decoding the boys ✔️

61 | recipe

I wasn't always close with the boys. At least, not like this. When we were kids, Kuya Jacob and Gian used to be my bestfriends and they had been until I hit the fourth grade. Nung mga panahon na kasi na 'yon, I was craving for female friends pero ayaw nilang sumasama sa 'kin dahil sa mga kapatid at pinsan ko. Si Ahron lang naman talaga ang nag-iisang female friend ko no'n but since we weren't in the same school, naghahanap talaga ako ng magiging kaibigan sa campus.

See, my brothers and cousins held quite a loud reputation there. They were undeniably a good-looking bunch, that's true, but they were also very rowdy and girls hated that. Especially when the De Villa were infamous for their bloody antics and mischief. Masyado silang mapang-asar mapababae man o mapalalaki. Palaaway din at matitigas ang ulo.

Kaya in short, medyo na-bully at napagsasabihan ako dahil sa kanila and I blamed them for it.

So nung naging freshman ako, I totally distanced myself away from them. Doon na silang nag-start magbago sa 'kin. The girls became my friends at the cost of the boys.

Kung dati lagi nila akong ini-i-spoil, this time they were teasing me and annoying me non-stop. Sobrang bullies, I swear. Parang gumaganti kasi ayaw ko na silang kasama. We had an on-going war that lasted well into my junior days. Naaalala ko pa nga no'n.

Sa sobrang pagkabanas ko sa pagiging sarcastic ni Mathev, binato ko siya ng bola nung nag-vo-volley ball kami ng girls.

Paano kasi, nilalandi niya ang mga kaibigan ko sabay nagpaparinig ng kung anu-ano sa 'kin (that's when he started dubbing me as Amasona).

Ang nakakainis pa, pinag-iinitan niya lagi si Avi (my almost-boyfriend that time). Then one time, months after the incident with Mathev, binuhusan ko naman ng spaghetti si Kuya Nick dahil biniro niya ako at kunwaring natapunan ng tubig noon. Konti lang naman pero sa T-shirt ko kasi nabuhos 'yon at dahil nando'n si Rohann no'n (my happy crush then), sobrang naiyak ako at ginantihan siya. It was sheer chaos among us.

Lalo na sa bahay.

Kuya Travis was always good to me-perks of him being the eldest and me being the youngest. Pero sina Kuya Chris at Kuya Jacob, ayan ang mga sobra mampikon. Lagi nilang nila akong kinukulit. Ang pinakakinainisan ko pa nga no'n, yung nilagyan ni Kuya Jacob ng gum ang buhok ko. Si Kuya Chris naman lagi akong tinatakot dahil may alaga pa siyang mga hamsters no'n. Kuya Andrei, with the exception of Kuya Travis, was the only one who didn't play along with their games.

Pero hindi rin naman kami gaanong close no'n kasi lagi niyang kasama si Kuya Jacob na kinapipikunan ko.

When the latter half of my junior year rolled by, the teasings eventually became subtle. Na-busy na rin kasi sila sa mga nagiging girlfriends and flings nila at mas na-focus sila sa sports.

And me? Naka-focus na rin ako kay Rohann dahil nagiging steady na ang relationship namin noon. I was ecstatic when he asked me out.

Me! Out of all the pretty and liberated girls in our school, ako ang nagustuhan niya! Javee, the tomboy slash aggressive girl A.K.A one of the De Villa 'boys'. I was over the moon and beyond when he confessed his feelings to me in front of the student body kasi matagal ko na siyang gusto.

After kasi ng fall-out ko with Avi, siya ang naging crush ko. So I was understandably giddy when we went out but the boys didn't take it well. They had been furious about it. Kahit naman kasi binubully nila ako, hindi naman nawala yung mga oras na paminsan-minsan ay nagiging sweet at protective sila sa 'kin.

Medyo naging magulo yung time na 'yon. Rohann was part of Gian's close circle kasi. Akala ko magiging masaya siya sa naging relasyon namin ng kaibigan niya. So nung nauna pa siyang nagalit, sobra ang gulat ko. Sinugod at sinuntok niya si Rohann, causing me to punch him in the face in return. Hindi ko kinibo si Gian for almost two months after that.