Chapter 7

It was a whirlwind of happenings.

When we reached the food place she was talking about, she was so giddy, I couldn't help myself but smile so widely. Sana hindi niya napansin 'yon, but she was looking at me so many times it would be hard to ignore them. How can I stop smiling if this is the moment I've been waiting for since the day I laid my eyes on her?

Crazy unbelievable for it to happen, but here I am now.

We stayed in the food place to grab our lunch. I wanted to pay for our meal, but she quickly paid for our food and I even insisted on paying her and she was rejecting the money I was handing over to her. She said, it was her treat and would be nice to do this the other way.

Hinayaan ko na lang siya kahit medyo labag sa loob ko na siya ang gumastos. I let her chose what we would eat. Marami siyang sinuggest sa akin, pero kung anong tingin niya na magugustuhan ko ay um-oo lamang ako.

I couldn't resist her.

We waited at our table until the food was served. Umupo kaming magkaharap sa isa't isa. The only time I did this with her was last night, and that was her job interview. Now, I couldn't believe why Cameron would take her for granted. I don't understand that. She already got the most beautiful girlfriend in the world, and yet he couldn't make himself feel good about it.

When I found out before that Synestine had a boyfriend, I knew I would only be wasting my time for someone who wouldn't like me back. She doesn't need to look for someone to fulfill that part of her because she has Cameron already, and now, everything changed.

But was I the one who made them break apart? With that kiss?

Synestine and I ate lunch together, and I couldn't think of anything else to talk about with her so I kept putting out some conversation about her duty and schedule at the shop. I felt a little relieved I was able to carry on that conversation because, under the table, my legs were shaking so hard.

"Do you have any plans this summer?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Aside from working at the shop, nothing. You know, during the times I would cover for the shop, my parents won't pay me."

"Really?" I nodded my head, and she laughed it off. "Why though?"

I shrugged off. "I told them they don't need to pay me. They already pay half of my tuition for college so that's fine for me. But for summer, they decided to pay for the hours I would work at the shop even though I insisted not to."

"Hm. . . That's a good thing, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. . . But I really don't mind working for free at the shop. It's our business anyway. Since they're going out of town and I'm staying, that's how they came up with it. What about you? Where would you be this summer?"

"Uh. . . I really don't know. . ." she said, putting her eyes down to her food. "Last year, Cameron invited me to stay in their rest house in Batangas during the summer period. I was there for two months. And since there's no me and Cameron anymore, I can do whatever I want."

"Oh, I see. . . Did you like staying in their rest house?"

"I did! Only because the place was so beautiful and relaxing, but there were a lot of times we kept fighting each other. Of course, his parents don't see that. Everything there was beautiful, but it was exhausting mentally."

"I'm glad you chose to be with me this summer—I mean at the shop!"

She chuckled. "Yeah, a wise choice for me! I'm finally going to work at my favorite coffee shop! Can you believe that?"

I giggled, shaking my head. "No, no. I never thought someone like you would like to work at the shop. I haven't seen you before going to the shop so it was a surprise for me when I found you walking in there one time."

"Yeah, I remembered that! You were so. . . shocked? But I think we just don't exactly get to see each other there because usually, I would go there before or after my class, and sometimes you were with Tomas after class."

Napakamot naman ako sa ulo ko. "Ah, yes. That could possibly be it. . ."

"You're so kind, Cholo. . . Did anyone tell you that?"

"Huh?"

"I know you heard me," she said, smiling at me. "I never met someone like you in my life, and I'm thankful I've got a chance to get to know you even better."

"Do you want to know me even more?"

She giggled, nodding her head. "Yes. Don't you like it?"

Umiling naman ako. "I mean, it's not that I don't like it, I'm just. . . Hindi ko alam. You know, no one ever said that to me."

"Now finally someone said it to you."

"Yeah. . . Thanks, Sy. I really appreciate that. Some people think that I'm some kind of weirdo. Hindi ko alam kung bakit. . . Dumagdag pa 'yong nangyari nitong nakaraan, and people start assuming everything about me. Did you know that I've been hearing some things about me. . ."

"No. . . About what, Cho?"

"Na nasa loob daw ang kulo ko." She gasped when I told her that. "Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit gano'n ang tingin nila sa akin. Just because of what happened that night, they started making assumptions about me, and it's not your fault in any way, Sy. I'm not blaming you for what happened."

Napangiwi si Synestine. "I think you should blame me. . . I was the one who kissed you. It wouldn't even happen if it wasn't because of me. I'm sorry, Cho. . ."

