Plain stupid

Brisette

Ring...

I reached for my cellphone on the bedside table and yawn while looking at the caller's ID.

Gwen Calling...

"*yawn* Hello?"

"Bri! Wake up! Wake up! You need to know this!"

"Ano yun?"

"It's about Xandrew. Guess what?" Excited na sambit nito sa kabilang linya.

"Do I really have to? It's too obvious based on your mood."

"Do you think I chose the perfect date? October 15? Hihi."

"So sinagot mo na nga sya. What do you *yawn* feel?"

"Of course I'm happy! 2 months ko rin syang pinahirapan noh! Anyways, gumising ka na nga! It's already 10 in the morning. Tutal today is Saturday, why don't we hang out?"

"Gwen... I have—"

"Yan ka na naman eh. Pagdating sa galaan lagi ka nalang 'I have something to do.'  'Next time nalang.'  'Tinatamad kasi ako eh. Wala ako sa mood.'"

"But... Aish! Fine. Sandali lang tayo at uuwi na ako ah?"

"Yeah, Yeah. Whatever. Hurry up! Hihintayin kita sa balcony namin."

"Okay. See you."

Ibinaba ko na yung call at dumiretso sa bathroom. Naligo ako at nagbihis hanggang sa mapatingin ako sa salamin.

Ano ba ang itsura ng isang Liana Brisette Morgan?

Bukod sa makapal na salamin at simpleng mga damit, laging nakaponytail na buhok at may mahabang pilikmata. Wala na. Wala kang makikitang kahit anong kolorete sa katawan. Ganun ako kasimple.

Ring...

Gwen Calling...

"Gwe—"

"Ano na? Nasaan ka na?"

"Eto na. Papunta na."

"YOU WOULDN'T believe what he did for me! My gosh, Bri! He pull on a serenade for me. It was so romantic. And you know what?"

"What?" Tanong ko kasabay ng pagsubo ko sa favorite chocolate ice cream ko.

"He gave me a bunch of roses and a cute life sized stuff toy!" ngiting ngiting saad nya habang nakatingin sa kutsara nyang may vanilla ice cream.

"Matutunaw yan oh! Atsaka masyado naman atang common yung ginawa nya. Walang originality?"

"Taray! You know what? Bitter ka lang kasi. Kaya wala kang boyfriend eh."

"I wouldn't want to have one. Besides, mas okay na maging single. Malaya! I can do whatever I wanna do. Walang heartbreaks, lover's quarrel, gastos and such."

"Ewan ko sayo. Gusto mo bang maging matandang dalaga in your entire life? That would be boring."

"Of course not! I just want to reserve my firsts to the one I'll marry in the future."

"So you mean, mali na ibinuwis ko ang mga first happenings ko sa kanya? Like... He's my first boyfriend. Definitely my first kiss. Kaso sa forehead. Sa dalawang buwan nyang panliligaw sakin, he never attempt to kiss me on the lips. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Maybe a good one. That symbolizes respect, Gwen. And I'm not saying that it's wrong to surrender your firsts to him." Inubos ko na yung ice cream sa cup ko at pinunasan ng tissue ang labi ko. "Wag lang ang virgini—"hindi ko naituloy ang sasabihin ko nang ituro nya ang kutsara nya sa mukha ko.

"Brisette! Of course not! I'm not yet insane to give myself to him! That's disgusting."

"Chill! I'm just kidding around."

"Anyways... My brother will go home next week. There would be a welcome party for him. Are you coming?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh come on, Bri! Two years na kayong di nagkita tapos sasabihin mo 'I don't think so'? Okay ka lang?"

"Alam mo namang hindi maganda ang naging past namin."

"Wow! Past! Big word. Parang may nakaraan la— Joke! Hahaha. Galit na agad yan oh."

"What I mean is you know? He changed. And so do I. Hindi na kasi sya yung tulad ng dati na parang tupa sa sobrang bait."

"Okay, I get it. Pero sana naman pumunta ka para sakin. Please?"

