Saving Harper

Muse

"Girl, you need this!" Jem said as she added another cocktail dress sa growing pile of clothes ng pinapa fit nya saakin. Hila-hila nila ako ni Liv sa Greenbelt to shop for a dress to wear sa party ng kapatid ko.

"I need this? Or YOU need this shopping therapy?" I asked her kasi dalawang damit naman yung kinuha nya for herself.

Her pile was almost as much as mine while si Liv nagphophone lang. Ayaw nyang nagshoshopping kasama namin kasi mas nagtatagal lang daw kami. Well true. Shopping with Jem takes about a day and a half.

"Wag kang magreklamo. Kailangan mas maganda ka sa ate mo." Jem moved on to the next rack pulling out clothes to inspect them.

"Mas maganda naman talaga sya kay Holly. Kulay palang!" Liv spoke up. I think I have the most loyal friends. Kahit dalawa lang sila.  

"Thank you, Liv." I chuckled. 

Holly and I could not be more different. From our looks down to our personalities. She has a pale complexion she got from our mom, habang ako naman morena like the women from our dad's side of the family. She has straight hair, while mine was long and wavy. She was as thin as a model and two inches taller than me, while ako naman kahit payat, kita naman yung assets ko. Hilda is like an almost-mini and younger version of Holly, at ayaw na naririnig yon ng ate namin.

"Number one fan mo ko." Liv gave me a thumbs up a smile. Yup. I have very loyal friends.

"Sa totoo lang it doesn't matter what we think, para kay Holly sya lang maganda. So it doesn't matter what I wear." Umirap ako.

Siguro ok na din na nalayo ako sa kanila ni Hilda. Who knows baka ganon na din ako ka self-centered if forever kaming mag kakasama? Aside from the imaginary competition sa utak ng ate ko over my parents' approval. She has this notion na porket tatlo kaming babae, she needs to best us as well sa pagandahan. She wanted the best clothes and she usually throws a tantrum (kahit malalaki na kami) when mom attempts to buy Hilda and I the same ones she has. She never fails to gloat when someone tells her that she's the prettiest, as if nanalo sya ng award. Sa totoo lang si Hilda lang naman yung affected, I'm not even playing her stupid game.

"Wala tayong pakielam sa iniisip ng kapatid mo. Ang iisipin natin yung soon-to-be ex-fake boyfriend mo." Jem said habang may dinagdag nanaman sya sa hawak ko.

"Teka why soon-to-be ex-fake boyfriend?" Olivia asked looking up from her phone.

"Duh. Kasi ang mission is maging boyfriend for reals na nya yang si Xavier. Kaya 'ex-fake-boyfriend' kasi soon-to-be-real boyfriend na sya dapat." Jem frowned at Liv as if saying 'bakit di mo nakikita yung point ko?'.

"Teka lang Jemimah. Ni hindi nga natin alam kung type ba ko ni Xavier. Kung makapag salita ka dyan parang ako pa yung manliligaw sa kanya." I grimaced. 

Super awkward tto talk about Xavier like this. Na parang trophy na pag aagawan naming mag kapatid. I mean we don't even know what's Xavier's opinion. Riot kung pareho kaming hindi type ni Xavier. Which is also a big possibility. Mukha lang kaming tanga non ni Holly. Alam kong hindi competition, but I'd rather Xavier not choose anyone between me and Holly kesa sya yung piliin.