Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 1

A piece of the past…

“Hey, Dannie, can I borrow your assignment?” George asked her that morning. Dannie checked the watch across the room.

“You have ten minutes before Ms. Salazar arrives,” she said to her seatmate and friend.

Jackie looked over her shoulder excitedly and said to them, “The girls in the comfort room were talking about a new transferee. They said they heard some of the teachers talking about it. You think he’d be cute?”

George did not answer, too focused on copying everything from Dannie’s paper. Dannie just shrugged, worried about her homework being passed around the class.

“Hey, Danica, can we borrow your homework?” Lee asked from behind.

“Why didn’t anyone make their own during the semestral break?” she asked aloud in frustration.

“Because the break has been a long one and we forgot about it,” answered Miguel from behind George, already peeking over her shoulder to look at Dannie’s paper.

When the people seated in front of the class grew quiet, Dannie grabbed her paper from George’s desk and sat upright. Ms. Salazar arrived and with her was the transferee Jackie was talking about. Her friend was beaming and fixing her hair at the same time as their handsome new classmate was introduced to the class.

While Ms. Salazar made everyone stand up to take their assigned seats (after a lot of muttering from everyone who had already chosen seats beside their friends), Dannie was secretly looking at the new transferee, Troy Brady. He had dark, wavy hair that touched the white collar of his school uniform. His nose was nearly perfect, his eyes round. She couldn’t figure out what color they were without being noticed by him but she guessed they were lighter than the usual dark ones of the men around school. But despite his handsome assets, it was his lips that drew her attention. They seemed to be naturally smiling though he was just standing a few feet away from her, holding his bag. The other girls were looking at him and Jackie even seemed to be gaping beside George. For a moment, Dannie was one of the girls fascinated with the new handsome male student in class.

“Ms. Berlin!” Ms. Salazar was almost shouting and Dannie was pushed forward by one of the guys behind her. Ms. Salazar was pointing at a seat in the second row. She dutifully walked toward it and sat down. “Mr. Brady,” Ms. Salazar continued, pointing the seat next to Dannie.

Dannie swallowed her anxiety as Troy Brady walked with an easy and confident grin on his face toward her.

“Hi,” said her new half-American half-Filipino seatmate.

Dannie gave a small nod and looked away, mentally drilling a hole through the blackboard. She erased the thoughts of Troy Brady making friends with her or liking her. He was obviously out of her reach.

PRESENT DAY

We were all excited except one guy.

If Troy Brady was excited, it didn’t show on his face because he was looking like he was about to pee his dark jeans. And if the concrete ground could only grumble, it would have already woken up the entire city of Bacolod because Troy had been pacing on it back and forth like a crazed woman about to go on labor.

“Can you stop that?” Jackie asked him with irritation. “If you can’t wait, you better go home and help out Dean and Jordan.”

Troy ignored her and checked his watch. He walked toward Tata who was parked beside me and my pick-up truck friend and I both sighed in relief. Troy leaned against his truck and tried to compose himself.

Tata, can you tell me why the two of you came again?

Tata ignored my sarcastic question. She knew I knew why.

Georgie was getting restless too. She checked her watch and leaned against my hood with her arms crossed over her chest. She was sitting beside Jackie.

All of us were waiting for one person and it had been almost an hour since we arrived.

I couldn’t believe I would be in such situation after all the years I had spent with the boys. I had never imagined myself doing this. But here I was. Here we were.

It was sad and joyful at the same time.

My thoughts flew out my windows when I spotted the familiar figure walking toward us. From the way her steps vibrated the concrete parking lot, I knew it was her.

Georgie and Jackie also spotted her and they both jumped away from me to meet her with excited steps. Troy seemed to have turned to stone from waiting because he did not move and inch. But I saw the familiar look on his eyes whenever Dannie’s name was mentioned. It was longing.

Oh, Troy my boy, I am so freaking feeling sorry for you right now. I know we should all be happy right now what with the wedding and all, but I feel for you, my boy. I feel for you. And I hurt with you as well.

Tata told me to shut up because Geogie and Jackie were walking back toward us and walking with them was Dannie baby.

Gas could have poured out my headlights as I watched her walking toward me with her usual gentle smile. But that smile slowly faded when her eyes spotted Troy who remained motionless against Tata.

And then, as if things were back to their normal places like one year ago, Troy jumped to his two feet and walked toward the boys with that sheepish grin of his.

“Danica, it’s good to finally see you wearing normal clothes,” he said in a tone he usually used to taunt her.

Dannie baby frowned at him and asked, “Why are you here?”

“What? I can’t join these two into welcoming you back into the real world?” he asked.

“I am not back. I am out for the holidays and the wedding.”

Troy shrugged. “Who knows? You might not come back in there,” he said, motioning his head toward the convent.

Jackie shot Troy a look before Dannie baby could say a word and distracted everyone by saying, “We better get going. Dean and Jordan are waiting at the apartment and we can’t leave all the cooking with those two.”

Georgie was picking up her ringing phone as they walked toward me. “Hey, Lee, where are you? Are you and Miguel coming? You have to tell us now or you will go hungry.”

Hey, Dannie baby, my Dannie baby, did you miss me? I asked her before she climbed inside me.

“Hey, there, Toto. Missed me?” she asked, looking at me with longing.

Hell yes! Come on, hop in!

Troy was looking at Dannie silently, his eyes almost blank and lost.

Tata, you better strap that boy well. He’s about to lose his mind.

“See you back at the apartment,” Jackie said to Troy before she climbed in my passenger seat and shut the door. Dannie looked at Troy through my backseat window as Georgie led me out of my parking space.

After one whole year, I was driving with my three boys again.

But I couldn’t help but have the feeling that things would start to go crazy now that Dannie baby was back.