Luke
I woke up in an unfamiliar bed.
Turning, I saw Kate beside me, still asleep. Nakakapagod maging kriminal. After "vandalising" the junkyard and our mini-tampuhan, all I wanted to do was sleep.
Seeing how exhausted I was, Kate insisted I sleep over. This was not unusual, but sharing a bed was.
She took pity on me and let me share and now I found her sidling up to me in her sleep, hugging me. Then, she started crying, "Kuya, wag niyo pong hulihin si Luke! Ako po ang criminal mastermind!"
I tried, desperately, to keep my laughter in. BUT she had to add,
"Huhuhu! Luke! Walang hustisya! Walang mga puso!"
My body started shaking and I covered my face with a pillow, but my movements woke her up.
"Ang gulo mo naman eh! Lumayas ka na nga." She complained, still half-asleep.
"Kate! Tulungan mo ako. Ayaw ko sa prison!!!"
She sat up immediately. "Mamang pulis!!!! LUKE!!!!!"
I guffawed.
She turned to me, confused. When she realized that it was all a dream, she started hitting me. "You jerk!!! Asshole! Yung puso ko! Kinabahan ako!!!"
I kissed her cheek. "Good morning, Ka-te!"
Kate, which I pronounce as /kah-teh/ when I annoy her, was how I used to call her when we were younger. Her first ever makeup purse was monogrammed, but something went wrong during production and the KA was a bit farther than the TE.
I started teasing her and when she got pissed, she called me, "Bu-Luke." (Bulok)
"Good morning, Bu-Luke. Hindi ka talaga ikukulong?"
"No. May consent ng Tito ko yung pagpunta natin. Anyway, you want breakfast? Magluluto ako?"
"Sige!"
Favorite niya talaga yung luto ko eh, so I whipped us some scrambled eggs, hotdogs and fried rice. I also made her favorite french toast.
"Hmmmmm! Ang sarap! The best talaga kapag nandito ka eh," she commented, while biting down on her toast. Then, all of a sudden, she goes, "I'm sad."
"Bakit?"
"Kasi... we're doomed to be good and boring for the rest of our lives."
"You make it sound so bad! Besides, you're not good. Napakasama kaya ng ugali mo?"
Kate's eyes widened. "Hoy! Grabe ka! Kailan ako naging masama sa'yo?"
"Ilan ang gusto mo?" Without waiting for an answer, I started listing, "Fourth year high school, alam mong may LBM ako at nahihiya na ako sa crush ko. Nung nanghingi ako ng favor na dalhan mo ako ng tissue, anong ginawa mo?"
"Nagdala ako ng tabo sa may CR niyo tapos sumigaw na sana walang marka sa brief mo?"
"Oo, at sinabi mo yun ng malakas... kasi kasama mo yung crush ko." I reminded. "College — hindi tayo nasundo and alam mong hindi ko alam yung sasakyan para magcommute, pero dahil naiinis ka sa nililigawan ko, what did you do?"
"Pinasakay ka sa bus palayo sa bahay natin," she answered, cringing. "Kasi naman! Ang laki laki mo na hindi pa marunong mag-commute. At nakakainis talaga yung babae na yun! She hated me!"
"O, anyway tapos na yun. Recently, sinong nakitira sa akin nung may pest problem sa condo mo, tapos inubos lahat ng pagkain ko and didn't replace it? Nagutom tuloy ako isang time na nag overtime ako."
She blushed. "Sorry na nga kasi."
I hugged her. "Oo na. But see? Hindi ka mabuting tao!"
"Leche," She pulled away. "Luke, those make me cute and annoying, they don't make me exciting."
"True. Sobrang boring mo... but then who says that's wrong? I'm glad you're boring... kundi baka you've unfriended me a long time ago."
"Awwwww, ang sweet mo naman, Bu-Luke!" She wrapped herself into my arms again. "I won't unfriend you. Who'll make my favorite french toast?"
I rolled my eyes. "Okay ka na ba? Can we quit this attempt at being bad?"
"Just one major attempt nalang please? Let me think about it. Tapos I promise, I'll be good again."
I pinched her nose. "Hay nako, Ka-te. Fine. One na lang ha?"
"Yes. Just one last."
