True to his word, Benjamin waited for me outside of our room. I shot Alica a “what now?” look, but she was gazing blankly towards the doorway. I shifted my gaze at the door and saw Benjamin waving his hand towards us. I grabbed my bag and tugged Alicia’s wrist, indicating for her to follow me.

“Friday ngayon,” I told Benjamin. “May club meeting kaya hindi pa ako uuwi.”

“Okay lang ‘yon,” he answered. “Gusto kasi namin ni Art na sumali sa book club niyo. ‘Di ba Art?” He nudged his companion to the side, and that was the only time I noticed he was standing beside Arthur. So that was why Alicia seemed like she was floating in outer space. She was openly staring at Arthur as if he was an apparition.

Arthur looked confused for a second. “Ha? Ah –oo, gusto namin sumali.” He then turned to face Alicia. “Is that okay, Alicia?”

“Anything for you, my king Arthur,” Alicia breathed dreamily. I forcully tugged her hand. “I mean, oo sure. Walang problema. Go. Anytime. Thank you. You’re always welcome.”

I tried so hard not to roll my eyes or to throw a deadly glare at the two boys. Really. Benjamin even used Alicia’s position as the president of the club, not to mention her very noticeable admiration towards Arthur, so the two could have a seat-in on our club. And I had a hard time deciding whether to get mad at Benjamin for using Alicia’s weakness to get what he wanted or to to admire his intelligence for coming up with such plan. If the situation was different, I would have felt flattered for what he did. But as what my friends had reminded me, the bitter truth was everything he was doing were all lies.

I was amazed at the turn of events in our club meeting. Alicia was very attentive and accommodating to our visitors. She even offered Arthur a cup of hot choco. Three times. The rest of the girls weren’t that friendly though. Nevertheless, Benjamin acted as if he didn’t mind the scowls and glares he received. He even smiled graciously at my friends. Gosh, he really looked cute with that smile.

I heard him chuckled and he was looking directly at me. No, wait. Did I just say that out loud? And sure enough, the death-glare Robyn threw at me was proof enough that I was stupid enough to speak before to think. I was so never going to get over this humiliation.

I sat on the floor. Benjamin sat at my side. I couldn’t help it but feel this weird electric current running in my veins when our knees touched. I mean, they were just knees. It wasn’t as if we held hands or something. But still, that tiny skin contact was really something.

It was not surprising that Benjamin knew many things about books. He even participated and gave his opinions about the real message of El Filibusterismo and its contributions to the revolution. And with every word he spoke, I couldn’t help myself but gaze at those soft lips as it uttered every syllable and created words that sounded music to my ears. I was also drawn by his hand gestures whenever he put an emphasis on a word.

He looked and talked intelligent. And intelligence was really a plus factor for me. And then I suddenly found myself hopelessly drawn to him, momentarily forgetting I was supposed to make him fall in love with me and not the other way around.

I shook my head to remove all thoughts of cute Benjamin and intelligent Benjamin from my head. Oh, why did he have to be cute and intelligent?

I shook my head again. I had sounded like a love sick fan girl. And I wasn’t like that before. Benjamin was messing with my head. And I was not sure if it was bad or good.

Benjamin threw me a worried look. “Are you alright?”

I gave him a small nod. “Okay lang ako.”

“May gagawin ka ba bukas?”

Usually I spent Saturdays at home reading a book. “Wala naman. Bakit?”

“They just open a new amusement park. Malapit sa village namin. Gusto sana kita isama… if okay lang sa parents mo… I mean, it’s not a date or anything… well actually it’s a group date. Your friends can come if they like. Kung papayag parents mo… I will ask them personally if you like…”

Benjamin had a hard time completing his sentence. But wait, was he actually asking me out? I didn’t know what to say or how to answer him. Were sixteen year old girls allowed to go on a date? Was I even allowed to go out on a date? It was the first time that a boy had actually asked me to be his date. And I didn’t know how to act and react.

“Uhm, Eh… kasi… ano kasi eh…” I was stummering across my sentence, unsure of how to answer him. It was easy to say yes. But I was not even sure if my parents would allow me. My parents hadn’t talked about dating rules yet so I really had no idea if it was okay to say yes. But if I said I couldn’t, or if I told him I was not allowed, would that make him think I was not cool enough for him?

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

I’m not allowed to go out on dates yet.

I really had no clue what answer to give. Suddenly, Robyn grabbed my hand and asked Benjamin if she could steal me for a few seconds.

“Pumayag ka na Alex,” Robyn said.

“Hindi ako sigurado kung papayag si mama at papa.”

