8:32 PM

Unknown:

It's ya boy Slade. New Number. Your Fault!

And guess who just showed up at the party?

You:

Your Sugardaddy named Shrek?

Unknown:

Funny

Riley's here with that hottie Piper plus that dude in a batman costume

You owe me 3 dares

You:

I owe you nothing

Unknown:

Wala palang isang salita si Reika De Juan?

What a chicken

You:

Who said I was backing out?

Unknown:

Nice.

I dare you to attend this party.

You:

It's a costume party

I don't have a costume 

Unknown:

I got u covered

pick u up in 20 mins

You:

I hate you

Unknown:

Wait 'til you see our costume

You:

Our costume????????

Unknown:

Here's a clue for u

You: 

I HATE YOU SO MUCH

Unknown:

The more u hate, the more u love. U know the drill.

        "Madapa ka sana!" Napasigaw ako sa harapan ng cellphone ko dahil sa inis. Damn you, Slade!

         "Who pissed you off?" tanong ni Silver at naupo sa sofa dala ang pangalawa naming bowl ng Popcorn. It's her day off and we're binge watching some creepy videos on youtube. Sadly, we're gonna have to cut it short.

         "Is your brother really that annoying?" Napangiwi ako.

         "Siblings are supposed to be annoying so I always find him annoying," she shrugged.

         "So I guess Slade is my unofficial big brother now huh?" Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako.

         "That or future love interest." Kaswal na komento ni Silver. 

         "Eww!" Napangiwi ako.

         "Yeah... that's a bad idea," aniya pa saka umiling-iling.

****

          I rolled my eyes the moment Slade arrived in his brown beat-up car. He gestured me to get in the front seat and I had no choice but to comply.

         "Why do you have to ruin my life?" I asked exasperatedly as I got in and put on my seatbelt.

         He laughed and grabbed something from the back of his seat. "I haven't even started yet"

         My jaw dropped when I saw that he was holding up two sets of white & blue striped pyjamas. I thought he was just kidding!

        "Y-you were serious?" I gaped.

        He grinned. "Wanna be B1 or B2?"

        "You have gotta be kidding me..." Napangiwi ako.

       "Too bad we don't have those banana masks, luckily I found an alternative," aniya at may kinuha mula sa glove compartment. Dalawang kulay yellow na wig na hanggang sa leeg ang haba.

         "This is so dumb!" I yelled.

         "And?" he giggled an idiot.

         "I'm B1!" I couldn't help but giggle as well.  Who was I kidding. His costume idea was brilliantly fun. And besides, I'm always down to having some fun. 

           Slade raised his knuckles for a fist pump. I obliged as I jokingly rolled my eyes.

***

        Dressed in our  wigs and pyjamas, Slade and I kept laughing at each other as we reached the crowded beach. A band was playing up the stage and the crowd was getting pretty wild and drunk. So much for a pep rally.

        "Reika?" Kapwa kami napalingon ni Slade.

        Pabiro akong ngumiwi nang makita si Sawyer nakasuot ng lab coat na gaya ng sa isang doktor. May hawak siyang dalawang baso ng alak at mukhang hindi na makatayo nang maayos. Namumula na ang mukha niya, halatang lasing na. Medyo tisoy kasi.

         Gaya ng inaasahan, pinagtawanan ako nang todo ni Sawyer. Napahawak siya sa tiyan habang tinuturo ako kaya naman kumiba-kiba ang laman ng kanyang baso. 

         "Ba't ka naglasing? Baka mamaya 'di ka na naman makapagpigil sa crush mo!" Pang-aasar ko sa kanya kaya sa isang iglap ay napaayos siya nang tayo at naging seryoso ang mukha.

          Alam na alam ko talaga kung paano pikunin ang malanding 'to.

         "Come on, wala namang ganyanan," he frowned like a little kid. "Sinusubukan ko namang baliwalain 'tong nararamdaman ko eh kaso--"

         "Okayyy! I hear you, brother! I hear you! Let's go get you some air okay?" Mabilis kong sigaw bago pa man mabulgar ni Sawyer ang sikreto niya. Iniyakap ko ang braso sa kanyang bewang at inagaw ang mga hawak niyang baso saka ito inabot kay Slade na halatang nalilito.

         "When's your next soccer game?" Pag-iiba ko ng usapan habang hinihila si Sawyer palayo sa maraming tao. Mahirap na, baka may makarinig pa sa kanya.

