Chapter 10 | Smile

Honestly, I wasn't sure where our act of being natural would go far.

Being in front of BJ was enough to intimidate me, imagine adding four you'd get a total of five... five hot yet calm men.

Their manly figures occupied the free table with eight chairs. They were sitting far from each other yet stood up when they saw us nearing.

"Dito ka na lang," a guy commanded another.

"Sila na riyan, sa gilid ka na lang ni Jaren, Verge," Marcus told in a casual tone.

Thankfully, Nemo stopped crying when Kurt lifted him up earlier. Nemo was now looking curiously at the men in front while unconsciously biting his fingertips.

Kurt gently pulled Nemo's fingers away from his mouth and softly told Nemo, "Huwag mong ngatngatin ang daliri mo."

"Maybe he wants to drink milk?" someone from the group guessed.

"Kaiinom niya lang," Kurt coldly replied.

This bitch could act as well.

"Maupo na tayo," the Verge guy suggested.

We all sat and I took that moment to let my brain describe the men my eyes saw. They all had the same skin color, white, that seemed soft like a cotton you'd gently touch. For the body figure, everyone looked healthy... yet BJ was the bulkiest among all.

I glanced at Jaren and noticed his markable dimples. Verge had no dimples yet the way his lips curved as he smiled was striking... and I realized now, he was the one who helped Kurt earlier.

"We're very sorry for the chaos earlier... and the damage the students made. We know those guys, some of them are our classmates on different subjects. I just think apologizing in behalf of them is necessary," Verge said to us in a light manner.

"Ayos lang, uh," my words stopped going out when BJ's eyes went on me, "nanghihinayang man ako sa pagkain, nangyari na."

Anong sinabi ko? Napakawalang kuwenta!

"You know, we can really help you with it," a guy with glasses said in a friendly manner, "and we are here to also seek help from you guys... so..."

"Can you introduce yourselves first? I'm sorry, we're not familiar with popular people," natatawa kong sabi.

"Sure but we're not popular though," Jaren chuckled.

"Not familiar with popular people, that's new," Verge commented.

"Yeah, we kind of, uh... don't care on some unimportant things," I unconsciously said.

"Anyway, I'm Jaren. We're all third year college students from the business department," he stated.

"Yeah and I'm Verge."

"I'm Cadne," the hot guy with eye glasses.

"Daniel is my name, the leader of this group," the guy with long black eyelashes said.

"And I'm Lucre Marcus, call me Marcus instead."

The smirks of the four faded and their eyes went to Marcus' side.

"That's new," tukso ni Cadne.

"Fishy," bulong ni Verge na aking narinig.

"Kami rin ba, puwedeng second name ang itawag sa 'yo?" tukso ni Daniel.

Marcus only showed his middle finger for his friends yet Kurt immediately hissed at him, "Bawal 'yan, may bata rito!"

BJ quickly hid his finger and shifted to a much professional looking position. Tiklop ka pala kay Kurt, e.

"So... bakit kayo nandito?" natatawa kong tanong.

"Sinong mage-explain?" Daniel asked them.

"Ikaw na, bida-bida ka, 'di ba?" Verge mocked.

"Leader ka, 'di ba?" dagdag pa ni Cadne.

"Mga gago—"

"Bawal magmura," parinig ni Kurt.

Pero siya rin 'tong wagas maka-gaga sa akin kanina.

"Sorry, my groupmates are just annoying," Daniel replied, "anyway, the reason why we are here is for our group project."

"This group project is for the next semester but our professor told us ahead. It's kind of a special project, I really don't know, this will be our first time doing such task," Daniel added.

"We basically need to find a small business, any kind of business basta small or rising pa lang... then we'll work like normal staffs," he continued explaining the project's main topic and proceeded on their objectives.

He explained everything precisely and detalied. Hindi man lang ako nalito sa kanilang mga gagawain.

"So itong business namin ang napili ninyo?" Kurt hissed, "marami pa namang ibang maliliit na business riyan."

"Halos isang linggo na kaming naghahanap, actually. We have a list of possible stores but we can't totally choose them... dahil hindi namin nakikitang doon mar-reach ang goal," singit ni Cadne.

