Mr. Know it All [EDITING]

46th

46

Angelo Gabriel

Ninety miles outside Chicago
Can't stop driving I don't know why~

I'm with my mom. She likes to listen to one song every time we go out together or every time she asks me to drive her somewhere.

"Kuya, don't text and drive"

I'm checking my messages on phone . "I'm not texting while driving, mom"

She called me KUYA ever since my lil sis was born. She calls me Kuya when Gia's around then she ended up calling me kuya every time we talk. Para daw marinig ng kapatid ko tapos masanay siya na tawagin akong Kuya. Hanggang ngayon kuya pa din ang tawag ni Mommy sa'kin.

Back when we were in Cali, kids there used to call their elder siblings by their names. They don't use Bro or Sis or whatever. Unlike here at PH, we are so polite.

"Si Leslie ba ang katext mo?" she asked while sneaking on my phone's messages.

"No. Tulog pa siguro"

I send one message earlier but she haven't responded. "Baka naman nagsasawa na sa'yo. Palagi mo nalang kinakausap"

Nagsawa? I put down my phone.

Mas pinagtuunan ko ng pansin ang pag da-drive ulit dahil naka-GO na ang stop light.

While driving I've been thinking about what my mom told me. But the song that is playing right now is bothers me a lot. "Mi, paulit-ulit na 'yung kanta. Bakit di ka nagsasawa dyan?"

Nakakanta ko na sa utak 'yung lyrics ng kanta kahit hindi ko pa nahahanap sa Google 'yung pinaka kanta. "Why would I be fed up? Favorite song ko 'yan"

"Since that song was invented? Kahit na, paulit-ulit pa din. Nakakasawa nang pakinggan"

She can easily figure out if a song will play next. If that happens she'll play the previous song again and again. CDs have no use in this car. Only one song for the whole ride. Even my Dad complains sometimes. "Gusto ko nga kasi 'yun"

"That's it. Hindi rin magsasawa si Les kahit paulit-ulit lang 'yung usapan namin" pareho namin gusto 'yung pinag-uusapan namin.

"You were not like that before" there she goes again, reminiscing the old times, "Lanie..is that the name? Yung crush mo when you were in second year high school?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

She laughed. "Hindi mo naman siya china-chat using Gia's name. Hindi mo rin binalak kunin yung number niya before" she's smiling widely while telling me story. My mom likes to tease me a lot. She's like a teenager that's stuck in a 40-year-old body of a lady.

"I was not thinking of having a girlfriend that time. Too young to be in love"

She picked up my phone and.. "May password na ngayon? Kuya, may tinatago ka na sa'kin?" she asked suspiciously.

"Wala. You know everything little thing about me"

I let her hold my phone for a while. "Kung ganun, bubuksan mo 'to. Gusto kong magbasa ng messages"

Ang kulit. "Privacy, mom. You said phone is someone's private thing"

She doesn't pick up a fight. I win with this almost an argument thing with my mother. "Cellphone nalang ni Leslie ang hihiramin ko"

"No way! Hindi siya papayag" I was just concluding.

"Dyan ka nagkakamali. Close kaya kami ng daugter-in-law ko. I've changed my mind, hatid mo nalang ako sa bahay ni Monica nando'n si Les 'di ba?"