"Maine, taste my banana," Ivan said after giving her his freshly picked fruit.
"Eat mine as well. I promise you, you will forget your own name." RJ insisted and handed her his fruit as well. He and Ivan then sat in front of Maine and watched her closely, both waiting to see which banana she will eat first. RJ was immensely proud of the bananas he picked. He was also confident that the one he gave to Maine was more sumptuous than Ivan's. He knew his was longer, tastier and more satisfying. He watched her anxiously, letting anticipation fill his insides and make him fidgety. RJ glanced at Ivan and saw the sheer concentration on his face; Ivan's eyes were glued on Maine.
"Ah boys? Tsaka niyo na pakain kay Maine mga saging niyo, okay? Kapag may napili na siya, dun na lang. Pero as of now, ako na lang muna ang titikam ... ayos lang ba? I volunteer myself as tribute." Her aunt said, making RJ and Ivan laughed a bit.
"Tita naman eh ..." Maine said.
"Anong nangyayari dito?" her father's stern voice quickly prompted RJ and Ivan to sit up straight and act as proper as possible.
"Ah ... wala Pa, nagpapa-tawa lang si Tita." Maine replied, saving all of them from having to answer to him.
"Oh sige ... ah magpa-hinga na kayo jan ... maghahanda lang kami ng tanghalian." RJ heard Mr. Mendoza say and so he along with Ivan quickly nodded.
"Tutulong na rin ako sa inyo." Maine's aunt said before following Mr. Mendoza inside the house, leaving the three of them outside. As soon as RJ was sure they were outside, he turned his eyes to Maine again and noticed that she was holding their bananas.
"Great, now choose kung kaninong saging yung una mong kakainin." He said and she blushed even more.
"HOMAYGAHD .... SHET ..."
--
The rest of Maine's day off turned out to be interesting. Though RJ and Ivan continued to outdo each other with their ways of showing admiration to her, they were both disciplined enough that her Dad didn't call them out for anything they did. It was almost 5:00 pm when they both left. Ivan said he would attend a quick meeting with a business partner while RJ told he would be going straight home to Kirby. A couple of minutes after they drove away using their respective vehicles, Maine went back to the house and was greeted with stares from her family.
"Oh bakit?" she asked.
"Ikaw na talaga Menggay ... ikaw na ikaw na ... anong shampoo ba ginagamit mo? Rejoice ba? Haba ng hair eh ... sumusunod sa galaw mo ... sumusunod." Her aunt sang, teasing her. Maine's face turned red and she sat on a nearby chair.
"In fairness Meng ah, mga gwapo na may mga pera pa ... hindi rin maarte tsaka mababait pa." her mom commented, clearly impressed by the two.
"Eh wala naman akong pakialam sa itsura tsaka sa pera eh, importante yung mabait sila." Maine uttered and was met with doubtful looks from her Mom and Aunt.
"Wehh??? Mamatey?" her aunt asked her.
"Hala ... enebe? Um, islayt lang pero siyempre mas importe pa rin yung nasa loob kesa yung nasa labas." Maine answered.
"Edi papasukin mo yung nasa labas." Her aunt then said, making Maine and her mom laugh.
"Baliw talaga kayo, Tita. Nga pala ... um, based dun sa nakita niyo ngayon, kanino kayo boto? Por sayans lang po ito kasi di ba sabi nila importante yung first impressions?"
Maine's mom and aunt looked at each other. They were about to answer when her Dad suddenly re-entered the living room and asked her if he was included in the question.
