"Why are you smiling like a freak?" asked Avon. Nasa hapag kami ngayon at kumakain ng snacks, early in the morning.
"No. It's just that ang pangit mo." I just said.
I kept on smiling, remembering yesterday's date with my captain, Con.
I still can't get over it. Simpleng date lang but parang engrande, na hindi talaga ako makamove-on. And I could feel na busog na busog pa rin ako sa kinain naming arrozcaldo kahapon.
"Anong ang pangit ko?" I got out of my reverie ng tumaas iyong boses ni Avon.
Ang aga pa ng umaga tapos siya ang bubungad sa akin. She just wanted me to go with her to go shopping. Saturday ngayon kaya ano pa ba ang gagawin ng isang 'to? It's her gala-gala day, ano pa nga ba?
"Yes, you are." asar ko sa kanya and then get out of the dining room . Tumungo ako sa sala with my popcorn and channeled the tv to cartoons .
"Whatever, mas pangit ka pa rin." sabi niya and then sat beside me with her caramel bites. Naka-pj's pa rin ako at siya, ayos na ayos na para pumuntang mall.
"Why don't you just accompany me? It's Saturday! For pete's sake Carell! araw nating gumala ngayon." she groaned. Sinulyapan ko lang siya at tinawanan. You know the face na paulit-ulit na sinasabi nung teacher ang dadalhin? That's her face right now.
"I know, Avon. Just for a minute, ang ganda nung pinapanood ko o." I said and ate a hand full of popcorns. Nilingon ko siya at nakita ko pang napasapo siya sa noo niya. I grinned.
"Nope. You've just wasted an hour so get up. Magbihis ka na nga!" inis niyang sabi at inagaw ang popcorn sa akin. I shook my head and headed to the bathroom. Rinig ko pa yung sigaw niya and I just laughed.
Avon's been my friend since God knows when. She always barge in to our house anytime she'd feel like , tapos yayain lang naman akong magshopping.
Since childhood days, ganyan na yan siya. She always go to malls together with her mom to buy dresses and other girly things. Minsan nga niyaya pa niya akong sumama ako sa kanila with tita .
"Matagal ka pa ba diyan? It's getting late na!" sigaw niya sa labas ng banyo that almost jumped the hell out of me.
"I'm done! Hindi naman tayo masaraduhan. Malls do close at 9 in the evening kaya kalma ka lang." I said and opened the door. Nakapameywang siyang hinintay ako sa labas.
"Whatever. I got you your ootd so dress up, lazy bird." sabi niya sabay turo sa damit kong nasa kama ko na. "Dapat any minute tapos kana." dagdag niya pa and then stormed out.
I shook my head coz she's acting like my mom .
Nang natapos na ako nakapagbihis ay agad kong minensahe si Con. Just saying na, I'm hanging out with Avon.
From : Captain Constantine IV
Date me again.
Tumawa ako sa reply ni Con. Ang kulit niya. I smiled, he just want to spend his whole time with me or gusto niya lang na hindi ako makakapaghanap ng iba.
He's that a secret possesive one.
I grinned to the thought of him being possesive.
To: Captain Constantine IV
Nope. We just dated yesterday , Captain. So better, listen to your coach that I could imagine talking to you right now and you're not listening .
I pressed send and then he replied fast, 'You really know me :) . I love you '.
At nireplyan ko na rin siya nang
'I love you too, ingat'. I smiled and got up. Lumabas na ako ng kwarto at bumungad sa akin na si Avon , bored itong naka sandal sa pader while texting someone .
"Well, well, buti naman naisipan mo pang lumabas?" pagtataray ni Avon
Na ngayon ay napansin ako . Hindi ko siya pinansin at ngumiti lang.
We roamed around the Mall like there's no tomorrow. Bili diyan, siksik dito. I don't know na ganito na pala ka occupied ang mall nowadays. Is there any event or something?
The last time we shopped here, hindi naman gaanong katao-tao. Malaya pa nga kaming nagtatakbuhan ni Avon.
"Sale kasi ngayon!" sigaw niya and then pulled me to a bandwagon.
Kaya pala maraming tao dahil freakin' sale, dagdagan pa ng ingay. Panay hila lang si Avon sa akin, at ako naman nagpapahila na rin. There's nothing I can do. This is her day and also my day kasi kasama ko siya.
Umupo ako sa upuan, harapan ng fitting room. My feet's tired as hell pati yung kamay ko kakahawak ng mga pinamili ni Avon.
"Avon, can we eat after this? I'm starving, kanina pa." reklamo ko. Marami pa ring tao and I heard na hanggang midnight sila dahil second day naman ng three day sale nila. Midnight Sale.
Habang hinihintay na bubuksan ni Avon yung pinto to reveal herself na suot ang beige dress, ay binilang ko muna yung pinamili niya. I've got five bags and six bags plus yung dala niya pang tatlong bags. So all in all we have, fourteen bags.
"Am I beautiful now?" she asked nung binuksan na niya ang pinto. Inangat ko ang paningin ko and studied her. I gestured her to move around to see the whole of the backless dress and it fits her.
"I mean , I know that I'm beautiful . So do you think I'm beautifuler , if ever there's a word . " She rephrased her sentence .
"Yep." I said and then stood. Gusto ko ng kumain, kanina pa kumakalam yung sikmura ko.
"Why do you need to buy all these dresses? Eh may mga dress ka pa doon." I asked her while we're in the counter. Umirap naman siya sa akin.
"Like duh, I donated my dresses dahil hindi na kasya sa akin." sabi niya and then gave her card to the cashier.
"Mataba ka na kasi." asar ko sa kanya.
When she finished paying the dresses and other stuffs ay tumungo kaagad kami sa makakainan. We ordered rice meals and desserts, of course. Nang matapos na kaming kumain ay tinulungan kong magbitbit si Avon nang mga pinamili niya.
It's just three in the afternoon tapos napapagod na ako.
Tinawagan niya ang sundo niya to head here at the exit of the mall. Hindi na ako sasabay sa kanya dahil tinawagan ko na rin naman si Mama para sunduin ako.
Before I could manage a step, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.
"We're going on a date." Con said and putting an arm around my shoulder.
"Again?" natatawa kong tanong. He nodded and smiled. I hugged him tighter and after that I entered the mall with him, holding my hand.
*** In collaboration with
