When Destiny Plays (Soon to be Published under Grenierielly Publishing)

Chapter 26

Wednesday, third week of July. Rei's birthday party will be held at their house with his friends, family, relatives and friends of his younger sister as well. While preparing for his birthday tonight, he tried to bake a cake for himself even though they ordered his cake—arriving later.

"Busy ang anak ko, ah. Sana maging masaya ka sa araw na 'to." Niyakap siya ng nanay niya nang mahigpit at hinaplos ang likod niya.

"Enjoy mo lang ang ginagawa mo sa ngayon, kami na ang bahala para sa birthday mo." Nang makaalis ang nanay niya, bumalik siya sa paggawa ng cake para sa sarili niya.

Inaaral din niya ang pagluluto dahil gusto niya rin matutong magluto ng iba't ibang pagkain o putahe. Para na rin matikman niya ang sarili niyang luto at maihain din sa iba. Naging abala siya sa paggawa ng cake nang ilang oras, sa wakas ay malapit na rin siyang matapos. Nilagay niya sa loob ng oven ang gawa niya at nag-antay. Maya-maya ay narinig niya ang pagtunog ng cell phone niya, kaya naman agad niya itong hinanap sa sopa at tiningnan ang natanggap niyang message.

"Happy birthday, Rei..." Isa-isa niyang binasa ang sunod-sunod na pagbati sa kanya ng mga kaibigan niya. Ang group chat nila kung saan kasali ang lahat ng kaibigan niya.

He noticed their greetings for him. He loved reading those long messages he received from his friends—containing their best wishes for him. Once he saw Eunice's message and as the last person who greeted him, he immediately responded with so much effort.

He couldn't understand why he felt glad and ecstatic, the mixed feelings he felt wasn't really for Eunice, but he just kinda believed that it was for her, and then later on, he found himself admiring her. Iba na ang nararamdaman niya para sa dalaga.

***

"Wow, Eunice talaga napapansin lagi..." bulong ni Koeli sa sarili niya nang mabasa niya ang reply ni Rei kay Eunice. She rolled her eyes and placed her phone on the table.

"Eunice lagi, lagi na lang si Eunice napapansin. Tsk..." She felt irritated and disappointed at the same time as she witnessed Rei's response to Eunice's greet earlier.

"Sana all napapansin kahit ano'ng ginagawa, sana all... letse!" Nakakunot ang noo niya at gigil na gigil. Hindi namalayan na sa sobrang galit niya ay naibato niya ang ballpen na hawak niya.

Natulala si Koeli nang mapansin niyang iba na ang ikinikilos niya. She sighed and stood up from her seat to take the pen she threw away earlier. Napapaisip na lamang siya na minamalas siya sa araw na iyon. That was the only thing she could possibly think.

"How I wish ako na lang si Eunice... I want him to notice me... even just a single smile for me."

Koeli started having a deep talk with herself. Mahirap para sa kanya ang magiging papel niya mamaya dahil hindi niya alam kung ano ang magiging reaksyon ni Rei.

"I hope Rei won't take it seriously, that I would lie to him that the others couldn't make it." Koeli stood up from her seat and stepped closer to the mirror, checking her face as well as her facial expression.

"I look cute—I mean it."

She started preparing herself after seeing the time. It was already 5:45 in the afternoon. Rei's birthday will be held at exactly 7:00 p.m. She wanted to look good not for the others, but for Rei and her best friends. Only for them, but she forgot that dressing up for others wasn't a good choice, more like dress to impress than dress to impress herself.

***

"'Yan na ba lahat?" bulong ni Alishabeth kay Glenn habang pinagmamasdan ang mga balot na regalo sa harapan niya.