January 2011

"I'm so hungry, Janet! Have you eaten?"

The radiant day unfolded with a group of four navigating a bustling street. They hurriedly crossed a red light, appearing to be in a rush while ushering their children. A woman in her 30s strolled along with a little boy holding her hand, accompanied by another woman of the same age, who held onto a little girl. As if guided by fate, somehow they found a burger joint.

"Why don't we make a stop and buy some for the troops, V? I know we're.. a liiittle bit late, but poor them—they haven't even get a proper breakfast, right?" Janet suggested in glee.

Eventually, they joined the line, and as they finally got their hands on the burgers, the little boy seized one, proving to be even hungrier than his mom. He devoured the burger in a split second, earning cheers from the moms and amused glances from the other buyers. However the triumph was cut short since the boy suddenly choked on his own burger.

Amidst the panic, a stall seller from outside fortunately rushed to the rescue. With swift expertise, he helped the boy by putting his arms around the little boy's waist, and pulled sharply inwards and upwards—until a ball of meat spat out in a projectile motion.. and miraculously landed on someone's hat.

"Sir, thank you so much for helping my son! How much do we owe you?"

Tears welling on her eyes, Violet expressed her gratitude by willing to pay anything, but the seller offered a sweet sugarcane for free instead, special for little Tyler to wash away all the trauma he just experienced. As the commotion settled, the little girl observed her friend with a twinkle in her eyes.

She watched little Tyler sipped the sweet greenish drink like he was in a Coca Cola commercial. Without moving from her spot, she tugged at her mom's sleeve and mumbled, "I want it too!" Unable to resist the pleading eyes of her daughter, Mrs. Winters went to the sugarcane stall and approached the hero of the day to say,

"One please."

As little you eagerly received the sugarcane, they patiently waited for little Tyler to compose himself. However, when they redirected their attention back to you, the cup in your hands had already gone empty. Little you guiltily grinned, eliciting big laughter from the moms, even from post traumatized Tyler, as your antics always has a way to lift up his mood. Giggling and shaking her head at Violet in amusement, Janet approached the sugarcane seller again and say—

"Two, please."

You beam to the man you've known all your life. Giving you a wink of knowledge as he starts to work, he whistles in a good mood, eager to give you the freshest sugarcane in town. Turning your head to the left, you spot Tyler waiting, leaning himself on his Ducati, taking a drag from his pod.

"Two sweet sugarcane for the zweeet besties!"

The visible wrinkles on his face accompany his signature grin. Tilting your head, you give him a wide smile in appreciation. Accepting your most cherished drink in the whole wide world, your mind ponders on his appearance since you're just in the elementary school till now. Oh how time flies so fast.

After saying your thank yous, you excitedly skip over to Tyler, presenting him his sugarcane. However, unlike his usual self, he accepts the sweet drink with a hint of hesitation. His strange behavior puts you into a halt from diving straight into the sweet delicacy.

Fiddling with the straw that's already in your hand, you raise an eyebrow at him, observing as he pierces the straw into his cup. His little averted glances here and there make it clear that something is on his mind. You squint your eyes for a moment before nonchalantly shrugging it off, thinking, 'Fug it, the sweetness is waiting~' However, just as you're about to take a sip of your sugarcane, he finally opens his mouth to say,

"I think tomorrow.. would be our first time not getting to school together—"

Startled by his sudden outburst, you almost drop your sugarcane—but quickly regain your grip, causing a few droplets to spray out of the cup. Tyler cringe in guilt—both hands ready to catch your cup if it were to fall. Huffing in anger and disbelief, now your dark brown eyes round in horror as you exclaim, "What?! Now I'm losing my ride too?!"

His cringe of guilt transforms into a bored stare as Tyler narrows his eyes and demands a hard truth, "Am I just a driver to you, bro? Are you just using me—all this time?"

Tilting your head, you narrow your eyes in suspicion, and realization dawns on you like a painful ice bucket challenge from the past viral trend you once did.

"Wait—so this is our last time getting SMASH—and last Wednesday was the last time for WEBBS?!"

With his head retracted like a turtle and both hands attempting to stop you from your exaggerated assumptions, Cavill criticizes, "Woah woah—'last time' would be too much—and drop it with the weird acronyms, please?" continuing sipping his drink, he adds, "Be normal for once, Winters. Sheesh, I could never memorize them."

