The Bobby Andrewz Show

Chapter 11 - It started with Garfield

Chapter 11

Underneath the doormat was a tiny yellow Post It note from Garrett, his 10 year old little sister.

She left a message on Bobby’s beeper when he was in the cab.  She said she left a chocolate cake for him in the fridge but if he could pretty please look at her secret note under the doormat by the front door.

Bobby smiled as he read Garrett’s note asking if she can borrow his Game Boy when she came back from school later that day.  At the end of her note was her signature, a tiny heart and the letters TGIF.

Bobby put the note in his shirt’s front pocket to make sure he didn’t forget his little sister’s request.  She had a really soft spot in Bobby’s heart and had Bobby wrapped around her little fingers but of course, his spoiled little sister didn’t have to know that.

Bobby unlocked the front door of their home with his key.

As he stepped in the hallway and closed the door behind him, he noticed the house smelled good like someone sprayed a bottle of Victoria’s Secret cologne in the living room to infinity and beyond.

Bobby shook his head.

If his younger teenage sister Christina would commit a crime one day, she wouldn’t have a chance evading the law.  Her overwhelming scent would have been a giveaway. But then again, every frou frou girl in the country was  wearing that popular cologne brand, anyway, so yeah scrap that.  She may actually get away with it.

Bobby headed to his room.

His mother wasn’t home yet so he had a couple of hours to pack for Boracay and think of a getaway plan that would not raise any suspicions or concerns from his all-knowing Nanay.

He had never lied to his parents in his life.

 If he did, today would be the first time and only because he knew he was doing it to fulfill his lifelong and perhaps, once in a lifetime dream of mingling with the stars in the elusive world of television.

Bobby dropped himself on his bed, thinking of a million ways to justify his impromptu trip to paradise.  He looked at the walls for answers.

The posters of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder yielded nothing.  Not even his NU 107 Rock Awards tickets and photos tacked on his cork board on the wall taken with his favorite comic yet genius rock band Parokya ni Edgar.

His eyes led him to the dart board hanging on the back of his bedroom door. 

He slowly sat down on his bed and pulled out the drawer in his bedside table.  He took out an old picture that he didn’t have the strength to even put in a frame.

It was Melissa’s high school graduation picture smiling brightly at him, her eyes full of life and passion for her future.  At the back of the picture was a note for Bobby saying how much she would miss him when she left for the States after high school to start a brand new life with her family.

Melissa was Bobby’s first love.

They met in high school when she transferred in the middle of third year, hoping to be a transient student for a year and a half before she moved back to America to be with her family.

Melissa was very pretty and bright but she did not have the confidence to believe so.  She was usually quiet in school, unassuming, always wanting to fade in the background.

But because she was the “new kid on the block”, she became the love interest of almost every hot blooded male in the campus, wanting to be in her limelight, working hard to win her attention like a trophy that they could stupidly flaunt around.

Bobby was one of the first ones to notice her in school, not for her beauty or brains but for her effortlessness to stand out or be noticed.

One day, they sat next to each other in the school library.

He was busy doodling on his notebook to pass the time when he saw her stealing a look at his drawing.  He was sketching an image of Garfield with his glasses on, looking smart while reading a book. 

“Do you like Garfield?” Bobby said, speaking in English to accommodate the Fil-Am student’s native tongue.

“Oo naman.  Super favorite ko s’ya.  But I can draw better than you though.” Melissa said nonchalantly.  

Bobby was surprised that Melissa could actually communicate in Tagalog.

“You speak Tagalog?” Bobby asked.

“Okay ka lang?  Of course I can.  But don’t tell anyone.  That’s my secret so nobody bothers me.” Melissa whispered.

They both burst in laughter.  Everyone in the library turned their heads to look at them.  In a few minutes, Bobby and Melissa were in the librarian’s office being reprimanded for inappropriate behavior.

That’s how their love story started.

And that’s how Bobby came to like Jelly Anne Ferris six years later after graduating from high school when he first saw her on TV.  Jelly Anne, the snobbish TV actress who did not want him to go with the team to Boracay, looked like Melissa.   

It's funny how Melissa and Jelly Anne could look so much physically alike but their characters seemed very far apart.

Bobby heard the rusty gate of their small compound being opened and closed.  In a few seconds, the front door of their house slammed closed.  He heard rushed footsteps in the hallway.

Bobby gently put Melissa’s picture back in the drawer.

He stood up and heaved a sigh.  His Nanay was at home.  It’s time to face the music. 

He looked at Jelly Anne’s huge poster on one of his bedroom walls and winked at her picture-perfect image.   

“See you tomorrow love.”

Author's note:

The song in the video is by Parokya ni Edgar released in 2005.  It's perfect for Bobby's feelings for Melissa.  I have yet to find a 1990's love song that would describe his first love.  Stay tuned.

TheBobbyAndrewzShow.2014

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