A Silent Serenade

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The stars and the moon

My mind was surprisingly calm. His embrace wasn't rough or forced. Instead, it was gentle and full of longing. Natigilan naman ako nang bigla nalang akong nakarinig ng kaluskos mula sa pintuan na para bang binubuksan ito.

The door bursts open, then I quickly pushed Simon. Nagulat s'ya sa ginawa ko, muntikan na s'yang matumba dahil doon. Kahit ako rin naman ay nagulat sa ginawa ko! Pareho kaming nanlaki ang mga mata at di maipinta ang mga mukha.

"What the---" hindi n'ya naituloy ang sinasabi n'ya at pareho kaming napatingin sa dumating.

"Congratulations! Woooh!" Bungad ni Almira. May dala dala s'yang mga pagkain at sa tingin ko ay isang box ng beer.

"O...bakit kayo parang nakakita ng multo dyan?" Tanong n'ya dahil pareho kaming gulat ni Simon na para bang nahuli kaming gumagawa ng krimen. Tumikhim si Simon at tinakpan ang katawan n'ya gamit ang towel n'ya.

"Ugh..." I hear Simon whisper something out of frustration. "You should've knocked...or somethin'" pagalit n'yang sabi. Ako naman ay parang tuod lang na nakatayo hawak-hawak parin ang bouquet of flowers that Simon gave me.

"Huy, Emmy, are you okay? Did I interrupt something?" She asked us, umiwas lang ako ng tingin kay Almira at umiling-iling.

"Wala, wala, ano...kinongratulate ko lang rin kani-kanina lang si Simon. Tapos dumating ka kaya nagulat ako---kami. W-wala ka namang na interrupt." pinanliitan n'ya lang ako ng kanyang mata, I started to get nervous but thankfully she just shrugged it off. Dumiretso s'ya sa sofa at nilagay sa coffee table ang dala n'ya. Simon mouthed me 'Really?' and raised his brows. At that time, I just wanted to hit him. Kung hindi s'ya aayos.

"Ohhh! Look at this," kinuha n'ya ang crown at isusuot sana ito pero hinablot iyon ni Simon mula sa kanya. Pareho kami ni Almira na napatingin kay Simon, parehong gulat. Nagulat ako sa ginawa n'ya kaya pinanlakihan ko s'ya ng aking mata, lowkey asking why he did that. He's acting really strange!

Tumikhim lang s'ya, "You can't wear this."

"Uhm...okay?" Naguguluhang sabi ni Almira. She chuckled at his reaction. Napabuntong-hininga naman ako. What's wrong with him?

"I'll just get dressed, I'll be back." Pagpapaalam ni Simon at tinalikuran na kami. I saw how Almira suspiciously shook her head.

At nang wala na s'ya ay agad akong hinila ni Almira paupo sa sofa katabi n'ya.

"It's weird." Sabi ni Almira. She crossed her arms and squinted her eyes at me with her lips protruded.

"What's weird?" Nagtataka kong tanong.

"Usually, when Simon wins something like this, may pa victory party pa eh. Pero ngayon..." She shook her head slowly and rested her back on the sofa.

Hindi ko rin naman ineexpect na hindi s'ya magpapa-victory party at uuwi agad. Akala ko nga ay bukas na s'ya makaka-uwi.

"I-Itanong mo nalang sa kanya kung bakit."

"Maybe later, when we're tipsy or something. That guy's really shady these days eh." She just clicked her tongue and proceeded to unbox the beer and took out the other foods. May chichirya pa s'yang dala-dala, may ibang take-outs rin. May chicken wings, pizza, fries and some nachos.

"Bakit tayo mag-iinuman?" Tanong ko kay Almira. Pupwede namang konting salu-salo nalang at wala ng inuman.

"Mini victory party, tsaka isn't it nice? Exclusive lang." She giggled. "Oh by the way, when was the last time you drank alcohol?" Tanong n'ya.