"Sugarcane Monday After School and Wednesday Burgers Before School?! Geez I told you so many times—" you rant, flares might start coming out of your nose like fireworks by now. Not caring about those passersby who start stealing glances like you're in Les Misérables, you continue your singing of despair, "What if you want them but she doesn't want to pay?! What if she doesn't like any of them?! Doesn't she like—a vegetarian?!"

Hand flown on the air in disbelief, Tyler complains, "Oh hell now you're crossing the line, Winters—why are you talking like I don't have money?! Secondly, I checked. She likes burgers."

Rolling your eyes at his statement, you mutter before finally sipping your treasured drink, "But she hates sugarcanes. Great."

"Well, it's bad for your health though."

You slowly release your lips from the straw as you lift your glare at him. Shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing, he replies to your glare with a disinterested stare. Starting to feel blood boiling in your veins, you shout, "You're taking her side now?! Unbelievable, coming from a burger die-hard—doesn't it feel weird though?! She eats burgers, but she hates sugarcanes?!"

"Only to you, Winters. Only to you."

Heaving a big sigh, you exclaim, "Well, I know I have an Asian descendant somewhere—"

"Listen, I'm not taking any side okay—"

"Bro! But The SMASH and WEBBS rituals have become our habit!"

Cut short by your shout, he throws his head back and lets out a big sigh in frustration. Explosively frustrated, you continue, "Mornings for savoring the delicious aroma of freshly grilled patties—evenings for the sweet tang of sugarcanes! Our routine, bro?! Our routine!"

"I know.. but this bound to happen, though. It's not like we're going to keep doing this when we grow up, right?"

...

His words send a sharp pang through your chest. Stunned, you stand there in silence, and he watches as your expression transitions from shock to disappointment. There's a discernible tinge of sadness in your eyes. He averts his gaze from you, desperately searching for which words that came out wrong. 'Shit, not the look,' he thought to himself.

"What do you mean we're not going to do this when we grow up?"

You ask with a cold edge, staring at him, awaiting a sensible explanation. In panic, he stammers, attempting to clarify the situation, "I—I mean, you know what I mean—" he looks away frustratingly, until he meets your wounded gaze again and exclaims, "if you get a boyfriend first you'd do this either!"

Anticipating an angry retort from you, instead he is met with deadpan silence. He takes a step closer, intending to reach for you. Yet, your response brings him to a sudden stop, an answer weighed down with gravity,

"No, I won't."

And you walk home by yourself, leaving him on the pavements alone. He stands there, watching your back, confused by what just happened. Sucking air between his teeth in irritation, he looks up at the sky and exhales, before turning his head back down, staring at the sugarcane in his hand. He asks, not expecting an answer, "Tell me bro, am I wrong?"

"Yes you are."

But to his surprise, it talks back. He stares at the drink in horror, shouting, "The fuck?! You can talk—" his brain suddenly goes into overdrive as he frantically scans the surroundings left and right for anyone. However, when he turns around..

"AAAAHHHH!"

The sugarcane seller's face suddenly looms right in front of him, causing him to recoil and let out a horrified yell. The sugarcane seller inches even closer, prompting Tyler to back up nervously. Despite Cavill's retreat, squinting his eyes, the sugarcane seller continues to move closer.. and closer.. until he finally opens his mouth..

"Don't take it for granted, Tyty.."

The sugarcane man whispers eerily like a tarot reader—before turning back and casually walking away like nothing happened, returning to his stall.

Watching his back with a peculiar feeling, Tyler stammers, "The f—sir, how did you know my—" but then he sees the man back to smiling and serving the buyers in normalcy. Cavill immediately fixes his focus on finishing his drink, determined to get the hell out of there.

Taking each step with heaviness, you walk through the pavements. Aside from the beautiful morning.. your mood? Far from it. Stopping beside a streetlamp, you blankly stare at the lights changing its color from yellow to red. Darting your gaze around like a lifeless person, you finally find something to focus on. Across the street, you see the stalls, the place where you had your argument with Tyler.

Yes, my elementary school, mid, aand high school, is in the same complex. So yes, I have to pass by it every. day. Imagine the annoyance I gotta endure, knowing I'll have to pass by it every day—also without knowing when I can have SMASH and WEBBS with him ever again.

As a form of breaking the rules, you buy sugarcane on this ordinary Thursday morning anyway. Feeling the sugary sweet liquids flood the spaces of your mouth lifts up your mood a little, helping you get through your Dora Explorer era in the making. You finally reach your school complex, 

But as you're about to take another step..

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Cecylia Costania @rcpcs.writes

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The song that matches this Chapter's vibe:

https://youtu.be/ZWzpFdr-KDw