Shooting Star is my Friend

Counter

"Hoy, gaspang! Ano pa ba tinitingnan mo diyan? Magbayad na tayo. Ang haba ng pila!" si Nichole. I won't be wondering why she called me 'gaspang'. Well, she got that from Raffy. ROUGHfy.

Nasa mall ako ngayon. Sa bookstore, specifically. And yes, I'm with my best crazy stupid insane friend named Nichole Atterswan. Ang jejemon nga ng first name e, may 'h' pa. But I admire her last name. Atterswan. Palibhasa kano ang tatay. I don't have a plan to mind her. I am busy scanning the bookshelf. I like reading fiction books.. a lot.

"Babaeng umaasang mamahalin ni Jerome. Magbayad na ho tayo. Isang scotch tape lang 'yang babayaran mo, kahaba ng pila," lumapit na siya sakin at kinausap ako ng mahinahon.

"Hey, shut up there, uling. I'm busy. At kahit isang scotch tape lang 'to, mahalaga 'to. It is worth waiting for," I answered without looking at her. Why 'uling'? Got that from her name.

"Worth waiting for your face. Dinadamay mo pa yung scotch tape sa kadramahan mo. Tara na, nakapila si Jerome. Ayun oh," nakita ko sa peripheral vision ko na ngumuso siya sa counter. I know it ain't true that Jerome is there but a small part of my mind wanted it to be true. Isang banggit pa lang kasi sa pangalan niya, napapalingon na ako. But not this time. Once na tumingin ako sa counter, my best crazy stupid insane friend will laugh and clap like a retarded seal at me.

"Nah. You can't fool me," sabi ko habang lumalakad papunta sa kabilang shelf at si Nicole? Ayun. Hindi nakatiis. Nagtingin ng magazine na si Dickon Geronimo ang front page. Then who's this Dickon? Siya lang naman ang not-so-famous (he's just starting his career) model na pinapantasya ni Nichole. Ewan ko ba kung bakit niya pa 'pinapantasya'. We're too close for her to do that. Yes. Ako, si Nichole, si Dickon at Iris ay magkakabarkada. Now I am scanning the shelf as I slide my forefinger at the books when I saw someone. I squint my eyes to confirm then I went to Nichole.

"Magbayad na tayo," sabi ko sa kaniya habang nakatingin siya sa front page ng magazine. I won't deny. May itsura si Dickon. He has that brown eyes, perfect eyebrow, pointed nose, and nice lips. Just like Jerome. I can imagine him at the front page of a magazine, too.

"Kita mo 'tong babaeng 'to. Kung kailan ako busy tsaka mag-aaya," bumalik ako sa katotohanan nang magsalita si Nichole at naghanap pa ng ibang magazine.

"Halika na. Nasa counter 'yang tinititigan mo dyan!" I was not kidding. Dickon is the one I saw at the counter.

"At gaya gaya ka pa ng linya," tumingin siya sakin, "eh ako ang nagsabi sayo kanina nasa counter si--" tumingin at tumuro siya sa counter, "Dickon--" tumingin ulit siya sakin, "Tapos sasabihin mo ngayong --" tumingin ulit siya sa counter at nakitang nandoon nga si Dickon ng buhay niya, "Tara," sabi niya at nauna pang naglakad.

Ako-Nichole-fat guy-Dickon 'Yan ang pila sa likod. Hindi namin nakatabi si Dickon dahil naunahan kami ng matabang lalaki sa harap namin na isang damakmak na ballpen ang hawak. Baka ipantutusok sa sarili para umimpis. Sabi ko sa isip ko. And I lightly laugh at my thought.

"What are you laughing at, Zel?" a boy at my back asked me.

Wait. This can't be happening. Nobody calls me Zel... except him.

**

AN: Well, after two years. May nakita kasi akong nagsabi ng "Update." Hahahahahahha. Honestly, I've deleted the whole story. Kaya ngayon, nanghuhula ako ng panibago. Here's the new one. Come on, read it. Haha.