Chapter 36 | All

Night came and we decided to just stay at the cottage for a chat and enjoyment. Our karaoke was the loudest of all and my classmates even requested a lot of microphones.

Hindi pa ako nagpalit ng damit sapagkat may balak pa muli akong magbabad sa swimming pool mamaya. I decided to chill for now with them sapagkat ito naman ang pinunta ko rito.

Denise handed me my beer and I immediately took it. Napansin ko ang tingin dito nina Rika, Krina at Thellia na aking ipinagtaka.

"Hindi pa rin kayo umiinom?" natatawa kong tanong.

Agad silang umiling at umiwas ng tingin.

"Seryoso? Kahit tikim?" paninigurado ko pa.

"Nakatikim na ako pero hindi ko talaga tipo ang lasa. Why do you even like that?" si Thellia.

I laughed at her remark.

"The only beer I can drink is root beer, end of discussion," si Krina.

"I don't even drink root beer," Rika said.

"Matagal ko na silang dinimonyong uminom pero ayaw talaga," ani Denise.

I raised both of my hands, as if surrendering.

"Okay, hands down for your virgin livers. Kayo na," I joked.

"Nakakagulat ngang buhay pa kayo ni Denise sa kaka-inom, e," Thellia joked.

"Hoy! Maraming benefits ang pag-inom, ha. Masama lang kapag nasobrahan," Denise defended.

"Hindi naman na ako laging umiinom," depensa ko naman.

"Wala kayong maloloko rito!" Rika said.

"Kawawa, kami na naman ang masama," pagd-drama ko.

"Naalala ko pa noon, nabulunan ako habang kumakain. Itong si Denise," turo pa ni Thellia kay Denise.

"Nag-alok ng inumin. Ang ganda pa ng water bottle niya, color pink tapos stainless steel, ano?" kuwento ni Thellia kahit pa alam na namin ang nangyari.

Tawang tawa na kami ni Denise, ang dalawang inosente naman ay nangingiti sa katangahan ni Thellia.

"S'yempre, akong si mamamatay na, tinanggap ang alok niya. Sarap ng inom ko no'n tapos nalasahan ko, alak pala ang puta," Thellia ranted.

"Sinuka ko rin ang nakain ko, ano?" Thellia jokingly asked.

Sumagot naman ang mastermind, "At least hindi ka na nabulunan."

"Kasi sinuka na niya lahat," natatawa kong sabi.

Denise drank her beer before opening up another topic.

"Grabe, imagine... ang tagal na nating magkakakilala," she said.

I nodded.

"I am actually glad seeing you all again," I shared.

"Alam mo 'yon, noon, akala ko wala akong magiging matagal na kaibigan... Kaya hanap ako nang hanap noon ng iba," Denise opened up.

"Alam mo bang noon nairita ako sa 'yo?" Rika joined.

"Napaka-feeling close mo kasi tapos parang pina-plastic mo lang kaming lahat," natatawang kuwento ni Rika.

Denise lazily smiled, "Kilala ko ang mga pina-plastic ko at kung kanino ako totoo."

"I actually hated ourselves back then. We were so immature and young... to end such friendship," si Thellia.

I nodded because I felt that too.

"We were all looking for more back then. Lahat tayo, nag-explore sa iba't ibang klase ng tao kasi akala natin, doon tayo sasaya. It's actually somehow great dahil natutunan nating makisama... at maraming natutunan galing sa iba," I said.

Rika nodded plenty of times.

"Totoo... noon, I tried fitting in sa grupong hindi ko gamay ang mga tao. They were wild and more care free than Lierre kaya hindi ko alam kung paano sila pakisasamahan," Rika shared.

"Dumating sa puntong binabago ko na rin pala ang sarili ko. My grades got low at halos hindi ko na maintindihan ang lessons. Nahirapan akong sumabay sa room, nagka-issue pa ako," natatawa kuwento ni Rika.

We stayed silent listening to her story.

"That year was hell, I tell you. Nawala ko ang aking sarili para lang makasabay sa mga maling tao," she said.

"Good thing, I recovered. Krina helped me through. Thellia immediately comforted me nang nalaman ang mga nangyari sa akin," ani Rika.

"Wala akong nagawa niyan noon, alam ko," ako na ang nagsabi.

"I'm sorry if I wasn't there. I had a hard time finding myself too," I said, looking at my bottle beer.

I couldn't say it directly at their eyes.

