Chapter 12
"Steffie, darling!" bungad sa amin ng isang bakla nang makapasok kami sa boutique.
"Linc!" bati naman ni Ate Steffie sa kanya. "By the way, these are Julie and Elmo. Our maid-of-honor and bestman."
"Hello there lovebirds. Have a seat please." aniya.
"Lakas ng British accent oh." bulong sa akin ni Julie. Tumango naman ako and suppressed a smile.
"Linc, they're not together. They're just bestfriends." ani Ate Steffie.
"Oh darling, believe me. These 2 here won't stay bestfriends for too long." sambit naman ni Linc. Kumunot ang noo namin ni Julie saka pa nagtinginan. "Come along now, we don't want wasting time do we?"
Pumunta na sa fitting room sina Julie at Ate Steffie at agad naman silang inasikaso ng mga assistants ni Linc.
"I should've married a long time ago. Kasal ko lang pala ang magpapasuot ng gown sa kapatid ko eh." sabi ni Kuya Fort habang hinihintay namin sina Julie.
"Hahaha. Oo nga kuya. Si Ate Steffie lang pala makakapilit sa kanya to wear a dress eh."
"Yeah. Spoiled kay Steffie yan. Even before we became a couple. Kahit nung college pa lang kami ni Steffie sobrang spoiled na si Julie sa kanya. Palibhasa walang kapatid si Steffie kaya ganun."
"So since college magkakilala na kayo?" tanong ko. Tumango si kuya at saka ngumiti.
"Yeah. Steffie's my bestfriend. Parang kayo ni Julie. Yun nga lang mas matagal kayong magbestfriend ni Julie. Si Steffie kasi, classmate ko siya from first year to fifth year namin. Tapos parang one-of-the-boys din yan. Lalo na sa course namin? Engineering is also a male-dominant course."
"Paano naging kayo? I mean, paano nadevelop?" tanong ko.
"Well, crush ni Steffie yung kabarkada ko. Si Jiro. Chinito kasi yun eh. Diba you know him?"
"Ah! Yung nakalaro natin kahapon? Yung sino ba yun? Yung 5 ang jersey niya?"
"Yeah. That guy. Kaya lang, itong si Jiro may nililigawang iba. Syempre he sees Steffie as one of us lang dahil nga magkakabarkada kami. So parang platonic love lang."
"Eh anong naging role mo? Knight-in-shining-armor?"
"Hahaha. Well, not exactly. I became their bridge. Since sa barkada kasi bukod kay Bryan, si Jiro yung pinakaclose ko. So yun. Tapos nagtataka na lang ako bakit kapag magkasama sila naiirita ako. Mga ganun. Akala ko dahil syempre may nililigawan nga tong si Jiro diba. Tas yun pala I was already in love with her. Late ko na narealize kung hindi pa siya nagbalak sumunod sa parents niya sa California." nakangiting kwento ni kuya.
"How did you realize it?" pagtataka ko.
"Hm. Parang sakit yan eh. There are signs and symptoms that you're in love with your bestfriend."
"Signs and symptoms talaga kuya? When did you become a doctor? Hahaha."
"Haha. Baliw. Yan kasi yung sinabi nila mama and papa sa akin nun." aniya. "Actually, there are 3 parts in this. The first part of the signs and symptoms that you are in love with your bestfriend is what you call, 'Deep Feelings'."
"Deep feelings? Haha. This is awkward pero sige. Ano ba yun?" sabi ko.
"Does it feel awkward talking about this?" tanong niya.
"Kinda." kibit-balikat na sabi ko. Tumawa si Kuya Fort saka tumango.
"Uh-huh. Awkward pala ha? Anyway. Deep feelings. 1. Is when you feel those little demons inside your stomach. You stutter when you talk to him/her as if your hearts in your mouth and you find it hard to breathe properly." sabi ni Kuya Fort. "2. You find it hard to concentrate. For example, you are bored or you're not in the mood to listen to your professor so your mind travels away from your place towards her and all you can think about is her and how you'll be spending your lunch with her."