"Ano namang gagawin ko dun?"

"Ipapakilala kita kay Xandrew at sa mga friends nun."

"Huh? Sa kaibigan ng boyfriend mo? Ayoko nga! Kakasabi ko nga lang na hindi pa ko ready mag boyfriend atsaka sino namang magkakagusto sakin?"

"Imemake over kita! Sige na please?"

"Fine. "

"Great! Tara na. I wanna go home."

PINATAY KO ang alarm clock sa bedside table ko at sinuot ko ang salamin sa tabi ng alarm clock.

Naligo ako at nagbihis tapos bumaba ako para magluto ng breakfast. I open the fridge and picked two eggs, cheese and some carrots and other veggies. I chopped the carrot into small cubes and so do the celery and other veggies. I open the stove and placed the pan. Put an oil to it and fried the eggs and such until I made an omelette.

"Wow! Omelette for breakfast?" someone said.

Wait! Sino yun?

"Good morning, Bri."

"Railey! What are you doing here? Hindi rin uso sayong kumatok ano?"

"Haha. Alam ko naman ang passcode ng unit mo kaya why would I bother to knock?"

"Anyway, what brings you here?"

"I'm just checking you out. Since we haven't got the chance to hang out for almost years?"

"Ganun? So niyayaya mo ba akong mamasyal?"

"Ganun na nga."

"I'll just finish my breakfast and off we go."

He was looking at me the whole time while I'm eating my breakfast. It's not awkward for me since he is one of my friends on high school until college. Naging close kami hanggang ngayon. He is already an engineer.

"You want some?"pagbasag ko sa katahimikan.

"No need. Busog na busog na ako." he said while smiling that gives way to show me his deep cute dimples.

What a view!

I put the plates on the sink and walk through my room. I pick one of my floral blouse and a pants from the closet. I also get some flats in the shoe rack. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled contentedly at my appearance. Simple and comfortable.

"Tara?"pagyaya ko sa kanya habang kinukuha ko yung susi ng kotse ko at yung sling bag na nasa ibabaw ng center table.

"Bri, you never changed. You're still the simple girl I met way before. The simple girl whom I fell in love with over and over again." sabi nya at hininaan nya ang boses nya sa bandang huli.

Ngumiti nalang ako at nagpanggap na narinig yun.

"Mas okay na maging simple at komportable. At least I can move with ease."

He just shook his head and walk towards outside my unit. His right hand is on his pocket while the other one is holding a car key I guess?

"Yung kotse ko na ang gagamitin natin ah? I'll do the honor of driving. Just leave your car in the parking area for a while."

"Alright." sabi nya at isinilid nya na ang susi sa bulsa nya.

Nagmaneho ako palabas ng building at pinaandar papunta sa isang park. Tahimik lang sya at yun ang ipinagtataka ko. Ang daldal kaya nyan dati! Anong meron at wala syang imik ngayon?

"We're here. Let's go?"

He just nodded at me and we started to walk. Tahimik lang kaming naglalakad at naglakas loob na akong basagin yung nakakabinging katahimikan.

"Kamusta ka na? It's been years when we two last saw each other. Parang kailan lang nung parehas pa tayong nasa university. Namimiss ko na nga 'yung panlilibre mo eh."

He laughed in response kaya medyo gumaan ang pakiramdam ko. He's not awkward anymore, I guess.

"Speaking of libre, want some ice cream?" tanong niya matapos ituro ang ice cream stall di kalayuan.

Napatango ako bilang tugon kaya naman ay naglakad siya patungo sa ice cream stall habang nakasunod naman ako sa kanyang likuran.

After he paid for it, he gave me the cup with lots of toppings in it. And as usual, hindi niya pa rin nakakalimutan kung anong favorite flavor ko.

"Chocolate! Thank you, Railey!" magiliw na sigaw ko kaya napatawa siya sa reaksyon ko.

"Para ka pa ring bata."

"Bata pa naman ako ah?" I sat near the bench and enjoyed the ice cream.