"Bakit sa amin, kung gano'n?" Kurt asked with an attitude.

"Well, considering other factors such as: your food business isn't far from the university, malapit din ito sa aming mga tinutuluyan. Second, you have lots of customers even on weekdays, mas marami kaming matutuklasan," Daniel enumerated.

"Third, we heard before that your food servings are amazing and above the standards for small businesses," si Cadne ang nagtuloy.

Kurt rolled his eyes, tila ba hindi kumbinsido sa mga sinabi nila.

"Pasensya na kung mas mahigpit pa ako sa anak ng may-ari nitong kainan pero... wala pa nga kayo rito ay ginagago na si Mercian, paano pa kaya kung malaman nilang dito kayo namalagi?" Kurt pointed out.

Oh my... bakit iyon nasali? I tried stopping my friend from talking by pulling his shirt but he continued.

"Sabihin man nating takot sila sa inyo pero totoo ba talaga? Maaaring sa likod o sa ibang lugar nila atakihin si Mercian, hindi natin alam. I'm concerned of my friend because she's being mistakenly judged by almost everyone," Kurt scoffed.

No one talked after that and it seemed like Kurt's words cut their tongues off.

"Umiiwas lang talaga kami sa gulo, matatanda na kami para pa pumatol. Wala akong paki kung tunog nago-overthink ako, I'm considering possible conflicts before saying yes. You're project is nice but we can't just let you in," Kurt added.

"Well, if that's the case... we can add securities around to assure everyone the safety needed," Jaren suggested.

"I understand," Marcus finally spoke, "I know giving trust to someone you just met is difficult and cooperating with us is risky on your part."

"But since we need you, we'll take responsibilities on everything that might happen. Agreeing on our project is a big help, Daniel forgot to mention that we'll only work for like a week—starting on December 10," he added.

His expressive eyes seemed to talk to me.

"And like Jaren said, I can also use my riches to secure her environment. Hindi ko pababayaan ang kaibigan mo," Marcus stated.

Bakit ako agad ang topic? Bwisit, Kurt!

"Okay, woah, wait, Kurt... I think that's too far from the main topic. I appreciate your concern and the guys' solutions but I think we don't need such security. Those people can stop bugging me naman, hindi ako pumapatol, alam mo 'yan," I pointed out to Kurt.

"At ang proyekto nilang ito ay hindi naman exclusive, may iba ring students na ginagawa ito... kung lalagyan nila ng ibang kahulugan ang pakay nila sa atin, tingin ko ay problema na nila iyon at hindi na dapat natin palakihin," may diin kong wika kay Kurt.

"I'm sorry you all have to hear this—"

"No, it's fine, Mercian," Verge immediately responded.

"We totally understand," dagdag pa ni Daniel.

"And as the... daughter of the owner, I'll talk to my mother about this before saying yes. Will that be alright?" I asked them.

"Oo naman, mas maganda ring alam ng parents mo para hindi sila magulat kung bumisita," Daniel agreed.

"At aware silang may ibang nagt-trabaho sa inyo," Jaren added.

I nodded and showed them a friendly smile.

"When can we get an update?" Marcus asked me.

Bakit ba tuwing siya ang nagsalita, ang apat ay nananahimik? They made the atmosphere awkward by being silent.

"I'll talk to my mother tonight and... will give you the answer immediately," I answered him.

I looked at Verge instead of Marcus, "Can I get your number? Para ikaw na ang i-text ko."

I got distracted of the men's fake coughs. Jaren pursed his lips after he dramatically sighed. Daniel was holding back his smirk while Cadne pouted.

Verge smiled at me and said, "Hindi kasi ako madalas mag-check ng messages kaya baka hindi ko agad makita."

Talaga ba?

"Marcus, phone number mo na lang—"

"Daniel!" I called him, he almost jumped out, "since ikaw ang leader, sa 'yo na lang."

Daniel looked hesitant and it pissed me! Bakit ba sila ganyan umasta?

"It's no big deal, really," I convinced Daniel, "unless you don't want a quick update."

"Kay Marcus na lang, Mercian... lagi rin kasi akong busy," he told me.

What the hell? Mga lalaki talaga, ang daming palusot!

