guilles nang magsimulang lumakad papunta sa amin si Thad at Clark dala ang mga spray cans. Before anyone could get a word out, she kicked up the Slurpee into their faces and grabbed my hand, trying to make a run for it. Sadly, out of shape kaming dalawa. Ang exercise lang na nagagawa namin ay ang walang tigil na pagbuka ng bibig 'pag may tsismis.

The two caught up with us with one second flat. We ended up having a little powwow on a 7eleven parking lot on Clark's truck bed, kung saan mabait na inalok ni Clark si Guilles na bumili ng bagong Slurpee, leaving Thad and I outside alone. Syempre, kailangan niyang tanggalin ang shirt niya dahil nabasa 'yun ni Guilles at namantyahan ng blue drink. I didn't understand why he couldn't man up and just keep the damn shirt on, para naman hindi ko na kailangang maging super awkward at takpan ang mga mata ko.

Hindi nagtagal ay nakita niya ako'ng nakatingin sa katawan niya at aksidente kong nasabi na hindi niya dapat sakin ipakita ang buo niya, kasi tomboy ako. Thank goodness at nakita niya ang giant set of boobies sa likod ng shirt niya and just then, nawala ang lahat ng awkward tension na ginawa ko. He probably forgot my ballsy reply when he stared angrily at the suggestive drawing that Clark made.

Iyon din ang parehong itsura na ginagawa niya nang titigan niya ang marriage license namin ngayon, swinging back and forth to the tattoo on his hip. Hindi ko naman siya masisisi, hihimatayin na nga sana ako eh. Hindi pa nakatulong nang may nakita si Thad na dalawang plastic na singsing sa jacket niya, 'yun bang parang kinukuha lang sa mga vending machines. Agad niyang binalik iyon sa jacket nang makita niya. It was like he was holding something that had herpes.

"This couldn't be real," pang isang daang beses na sabi ni Thad. Hindi niya na ako kinausap pa simula nung kunin niya ulit 'yung papel sa daan.

Halos atakihin kaming dalawa sa puso ng makarinig kami ng ring ng cellphone. Hurriedly, I took mine out and answered it.

"Thea? Ikaw ba 'yan? Okay ka lang?"

I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Guilliana's panicky voice on the other line. "Guilles! Oh my gosh, nasaan ka?"

Sa nakaraang sampung minuto, kinakausap ni Thaddeus ang sarili niya. Naalala ko that Thad, Clark, Guilliana and I should visit Guilliana's sister, Vannesa, bago matapos ang summer. Nakatira si Vannesa sa isang city, eksaktong tatlong oras mula dito. I vaguely remembered her sneaking us into a party, and that was about it. I think I saw Guilles and Clark doing something very mysterious and sketchy in there, pero hindi ako sigurado kung tama ang memorya ko. I attempted to tell Thad about this, pero masyado siyang focus sa prospeta ng kinabukasan namin sa kamay niya.