"Okay lang, Lierre. Sa katunayan, kami pa ang dapat mag-sorry sa iyo, e," Rika said to me.

"Ikaw itong maraming pinagdaanan pero ni-isa sa mga iyon, hindi ka namin natulungan," Thellia said.

I felt crying.

They finally realized it, huh?

"Napansin namin 'yon, Lierre. We weren't there when you fall... at hinahangaan ka namin dahil kinaya mong tumayo mag-isa," Krina spoke softly.

"Big respect, girl. You became stronger than before," Denise said.

"Okay naman na ako ngayon, you don't need to apologize," I assured them.

"Okay ka man, we needed to tell you it. We aren't getting any younger anyway," Thellia said.

I wiped off the tears on the side of my eyes, mabuti na lamang at hindi tumuloy.

"Hoy! Napakabigat ng usapan ninyo," panggulo ni Patrick.

"Lierre, pakitaan nga natin 'yong grupo na 'yon," tumabi si Patrick sa akin upang ituro ang kabilang cottage na nagp-perform kuno.

I laughed, "Palaban!"

"Dali, kanta ka ng Love On Top, kami ng boys back up dancer," yaya ni Patrick.

"Gago, ganyan ginawa ninyo sa dating presentation sa ESP, 'di ba?" matatawang tanong ni Thellia.

Rika laughed too, remembering the old times.

"Ginawang barbie ni Lierre ang mga kagrupo niyang lalaki noon, e," she teased.

"G na! Salang ninyo ang kanta!" I said happily.

"Go mga abnoy! We win as one!" sigaw ni Denise na sinabayan naman nilang lahat.

Totoong handa talaga ang boys. They were shirtless at sinadyang basain ang katawan upang kuminang kuno ang kanilang abs.

I laughed hard when I noticed na ito rin ang grupo ko noon sa presentation. Ako ang na sa gitna at nagsilbing Beyonce kuno ng grupo.

Intro pa lamang ay bigay na bigay na sila sa pagsayaw kahit pa ang iilan ay hindi naman talaga marunong.

"Honey honey!" they chanted.

I can see the stars all the way from here
Can't you see the glow on the window pane

Ako namang si gaga, talagang ni-career ang pagkanta. The audience was clapping their hands along the beat at nakikikanta.

Now everybody ask me why I'm smiling out from ear to ear
But I know, oh!

Sabay-sabay pa naming ginawa ang iconic dance step sa part na ito.

The chorus came at lahat na ng aming kaklase ay nagsitayuan at nakisabay sa sayaw.

finally you put me first

Baby it's you
You're the one I love
You're the one I need
You're the only one I see
Come on baby it's you

Patrick and Ryan even went to me and danced seductively. I couldn't help laughing because of their craziness.

The song ended and our table got so wild, walang sinabi ang kabilang cottage. I drank one glass of water upang mahimasmasan.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I informed them.

"Sure lang!" ani Thellia.

"Samahan kita?" Rika offered.

"No need, mabilis lang ako," I said and took the path towards the comform room.

Mag-isa lamang ako sa loob ng comfort room kaya hindi na ako nagmadali. Nang natapos ay naghugas ako ng kamay. The comfort room was near a pool kaya imbis na bumalik ay saglit kong napagdesisyunang magbabad.

The pool was a bit cold. The lights change color according to the seconds set. I watched how the red light became orange, the sight was relaxing. May iilan ding tao sa pool na ito ngunit na sa malayong bahagi.

I leaned over the edge of the pool and looked up at the sky. The glitter of the stars was not clear and the moon wasn't full. Nonetheless, I tried looking above to see something more.

I got disturbed when someone dipped beside me.

"Math?" nagulat kong tanong sa lalaking biglang dumating.

His hair wasn't wet ngunit nakapangligo rin siyang damit. He was shirtless at hanggang dibdib niya rin ang tubig.

"What are you doing here?" napataas ang aking tono sa pagtanong.

"Masama?" he asked back.

"You're being unreasonable," I said.

"Ako pa?" natatawa niyang tanong.

Ano bang trip nito? Naghahamon ba 'to ng away?

"Bakit ka nga nandito? I was having fun tapos dumating ka," sabi ko.

"I know. I saw you having fun with your old boy friends," binigyang diin pa niya ang huling dalawang salita.

I looked at him, "So?"

"Nagseselos ka na niyan?" I joked.

He smirked, "Kaya ko pang palagpasin ang kay Trojan pero sa dalawang iyon... hindi."

