Of all the things

Chapter Two

Theo, you never fail to make me laugh

Haley's 

"Are you going home today?"

The first thing that I heard when I opened my eyes was Theo's voice. I turned to his side of the bed and found him already awake and reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand. I yawned and stared at him. Bigla akong nagtaka kung bakit wala pang girlfriend si Theo. Minsan ay nasabi niya sa akin na naghahanap daw si Tita Cornelia ng babaeng maipapa-blind date sa kanya. I asked why his mom needs to do that. Kung tutuusin, hindi naman kailangan ni Theo ng blind date—he's handsome, intelligent, he's very sensitive unlike those asshole frat boys in our university. He cares a lot about other people's feelings. Ganoon kasi siya sa akin, at alam kong ganoon rin siya sa mga kaibigan niya.

"Do you wanna meet some of my friends?"

"Why?" He deadpanned. "Oh, please, Haley Yvian Rian Consunji-Demitri na muntik pang maging Vejar, h'wag ka namang maging katulad ng nanay ko."

"What?" I cringed when he said na 'muntik na akong maging Vejar', as if naman kung nagpatuloy kami ni Perseus, ay magiging Vejar nga ako. Hindi kami pwede, there's a law for that at ipinaliwanag iyon sa akin ni Theo noong minsang nag-away kami ni Perseus at kinalmot ko si Percy sa braso. Isa pa, even if people are okay with that kind of thing already because it's the 21st century, pinalaki kami ni Perseus na magpinsan, hindi pa rin madali na tanggapin kami basta ng lipunang ginagawalan namin.

I witnessed how my Uncle Yllak and Auntie Yna face those kinds of comments all throughout their married life. They were raised as siblings, only to find out in the end that Auntie Yna was adopted and that she's the sister of my father. They got married and have two children. They've been married for a long time, pero hindi pa rin nawawala ang panghuhusga sa kanila. Hanggang ngayon, whenever I search their names on the internet, I could still see those nasty articles written about them, and it's degrading. Mabuti na lang at hindi nagpapa-apekto si Auntie sa mga iyon.

"I said, I don't need to meet your friends. I have my own friends, and I could get any girl that I want, it's just that I don't have the time. I'm more committed to my acads."

"Acads my ass! Ang sabihin mo torpe ka lang." Pinisil ko ang ilong niya. Theo glared at me. Ayaw na ayaw niyang hinawakan ang ilong niya, but I am the only one who could get away with it. "Bahala ka, shower na ako. Oh, can I borrow some of your clothes? I don't have underwear; can I use your boxers instead? And can we please eat at McDonalds? I want cheeseburger!"

"You always want cheeseburger, Hals, you can join a burger eating contest and then you'll win." Sinabi niya iyon sa tonong parang wala lang. I shook my head. Kung maririnig kami ng iba, iisipin nilang nag-aaway kami o iniinsulto namin ang isa't isa, but Theo and I have been like that since the beginning of our beautiful friendship.

Sa totoo lang, wala naman akong gaanong kaibigan. Katulad lang din ako ni Ate Hyan na hindi magaling makipagkaibigan. Ate Hyan always tell me that she doesn't like other people because she's not sure if they're befriending her because of her surname, our money, and the fame that comes with. So instead of befriending those, Ate Hyan put up a wall around her and she bitch people around. Bitch din naman ako pero mas matindi ang Ate ko, she's the ice queen—the ice queen that melted when she met her fiancé, si Kuya Abel. I like Kuya Abel, he somewhat tamed her.

I was in the middle of that hot and refreshing shower when I heard voices in the living room. Agad kong tinapos ang pagligo dahil kinakabahan ako. Somehow those voices were familiar. One of those voices belongs to Theo. I wrapped a towel around my body, and I ran outside the bedroom to get to the living room only to confirm my hunch.

In the middle of the living room a very angry Perseus Vejar was standing. He was trying to intimidate my friend, but Theo won't back down. I know him.