Something That Glitters

30 // Epic Heart Rate

Epic Heart Rate

Turned out... she did like me.

At least, that was what Auntie Tonette told me.

"Mahilig magsuot ng itim. Napakalayo sa ugali niya. Pansin kong mahilig din naman sa mga bagay na kumikinang. Ayun, may binagayan din!" Mahinang tumawa si Auntie sa sarili.

Whenever Snooki wasn't around, Auntie often told me stories about her like it was the only interesting matter she'd willingly talk to me about.

Piece by piece, through my aunt's words, it started to feel like I already knew Snooki for quite some time. And at the end of each day, I looked forward to it; being told of a nighttime story that eventually became my only favorite.

"I am in constant contact with Elora, her mom. An elegant woman, soft-spoken. Nothing like her daughter," continued Auntie. My lips twitched, wanting to smile. "Truth is, her family is rich. She is humble, yes, but she's still rich. Hindi ko alam kung bakit nasa Daily Bloom iyon! Unang sabi niya'y maghahanap daw siya ng nobyo rito. E, nakita ka, ikaw ang natipuhan. Kawawang bata ka naman."

Nangiti na ako at napakagat ng labi nang tawanan ako nang malakas ni Auntie. "Malas po ba ako, Auntie?"

"Aba'y hindi ko alam! Alamin mo. Kilalanin mo siya, kausapin mo. 'Wag mong pagurin, mamaya'y lumipad pa ang interes niyan sa iba. O, e 'di mas lalo kang kawawa? Isipin mo iyan."

Yeah. I could only agree with her in my mind.

Bago ako matulog nang gabing 'yon, nangingiti ako nang inaalala ang mga sinabi ni Auntie. Ah, darnit, I was really hopeless, wasn't I?

Nakangiti akong natulog, kinakabahan naman akong gumising kinabukasan. A prickling sensation lingered in my chest the whole time I distractedly worked this morning, a few tormenting hours before I asked Snooki out for a lunch she insisted she owed me.

She said it should be on her, but there was no way I would let her pay for it because... well shit, it was embarrassing, but I might have gone overboard and brought her to the wrong place when she only asked to eat burgers for lunch.

Ilang gabi akong hindi nakatulog kaiisip doon! Hiyang-hiya ako sa sarili, gusto kong malaman kung anong naging tingin sa 'kin ni Snooki noon! Ilang gabi rin akong nagpagulong-gulong sa kama, reliving the day with altered versions where I got it right.

"Hey, who's Snooki? She's flooded my notification liking either your photo that I uploaded or our fam photo you're tagged into." My older sister, Ayla, called me only to ask.

I put her on loudspeaker so I could check my social media account. When I saw the notifications, I thought, yeah, my sister would really ask me about it. I lost it, though. I couldn't fight my lips from smiling, wondering which pictures of me Snooki saw. I could only wish she saw nothing embarrassing.

"Wait, no! Let me fancy you with a guesswork. She's 'nother supermodel coming after you, huh? I'm right, aren't I? You want me to catfight for you again?" She grunted.

"Don't! No!"

"Wow. And you're exclaiming? Interesting. Sino ba 'yon—oh my gosh, you got a girlfriend?!" Then, it was her turn to exclaim. Napangiwi ako at inilayo ang phone mula sa tainga.

"I haven't even said any—"

At binabaan na niya ako ng tawag. I hopelessly sighed. I knew she'd most likely ask Uncle Benj about it for info to tattle to mom and dad. She could do that, but even Uncle won't have an answer.

"Snooki is a dramatic kid. Tuwing makikita ka sa shop ay kulang na lang himatayin!" kuwento ni Auntie habang naghahain ng pagkain sa lamesa.

"Nah, you're being dramatic, Auntie." Natawa ako at natigil lang nang sundan ko ng tingin ang tapik ni Julio sa balikat ko.