"So, kumusta ang pagiging model?" Gwen asked, leaning closer to me. Her chin leaning on her palm. Raising her eyebrows up and down.

I put down my phone and sigh. "Nakakapagod, and somewhat stressing. But I know I'll get use to it." I said and she nod. She lean back on the chair rest and pick up her phone.

I took a deep breath and go back scrolling to my phone. It's been 2 days since I arrived back. Hindi agad ako nakagawa ng kung ano-ano pagkadating ko dahil pagod pa ako sa biyahe.

At kahit utak ko at isip ko ay pagod pa. Kahit wala akong ibang ginawa kundi ang matulog sa biyahe. And in those two days, I'm just resting. Physically and mentally.

Hindi pa rin kasi mawala sa isipan ko ang sinabi sa akin ng isang staff. Somewhat makes me think of my life decisions. Somewhat makes me think about mine and Jiro's relationship.

Speaking of Jiro, we haven't seen each other yet. It was because when I arrived back here he was with his friends in the beach somewhere here. He told me the place but I forget it.

And now they'll come back anytime today. But I'm not sure if we can see each other specially my friends are here. They are going to spend lunch and afternoon here. And they arrived here 7 in the morning. I was in the middle of my breakfast that time.

"So anong gagawin natin ngayon?" Ali suddenly ask, catching all our attentions.

I put down my phone and look at them. No one's answering Ali. Probably don't have any idea too.

"Wag na muna tayo mag movie, nakakasawa rin." Tobi said and we nod agreeing to what he said. Watching movie can really be sometimes boring.

"Random dance na rin, 'wag muna." Lory said, Ali look at her and I saw how she pouts but nod right nod away.

We became silent for a moment. Literally just looking in the center, on the table. The loud breeze is the only thing that can be heard here in the garden.

"Kakain?" Jas ask, Gwen snorts which makes it even funnier.

"Bakit kayo natawa?!" Jax ask.. we tried to hold our laughs but failed.

"Pagkain lagi nasa utak mo." Tobi said, Jax's mouth formed a small gap before attacking Tobi with her stingy slaps.

"Aray! Jax ang sakit!" Tobi hissed, gdaldy Jax stopped immediately. Na-aawa rin siguro kay Tobi.

"Nakaka-inis ka kasi!" Jax exclaimed, nakakunot na ang noo niya at nakasimangot habang tinatapunan ng masamang tingin si Tobi.

"What if.." Ali paused and we all look at her. I notice her teasing smirk and look at me.

"Makipag kita tayo kay Jiro-

"Hell no!" I immediately said. I look around to see if there are any maids around that may have heard what Ali said. And when I make sure that the coast is clear I snap my head at Ali's direction who is just sitting across me.

I was about to say something when Gwen clapped her hand.

"Ay oo nga! Dali na Kassandra! Gusto ko makita ang lalaki mo." She said and my eyes widened.

I shake my head. "No, 'wag na. Baka kulitin niyo siya." I said and I hear Lory fake coughed.

"Ang possessive naman po. Sana all Ms. Milendez, sana all jowable." Lory said even tucking her hair on her ear.

I sigh and shake my head. "Bakit niyo ba gustong makita siya?" I ask and Gwen immediately scoffed.

"Malamang, gusto namin malaman kung gwapo ba siya, mabait. Kaibigan mo kami Kassandra, gusto lang namin malaman kung mabait ba siya sa'yo o kung anong hitsura niya." Gwen explained, I sigh and massage my temples.

She have a point tho, but, what is this thing stopping me inside introduce them to each other? What am I scared to? There's nothing to be scared and worried about, right?

I sigh. "Fine, I'll-

"Yes! Iba ka talaga Kassandra!" Gwen suddenly said making me surprised. Even Jax, Tobi, and Lory are excited while Ali is just laughing in her her seat.

I shake my head. "I'll call him first." I said and they nod.

I pick up my phone and dialed his number. While they are staring at me like kids who is waiting for their mom's announcement.

[Hello.. yes Laura?] Jax immediately covered her mouth and Gwen gasp when Jiro answered the call. I pursed my lips and signaled them to be quiet.

"Ah, yes, busy ka ba? I mean, mamayang hapon?" I ask before adjusting my grip on my phone.

[Uhm.. you know my shift ends by 5pm.] He said and I hear Ali flick her tongue.

"Gabi na." She mumbled and Lory immediately shushed her.

