She Crossed That Bridge

04

CHAPTER FOUR

Real party

"WHAT the hell, Shinessa? Bakit ngayon mo lang sinabi sa 'kin?" my best friend Kath, complained, clearly pissed off about me getting into a conversation with Helix without tagging her along.

'Yan na. Kapag nababanggit niya ang buong pangalan ko, ibig sabihin ay naiinis na siya sa 'kin. Pero naiinis din naman ako sa kanya, kaya patas lang.

"What's he like? Any resemblance with Dest?"

Napakunot ang noo ko at inirapan siya. "Kyll High isn't that big, Kath. Why do you never cross paths with him?" I'm losing patience with Kath whenever we talk about boys. She asks nonstop!

Hindi ko talaga alam kung bakit obsessed na obsessed siya sa P5. Ako nga, umay na umay sa kanila. Lalo na sa kapatid ko. But I think being siblings with one of the P5 is a good thing at some point.

Gerald clearly stated to all the students that anyone who would dare to harass me would end up transferring to another school. And he wasn't kidding when he said that. Si Rachel, 'yong cheerleader dati, inaway ako n'on halos isang linggo. Ako talaga 'yong pinag-initan niya sa 'di ko malamang dahilan. And the next thing I knew, she had to transfer to another school because Gerald made her life a living hell.

"Really, Shin? Libro? Na naman?" She rolled her eyes, eyeing me for holding two new books.

"You definitely won't understand a book lover," I said as I smelled the pages of the books as if it's a perfume.

"Pupunta ka ba mamaya?" she suddenly asked.

Nagbayad na ako sa counter saka ko binitbit 'yong paper bag ko na puno ng mga libro.

"Where?" I asked, and scanned the place to search for an ice cream parlor.

"Duh. Welcome party for Helix."

"At gusto mo akong pumunta kasi gusto mong kausapin ko si Helix to convince him to go out on a date with me," dere-deretsong sabi ko.

I figured that was what Kath has been aiming for. Hindi niya ako maloloko. Kabisado ko na mga galawan ni Kath.

"True. But also, not true. I actually want Hel to ask you out on a date." She shrugged nonchalantly as we entered an ice cream parlor.

"Well, I admire your confidence. But unlucky for you, I don't think I can make that happen," pagmamatigas ko.

Ayoko nang magsayang ng energy dahil hangga't nakapaligid sa 'kin 'yong kapatid ko, wala ring magandang patutunguhan 'to. So why waste energy? Why date a guy who would end up leaving like everyone else because of my brother?

"Seryoso talagang nag-transfer na si Dest?" tanong ko bigla habang umo-order kami ng ice cream.

Nilabas ko ang wallet ko at akmang magbabayad na pero pinigilan ako ni Kath. Siya na raw ang magbabayad. Nagkibit-balikat na lang ako at hinayaan siyang ilibre ako. Ayoko talaga ng nililibre ako, pero dahil si Kath naman ang manlilibre, bakit ko naman tatanggihan?

Natawa ako dahil sa naisip ko.

"Bakit? Miss mo na si Dest? Akala ko ba matagal mo nang hinihiling na mawala siya sa paningin mo?" natatawang sabi ni Kath saka kami humanap ng mesa.

"Five to ten minutes daw bago nila i-serve," she informed me.

"Naninibago lang ako. Kasi parang ang tamlay pala ng buong araw ko kapag hindi kumukulo 'yong dugo ko sa kanya," sagot ko saka ako napailing habang tumatawa.

Napataas ang kilay ni Kath at tiningnan ako nang deretso.

"What?" I asked.

"You like him."

"What? No! Ano ka ba. Dream the hell on, Kath. That would never happen. Naninibago lang talaga ako," pagsasabi ko ng totoo.

Tumango naman agad siya. "Okay, sabi mo, eh. Pero guwapo naman si Dest, ah? Bakit ba hindi ka nagkagusto ro'n? Pinag-aagawan 'yon ng mga kaklase natin pati ng mga lower and higher year, eh!"

"Eh 'di sa kanila na. Bakit naman ako makipag-aagawan sa kanila?" nakangiwing sabi ko.

Wala akong gusto kay Dest at sigurado ako roon dahil wala akong ibang naramdaman sa kanya kundi pagkairita at pagkulo ng dugo.

***

"I can do your makeup for you," Kath said.

Oh, hell no. That's definitely a bad idea. The last time she did my makeup for me, nagmukha akong babae sa altar na hindi sinipot ng pakakasalan ko.

Sobrang nagmukha talaga akong tanga no'n at sising-sisi talaga ako na hinayaan ko si Kath na mag-ayos sa mukha ko.

"Come on, I'm superb at it."

"Stop being full of yourself, Kath. I can handle it."

You'd just ruin my face and I don't want that to happen. Of course, I refrained from saying that to her. Knowing her, she'll cry like a baby.

Napakababaw pa naman ng luha niya. Kaunting deretsuhin mo lang, grabe akala mo talaga pinalo ng nanay niya sa puwet. Grabe kung makaiyak.

That evening, we all went to Andrew Conte's house for a party he threw for Hel. I was wearing a mustard tube top paired with black ripped jeans and sneakers. This wasn't really my style, but because of Kath's obsession with getting Hel to ask me on a date, she made me wear this.

As we entered Andrew's house, deafening music claimed my ears.

Some were drinking cheap beers, some were making out, some were doing a lap dance, and some were just talking and laughing together.

Nakipagsisiksikan kami sa mga tao at hindi kami magkarinigan ni Kath dahil sa lakas ng tugtog.

Nagtataka ako dahil biglang huminto si Kath sa paglalakad. Tatanungin ko pa lang sana siya kung bakit siya huminto pero bigla siyang nagsalita.

"Hey, have you seen Helix?" Kath asked Zeke, one of the P5. Ah, kaya pala. Nakasalubong pala namin si Zeke.

Akala ko ay sasagutin siya ni Zeke, pero nilampasan lang siya nito.

"What the fuck? Did he just . . . ignore me?" Kath scoffed, pointing her finger to herself.

Zeke Montevera's not that bad, but he's not that kind either. Mapili talaga siya sa mga taong kinakausap at pinapansin niya. And Kath's apparently not one of them.

The party was in full swing. Bodies swayed against the music, the air promised excitement. From here, I could see Andrew making out with a brunette. Ugh. Jesus. They should get a room.

Andrew's the Casanova among P5. You'd always see him anywhere having a good time with girls. Hindi ko naman din siya masisi. Hindi ko naman alam 'yong kuwento ng buhay niya. Malay ko ba kung may malalim na dahilan kung bakit naging gan'yan siya. Who was I to judge, right?

"Woah, you're here," Nico said as he gave me a quick kiss on my cheek.

He's Nico Baltazar, ang nag-iisang lalaki na gusto ko sa P5. We've been friends since my sophomore year. He's always been saving me from Dest, who used to make fun of me all the time, kaya siya lang talaga ang nagustuhan ko sa kanila. He's the most decent one.

"Where's Gerald?"

Napangiwi ako sa tanong niya. "Gerald isn't here?" I asked in surprise.

He raised both of his brows, cluelessly shrugging. "I haven't seen him since the party started."

Nang marinig ko iyon ay agad na nagliwanag ang mukha ko.

"Great," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

Now I can call it a real party. 

~

T I A N A V I A N N E