I sharply gazed at Marcus who was watching me.

"Fine," I declared, "Kurt, save his number on your phone. Si Kurt na lang ang magsasabi ng update. Don't worry, lagi kaming magkasama kaya agad din kayong maa-update."

The four men tried so hard not to laugh their asses out. Akala siguro nila ay hindi ko alam ang mga ganitong galawan. Suportado man sila kay Marcus sa kung anomang trip, mas matayog pa rin ang aking pride para makisama.

Akala ng mga ito makukuha na ni Marcus ang aking number. Bobo rin, kung binigay ni Verge ang numero niya at nai-text ko, puwede niyang ibigay iyon kay Marcus nang hindi ko alam.

It was my turn to smirk as I watched Kurt typed Marcus' number. I heard the four men chuckle as Marcus dictated the digits.

Kurt repeated the number and asked, "Tama ba?"

"Oo," tipid na sagot ni Marcus.

"Better luck next time," makahulugang utas ni Kurt kay Marcus.

"Ayon," natatawang komento ni Cadne.

"Sana kapag nagtrabaho kayo sa amin kahit walang suweldo, ayusin pa rin ninyo," seryoso kong paki-usap.

The men immediately shifted into serious mode.

"And don't mess up with me," I added sounding cold.

"Alright," Verge answered.

"Ian, Kurt!" tawag ni nay Feran.

"Po?" we asked.

"Nagpadala kasi ang anak ko, may huling batch akong niluluto. Pakibantayan na lang at kukunin ko muna ang padala, tuwing hapon kasi dagsaan ang tao roon," she explained.

"Walang problema, nay," Kurt said.

"Salamat," she said and went inside to ready herself.

"Tingnan ko muna 'yong niluluto," I excused myself but before I could even stand up, Marcus spoke.

"Do you need any assistance for today? I noticed no one is working as a waiter, we can help," he asked me.

I swallowed and glanced at Kurt, he was also waiting for my respond.

"Kurt, what do you think?" I asked him.

"Puwede naman," Kurt answered.

Puta, akala ko tatanggi.

"Okay, una na ako sa loob," I said as if I wasn't affected.

Saka lamang ako nakahinga ng maayos nang mag-isang pumasok sa kusina. Kailan ba ako masasanay na presensya ng lalaking iyon? Our first meeting wasn't worth remembering but the sight of him kept bothering me. Ako na ba ang may problema o ano?

Lutang ang aking isipan nang ikutin ang mga niluluto upang ang kabilang banda naman ang maprito. Ang katahimikan ng kusina ay nagambala nang pumasok si Kurt at inalog ako.

"Gaga ka talaga! Pakarat!" nanggigigil niyang utas.

"Ano ba?"

"Ano ba?" gaya niya sa akin ngunit mas pinaarte, "halatang may gusto sa 'yo si BJ!"

"Whatever he's feeling towards me, it's all temporary," I lazily drawled.

Totoo naman... danas ko na iyan. Only few could be consistent since the day they started, iyong tipong hindi nagbabago ang paningin sa 'yo at hindi nagsasawang intindihin ang isip mo.

Madalas kasi ay nadadala lang tayo ng damdamin at naaaliw sa bagong pakiramdam.

"Hindi ko naman sinabing patulan mo pabalik," Kurt hissed at me, "he's quite transparent though. Ang dali kong nakitang may pagtingin siya sa 'yo."

"And I don't care, Kurt. Alam na alam ko na ang mga ganyan, ngayon lang siya interesado sa 'yo dahil ngayon lang ganado. Kapag nagtagal ay mawawalan ka na rin ng halaga at aabusuhin ang pagmamahal mo," I stated harshly.

Tangina mo, Arist... tingnan mo ang ginawa mo sa akin. Kahit simpleng galaw ni Marcus ay natatakot ako.

"Hindi naman kita pinu-push kay Marcus, girl, bakit mo ako inaatake? Kilala mo ako, bago magtiwala ay kinikilala muna ng maigi ang tao... kaya nga nabwisit ako sa 'yo noon, 'di ba, kasi sa ating dalawa ikaw ang padalos-dalos," Kurt softly said to me.

