Glimpses

Faking

What happened earlier?!

Maine deleted the text message and typed again. As she was near the end of her message, she tsk-tsked and deleted them again. She huffed in annoyance and looked outside the window. It was well past midnight and she could not sleep. As usual. To pass the time, she browsed through her timeline and saw a short video of Kalyeserye this morning. She remembered again what they did here. Hence, she decided to send a text message to RJ. Which, until now, she had not finished composing yet. Not knowing what to do, Maine dumped her phone on the bedside table and pushed herself off the bed.

She opened the lights on the kitchen and decided to cook a simple pasta. Regardless of how many times she tried, she really could not cook well but there were times too when making a simple dish calmed her. And so she tried this method now.

As she prepared the ingredients, she thought of him. It was always him anyway. Since the time that she accepted the fact that there was something going on between them, all she could think of was him. How could she not? The guy had been consistent. He may not have said the right words but knowing him, he's the kind that expresses words through actions. And he never failed to astound her. She may be a fan of love letters and expressions through words, but lately, the saying action speaks louder than words started to grow on her. And it was all because of him.

She pulled some garlic cloves and a large white onion inside the fridge. As she closed the door, she thought of what happened earlier. It was supposed to be fun. They were supposed to exchange banters because it was their weeksary anyway. But no...the guy went all out and did that impromptu speech. She was caught off-guard. She panicked a little. Actually, a lot. It got worse when she didn't feel well at that time. She thought he could catch her drift when she stared at the camera but luckily, the guy was not looking.

Maine opened the faucet and filled the stainless pot. She stared at the running water and remembered his face during that time. He was making a face, a sure sign that he didn't like what she was doing when they were asked by Direk Soxy to run some made up lines. She got a little annoyed that he was actually the one that coaxed it and Direk Pat even agreed. She could still remember the way that Ate Pat nodded while rolling the script on her hand. She ransacked her head to think of a way to say no on that short skit. She even said "ayoko na" but did the guy listened? No...no...no.

She placed the pot on top of the stove and turned to break the pasta in half. She readied the salt beside it. She went back to the table and started mincing the onions and garlic. She knew that it was her mistake; making faces when he was all serious. But how could the man ask her to say something along those lines? She felt like he really wanted to say those specific lines with her. She felt like he wanted to hear those words from her and not from Divina. She felt like he wanted her to admit something. But how could she? She simply couldn't grab the mic and tell him what she always wanted to tell him ever since. It doesn't work that way.

Maine slowly placed the knife aside and breathe deep. It was not a good time to be mad while holding something sharp. And so she went to the overhead cabinet and reached for two cans of tuna. She pulled the easy-open and drained the oil. When she saw the boiling water, she dropped the pasta and submerged them with a wooden spatula. She reached for the olive oil and dropped a teaspoon on the water. As she stirred the pot, she said to herself, okay, probably it was slightly her fault because she couldn't do well with the jokes earlier. It was supposed to be but he turned them around and asked her to say the lines seriously. It was...too emotional for her and it really was not right.

As she stirred the pasta, she turned the fire low. She placed a non-stick pan on the next burner. She started to sauté the onions and the garlic. When they turned white and brown, she followed it with the tuna flakes. As she continued to stir the ingredients, she heard the twisting of the doorknob. Confused who it might be, she wiped her hands and looked.