Story of a Girl

Realizations and Departures

“Summer has come and passed, the innocence can never last.” Green Day

 

Paige nudged Lara and looked meaningfully in Alex’s direction. They were on a tricycle and were on their way home from school.

“Weh, Alex, is anything wrong?” Lara asked her dejected-looking best friend. Alex has been stonily silent since they came from school.

“You look really annoyed about something.” Paige added cautiously.

Alex let out a sniff. “That stupid Shin.” She said with a frown.

“Why? What did he do now?” Paige asked.

“Well we were just texting last night and we got around to talking how much we liked each other in terms of percentage. Wala lang, just a random piece of conversation.” Alex began.

“And?” Lara prodded her friend to continue. 

“And he said I’m ninety-nine percent.” Alex said.

Paige looked confused. “You’re ninety-nine percent, but where did the one percent go?”

“To Lara. He said the one percent is Lara because she’s his friend.” She answered wretchedly.

Paige shot a glance towards Lara but Lara looked as bewildered and as shocked as she was.

Alex looked at Lara’s befuddled face. “I hope it doesn’t offend you but I just am a bit jealous of you.” She confessed.

“But why?” Lara asked starting to feel bleak at having caused her best friend pain without even knowing it. She felt guilty even if she knew she had done nothing wrong. “It’s not like I’m interested in Shin, Alex. I don’t even think him cute. I just like his company because we have so many things in common, like a playmate.”

“I know.”

“He is just being stupid, I suppose. You know how scatter-brained he can be! I’ll scold him for you.” Lara crossed her arms decidedly.

“No need. He’ll think I’m tattling on him again.” Alex mumbled.”Basta lang. Just leave it alone.”

Lara telegraphed her confusion to Paige who was listening silently to the conversation with furrowed eyebrows. Paige shrugged helplessly.

They kept silent all throughout the ride home.

  

“What?!” Lara exclaimed over the phone. “You and Shin have broken up? But why?”

“Basta,” Alex sounded so sad at the other end of the line. “Basta, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Lara twisted the telephone cord around her finger till it turned red and numb. “But—but you still love him right?” She asked, almost into a whisper.

A pause. “Of course.” Alex answered in a shaky voice.

“Then why?!”

“We decided it’s for the best.”

Lara’s friendship circle came to suffered much after that. Shin still hung out with them but he and Alex would often get into petty arguments that the usual happy-go-lucky ambience would become so uncomfortable. Alex and Shin still kept mum and would not divulge the reason for their break-up which made matters more difficult for the rest of them in the group who had no idea of what went on with them.

“Maybe it’s because of Alex.” Eugene whispered one time.

“What do you mean?” Lee asked.