"Natutuwa ako ngayon dahil hindi mo agad pinagbibigyan at hindi ka agad bumibigay. Kung wala ka naman talagang nararamdaman, madaling tumanggi, tama?" Kurt stated.

"Yes... at bago pa man siya makaporma, pagbabawalan ko na. I seriously have no energy to be in a relationship. Madami akong nasayang na panahon kay Arist, oras ko na 'to para unahin ang sarili," I told him.

"Ayan, ganyan dapat!" Kurt cheered.

Noon came and nothing special really happened, we were all busy assisting people. The men were all focused on their tasks. I got impressed because they seemed to be all comfortable working for commoners despite having the rich kid aura.

Verge had the most positive smile, Jaren had the friendly vibe, Daniel was good at talking, Cadne was everyone's favorite and Marcus... I saw him joking around with people and they seemed entertained. The store felt light, everyone was smiling and just interacting to each other. These men knew how to handle such crowd.

That night, despite of tiredness, I called my mother to tell her about the project.

"Tapos ang karindirya ang napili nila?" she asked me.

"Oo, ma... malapit lang din sa mga tinitirhan nila ang karindirya kaya gano'n. Sa December 10 pa naman sila magsisimula, after ng exams," I explained.

"Totoo bang project iyan, baka naman trip lang nila," she asked.

"Pinakita nila sa amin kanina 'yong letter ng professor nila with signature," I stated.

"Puro mga lalaki? Baka naman mga gago iyan, Ian," she guessed.

"I observed them earlier, tumulong kasi sila sa karindirya buong araw... and they seem good at interacting and serving people. They also passed Kurt's first stage, so..." I needed to say that because my mother trusted Kurt's decisions more than mine.

"Sige, papayag ako... pero madalas pupunta riyan ang papa mo para tingnan ka," and that was the end of it.

Kurt informed them by texting Marcus before the day ended. After the text message, Kurt said Marcus didn't reply. Nagduda pa tuloy siya kung nabasa ba talaga ang message kaya tinawagan niya.

"Ang gaga mo talaga!" I commented when I heard his phone rang for the fourth time today.

I was reviewing for the second day of exams when he knocked and bothered me.

"Ilang araw na ang lumipas, malapit na ring mag-December ten! Malay ko ba kung—"

"This is Lucre Zorron speaking."

Napatakip ako sa aking bibig nang narinig namin iyon.

"This is Kurtezell Angelina Pukitina Bayagbag Maria Leonora Teresa Gina Cole Jr.," lokong pakilala ni Kurt.

"What?" iritadong tanong ni BJ.

"Si Kurt 'to, 'no ka ba?" kabadong tawa ni Kurt.

"Okay," Marcus lazily drawled.

"Nabasa mo na ba iyong update? Pumayag ang mama ni Mercian, tuloy pa ba kayo o may nahanap na kayong iba?" Kurt asked.

"Tuloy kami riyan after ng exams," tipid na sagot ni Marcus.

"Sige, hindi ka kasi sumagot kaya akala ni Mercian..."

Pinanlakihan ko si Kurt ng mga mata dahil dinamay na naman ako!

"I got busy but I already told the others about it," he coldly replied.

Kurt made this funny mocking face, if Marcus was in front of him, he probably got pissed.

"Okay, sige," Kurt said, "ibababa ko na ang tawag."

"Yeah, sure, Gina Cole Jr.," hirit ni Marcus ngunit na-end agad ni Kurt kaya nanghinayang ang gaga!

"Hoy, pucha, na-gets niya naman pala ang pangalan ko! 'Tong lalaking 'to, suplado kuno pero na sa loob ang kulo!" Kurt ranted.

I kept laughing, sino ba kasing hindi matatawa sa bwisit na made up name ni Kurt? Kulang na lang mag-I believe siya kanina.

I wasn't excited for that day to come yet time passed quicker than normal... or maybe it was only my perspective since I hadn't view the days due of busyness.

"Sa karindirya pala ninyo ang grupo ni kuya Marcus, ha," tukso sa akin ni Danica.

We'd been hanging out after the first day we met, iyon nga lang ay hindi gano'n katagal sapagkat sa business department din ang batang ito.

