Drum Beats

Sixth Beat

Richard was so happy when Maine agreed. But little does he know, she...well..

She dialed a number.

"Hello J!"

"Ugh. This better be good, M."

"The fucking virgin just asked me out today. I gave him an excuse but he got a good answer to it. What do I do?!"

"Argh! You wouldn't be worrying about this if you didn't agree in the first place!"

"Oh! So it's my fault now?!"

"Well you're the one who had sex eith him and took his virginity."

"I wanted to stop but he—"

"Excuses, excuses. Now stop calling me. Fix that on your own."

"Gee. Thanks, Juanita."

"How many times have I told you not to call me—"

Maine ended the call before J could even finish her sentence. J was no help at all.

She needs to solve this on her own.

She sipped the coffee she made earlier and dialed another number. Now she has to cancel her plans.

"Hi Maine!"

"Hey babe," Maine replied sweetly. "Listen, I uh—have to cancel on our plans today."

"Why? Did something bad happen?"

"Yeah. My mom was rushed to the hospital. I have to go there and take care of her."

"Aww! You are so sweet!" The girl on the other line replied. "I understand. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, no. It's okay. I'll see you at the bar next week?"

"Okay. But remember to call me. I love you."

"I'll remember. Thanks. Bye."

Maine ended the call and dialed two more phone numbers. One that belonged to a guy and another one that belonged to a girl.

Something tells me I'm gonna regret this, Maine thought. You better be worth it, Richard.

***

"Meet the parents agad?! What the hell are you thinking?!" Dee exclaimed when he found out about Richard's plan.

"She's gonna meet them someday anyway. Bakit ko pa ba patatagalin?"

"This is a HUGE step, Faulkerson. Sige nga, how are you gonna tell tito and tita how you met Maine? In a bar then you had sex after? Just a mention of the bar thing and your mom's gonna kill you. Paano pa if malaman niya na you had sex with a girl you had just met that night?!"

"My mom is a very understanding woman, Dee. You know that. And I'm not gonna mention the sex part, okay? So relax."

"What about Maine? Aren't you gonna tell her about this?"

"Surprise nga diba? She won't get angry. I know it."

"You seem confident about that. I still think it's stupid."

"Think what you want to think. I don't care." Richard picked up his car keys and went out of the door, on the way to pick up Maine.