"No, it's okay. . . As long as Cameron won't come to make any trouble for me, I'll be fine. . . I just heard that he will be going to Dubai this summer so I should be fine."

"Ah, yes. . . He mentioned that, and he was inviting me to come with him."

"Really? It's exciting I think."

"Yeah. . . But that's also where our fights started because I didn't want to go to Dubai for the summer, and he hated my decision."

"Fuck him."

Natawa naman si Synestine. "Yeah, fuck him, Cho. Mabuti na lang ay nandito ka. I'm so lucky this time."

"I guess you finally got that freedom of yours, Sy. . ."

"Well, yeah, I think I did. . ."

After lunch, we left the food place and decided to go straight to the shop. I only noticed my phone had a few messages when I picked it up and noticed that a few of them came from Tomas. He was looking for me. Nireplayan ko siya na papunta ako sa shop, pero hindi ko binanggit na kasama ko si Sy.

Pagkarating namin sa shop ay super thankful ang staff na naabutan namin dahil pagod na pagod siya from her duty earlier. It was hectic since it was lunch time. Maraming nagpapalipas ng oras sa mga food places.

Nagsimula na rin kaming mag-ayos ni Sy. I explained to her some of the things she needed to keep in mind during her duty. Mabilis namang na-pick up ni Sy ang mga dapat niyang gawin. I trained her to create the drinks most of the time whenever there was an order coming up. I let her handle the easiest drinks to do and she was doing great. Para bang proud na tatay ako kapag nagagawa niya ng maayos.

It wasn't hard to teach her what she needed to do. May experience na siya kaya hindi kami nahirapan sa kanya. I also made her complete her employment papers so my father could finally make her employment at the shop legit. She's now becoming a real barista.

Synestine loved to close the shop with me. Kapag kaming dalawa na lang ang naiiwan sa shop ay marami siyang kinukwento sa akin—about sa sarili niya at sa relasyon nila ni Cameron na hanggang ngayon ay hindi ako makapaniwala na pinakawalan niya si Sy.

When it was time to go home, I always insisted on walking with her back to her place even if it was in the opposite direction of mine. Sometimes, she would ask me to stay the night at her place, but I respectfully declined as I didn't want to make any issue in case people found out that I walked out of her house.

That routine happened in the next couple of days. Synestine was always excited to come to work. Minsan kinikita na niya ako sa campus para sabay na kami pumunta sa shop.

Tomas found out about it. Nagtampo pa ito bakit hindi ko raw sinabi sa kanya na nagta-trabaho na si Synestine sa shop. Ang paliwanag ko na lang ay nakalimutan kong sabihin sa kanya 'yon. Kapag bumibisita siya sa shop, hindi nawawala kay Tomas na asarin ako pagdating kay Synestine.

Hindi ko naman talaga inamin kay Tomas noon na gusto ko si Synestine. He eventually just found out about it. Magmula no'n, hindi na niya ako tinigilan na asarin kapag makikita namin si Synestine. Ang malas lang do'n ay lagi niyang kasama si Cameron kaya alam kong walang pag-asa na mangyari ang gusto niya. It is what it is, but then everything changed now.

I loved every single second I worked with Sy at the shop. I got to know her more. Even though I didn't ask for things, she would say it out of nowhere and I liked when that happened. 

When the semester finally ended, we got all the time in the world, and every person we knew from college went their way on their vacation. But I and Synestine stayed working at the shop.

But if this is how my summer would go, I would love to have this kind of summer every single day of my life. Wala na akong hahanapin pang iba.

One time, when we had no customers inside the shop, I made some new cool drinks for both of us. Some people love dragon fruit refresher that's why I tried making a couple for us. I haven't tried it before, but many said they loved it.

"Here you go, Sy. . . Tell me what does it taste like?" I asked her as I handed over her drink.

"Alright. . . Let's see if this is actually good. . ." She took a sip of it and her eyes widened as soon as she drank them. "Wow. . . This is so good, Cholo! I've never had this before. . . I think I found my new favorite drink."

"Yeah, it's just the signature pink drink we have. . . But yeah, I liked it too. . ."

"Are we only going to spend the rest of our summer here at the shop?"

My forehead creased. "What do you mean?"

A smirk plastered on her face. "I've got something in mind and I hope you won't think it would be weird. . . Are you up for it?"

Natawa naman ako ng bahagya at tiningnan ko siya nang mariin hangga't sa ma-realize ko na seryoso siya sa sinasabi nito. "Okay, Sy. . . Tell me more."

"Okay, listen carefully, boy. . . This would be a wild ride," she said, grinning, and my heart skipped a beat.