[Why? Is there something wrong?] He ask and Tobi started squirming so I look at him and mouthed a 'why' to him.

"Sabihin mo gusto namin siyang makita." Tobi whispered. My mouth formed a small 'o' and slowly nod.

"Uh.. I'm with my friends right now and they want to see you." I said, I bite my lower lip as I wait for his reply.

[Oh, okay, what time? Gagawan ko nalang ng paraan.] He said and my eyes widened. When my friends hear it Jax started slapping Tobi's thighs.

I look at my friends. "What time daw?" I ask, Ali lean on her chair, avoiding the question. I look at Lory, she look at me with doe eyes before shrugging.

Then I look at Gwen. She immediately answers.

"3:30pm." She said and my brows furrowed.

"Ang aga naman." I said..

"3:45pm." She said and I shake my head.

"4:00pm." I said and she nod.

"4pm Jiro, pwede na ba 'yon?" I ask and I hear Jiro hum.

[Sure, saan tayo magkikita kita?] He ask again. So I once again look at my friends.

Then Jax slightly tap my shoulder so I turn my body at her direction.

"Sa Park, malapit sa BigMac." She said and I nod.

"Sa park daw." I said and Jiro once again hum.

[Okay.. I'll be there. May gusto ba kayong kainin?] he ask..

"Ikaw po.." My head immediately snap at Lory's direction.

"What the fuck?!" I mumbled and she started laughing while covering her mouth. She signaled me to go on talking to him so I faced my phone once again.

"Wag na, sabay-sabay nalang tayo kumain. It will be my treat." I said and I hear Jiro flick his tongue.

[No, I will. Nakakahiya, it's your friends. Tapos ikaw pagbabayarin ko? No way.] He said and I pout.

"Norway daw. Di siya payag." I hear Ali joked.

"Jiro.. 6 kasi kami. Magastos 'yon." I said.

Natatakot pa ako baka maging sutil sila tapos umorder ng marami. Ayaw ko naman na malaking halaga ang bayaran ni Jiro. Knowing my friends, baka gawin talaga nila 'yon. Lalo na at libre.

[40-60] he said and my brows furrowed. I look up and saw their confused reaction.

"Hati kayo pero mas malaki ang halaga na babayaran niya." Ali said. I confused look at her and nod.

[Since magiging pito tayo, I'll pay 4 person's food. Then you'll pay 3 person's food. Okay?] he ask and I pout.

"What if sa Green Bread ko gusto kumain?" I ask and I hear Ali snorts. I look at her confusedly before I realized what they are laughing about.

It's because of what I've said a while ago. I realized it sounds weird and sounds ma-arte so I suddenly made a disgusted face.

[Pizza? Or 'yung mga meals?] he ask..

"I change my mind, let's just eat at Mikainan." I said and I hear my friends react.

[Kahit saan mo gusto. I already received my salary for this month. And since I've been working all day. Malaki ang kita ko ngayon.] he said and I smiled.

"Okay.. I'll end the call now. Bye!" I said.

He hum. [Bye, take care.] he said and I just nod before ending the call.

When I put down my phone I realized my friends are giving me that teasing look. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Why?" I ask and they just shake my head.

Gwen move and intervene her hands together before putting her chin on it.

"Laura.." She called and I just hum.

She take a deep breath and shut her eyes, "Putangina, sana all may jowa." She said and my eyes widened. My other friends started laughing

"Takte naman kasi. Phone call palang pero feeling ko ang swerte mo na agad sa kaniya!" She said, nanggigil pa ito na lalong ikinatawa nila.

"True, Englishero pati. Tapos ang lamig ng boses." Ali said and I just chuckle.

"Saan po kaya ako makakahanap ng isang Jiro?!" Gwen screamed and my eyes widened. I immediately stand up and cover her mouth.

"Baka may makarinig sa 'tin! Don't shout his name." I said and Gwen just nod.

Then I suddenly hear Ali choke on something.

"Shout his name pa nga." She said and I immediately get what she means. I sigh and roll my eyes.

Lory made a disgusted face. "Kadiri ka talagang babae ka!" She said before slapping Ali by her legs which made a stingy slap sound.

Ali hissed. "Shuta ka, ang sakit nun!" She said whisk massaging her legs.

"Napaka bastos kasi ng utak mo!" Gwen said.

