Not Me

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Our dinner went well. Dinala kami ni Tonton sa kinainan nilang magbabarkada and I'm glad na despite not having to talk regularly, naalala pa rin niya how much I wanted to eat unlimited chicken wings.

Call it too much but I felt free doing that. Hindi ako natakot na may makakita sa akin, hindi ako natakot na baka mapagalitan ako because I acted improperly. I felt..... normal.

We invited Tonton to hangout with us after eating pero gusto niya na daw umuwi kaya kaming dalawa na lang ni Val ang magkasama ngayon.

"So, mind explaining what happened a while ago?" He opened a topic. Honestly, doon pa lang, alam ko na ang tinutukoy niya.

"Hindi ka talaga makamove on, ah?" I jokingly said to somehow shrug off the negative vibe it's giving.

"Ikaw kaya nagsabing ngayon mo sasabihin. Pinaalala ko lang." He defended himself.

"Okay." I answered in defeat. Tama naman siya. Ako naman talaga nagsabing ngayon ko sasabihin. "Apparently, he knows. Why? Hindi ko rin alam. Chances are matagal niya nang alam. Ang weird naman kung he just woke up today and realized that I am 'that' Xander Garcia."

"Alam mo, I already expected that. Kilala 'yung pamilya mo sa buong bansa. But what's his issue? Ano ngayon kung ikaw si Xander Garcia? Hindi ko gets bakit parang may galit siya kanina."

"Hayaan mo na. Baka kulang sa pagmamahal." I tried joking around. Narinig ko kasi 'yon when my blockmates were throwing shades against each other and found it witty.

"Hindi pwedeng hayaan 'yan, ah? Hatred due to race, gender identity, politics and many more should never be tolerated. Marami nang namatay dahil sa unreasonable hatred na 'yan." I was stunned. I can't believe that those words came from his mouth because I'm not so used to him being this deep and logical. And it made perfect sense. "Lagi mo akong i-update, ha? Hindi natin alam kung anong rason at kung anong kayang gawin ng hatred niyang 'yan."

"Thank you, Val. Alam mo, my father would appreciate you kapag kinwento kita sa kanya."

"Kung ako nanay mo, magtatampo ako sa 'yo. Puro ka na lang father, daddy, Gov - but I never heard you talk about your mother. Not even once."

And there, he hit something... something that hurts.

"Ano namang sasabihin ko about her?" I tried to avoid further conversation about her.

"She would also appreciate me kapag kinwento mo ako sa kanya pero hindi mo sinabi." I paused for a while and looked at him in disbelief. Akala ko, gusto niyang magkwento ako tungkol sa nanay ko pero gusto lang pala nyang sabihin kong he would be appreciated.

"Okay. Sabi mo, eh." I jokingly ride on his joke.

But truth be told, I don't think my mom would. She even rarely appreciates me.

"Kailan mo ba ako planong ipakilala?" He asked curiously. I can get a hint na nagbibiro pa rin siya kaya naisipan kong sakyan iyon.

"Boyfriend ba kita? Si Jake nga, hindi ko pinakilala."

"And you're proud of it?"