"Ano po bang kailangan niyo?" RJ asked Maine before he sat on a nearby chair. He took a deep breath and already prepared himself for the bad news.
"Kailangan na nating itigil 'to. I feel bad for Nicole." she replied.
"Ang alin po? Ma'am Maine wala naman po tayong ititigil kasi there was never an us." he replied. RJ could have sworn he heard Maine giggle. He was about to do it too , but then then she said something and that stopped him from laughing.
"Loko ka talaga Tisoy. What I mean is the deal. I will tell Nicole about it."
"Bakit po Ma'am?"
"Maine na lang ang itawag mo sa akin Tisoy, okay? I already feel guilty. I know hindi yun magagalit sa'yo." she replied, assuring him that he and Nicole will be alright.
"Sure po kayo?"
"Yes."
"Ohs ige po, kayo ng bahala." he replied.
"Okay, bye." she then said and then ended the call right away. RJ then looked on and saw Bogs standing by the gate.
"Gago ka talaga, kala ko kung sino." he said and so his friend laughed.
"Parang Soyti naman, tara basketball tayo."
"Ang ulan magba-basket ball ka? Gusto mong mas lalong lumala yang mukha mo?" he asked, only to be greeted by a flying slipper right on his face. The rubber part hit his nose but the plastic one landed right in between his eyes.
"Aray ko!" he yelled.
"Ayan ... loko. Tara na par, ang tagal mo nang di naglalaro eh."
"Sira sapatos ko." he replied, lying so he can stay in the house.
"baliw, suot mo pa lang kanina yun eh. Tara , tsaka kahit sira man yan sumama ka pa rin. Andun si Roxy, bibilhan ka nun ng rubber shoes."
"Gusto mong bumalik tong tsinelas sa mukha mo?" RJ asked. Roxy is the 32 yr. old gay man whose life mission is to make RJ fall for him.
"Ays, ikaw niyan. Mayaman yun brader , sasaya ka dun."
"Oh bakit di nalang ikaw? Ayoko ng ganun uy."
"Ugh, sige na nga. tara na laro na tayo, andun yung tropa."
Knowing that Bogs won't leave without him - or his slippers -, RJ just nodded and stood up. He and his friend are now off to a tiring game of basketball.
--
Maine spent the next few hours or so formulating the words she's going to tell her sister. Nicole is an understanding person, but Maine is still undecided whether she can take it lightly or not.
The young girl took a deep breath and reminded herself of what happened to them a couple of years ago. Sibling rivalry along with jealousy took over and it almost permanently drew them apart. Maine then released her breath before she whispered to herself that she won't let that happen ever again.
She picked up her phone and dialed Nicole's number. Her flamiliar ring tone then came next followed by her sister's confused voice.
"Ate?" she asked.
"Nicole, I have to tell you something."
"Ano yun?"
"Remember Evan? Pumunta siya dito nung minsan, eh nag-panic ako. Nasabi ko na boyfriend ko si Tisoy."
"What? Anong sinabi niya?'
"Wala naniwala naman siya. But there's this one thing ..."
"Ano yun?"
"He told everyone about it. Do you know Chanel? She came here yesterday looking for Tisoy." Maine said, still anticipating the part where Nicole will freak out and hang up on her.
"Wait ... does this mean?"
"Yep, nagpanggap kami. I actually forced him to d it out of my own insecurity."
"Oh ... okay lang."
"Are you sure?" Maine asked.
"Oo naman, I mean we're not a relationship. Technically, wala pa rin naman akong karapatan sa kanya. Enjoy." Nicole replied before abruptly ending the call. Maine's heart dropped, it's exactly what she expected.
"Oh my God Nicole, I'm sorry."
--
RJ and Bogs went to the Basketball court only to see a small crowd of people watching the ongoing game. The two sat on the bench and started watching as well. A few minutes later, Roxy approached them.
"Hello Bogs, Hi Baby." he said.
"Hello Rolando." RJ replied, calling him by his real name.
"Ay grabe siya. Baby, Roxy na lang ang itawag mo sa akin. Di naman ako choosy."
"Pasensiya na, choosy ako. Sige na magpa-tokhang ka na, para naman may silbi ka sa buhay." he replied coldly. RJ is definitely not in the mood to talk to someone like him.
"Sus, ikaw niyan." Roxy whispered before placing his hand on RJ's knee. He shot him a glare and told him to remove his hand or else.
"Fine." he replied and removed his hand. RJ quickly brushed the part where Roxy touched him.
"Anong size ng sapatos mo?"
"Di ako interesado okay? Kaya iba na lang kulitin mo." RJ replied before he started to walk away. As soon as he and Bogs reached the other end of the court, the rain started pouring hard.
"Shit, sabi ko na nga ba eh."
"Saglit lang yan brad." Bogs said.
"Ugh .. sige na nga. Pero isang game lang ah."
"Oh sige."
---
Nicole let out a sigh of disappointment after she ended the call. The young girl then just threw herself on the couch and buried her face with her hands.
Maine's move confused her a lot, and as much as she would try to understand her older sister, a part of her just can't. After what it felt like forever, she slowly sat up and called RJ.
"Please answer ..." she whispered over and over again. But he didn't. He did not answer his call. Nicole tried once again but it came up with the same result. After a few more tries, the young girl just gave up and did something else to distract her already distracted mind.
---
It's past 6:00 pm when RJ got back home. As soon a s he did, he quickly checked his phone and saw four missed calls from Nicole.
"Patay." he thought to himself. RJ then contacted Nicole but her phone is already off. Feeling anxious about all of this, he called Maine.
"Hello Ma'am ... este Maine ... estra Ma'am Maine Maine?" he asked.
"What? Tisoy? Bakit?"
"Sinabi niyo na ba kay Niknik?"
"I did. Nakapatay na yung phone niya."
"Anak ng ..."
"I'm sorry RJ. Just give her some time, I'm pretty sure maiintindihan din niya. Hindi yun galit, promise. Baka stressed lang."
"Sigurado kayo?"
"Yup. I'll call you as soon as kinausap niya ako."
"Sige po." RJ answered, ending the call. The young guy then just let out a sigh and sat right on the side of his bed. He then closed his eyes, only to see an image of Maine smiling sweetly at him.
Surprised, he opened them once again and jumped out of bed. It took RJ a couple of minutes to gather his breath and when he was finally able to, he looked at himself in the mirror and asked what happened.
"Anyare?"
--
that's it for this part guys ^^ story's gonna take a different route on the next chapter. stay tuned :) x
