Snicker & Tears

58: Birthday Surprise

"Hello, Gie!" Spencer's response as he put the cellphone near his left ear because his good friend called.

"Bro, Happy Birthday... pero hindi talaga happy when you see it!" nervous Reggie said while Spencer was still listening from the other line.

"Ang alin ba?" Spencer asked, not understanding what his friend was saying.

"Check your DM on Twitter, I have sent something," said Reggie.

"Sige, sige. Salamat, p're." Spencer ended the call and quickly opened his Twitter app on his cellphone.

"Darlene's leaked video." He said slowly as he read what was written on his cellphone screen. He pressed the play button and watched Darlene's video where he found it hilarious. The girl's kissing with Paul- Sierra's friend and Darlene's classmate, their classmate. He was unable to finish watching the video because he couldn't enjoy watching that flirtatious scene.

Sierra, on the other hand, had to get up early to do the thing she had been training for so long- baking a cake.

She is now in the kitchen, dirty because she has been baking the cake for a few minutes. Eventually she was done, and now she created a delicious food- a cheesecake that she cooked and baked herself.

She removed the plastic gloves in her fatigued hand and also the apron that was on her body. She left the kitchen and went to the bathroom to bathe. After bathing, she now stands in front of the mirror, well-dressed and looks like a fragrant flower disseminating her scent that smells so seemly.

As Sierra looked at herself in front of the mirror, the words of Spencer had spoken inside her mind, those were the days that the guy stating his farewell for taking a short vacation in Pampanga as their school year ended.

"O..." Spencer said as he handed over the item he was carrying. "Regalo ko sa 'yo bago ako umalis."

Sierra accepted what Spencer had given her, something that could not be determined because it was wrapped inside the brown head scarf.

She opened it and looked at the things one by one.

"Sa 'yo na lang 'yan, 'di ba ikaw si Tom? 'Cause you're always hurting Jerry... Me." Spencer smiled and looked at Sierra as he looked at the t-shirt he was giving. It was the T-shirt he bought when they went at Pampanga- the Tom and Jerry couple shirt but Spencer only loved Jerry but it became compulsory because the T-shirt was on a 'buy one, take one' promo.

"I'm not Tom, I will never chase you." Sierra made a solemn promise as she said those words directly to Spencer's face.

"Cheese crap, isuot mo 'yang t-shirt sa birthday 'ko, a!" Spencer complained and even though he didn't say that Sierra was required to obey his request, that thing was evident in his face.

"Sa 'yo na rin 'yang sweatshirt na si Tom, isuot mo 'yan 'pag taglamig na, 'pag December gano'n para hindi ka ginawin." Spencer said again when he saw Sierra, now holding a sweatshirt with Tom printed on its cloth.

"Then, itong head scarf din para naman hindi puro 'yang bonnet na black na 'yan ang suot mo. Nauumay na 'ko d'yan, e, mukha kang holdaper." Spencer was talking as if it was a joke but he seemed serious about what he said. "'Yong head scarf na 'yan, binili sa 'kin ni Papa 'yan no'ng buhay pa siya, ibigay ko raw sa special someone 'ko, ah-- I mean, someone na special for me? Oo, 'yon." He had a very long oath while Sierra was quiet.

"..."

"'Yan... 'di mo na siguro 'ko makakalimutan n'yan," Spencer commented in his words. "Tatlong bagay na magpapaalala sa 'kin sa 'yo."

"Three indeed?" Sierra asked as she held up the things Spencer had given her.

"Three... yes! Bakit, ano naman kung tatlo? Oh, cheese! It's not what you think," Spencer said as he figured out what the girl was thinking. "Ba't ba nasa bulsa ko 'to?" he asked as he slipped his hand inside the pocket of his skinny jeans.

"O, a 'yan! Sa 'yo na rin 'yang bola ng baseball 'ko para apat na!" Spencer handed the small round object to Sierra. "Baka kasi isipin mo kaya tatlo binigay ko ay... nag-a-I love you ako sa 'yo."

Sierra stared to him and he knew what does that mean. "It's okay if you have nothing to give." Spencer smiled at Sierra and he finally stood up. He faced the girl. "'Pag nami-miss mo 'ko, tumawa ka lang. Wag kang iiyak, ha? 'Pag umiyak ka, 'di na 'ko babalik, sige ka! Kita-kits! O keng tutuki naman kaibigan kung malago pero pilosupo!" (Hanggang sa muli kaibigan kong maganda pero pilosopo)

Sierra smiled leaving the mirror and her room. She headed to the kitchen to pick up the cheese cake she had made.

She is now walking down the street to Spencer's house because they have talked about meeting on his birthday. Sierra also thought they might be okay because Spencer watched her yesterday where she performed and danced. The guy even greeted and congrats her.

Then, she reached the front of Spencer's house and pressed on the doorbell but not the man he expected to see coming out the door but Wennard, Spencer's step dad.

"Sierra, right?" Wennard asked as he approached the gate.

"Yes po," replied Sierra as she was still in front of the gate.

"Oh, Spencer was right. He knew you were going to come here kaya pumunta siya sa Ayala Triangle Gardens. Siguro hija, doon mo na lang dalhin 'yang regalo mo sa kanya para makapag-usap din kayo ng mabuti. Maybe he's waiting there in your favorite hangout spot." Sierra smiled and leaned down her gaze slightly in honor of the man who spoke to her.

•••••

"Tama na, Darlene! Let's stop this! You're just fooling yourself! Niloloko ko na lang din ang sarili ko! Tama na, please!" Spencer said while talking madly to Darlene right now.

Darlene went to Spencer and searched for him at Ayala Triangle Gardens. Darlene tried to explain to Spencer what he saw in the video but Spencer did not allow her to explain because the man saw everything he saw in the video.

"Baby, no! Sa 'kin ka lang!" Darlene hugged Spencer so tightly that Spencer could no longer move. In the meantime Darlene's hug was tight and get even tighter because she didn't want to let Spencer go.

Sierra witnessed the scene because she was already at Ayala Triangle Gardens and had just arrived. She now stands near the place where the two she is watching are standing.