Once Upon A Nightmare

1st Nightmare

"Wait lang ha, just have to take this call." Pasimple pa akong ngumiti sakanila as i made my way out of the cafe.

I placed the phone on my ear and smiled as I greeted the person on the other line with a "Hi!"

"....."

"Nasa coffee shop lang malapit sa school."

If there really was someone...

"Oh? Ang aga naman yata? Really?"

"...."

"Oh.. babe sorry, I'm with my friends ngayon eh. Can we reschedule? Maybe next time?"

"..."

I went inside with the phone in my left ear and tried to sound as mischievous as I can as I bid that other person goodbye.

"Yeah I will, you too take care.. bye."

"Sorry, boyfriend alert!"

Veena gave me a smug smile whereas Erin just shrugged.

"Alam mo Paige, mag-iisang taon na kayo nyang boyfriend mo but never in our entire career had you introduced him to us. Wala kaming alam sakanya kundi his face na galing pa sa sketch mo. Kahit manlang sana his name ayaw mong ipaalam. If i were a bit easy, i'd probably think you're just faking us you know."

I did my best to act normal.

My heart ached at the thought of me fooling my best friends. Classmates and best friends for almost a decade and yet, I still don't have the guts to be myself and admit I'm actually single.

I just really don't think I can do it. I'm too cowardly and incapable of speaking up the truth. Especially to people I don't want to lose.

Kung bakit ko pa ba kasi nagawang magsinungaling ng ganito. Wala eh, hindi ko na napigilan pa.

I smiled. "Alam nyo namang busy yun."

"Yeah right. Too busy to make time to meet us. Kami na ang naging family mo ever since, wala ba syang balls to introduce himself man lang?" Tumawa nalang ako to hide my nervousness. Hindi naman din nagtagal pa ang pagtambay namin sa coffee shop.

Nauna nang umuwi si Erin ng dumating ang boyfriend nyang si Paul. Kasabay ko namang lumabas ng coffee shop si Veena and she's waiting for her boyfriend Gab, too.

"You have to make sure, Paige, na sa birthday bash ko isasama mo na yang jowa mo ha. Kating-kati na akong kilatisin yan. Ang tagal nyo na pero ni hindi nya manlang magawan ng paraang ipakilala ang sarili nya saamin? He should be ashamed of himself." Pairap na sabi ni Vee.

I heaved a sigh. "I hope so, Vee."

"No. Ayoko ng ganyan Paige, I want him to be there. What's the use of having him as your boyfriend kung ikaw lang ng ikaw ang lagi nyang nakakasama? Paano naman kami makakapagdecide if he's good enough for you kung ganito nalang palagi? You know we're just looking out for you, kami ni Erin. Pati nga si mommy napapatanong na rin kung kailan mo ba dadalhin sa bahay ang boyfriend mo. Paano pala kung may issues sya at in danger ka na hindi pa namin alam?" I didn't say anything. Hindi ko rin naman kasi alam ang isasagot.

"Sa birthday ko ha. You have to make sure. Kasi kung hindi eh magagalit na talaga ako."

Napalunok ako. Paano ko to magagawan ng paraan? Next week na ang birthday ni Veena..

Should I hire someone to pretend as my boyfriend?

But how? Ilang beses na nilang nakita ang digital portrait na ginawa ko of him. How can i escape this now?