Naupo naman siya sa tabi ko habang nilalantakan naman niya ang vanilla flavored ice cream na binili niya.

"You know what? I missed this."

"Huh?"

"Namiss ko 'yung ganitong routine natin dati noong college. Sabay tayong bibili ng street foods at ice cream kapag uwian. Sabay rin tayong kumakain ng lunch sa ilalim ng puno malapit sa field. Sabay rin tayong nagrereview for upcoming tests."

"Now that you've mentioned it, you're right. Namiss ko rin nga iyun. The only thing I won't miss in college ay 'yung masungit at terror na professor namin na si Ma'am Sosa. Grabe, I still remember the way she called my surname out loud 'nung mahuli niya akong gumagamit ng phone. That's traumatizing!"

"Oh, I remember that! I texted you that day and you just checked your phone but she seems oblivion about it. Sorry... Hehe,"

"What are you saying? Past is past. Tsaka napagalitan na ako kaya wala nang kwenta 'yung sorry mo," pangongonsensya ko.

Napakamot lamang siya ng batok pero napansin kong bigla na lang naging seryoso ang mukha niya.

"Bri..."

"B... Bakit?"

"I... I really missed you. And about it... I have something to tell you."

"Ano yun?"

"The truth is... I've been inl—"

My phone suddenly rang kaya humingi ako ng paumanhin kay Railey at sinabing sasagutin ko lang ang tawag.

"Hello?"

"Miss Morgan? Si Denny po ito."

"Denny? Bakit ka napatawag? May problema ba ang resto?"

"Yun na nga po, Miss. May problema po tayo about the catering service. Meron po tayong complainant, Miss," tila kinakabahang pahayag ng nasa kabilang linya.

"A... Ano?! Ba... Bakit daw?! Anong problema?"

"Nagkamali daw po ng venue na pinuntahan. Mali din po ang mga nakaserve na pagkain. Nagrereklamo po 'yung customer at nagrerequest po ng meet up. Isesend ko na lang po 'yung schedule since hindi daw po siya makakapunta ngayon at may inaasikaso pa siya."

"Okay, just send me the details and I'll deal with it. Thanks, Denny."

I ended the call and sighed. Napahawak tuloy ako sa sintido nang dahil sa natanggap na balita.

"Are you alright?" Railey

"Yeah. Don't mind me. Ano nga ulit 'yung sasabihin mo?"

His eyes widened for a bit pero umiling lang siya at nagsabing nakalimutan niya ang sasabihin niya.

"Tumatanda ka na yata dahil ang bilis mo nang makalimot," I joked but he kept silent. "Oh, Hehe... Itatapon ko lang 'yung cup ha?"

Maybe he didn't find it funny kaya nagmamadaling napatayo ako sa kinauupuan para makatakas sa awkward atmosphere na iyon.

But with that state, I was surprised nang may mabangga ako sa aking pagtayo dahilan para matapon sa suot nitong business suit ang remnants ng ice cream sa hawak kong cup. It splattered on the ground pati na rin sa suot nitong sparkling black shoes kaya naman ay nanghihinayang na napatingin ako doon.

"Oh my goodness! I'm really really sorr—"

Napatigil ako nang masilayan ko kung sino ang nasa harapan ko ngayon.

A pair of burning eyes was looking directly at me. He has a Greek God feature that almost hitched my breath for a reason. A pointed nose and a lips with a screaming intensity. He's a good looking being minus the fact that he's wearing a stained business suit. He's hot!

I mean... He's hot literally! Why? Umuusok kasi ang ilong at tenga niya sa galit. He's fuming mad at tila namumula ang kanyang mukha.

"Are you blind?! Or just..  Plain stupid."

Hindi niya ako hinayaang makasagot pa dahil agad itong naglakad paalis.

"Tito, wait for me!" The little boy run after the guy.

Ang sungit naman ng isang 'yun! Hindi ko naman sinasadya eh.

But wait... Did he just called me plain stupid?!

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