(Totoy and Nena appear in center doorway)
TOTOY. Hold it, Tony... you must never, never hit a woman.
NENA. What's all this?
KIKAY. Nothing... nothing at all.
TOTOY. What were you two quarelling about?
KIKAY. We were not quarelling. Tony and I just decided to be good friends and nothing more.
NENA. Tony, is this true?
TONY (Shouting). YES!
NENA. Oh good! Now we can tell them!
KIKAY. Tell us what?
TOTOY. What's going on here, eh ?
NENA (Taking Tony's hand). Tony and I are engaged.
KIKAY (Rising). Engaged!
TOTOY (At the same time). Engaged!
NENA. Yes! We've been secretly engaged for a month.
KIKAY. A month (Fiercely, to Tony) Why, you... you...
TONY (Backing off). I did try to tell you, Kikay... I was trying to tell you...
KIKAY. You unspeakable cad!
NENA. Hey, careful there... you're speaking to my fiancé!
KIKAY. He's not your fiancé!
NENA. Oh no? And why not, ha?
KIKAY. Because he was still engaged to me when he got engaged to you!
NENA. Well, he's not engaged to you anymore, you just said yourself.
KIKAY. Ah, but I didn't know about all this... this treacherous business! Oh, the shame of it! Getting engaged to you when he was still engaged to me! Do I look like the kind of a girl who'd let a man jilt her! (Moving towards Tony) Oh, you horrible, horrible monster!
TONY (Backing off some more). Now remember, Kikay... it's uncivilized to lose one's temper. People in New York don't lose their tempers. Not people of the haut monde anyway!
KIKAY. I've never felt so humiliated in all my life! You beast, I'll teach you to humiliate me!
NENA (Blocking her way). I told you to leave him alone. He's my fiancé!
KIKAY. And I tell you he's not! He's engaged to me until I release him... and I haven't released him yet.
NENA. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You're just being a dog in the manger!
KIKAY. You ought to be ashamed of yourself... stealing my man behind my back!
NENA (Exploding). WHAT! What did you say?
TONY (Keeping a safe distance). Totoy, pull them apart!
KIKAY (To Totoy as he approaches). You keep out of this or I'll knock your head off!
TOTOY. Naku, lumabas din and pagka Tondo!
NENA. Shameless hussy!
KIKAY. Man-eater!
TONY (Furious). How dare you sock her?
NENA. What? She hit me first!
TONY. Look what you've done to her!
(Totoy has dropped the knocked-out Kikay on a chair.)
(They grapple and stagger. Tony and Totoy rush forward to separate them and finally succeed but not before Kikay has socked Nena. Nena, infuriated, breaks away from Tony... who's dragging her away... and pounces on Kikay... whom Totoy is holding. Tony comes running but is too late to prevent Nena from socking Kikay. Kikay sags down in Totoy's arms. Tony pulls Nena away.)
382
NENA. Are you trying to defend her? You've never defended me!
TONY. SHUT UP!
NENA. I hate you, I hate you!
TONY. Shut up, or I'll bash your mouth off!
TOTOY (Deserting the reviving Kikay). Hey, don't you talk to Nena that way.
TONY. You keep out of this!
NENA. He's more of a gentleman than you are, he defends me!
TOTOY (To Tony). You take your hands off her!
TONY. I told you to keep out of this!
(Totoy socks Tony. Tony drops to the floor.)
NENA (Running to Totoy). Oh Totoy, you've saved my life.
(Meanwhile, Kikay has to run to Tony's side.)
KIKAY (Kneeling beside Tony). Tony, Tony... open your eyes!
TONY (Sitting up and brushing her hands away). Oh, get away from here.
(Kikay rises and haughtily moves away. Tony continues to sit on floor, in the attitude of Rodin's "Thinker")
NENA. Totoy, take me away from here!
TOTOY (Pointing to Tony). Are you still engaged to him?
NENA. I hate him! I never want to see him again in my life!
TOTOY. Good! Come on, let's go.
YOU ARE READING
New Yorker in Tondo
RandomSo this an excerpt from our English class and i would like to share this excerpt made by Marcelino Agana, jr. So maybe youre thinking that I am copying his story, but actually no, I only want to share this story to everyone , because its a really ni...
