Everlasting

Chapter V

[JUNE 28, SATURDAY, 5:16 PM]

After the dance, isa isa nila akong nilapitan at bumati ng happy birthday. Nag-aya naman akong kumain dahil nagugutom na rin ako, naalala ko rin kasing hindi pala ako nakapagbreakfast at lunch.

Sabi ni Anthon, we'd talk after the party, he invited me to go to dinner with him at dahil gusto kong malaman na din ang explanation niya at maayos na tong gulong to, pumayag na ako.

"So what's the deal with all this?" I asked them while eating my spaghetti.

Spaghetti and hamburgers were served. Alcohol infused cocktails are along side.

"Ano ba Max. Birthday mo diba? And word got out to us na hindi ka raw nakapagdebut. Inday! Isang beses lang nagdedebut ang babae, di mo pa ginawa?" sagot ni Allein.

Nagsitawanan naman kami.

"Pero teka, dito talaga sa Moon Records? Ang bongga niyo naman." sambit ko dito.

Isa kasi ito sa pinakasikat na labels sa Pilipinas.

"Well, besides sa fact na dito kami nagtatrabaho lahat, major stock holder si Anthon dito. He owns almost 65 percent of the stocks." sabi ni Shekinah while taking a sip on her cocktail.

Napaawang naman ang bibig ko sa narinig ko.

"Max. Sara mo, baka pasukan ng saging." saad ni Kyle.

Binatukan naman siya ni Kuya Kolt dahil sa mga sinabi niya.

"Nagcelebrate naman talaga ako ng 18th birthday guys, you didn't have to do this, you know? Pero salamat."

"Yeah. Nagcelebrate ka ng 18th birthday mo but you didn't have a debut tsaka hindi din namin idea to." si Tristan.

"Yeah. Si Anthon talaga ang nagplano nito for you. Kanina nga lang namin nalaman na isasayaw ka namin eh." sabi ni Miko.

Napatingin naman ako kay Anthon na tahimik lang din na nakatingin sa akin.

So he prepared all of this huh? I honestly felt a little giddy on the inside but of course, I kept in my emotions well.

After a little bit if chitchat, the band along with their manager, decided to leave us alone. It was about 5:30 at that time.

Shit. I felt my body tense up because I knew what was coming. We were finally going to talk. I'm about to get answers.

Awkward silence immediately invaded our atmosphere. The silence was actually deafening.

Tumikhim naman ako kaya't napatingin siya sa akin.

"Uhh. Thanks for this." I said, smiling genuinely.

He nodded his head and drank the cocktail that he was holding

"Tara. The sun isn't down yet. We have lots of things to do." sabi niya at tumayo.

Without having any choice, sumunod na ako sa kanya.

Bumaba kami sa may likod ng building kung saan ay nakaparada ang isang kotse.

"Teka, I brought my car." sabi ko sa kanya.

"We'll drive back here later or better yet, we can let Tristan drive it home." he said casually.

Hindi pa ako nakakapagsalita ay naglabas na ito ng cellphone.

"Yeah. Sa parking area. Yep. I'll give you the keys. Bye." sabi nito.

Inilahad niya naman ang kamay niya ng pangsahod.

When I realized that he was asking for the keys, I immediately gave it to him.