"Alexander?"
Napatingin ako sa taong nasa harap ko ngayon. Or should I say, nasa kabilang dulo ng table kung saan nakalagay ang mga libro.
"Aria. We meet again."
"UYYY LIKA NGA DITO HAHAHAHA WHY THE SERIOUS FACE BRO HAHAHAHA!" Lumapit na rin ako sa kanya at binigyan siya ng the ever so famous Nathan Montefiore Bear Hug.
"Why don't we go to Starbucks muna? We've gotta do some catching up, seriously." Sabi ko habang ginugulo hair niya.
"Stop doing that shit on my hair. It's so annoying. And I want ice cream. Kaka-starbucks ko lang eh." Hahaha! Ugali ko na kasi yung panggulo sa buhok ng mga kapatid ko. Except for Luke, of course.
"Fine," She gave me her oh-so-famous sweet smile then came to me.
"Wait lang. I'll just pay for these." I went to the counter then paid. Tapos inakbayan ko na si Aria and we proceeded to Gelatissimo.
After naming magfree taste, nag-order na kami ta's umupo na rin.
"So Aria, why are you here nga pala?"
Her smile turned into a frown. Hala?
"It's like you want me to leave ah. Still maldita kuya, tsk." Then her frown gradually turned into a smirk. Ang bipolar rin ano?
I shook my head to a no and gave her a smirk.
"Whatever you say Aria,"I took a bite fron my ice cream before continuing my sentence.
"Seriously." Sobrang pigil na ako sa kakatawa nung sinabi ko yun, swear.
"What the hell kuya? If you just saw your face... HAHAHAHA panalo!" She smeared ice cream on my cheeks. ANG LAGKIT PUTA.
"Wait what? Oh my god!" Tinatanggal ko ng wet wipes yung lagkit sa cheeks ko. What the faaaaa.
"Stop being a girl kuya. Shit, 'Oh my god!" Sabi niya mimicking my voice.
And by that, we laughed the hell out of our asses. I took a deep breathe and continued to interrogate her.
"But I am seriously serious, Ms. Montefiore. You couldn't just go here without a reason, di ba? It's been what, 6 years? Dali, explain."
"Secret. You'll know din, promise!" She even raised her hand to oath herself. Tch, what a child.
Arianna Alexandra Montefiore, she's my sister. Mas bata siya sa akin, and she's taking up BS Management in London. 1st year na siya, she left the Philippines right after her 8th grade course then dun na siya tumira sa Europe.
"Sabi mo yan ah." I ate the last scoop of my ice cream. Grabe, dalawang subo ko pa lang ata eh ubos na yun. Tapos halos 200 na? Heh. That's actually fine, barya lang yun sa 'kin pero say what? Lugi ka.
"Paano ba yan kuya, I'll visit you later sa bahay mo. Okay? I have jetlag so I just bought a few groceries then pauwi na ako, ta's nakita kita and I decided to go there. Eh medyo inaantok na ako so bye na! Love you!" BEFORE I EVEN GOT A CHANCE TO OBJECT, she went out na. Patay, nandun pa naman si ---nevermind.
Bumalik na ako sa loob and found myself checking the shelves of Fullybooked. I got a lot there because the books are complete-r than those of National Bookstore. After paying, it's already 12:30 kaya nagpunta ako sa Pizza Hut for lunch.
***
Fastforward to as soon as I finished eating, may 1 hour pa akong vacant then Fil 1107 na. Last slot ko for Monday. Nagikot-ikot pa ako, got a Caramel Frappe from Starbucks, tapos nakakita ako ng WAAAAAHH.
