That Summer

05: Him

Chapter Five

"Aia!"

"Coming!" I yelled back as I hurriedly fixed my ponytail. I immediately picked up my bag and closed the door when I heard Mom yell from the outside.

Pagdating ko ng sala ay nakita ko ang tatlong tao na prenteng nakaupo sa sofa at nanunuod ng tv habang kumakain ng almusal na handa ni Mama. Agad naman umikot ang mga mata ko sa nakita.

Lily's sitting on the floor, not minding her pants will be wrinkled. Lucas eating pancakes with bananas on top. Brent on the other side is eating pancakes as well while his eyes are fixed on the TV. Wala si Nikki. Sinumpong ng allergy. Di kasi nagsabi na allergic pala sa strawberry eh strawberry flavor pala yung biniling ice scramble ni Lucas nung tumambay kami sa tabing dagat kahapon.

"You guys really are shameless, huh?" I said as I turn the tv off. Agad naman silang nagsireklamo dahil sa ginawa ko. Napapadalas na kasi na napunta sila dito sa bahay para lang makikain. Akala mo di pinapakain sa kanila. Pabor naman sa mga Tita at Tito ko na nakikikain sila dito. Bawas daw sa palamunin sa bahay.

"Tita, favorite ko na talaga luto mo!" Lucas said, purposely ignoring my presence.

"Me too, Tita" Brent also said which made Lily act disgusted with his statement.

"Plastic" Bulong ko sabay upo katabi nila.

I can also speak pure Filipino now as Nikki and Lily keep on insisting that I should learn the language fluently especially since I will be living here permanently. Bunga ng mahaba-habang pasensya ng dalawa ay nakakasalita na ako ng tuwid. Ilang mura at hampas ba naman inabot ko sa kanila. Sinong di matututo? Still have the accent but we'll get there.

We also grew closer to the band except Raider. The guy that smelled like mint and cigarettes that I almost bumped into. Mailap sa tao. Nasalita naman pero bilang lang sa kamay. Siguro pag sinisermonan lang yung tatlong ulupong saka nahaba ang mga sinasabi. Pero kahit na ganon iyon ay mabait naman. Naging taga-libre nga namin iyon nung may gig sila sa San Fransisco.

Syempre tuwang tuwa ang mga chanak. Libre yon eh.

I'm still wondering kung saan ko sya nakita bukod sa ka-bandmate sya nung mga baliw or maybe guniguni ko lang. Parang may kamukha kasi sya na nakita ko na before.

Natapos na rin ang kaplastikan ng tatlo kay mama at nagpaalam na aalis na kami para pumasok sa eskwela. Gamit ang van na binigay ni Tito Sid para service naming magpinsan ay tinahak na namin ang daan papunta sa Halle.

Dalampasigan by The Cohens was playing on the radio connected to Lily's phone. Wala naman kasi kaming matinong stasyon na mahagilap sa radyo para mag-sound trip kaya phone nalang ni Li yung ginamit.

With the windows rolled down, I relaxed in the backseat.

The cool morning wind of August entered the car as the three kids that I'm with sang the song played on the radio.

I put out my camera and took several shots of them laughing and singing not minding if they look stupid at the moment. I also took some shots of the scenery outside.

Kids playing kites, elderly people taking a walk while looking after their grandchildren, fishermen on the way to the sea to catch some fish just to put food on their stomachs, and cars passing by, on the way to school or their job.

I smiled as I scanned the photos on my camera. I'll get this printed out later.

The trip was chill as we enter the school premises. Kanya-kanyang baba rin kami pagkapark ng kotse dahil iba-ibang building ang pupuntahan namin.