"Chadchad"
"Hmmmm"
"Girlfriend mo ba talaga ako?"
It was another day with him and while we were just chillin' on our living room, I asked him that question out of nowhere. He turned to me and looked me in my eyes.
"Ano bang gusto mo?"
"Bakit ako?"
"Girls will decide"
"Gusto mo ba akong girlfriend?"
"Bakit ka ba nagtatanong? Ayaw mo na ba akong boyfriend"
"Sabi ni Mama, boyfriend and girlfriend isn't for kids"
He smiled and pinched my cheek.
"I'll wait. 7 na fireworks na lang"
-
Mabilis na natapos ang summer. Highschool na ako and I really am nervous. Mas malaking school, mas maraming tao.
"Menggay", he whispered. Kasama ko si Chadchad, hinatid niya ako sa bago kong school kung saan din siya nag-aral dati.
"Chaaaad, kinakabahan ako"
"It's okay, that's normal", he said and held my hand tighter.
"Huwag kang mag-alala, ibibilin kita sa mga kakilala ko dito. Halika na sa loob", he said.
Naglakad kami magka-holding hands. May mga napapatingin sa amin tapos biglang nagbubulungan, I don't give a damn. Hindi kailanman krimen ang makipaghawakan ng kamay sa boyfriend mo.
"Chadchad, doon yata yung room ko", sabi ko nung makita kong nalampasan na namin yung dapat ay classroom ko.
"I know, sandali lang. May pupuntahan tayo"
We walked a few meters before someone called his name. He turned then I saw him smile.
"Mang Jani", he said, his smile became wide.
"Richard, my dimple boy! Yowbeybi how are yow?"
He chuckled he let go of my hands, then did some handshakes with this man. Napalingon sa akin bigla 'yung lalaki.
"Siya ba ito?"
"Si Maine po", he said.
"Maine si Mang Jani. Siya ang pinakamabait na janitor dito-"
"At pinakagwapo", dugtong ni Mang Jani.
"At pinakagwapo", he repeated. "Kung may problema magsabi ka lang sa kanya"
"Yup. Bibibap"
Natawa ako. Such a jolly man.
"Hello, Mang Jani"
"Hello Maine! You look prettier than how I imagined you", medyo napataas ang kilay ko sa narinig dahil he speaks English well.
"A-ano pong ibig sabihin niyo?"
"Lagi ka kasing kinekwento ni Richard", he said then winked at me.
"Mang Jani", Richard said while scratching his nape. He looked cute.
"O sige na, you go already. We don't want Maine to be late on her first day of school"
"Sige po. Mang Jani ha?", he said then pulled me away. We stopped right infront of my designated room.
"Mabait 'yon at marami ka matututunan sa kanya. Alam ko na bago lang 'to sayo Menggay. This will be your first step to learn new things, to somehow mature and have your own point of view in life and in other things, to decide for yourself, to know what you wanted to be. Marami kang makikilala dito and I know that you are smart enough para malaman kung sino ang totoo sa hindi", he said while holding both of my shoulders. I just nodded.
"Maine...", he whispered.
"Bakit?"
"You're growing so fast", he continued while looking straight into my eyes, tagos. He held my cheek and pinched it, hard.
"Aww! Chadchad!"
"Baka kasi hindi mo na ipagawa sa akin 'yan next next week", he said and looked away na para bang may bahid nang lungkot.
"Chadchad. Umiiyak ka ba?"
"Hindi", he said then caressed my cheek. I caressed his too. His smile went bigger then after a few seconds he blinked then cleared his throat.
"Get inside your room. Learn and enjoy", he said. I don't know why but I hugged him. Tight.
"You can do it baby..", he whispered and that alone calmed my heart.
-
"Sino 'yon? Boyfriend mo?", I turned to where the voice came from. Sa likod ako umupo sa pinakahuling upuan sa may dulo at sa kaliwa ko ay isang babae, mahaba ang buhok at tsinita. Ngiting ngiti siya habang hinihintay ang sagot ko.
"Sino ka? Chismosa?", I asked her back. Her mouth fell open and I am expecting her to say nasty things about me cause what I said was really rude but instead she just laughed out loud that caught the attention of our other classmates, hinampas niya pa nang mahina ang braso ko.
"I like you already. Best friends na tayo from now on. Hi I'm Joyce", sabi niya at inilahad ang palad niya. Tumingin lang ako sa kanya. Amused and amazed.
"Ano? Alam ko na maganda at nakakatulala talaga ako besh. Hahaha"
This time I laughed with her.
"Maine", I simply said.
"Maine!", she exclaimed.
"So bestfriend", sabi niya at inakbayan ako. "Boyfriend mo ba 'yung hot na fafable kanina?"
I chuckled.
"Napakachismosa mo"
"Curious lang", she said defensively.
"Bakit ba?"
"Yung tinginan niyo kasi iba eh. Tsaka yung body language, grabe!"
Hindi ko naiintidahan yung pinagsasabi niya but the way she talked about it parang nage-gets ko na hindi.
"You looked inlove", she said clasping her hands together, her eyes were dreamy.
"Inlove?", I asked pero hindi ganon kalakas para marinig niya at madistract ko siya kung ano man ang iniisip niya at sakto lang para marinig ng puso ko. Inlove? Am I? Is he? Are we?
Mayamaya ay bumaling ang tingin niya sa akin.
"So boyfriend mo nga?"
"Ha? Ah... Oo?", hindi ko alam kung para kaninong tanong ang sagot na 'yon. Sa tanong ba niya o sa tanong ko.
"Ay! Bongga ka bestfriend. Haba ng hair mo eh no? Ganda mo no?", she said cheerfully and exaggeratedly then tapped my chin.
"Ha.. Ha?"
We were interrupted with our other classmates standing up greeting our teacher who just arrived.
Wow. That was something for my first day of school, eh? To think na nag-uumpisa pa lang ang araw na 'to. Now I'm thrilled. Ano pa bang tanong ang itatanong ko sa sarili ko. And yeah, I somehow like Joyce and her antics. I guess this is a start of something memorable.