We stayed by the garden for few more hours. Until we decided to head inside for them to eat snacks. Ali kept on telling me to eat by I refuse it. Hindi na nga ako nakakapag exercise tapos kakain pa ako ng snack? No.

They ate bread and biscuits. And lola also made juice for them. While eating we decided to head to the living room and watch TV. It's just Jax who's focused watching while the others are using their phones.

Nang matapos sila ay isa-isa na nilang ibinalik ang pinaglagyan nila ng pagkain. And now we don't know what to do again.

"May mga board games ka ba?" Ali ask..

I bite my lower lip and shake my head.

"Well I have chess." I said and she shake her head.

"Hell no, masakit sa utak 'yan." She said..

"True," Lory agreed.

I just nod once agreeing as well. Chess is really hard to be honest. And remembering that I once joined that sport is giving me chills.

And also the thing that happened after mine and Jiro's game is also giving me those weird feelings.

"May video games ka?" Jax asked and I look at her with 'are you kidding me' look.

"Mobile games nga wala. Video games pa." I said and Gwen immediately burst into laughter.

"Gusto ko nalang makita si Ji-

"Let's go to my room." I immediately cut off. I stand up from the couch and turn off the TV. Na-una na akong umakyat sa taas for them to follow.

As I open the door, Ali is already behind me and entered the room. And soon sunod-sunod na silang pumasok.

They all sat down on my bed as I turn on the TV. Baka lang lasi nag-eenjoy si Jax sa pinapanood niya sa baba so I decided to open the TV for her to continue watching.

"I am.. somehow, bored." Ali said and we just all agree about it. It's almost lunch at wala kami ibang ginawa kundi ang mag cellphone lang while Jax is still watching a movie.

"Gutom na rin ako." Ali said before putting down her phone.

Tamang-tama at biglang kumatok si Lola sa pinto. Agad kaming bumaba mula sa kama at lumabas na ng kwarto. We get downstairs and eat.

"May pupuntahan kayo mamaya?" Lola ask while we are eating.

I lift my head up and nod. "Sa Park lang po lola." I said and lola nod.

"Mag-iingat kayo. 'Wag na masyadong magpapagabi." Lola said and we all nod.

We continue to eat, Ali is the first one to finished. And just like what she told me, she also just stand there, behind her chair. Next is Lory who finished next but she just sat there.

When I finished I decided to make tea. As I was making I notice Ali looking at me.

"You want?" I ask her while holding a bag of tea. She smiled and I nod.

She walk beside me and she made her own. We are both down making our teas and Jax and Tobi are still eating.

We waited for few more minutes before both of them are done. We decided na sa garden nalang mag pahindag. And when Ali's 30 minutes ended, she sat down already while I wait for mine to end since she is advance of few minutes to me.

I feel like we just wasted our time. We stayed by the garden the whole afternoon dahil may puno naman. So hindi kami gaanong naiinitan.

When 3:30pm came I take a shower and slip on some jumpsuit with a white printed shirt. As I do my simple make up they are just staring at me. So I somewhat feel shy but I also feel like laughing since Gwen look so confuse as I do my make up.

"Why?" I ask while looking by the mirror. Gwen shake her head.

"Nakakaganda ba ang magka jowa?" She ask and they started laughing.

"Gaga, maganda na talaga si Laura." Ali said and I just chuckle. I don't look that beautiful.

By 3:47pm we went out the house and calm two tricycles. It's me, Ali and Gwen who are in the first tricycle, and of course, Lory, Tobi, and Jax sa Kabila.

We arrived at the park after more than 10 minutes. And when the tricycle drivers already leave they started looking around.

"Gaga, anong kulay ng damit nun?" Gwen ask while looking around.

I shrug. "Di ko alam. Hindi naman niya sinabi eh." I replied.

"'Yun ba?!" They all run toward's Tobi's direction as he slightly pointed at a guy. When I look at who is he pointing to, I shake my head.

"That's not him, hindi siya ganiyan kaputi. Fair skin color lang siya." I said and they nod.

"'Yun?! Hindi ba 'yon?" I hear Ali said. But my attention is focused on someone walking toward's me. I smile and he smiled too.

He take bigger steps to walk towards me. And when we are spans apart. I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Uh.. hindi mo ba ako na miss?" He ask and I look down.

"Come on, can I have a hug? Ang tagal natin-

I cut him off by giving him a short hug. I immediately pull away and shyly look down. Gosh we are in public!

"Wow, ang bilis ha? Pero bitin at the same time." He said before chuckling.

