crush ( badjao de castro )

five !

H. J. Dipasupil, eleventh grade

Harvey woke up in an instant on that Monday morning. It was the "next week" his professor was talking about and he was more than ecstatic to see Badjao again. His grin never left his face.

"Aba, maganda ata gising ni Jerome, ah." Mr. Dipasupil remarked laughingly once he saw his son practically skip to give him a kiss. "What's the occasion?"

"Wala naman po." Harvey shrugged, planting a kiss on his mother's cheek. "Sadyang masaya lang po 'tong araw na 'to."

"Hindi ito 'nothing' anak," Mrs. Dipasupil added, using air quotes, "ano ba nangyayari?" the eldest son opened his mouth to say something when a shrill shriek was heard from the stairs. It came from Sadie, who was grabbing on to the railings dramatically.

"Oh my God! Nananaginip ba 'ko?" Kuya Harvey? Gumising ng maaga?" she exclaimed, exaggeratingly. "Is this the apocalypse? No, no. 'Di pa 'ko ready mamatay! This is-"

"Bunso." Mr. Dipasupil reprimanded. "Kalma. Hindi pa katapusan ng mundo. Now come down. We need to be presentable pag dumating ang Ate Bev mo." Sadie nodded and proceeded to go down to the dining table.

"She'll be so shocked." Harvey mused as he was getting rice. "I can't wait to see the look on her face once ako ang nagbukas ng pinto and go like "surprise" with matching jazz-hands."

He was about to grab some tocino when a knock has heard on the door.

"Buksan mo pinto, 'nak." Mrs. Dipasupil absentmindedly ordered, recieving a snort from both Harvey and Sadie.

"Ma, dalawa po anak niyo." the two said in unison, in between chuckles. Their mother raised her eyes at Harvey and he didn't hesitate to run to the door.

"Hey Bever-" were the only decipherable words that came out of his mouth before a shrill shriek elicited his lips. Rushed footsteps were heard from behind, followed by a disappointed yet relieved sigh from Mr. Dipasupil.

"Surprise?" Badjao greeted, wagging his hands and donning a forced grin masking the tone that means "I fucked up real bad".

---

"Tito, Tita, I'm so sorry, dapat 'di pala po ako pumunta." he apologized, poking his tocino with a fork.

"Oh no, Gab," Mrs. Dipasupil said, grinning, "'Di dapat ikaw 'yung mag-sorry sa'min. Si Harvey ang dapat mag-sorry sa kanyang behavior kanina."

"Hala, Tita 'wag na. May reason naman kung bakit po gulat na gulat siya."

"Yes I do!" Harvey chimed in, raising his spoon. Mrs. Dipasupil lightly nudged his knee with hers. "Sorry po."

At first, Harvey was scared of leaving Badjao alone with his parents who always had a dozen of questions prepared for every unknown classmate who step foot inside their house, but luckily, the Dipasupil couple was preoccupied with some early morning paperwork, making Harvey feel at ease.

Soon enough, the two boys were walking alongside each other, an awkward silence engulfing both of them.

"So," Harvey begun, slipping his hands on his pockets, "kamusta 'yung Battle of the Bands?" he saw Badjao's eyes light up.