My eyes widened, "Pinagselosan mo ang kuya ko? You're unbelievable!"

He rolled his eyes at hindi agad nakasagot.

"Umalis ka na rito at doon ka sa girlfriend mo magpasuyo," I said.

"She broke up with me," imporma niya.

"So? Kaya sa akin ka ngayon pumunta? Rebound na naman ako?" naiirita kong tanong.

"What? No. I came here dahil nalaman kong wala ka sa inyo," he reasoned.

I rolled my eyes, "Bulok na 'yan."

"Bakit kayo nag-break? Dahil ba sa kasal?" I asked.

"When she heard about it, na sa De Cortesia pa tayo. I planned to talk with her as we return pero tinawagan niya ako at hindi na nanghingi ng rason," he said.

"She broke up with me over the phone na hindi ko matanggap. I needed to at least tell her the truth," he added.

"Nag-usap na ba kayo?" I asked kahit pa ayaw kong marinig ang maaaring maging sagot ni Math.

"Yes. I went at her unit... nagulat akong may kasama siyang babae. I thought it was a simple sleep over or something... but they confessed to me that they have been together for two years now," Math said that stunned me.

"So, Arzyl is... a lesbian?"

"Yes... I already talked to the both of them. Ayos na kami," he answered.

"Wow," tangi kong naging komento.

"Now, let's talk about your boys," he said.

Ang loko, lumapit pa sa akin na akala mo ay aalis ako.

"Wala naman 'yon, kaibigan ko lang sila, okay?" I told him.

"Wow, kaibigan pero hinahawakan ka?" he questioned me.

"If I had known earlier that this is how you treat your friends, I should have accepted your offer to be your friend," he said meaningfully.

My face heated.

"Gago? Anong tingin mo sa akin, ganyan sa lahat?" I defensively asked.

"I'm not like that!" I told him.

"Uh-huh, bakit ka kabado?" natatawa niyang tanong.

"You accuse me wrong assumptions kasi," I reasoned.

He smiled at me, "I didn't like what I saw, sorry."

I rolled my eyes.

"Babalik na ako. Nilalamig na rin ako," I declared at naunang umahon.

Ang loko, sumunod pa talaga sa akin. Hindi ko naman magawang magalit sapagkat may parte sa aking natutuwa sa kanyang mga kilos.

He looked grumpy because of jealousy and I liked seeing it.

"Come with me for a while," he offered.

"Where?" I asked.

"In my room. I have to tell you something," he said.

"Bakit doon pa?" tanong ko.

"Privacy?" he answered, unsure.

I chuckled because he looked lost of words. Sabay kaming pumunta sa kanyang kwarto. He let me in at sinara ang pinto. I stayed standing, the door behind was behind me. May hinanap siya sa kanyang bag at hindi ko nakita kung ano iyon.

He turned around to see me and his eyes immediately caught mine.

"I know, my grandfather's decision made us both feel different emotions," he started.

"I know, you didn't like that idea," he said.

"I... didn't like it too. Ayaw kong ikasal sa 'yo dahil lang sinabi ng iba... dahil lang gusto ng iba."

Was he confessing to me?

I was so attentive on every move and words he spoke. I didn't want to miss a thing.

"I've been caring for you for too long now, Lierre. I couldn't deny it anymore. You deserve to know the truth because this is only meant for you."

He came closer.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And now, I ask you... would you like to be with me too?"

I couldn't answer because I finally experienced the warm feeling I longed for. He slowly went down on his knee that shocked me.

He pulled out his hands. There, I saw a fancy dark blue box. Of course, I knew what was inside. He showed me the ring, a unique one.

"I chose this ring because it looks like a compass and a star at the same time. Whenever you feel lost, I want you to look at this... to know the right path you should take," he explained.

"I want you to remember that this ring will always guide you back to me," he said with a shaky voice.

"Monjardin..." I whispered, "I will always find you," I said.

I lend my hand and he gently took it. He caressed my ring finger and slowly, he put the ring on it.

For the first time, I felt assured and at peace.

Math stood up and immediately sealed my lips with his. I couldn't stop myself any longer... because God knew how much I longed for him.

Our kiss was gentle and passionate. I felt like I needed to memorize every movement of him. His light touches sent sexual excitement within my system. We were both dazed in love, we were both so ready for it.

Math lifted me while we were still exchanging hot kisses and walked towards the bed. I couldn't recognize the next things that happened.

I let myself dive into this temptation. Truth be told, love makes us risk it all.