"Oo, ano naman?"

"Wala naman," nakangiti niyang sagot, "bisita ako sa unang araw nila, ate Ian. Puwede ba?"

"Oo naman, bakit hindi?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily, "crush ko kasi si kuya Verge. Gusto kong makita kung paano siya mag-serve at siyempre, oorder din ako! Ate, dapat siya ang palapitin mo sa akin, ha?"

Aba, itong batang 'to.

"Hindi ba kayo close? Mukhang matagal na siyang kaibigan ni Marcus, ha," I asked her, nagpapatulong pa kasi.

"He doesn't take me seriously kasi! Last year, I confessed—"

"Ano?" gulat kong tanong.

"Yeah, I did that... pero bago pa man ang confession ko, cold na talaga siya sa akin. Feeling ko nga mas nagulo ko pa ang bond namin when he started to avoid me after," kuwento niya.

"Kaya ate, tulungan mo ako!"

So the day they'd all been waiting for came. Umagang umaga ay kausap ko si mama habang na sa loob ng kusina ng karindirya.

"Oo, ma, susubukan kong umuwi ngayong weekend," I told her, "pero kung—"

"Tangina mo!"

"Sino 'yon?" even my mother heard the sudden fight from outside.

"I have no idea, titingnan ko muna, ma," I quickly ended the call after I said those words.

I ran to see who were fighting. Umagang umaga ay nagsasagutan sina Kurt at Roah!

"Nananahimik si Nemo rito tapos susugod ka, ano bang ginawa sa 'yo ng bata?" sigaw ni Kurt.

"Ngayon ko lang nakita ang ginawa niyan sa mga lipsticks ko! Nasira lahat at wala akong magamit ngayong araw—"

"Putangina, ayan lang ang rason mo, gusto mo ng patayin ang anak mo—"

"Hindi ko 'yan anak!" Roah shouted, "at hindi ko hiniling ang batang 'yan! Ikaw lang 'tong namilit na buhayin dahil gusto mong magpaka-santo—"

"Your lipsticks aren't even real to flex! Kasalanan ko bang maaga kang bumukaka at nagpatira, saktong walang gamit na proteksiyon kaya nabuntis? Kasalanan ba 'yan ng bata, ha, Roah? Kaya gusto kitang paaralin para magkalaman din 'yang kokote mo pero anong ginawa mo?" Kurt pointed out.

"Pinili mo 'yang pagiging pokpok mo! Tumigil ako para mapa-aral ka pagkatapos mong manganak, akala ko nga ay nagkasundo na tayo—"

"Hindi ko naman hiniling na paaralin mo ako at tumigil ka!"

The face of this bitch!

Kurt got stunned of her statement and I saw how his tears formed on the side of his eyes.

Ngayon ko lamang din napansin ang grupo ng kalalakihan. Lahat sila'y tahimik at hindi gumagalaw, tila ba napanood ang sagutan ng dalawang magkapatid.

"Roah, umalis ka na nga," matapang kong sabi, "hindi ito ang lugar para ilabas kung gaano ka kabobo."

"Isa ka pa—"

"Miss, mahiya ka naman," Cadne spoke.

Roah got alerted of it and she quickly turned around to see them. Ngayon lang yata dinaluyan ng hiya ang bobo at hindi nakapagsalita.

Verge was the first one to walk... he neared Kurt and took Nemo from Kurt's arms.

Buhat ni Verge si Nemo nang kinausap si Kurt, "Go fix yourself."

Sabay umalis ang magkapatid, si Roah palabas at si Kurt patungo sa maliit na kuwarto.

"I'm sorry for that early, uh, shouting... she's Kurt's sister so..." I shrugged.

"It's fine, Mercian," Cadne assured me.

"We'll just lift the mood and forget about it, how's that?" Jaren asked me.

I smiled weakly and nodded at them. My eyes voluntarily darted at Marcus who was silently staring at me.

Kurt was right, this guy was transparent. He didn't mind if I'd catch him looking at me... the picture of him entertaining everyone the first day they tried working crossed my mind.

I hoped he could do the same today... to make me smile as well.

"I'll just... go and check on Kurt," paalam ko.