         "Ayoko na sa Soccer! Basketball player na ako ngayon!" Giit niya.

         "But you loved Soccer? We used to play that when we were kids?" Tanong ko.

         "She doesn't like Soccer! She likes Basketball!" Aniya kaya hindi ko napigilang matawa. My Slutty Best friend really got it bad with that girl. 

          Saktong nakasalubong namin ang mga nakababatang kapatid ni Sawyer sa dalampasigan. Siyempre, inihabilin ko na siya sa kanila. Baka mamaya sukahan pa ako bigla. Sinabi naman nila iuuwi na nila ang kapatid kaya kahit papaano ay napalagay ako.

        "Okay lang ba yung kaibigan mo?"

         Lumingon ako at nakita si Slade. Sumunod pala siya. Inabot niya sa akin ang isa sa dalawang baso ng alak.

         "He's not okay." I shook my head and laughed. "Aren't we all are?"

        "You could say that..." Slade nodded nonchalantly as he took a sip from the glass.

         Nagsimula akong maglakad patungo sa dalampasigan habang umiinom mula sa baso ng alak. Napakaganda ng buwan sa ibabaw ng madilim na dagat. Kumikinang dina ng mga bituwin sa kalangitan. 

         "Damn, those waves sound so good!" Humalakhak si Slade at tumingala. Para bang dinadama ang malakas na hanging dala ng naglalakihang alon.

          "Like a syndicate taking control of you?" I joked. I took a chance to jab a pun. 

           Slade chuckled as he took another sip from his glass. "Funny how this beach was also the reason why Heath came up with our band name. Except he just added the word syndicate since he thought it sounded cool."

           "Akala ko ba may gig kayo ngayon?" tanong ko.

           "We were the first act. Tapos na kaming tumugtog," aniya.

            Nagsimula akong maglakad sa gilid ng dalampasigan, sumunod naman sa akin si Slade. Malayo-layo kami mula sa kumpulan ng mga tao pero kahit ganun ay rinig pa rin namin ang banda na nakasalang sa stage.

            I cleared my throat upon remembering why I was here.

           "Hindi naman sa hinahanap ko siya pero sabi mo kasi andito siya," I was critical as I started. "I was thinking, maybe my outfit would make him laugh? And it would be good if I make him laugh considering his current hardships." I shrugged, trying not to make myself seem obvious and desperate.

          "You are so damn obvious!" At pinagtawanan na nga ako ni Slade.

          "And you are so wrong!" I glared at him.

           Slade sighed as he finished his glass. "Wanna get wasted tonight?"

           "Is that your second dare for me?" tanong ko.

           "That was an invitation. I won't waste my second dare on that." He chuckled.

            Hindi ko namalayan na naglalakad-lakad na pala kami ni Slade sa dalampasigan. May mga nadadaanan kaming mga estudyante ngunit gaya namin, hindi rin nila kami pinapakialaman. Everyone's just minding their own business.

            "So.. Uhm... Haven't seen your parents around?" wika ni Slade kaya agad akong nahinto sa paglalakad. 

            "By the way, what's the beef between you and Silver? I mean, your parents would often visit Silver but ikaw parang ngayon lang ata bumisita sa kanya? And to think,  you're both in Filimon Heights plus lagi kayong nasa iisang bar?" Pag-iiba ko ng usapan. 

           "She hates me." Tumingala siya sa kalangitan at humalakhak.

          "Si Silver? Marunong pala siyang magtanim ng sama ng loob?" I laughed because the thought of Silver holding a grudge sounded so absurd. I mean, oo at mukhang ipinaglihi siya sama ng loob pero she's actually a sweetheart. 

          "You must've done something pretty bad for her to hold a grudge over you." Siniko ko siya bilang simpleng ganti na rin para kay Silver.

           "I have a habit of screwing things up." Slade scratched his head as he laughed.

           "I can relate," I shrugged. "I mean people screw up all the time so I might as well join the party."

           "You're not a screw-up, Reika. You just think you are," he said like he was correcting me.

          "You don't know me, Slade," I corrected him.

          He raised both of his hands as if he surrendered. "Look, why don't we just have fun? There's a band, good music, good booze."

****

          "I chimed in with a haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn doors no!"