“Sasama naman kami, eh. Pero didistansya kami. Para masubaybayan lang namin ang progress natin. Sige na.”

“Eh, hindi ko alam papaano magpaalam kay mama at papa…”

“Ako na bahala. Sabay tayo magpapaalam sa kanila mamaya pagkahatid namin sa ‘yo ni Alicia.”

Robyn had a way to make you agree with everything she wanted. Her convincing powers were unequal. And so I later on agreed to go out with Benjamin. When I told him yes, he merely smiled at me. I felt disappointed when he did not react like how I expected him he would. Like how a boy would thrust a triumphant fist and say “yes!” as if he just won the jackpot price. But then again, Benjamin was just pretending to want to go out with me. I really had no right to expect anything.

I called my mom later that day to inform her I’ll drop by Madie’s house first before going home. Madie’s house was small if you looked at it from the outside, but it was spacious from the inside. Madie said her mom liked to arrange the house, reaarange the furnitures and such, making their house looked big even though it wasn’t. Her mother is a pastry-shop owner while her dad work's in a bank. Both her parents were at home that time. Madie’s mom was pretty and petite, while her dad was a bit on the heavy side.

“Nagmana ako sa tatay ko. Parehas kami mahilig kumain,” she told me.

The girls and I made our way to Madie’r room. Her bedroom was painted with a mixture of purple and mint green. Her single bed was pushed to one side, while her closet was on the other side with a mirror standing beside it.

“Tatawagin ko lang si ate,” Madie told us before she disappeared, and a few moments later a tall and slim girl who looked to be around eighteen sauntered inside the room. She looked like a younger version of Madie’s mom, with her hair coiled into a messy bun, wearing a gray hanging blouse and short shorts.

She gave us a friendly smile. “Hello! Sabi ni baby sister need ninyo ang help ni big sister?”

Madie’s ate Rachel was bubbly and friendly. She was very accommodating and she was exactly how I pictured a big sister would be like. I was the eldest even among my cousins, and I never had someone who I could call ate.

Ate Rachel asked me to sit infront of the mirror and she started unbraiding my hair. “Maganda ang buhok mo. Pero mas gaganda pa ito kung aayusin natin. Okay lang ba sa ‘yo na i-trim natin ng kaunti?”

I threw my friends a hesitant look. I saw Joey eyeing ate Rachel’s make up kit as if it was something alien to her. Robyn was putting lipstick on Alicia’s lips but ended up making Alicia look like a clown with big red lips.

Only Madie was looking at me. “Magaling si ate mag-ayos ng buhok at magpaganda.”

Trusting Madie, I gave ate Rachel a nod. She started cutting the edges of my hair, trimming it just along my shoulder blades. She then showed us how to use a curling and hair iron. She told us that we were too young to put on heavy make-up, but pink blush on and lipgloss were okay.

Ate Rachel had a way of making us all feel we were beautiful even with out the make up. She said that beauty came from within. And a kind heart would radiate and show our true beauty.

“Pero ate, bakit po sina Bianca, ang gaganda kahit pangit ang ugali?” Alicia asked innocently. 

Ate Rachel was a sophomore from the college department of St. Bernadette Academy, and she had heard of the notorious Pink Angels Society. “Kasi hindi totoong beauty iyon, bunso. Panlabas lang ang mga iyon. Walang masama kung mag-aayos ka para pagandahin ang anyo mo. Pero ang totoong kagandahan nasa loob iyan.”

What she said suddenly made me wished I had a big sister like her. Having someone older than me to have girl talk with or to give me some advices about boys and make-ups would be very nice. I envy Madie a bit for having a big sister like ate Rachel.

She asked me if I could remove my glasses. I told her I couldn’t see well with out them, but I had a pair of contacts at home.

When she finished curling the ends of my hair, she asked me to look at the mirror. I was surprised to see a girl wearing black-rimmed glasses with rosy cheeks and glossy lips staring back at me. It was me but she looked not like me.

“Alex! Ikaw ba ‘yan? Ang ganda ganda mo!” Alicia said.

I blushed at her compliment. Even with the glasses, ate Rachel was able to make me look pretty.

“Oo nga, Alex. May tinatago ka palang kagandahan sa ilalim ng malagubat mong bangs?” Robyn joked.

I chuckled when I saw from my mirror the way ate Rachel was trying to convince Joey to remove her cap and comb her hair. Joey looked as if she was allergic to combs and brushes.

I stared back at my own reflection. I was happy to see myself looking pretty like this. Would I be able to copy this by tomorrow? How would Benjamin react to see me like this? I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

#TheNerdClubAlexis
#AlexisAndTheBet