"My friends are here. So we can't be that.. sweet." I said and he nod.

"Alright, understandable." He said and I smiled. When suddenly.

"Ayon, andito na pala. Ang layo ng tingin natin." I immediately faced my back. And there I saw my friends giving me a teasing smile.

Gwen step out and walk towards our direction. I thought she's going to stop in front of me. But she pass by me and stopped in front of Jiro.

"Avelline Gwen Crozua, Gwen nalang." She formally introduce herself. And I'm surprised about that. I was expecting her to introduce herself in a different way.

Jax walk closer and so the others. I look at them, pinapalibutan nila si Jiro. And I saw Jiro look at me, his eyes asking for help. I can't help but to chuckle.

"Jax Gabriella, Jax nalang." I hear Jax said. She also reach her hand forward for a hand shake.

"Avery Louise Baldez, Lory." Lory said formally just like Gwen.

"Tobias Emory Valmez, Tobi nalang." Tobi jolly said. But I notice how Jiro look at him differently as they shake hands.

"Oh God." I said before pulling Tobi away from him.

"So.. lets go? Mikainan?" I ask..

Jiro shake his head. "What about HideOut? Masarap daw dun." Jiro said, I look first at my friends before slowly nodding.

"Then lets go there."

We arrived at the place and I realized how beautiful it is. It's like a mini foodcourt and besides food it also have other things such as cosmetics and shirts. But I'm not really interested in those.

We ordered two sisig, two order of Shanghai and carbonara. We also ordered drinks and sweets. Ang bilis lang at nakaserve na agad sa amin ang mga iyon.

While eating I observe my friends. They are just silent which is weird. I was expecting them, specially Gwen on asking questions.

And I'm not wrong. Gwen put down her utensils. Before looking at me with another teasing smile.

"So.. Jiro." Jiro's head snap up. I look at Jiro and saw him raise his brows.

"Kamusta naman na girlfriend si Laura?" She ask and I almost choke on my food. The other's started paying attention to Jiro.

"Well, she's good, she's pretty and nice. Can be possessive sometimes." He replied, my eyes widened and look at him. His head turn at my direction and gave me a teasing smile.

What the fuck is wrong with them?!

Pinagtutulungan nila ako.

Gwen gasp. "Weh?! Ikwento mo!" She said leaning closer. I sigh and massage my temples.

"Few weeks ago there's this two girls that keep on coming back to the computer shop. Tapos dikit sila nang dikit sa akin. They even ask for my number. Then one time I told Laura about it." He said and they even look more interested about the topic.

"The next day, she showed up. She's on a pretty dress. Flats shoes and she just look so pretty." He said and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"She.. uhm hindi ko maipaliwanag eh. But she looks like a possessive girlfriend that time. Pinagtarayan pa nga niya 'yung dalawang babae." He said and that's when my friends stared laughing and cheering. Well it's Lory and Ali who's cheering.

"Tapos nung umalis na 'yung dalawang babae. Ang sabi niya ang pangit daw nila." He added. Lory started clapping her hands while Gwen laugh without any sound. While Jax started coughing who probably choke on her food.

I just frowns and continue eating. I take a spoon of my food and chew on it. When I swallowed I opening my mouth to say something.

"Not to be judgmental, pero totoo. Nakakainis sila tingnan." I said and they once again started laughing. Even Jiro is! Wala naman nakakatawa dun! Kung nakita lang nila ang hitsura nung dalawang babae.

Ali clapped her hands. "I feel so proud. Ako nagturo nun." She said before giving me a thumbs up.

When suddenly..

"Hi Ms. Laura, pwede po ba pa-picture?" Two girls ask. I look at my friends confusedly before nodding. I stand up and take a selfie with them.

"Thank you po." They said in unison before leaving. I sat back down with a confused expression.

"What just happened?" I confused ask.

Did someone just, ask for a picture with me?! Oh my gosh!

"Nawa'y lahat." Ali said before taking a bite of carbonara.

I look at Jiro, a wide smile on my face. "Someone ask for my picture!" I silently exclaimed. He chuckle and nod.

He reach for the top of my head. "I know, and soon the whole world world will ask a picture with you. I'll wait for that time to happen. And I promise I will be there as you reach that top." He sweetly said. I feel my cheeks heat up so I pursed my lips and look down.

Him and his words!

When Ali suddenly just.. "Respeto po sa single."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•3•