          I found myself singing and jumping along to the song while facing Slade. We were like idiots, laughing and raising our hands up in the air without a single damn in the world. We had to hold our wigs from time to time to keep them from falling off though. 

           People were laughing and singing along as well, as if our craziness was contagious. But unlike them, Slade and I weren't drunk, we were just having fun with the music that some people may consider as noise. Yeah, punk rock isn't for everyone.

           Slade and I were left catching our breaths and fixing our wigs as the song ended. We high-fived as we continued laughing our asses off. I like this kind of laughter, the kind of laughter fueled by nothing but a good time.

          "I think I need to get some water," paalam ko. 

          "There's a vending machine out in the back. Let's go," he said as he wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead using the back of his hands. 

          "Ako rin," he said as he tagged along, still wiping the sweat dripping down his forehead.

          "So you're a Punk Rock fan?" tanong niya habang kapwa kami naglalakad patungo sa vending machine na malayo mula sa mga tao.

          "You could even say I'm stuck in the emo phase," biro ko.

         "Let go if the anger and learn to forgive, Rei-rei," he said out of the blue.

          Natawa ako at napasulyap sa Vending Machine na malapit na naming marating. "Paano naman napunta sa--"

           Napako ako sa kinatatayuan at napatulala nang makita si Riley na mas naunang lumapit sa vending machine. Hindi siya nag-iisa, may kasama siyang isang lalakeng hindi ko kilala. Kapwa sila nakasuot ng costume at eye mask ni Zorro, magkahawak ang mga kamay habang nagtatawanan.

           Hindi nila kami nakita pero kami, kitang-kita namin sila lalo pa't naliliwanagan ng ilaw mula sa malaking vending machine ang mga mukha nilang may malalapad na ngiti. Mukhang napakasaya nila habang magkasama.

           Lumapit si Riley at naghulog ng barya sa machine. Habang namimili ng iinumin, lumapit pa lalo ang lalake sa kanya at may ibinulong sa kanyang tenga. Ikinatawa iyon ni Riley. Whatever he said must've been so funny because Riley's laughter has never looked so pure and carefree. Even while we were friends, I never made him laugh like that.

           "Problema mo?" tanong ni Slade.

            "R-riley..." I could only gasp as my knees weakened.

            "But they're both wearing Zorro masks? How can you tell?" Slade asked curiously.

             I swallowed hard as I couldn't speak. 

             Riley may wear a mask but I'll always recognize the way his nose crinkles as he smiles; the way his arms move up and down when he laughs; the way his body moves with manly grace and posture; and the my heart beats whenever I get to see him. I'll always recognize Riley.

            They both took off their eye masks and large hats, letting it hang by their necks, revealing their faces. 

             "Si Riley nga..." Slade didn't sound surprised. "Please don't kill the guy he's with."

             Umiling ako at pinilit ang sariling ngumiti nang taas-noo. "I won't. I'll just--"

             The guy suddenly moved forward, closing the distance between the both of them. And just like that he kissed Riley. And I could tell Riley kissed him back as his hands embraced around his arms. 

              I felt numb all of a sudden. My attention was only on the both of them. 

              I wanted to scream and cry, but I felt so numb that I couldn't. I wanted to stop them. I knew I had to stop them. I took a step forward but before I could even move another step closer to them, Slade pulled me back.

             "What do you think you're doing?" he said in a huff.

             "I won't let that guy hurt Riley!" I pulled away from Slade's grasp but held my arm only tighter, preventing me to take another step.

            "Let go of me, Slade!" I wanted to scream but my voice was at its lowest. My heart was so down that I couldn't even get my voice to go up. "I can't let Riley be with a guy like that! He'll just hurt him!"

            "Sino ba sa tingin mo ang para kay Riley? Ikaw?" Slade asked with sarcasm and spite.

             Riley continued kissing that boy. It hurt so much that I had to close my eyes. I wanted to turn around but my knees have gone frozen hurt.

            I heard Slade took a deep breath and sigh. "Reika, you have to accept things as they are."

           "I do... I accept things as they are..." I said with eyes closed, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

           "Reika, sa ginagawa mong 'yan, wala ka na ring pinagkaiba sa mga taong hindi tanggap ang pagkatao ni Riley." Slade's words felt like daggers. "You gotta let him go.. You gotta accept his choice, that it's not you."

END OF CHAPTER 14

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