Plethora: ABUNDANCE

chapter seven.

"nandito pala ang mga Lopez?" usisa ni Scarlet, isa sa mga classmates namin. She glanced over a table behind us.

The Lopezes owns a lot of commercial businesses and telecommunication offices all over the country, minsan lang silang namamalagi dito, they are basically from Iloilo, its just that few of their business are really growing here kaya pumupunta sila dito. Nakikita ko din naman sila sa mga socialite gatherings ng mga pamilya namin, especially when there are investors coming from Spain na mga kasosyo ni Abuella. My family have the widest connection here in our town, kaya sa tuwing may bumibisita ay nagpapakilala kaagad lalong-lalo na ang mga gustong magbukas ng mga negosyo nila.

"is that Astrid Lopez? Anong nangyari sa kanya?" tanong pa ng isa.

Inignora ko ang pangiintriga nila tungkol sa mga Lopez, it's a bit of a stigma of what happened in the past that I don't really get at all, business stuff that I am really not interested.

"feli! Where's Livi?" tanong ng isang pinsan ni Yvo, si Paolo.

I faced the crowd, "she got us food"

"you look nice tonight" saad nito, inching a bit closer.

Tumikhim ako at umusog palayo. I really dislike people getting into my personal space,

"gracias" saad ko at ibinaling muli ang aking atensyon sa isang mini orchestra na ngayo'y nagpapatugtog ng isang classic opm.

"what do you want, pao?"

Sabay kaming napalingon ni Paolo kay Yvo, he's wearing a white open collared beach shirt and a dark blue board shorts, may bitbit din itong baso at mango shake.

He handed me the shake, "Livi got you this, nandoon siya kina Kylie"

I nodded, "why don't you join them? Mamaya pagkatapos ng party ay magbo-bonfire kami" he informed.

I sipped on my mango shake, "later, napagod ako kanina sa mga kalokohan ni Olivia" palusot ko.

I'm not really this antisocial, pero talagang wala ako sa mood makipag socialize ngayon, I just want to go home and relax, get a massage or something.

Later that night, nakisali na rin ako sa mga Salvador, si Olivia ay tuwang-tuwa dahil pinayagan kaming uminom ng cocktail drinks, as if cocktail drinks lang talaga ang iinumin niya. We played beside the beach under the moonlight, nagpalit ako sa isang see through dress with my one piece white swimsuit.

"bueno! Let's play another game!" Livi giggled, maybe a bit drunk from the rum she's drinking.

"the classic spin the bottle!"

I huffed, my bestfriend is a hopeless romantic!

Nagsihiyawan na rin ang iba naming mga kaklase, even Kylie, the birthday girl is a bit drunk kaya todo supporta sa mga kalokohang iniisip ng kaibigan ko.

She stumbled to reach for an empty wine bottle, pumwesto kami sa isang pavement sa gilid ng buhangin at doon pinatuloy ang gustong laruin ni Livi.

When we all settled, "oh, rules! Dalawang beses lang puwedeng mag truth! Walang killjoy!"

Inumpisahan na niyang paikutin ang bote ng wine, una itong huminto kay Paolo.

"truth or dare, chikito?" tukso ni Livi, calling Paolo a little boy dahil mukha itong bata at dahil mas bata rin ito samin ng isang taon.

Paolo playfully swatted a few sand towards Livi, "truth!" sagot nito.

"tch, you coward" komento ni Livi.

She roamed her eyes before asking Paolo a question, "o sige nga, are you still a virgin, little boy?" tanong niya.

Nanlaki ang mata ko sa sinabi ni Livi, Paolo's ears got red in an instant at her question. Dios mio!

"you're so drunk Olivia!" tawa ni Yvo sa kanya.

Napatingin ang lahat kay Paolo waiting for his answer, he scratched his ears, "oo naman" mahina nitong saad.

Humagalpak ng tawa si Olivia at ang iba pa naming mga kaklaseng babae.

The game went on hanggang sa akin naman huminto ang bote, Livi clapped at that, pinatigil na siya ni Yvo sa iniinom niyang rum at ngayo'y juice nalang ang iniinom ngunit mukhang lasing pa yata ang kaibigan kong 'to.

"umayos ka, por favor" I threatened.

She nodded like a kid, "por supuesto, mi amiga!" sure thing, my friend!

"truth, ofcourse" i said.

She rolled her eyes at me, "gosh you're so boring!"

Ibinato ko sa kanya ang takip ng isang softdrinks na iniinom ko kanina, she giggle and hushed everyone upang pakinggan ang itatanong niya.

"do you like someone?"

Bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko, tahimik pa rin ang mga kaibigan namin, waiting and anticipating, expecting a satisfying answer from me.

Do I like someone?

Paano ba malalaman kung may nagugustuhan kang tao? What does it feel?

"h-hindi ko alam, wala" I answered like a coward.

Tama. I don't know, all my life I am liked by people, hindi ako ang nagkakagusto, I am always liked by everyone that I don't even know the feeling of liking someone, I like my friends, well, technically as friends, ngunit, hindi ni minsan nasagi sa aking isipan kung may nagugustuhan nga ba ako.

Naging mailang ang paligid until Yvo spoke, "okay, my turn to spin!"

It was Olivia's turn, "it's a dare you boring people!" she squeeled.

Inutusan siya ni Yvo na magtampisaw sa dagat, para mahimasmasan, she happily skipped towards the calm ocean, sinamahan siya ni Paolo, from a distance I can hear her mumbling and complaining.

We ended the game when Olivia started complaining that she's sleepy, isa-isa kaming nagsitungo sa aming mga cabin, sa grand hall ay nandoon pa rin ang aming mga kamag-anak, drinking wines and whiskeys, catching up over family matters, business, and other stuffs adults often likes to boast about.

"thank you, yvo" pasalamat ko.

I was about to go inside to join Olivia nang pigilan ako ni Yvo, he took a step back when I faced him.

"what's the matter?"

His jaw flexed, as if his teeth gritting, tumahimik ng ilang sandali nang magsalita siya muli.

"feli, i like you" he confessed.

Tinignan ko siya, Yvo Salvador is not that bad, well, as to Olivia, he is a fine man. His family has been good friends with our family too like the Ignacios, he is a good guy, he excels in his academics and is good in sport.

Ngunit,

"yvo, i'm sorry, i'm-------------"

"no, it's okay, you don't have to answer me," he said, a hint of panic in his eyes, scared that I might reject him.

But Yvo Salvador, I also consider him as a good friend. I have no issues with him, but I also have no special feelings for him.

"gusto ko lang malaman mo ang nararamdaman ko, at sana wala pa ring magbago sa pagkakaibigan natin" he said.

I gave him a soft smile, "of course, you will always be a good friend, Yvo"

"goodnight, feli"

"goodnight, yvo"

we don't really get to decide whom and when we will like someone, we can't also decide for other people, that is why when the bottle spins, there's always a reason why it stops, it stops for someone either to make a dare or find a truth.