GRABE! NAKITA mo 'yung mga mukha nila? Laptrip! Sobra!" Shanta was laughing so hard that her hands were constantly hitting my arms. By the time she would stop, she would hold her stomach due to pain, but wouldn’t refrain herself from guffawing with her super reddish face and teary eyes. "Gagi, ayukuna! Bwahahaha! Ang pangit ni Clyde!"
"Oh. Hold on." Nagpipigil ang tawa ko. "If your cousin is ugly, then what do you call mine? Mukha curious na aso!"
"Bwahahaha! Kakaibang aso pala ‘yong bayaw ko, eh!" malakas na sabi niya habang maingay sa pasilyo. "Parang police dog, gago! Ang lakas ng pang-amoy! Ang bilis niya tayong nahalata! Pansin mo 'yon?"
"Oo naman! Like your cousin! Amoy aso nga lang" I pointed out and she laughed more. "But you know what. I feel like he saw you a
WHAT ARE WE FINDING?" Tinanaw ng paningin ko si Shanta mula sa malayo habang pareho kaming naghahanap ng libro sa bookshelf. "I have been scanning this section. Hindi ko alam kung anong hinahanap ko." "Ha?" She looked at me a minute before she was inspecting the books while walking towards where I was at. Nang nasa harapan ko na siya, doon lamang niya ako napansin. "Ano ulit 'yong sinasabi mo?" takhang tanong ni Shanta kahit na ilang beses ko nang inilahad 'yon. "I'm asking about the book we're finding," ulit ko at hinahabaan ang pasensya para sa kanya. "I don't what exactly is the title. Kaya hindi ko talaga alam ang hinahanap ko. It's kinda a waste of time standing here, finding hair on a bald
AT KUMUSTA KA naman ngayon? Kumusta ang relasyon mo sa kanila?" Shanta asked with eyes intently looking at me. I melt down because someone was really lending ears to my unheard voice. "Anong ginawa mo? Sinunod mo 'yong teacher?"I grinned and slowly nodded. Iyon naman talaga ang dapat na gawin. I didn't want to ruin my peace just because I insisted on something that was partly my fault. I said sorry because I deserved to live in serene after I fought a drought in my system.Tungkol sa nagawa kong kasalanan, I had left the recording studio without the group's permission and ignored their calls when they needed me.They only knew about my condition after I woke up and realized that I was kicked out. Hindi ko sila masisisi para kumilos nang ganoon. Wala silang kaalam-alam
MAY MALANSA DITO? Can you smell it ba, guyz?" It was Katlego's voice. Nang makalapit kami ni Shanta sa mesa nila, tumaas ang tingin niya sa amin. "Oh, I didn't see you there! Nandito na pala kayo! Kaya pala iba ang naaamoy ko, eh!" Nagtawanan silang mga nasa mesa. He had the Lachlan beside him and Clavis across from him. Katabi naman ng aso ang isa pang aso na si Jirario sa kanan upuang. "Tanga. Bibig mo lang 'yon," singit ni Shanta saka pinagmasdan ang pagkain ni Lego. "Ano 'to? Pusit ba 'yan? Meron pa doon? Patikim nga-" "Hep, hep, hep! Huwag kang kukuha diyan! Magpabili ka na lang!" "Madamot ka. Tangina mo. Kapag ako hinihingian mo, namimigay ako. Kapag ako ang hihingi, 'di ka namimigay-"
I PARKED MY CAR in front of a black towering gate as soon as Shanta and I got in the Ferrucci Mansion. Mabilis kaming natapos sa pag-aayos ng mga libro kanina sa silid-aklatan at hanggang sa mga oras na ito ay hindi kami tinatantanan ng mensahe ng mga kaibigan namin. Paulit-ulit lang ang mga tanong nila. Ang pinaka-kontrobersiyal ay kung bakit napatagal kami sa pag-alis kagabi at kung ano pa raw ba ang ginawa namin sa loob ng kotse. I told them I had my first-aid kit inside. That was I used to mend her wound and little scratches. Although it was quite reasonable, it wasn't enough to convince them. Patuloy pa rin sila sa pagdududa tungkol sa estado ng relasyon namin ni Shanta. "So… I'll see you tomorrow," I said once the engine has died.  
THE GUARD opened the entrance door for me as I came into an exclusive restobar where Euart was. Nginitian ko siya bago tuluyang pumasok sa loob. I thought music would be booming once I came in since it's a bar, but when I caught a view of the resto's interior, customers were silently conversing with each other on their tables. It explained why he wanted to talk to me here. The atmosphere was serene as it was accompanied by operatic music. The lights were a bit dim yet a yellow glint. Habang sa kaliwa ay inookupahan ng mga upuan at mesa, the right side was a bar counter. At doon nahagip ng mga mata ko ang pigura ni Euart. Only I could mark the other side of his face. He was at the far corner, sitting and drinking alone. I sighed at how messed up he looked. He seemed to be deep in thoughts as his gaze was focused on his glass. Naglakad ako patungo roon kung nasaan siya. And as I strode in big steps, hindi pa rin siya lumilingon sa paligid. Hindi pa rin niya ramdam ang
I NEVER LEFT EUART'S eyes. Hindi ako makasagot hindi dahil sa naiilang ako, kundi dahil sa tono ng kanyang pananalita. I couldn't make sound of his tone, be it sarcastic or what. Hindi ko alam kung dapat ba akong mainis kung tunog panunuya iyon o medyo maginhawaan dahil kalmado siya. He chuckled. Maybe, he was making fun of how my face looked like. Doon ko rin napansing kanina pa nakabukas ang bibig ko habang litong nakatitig sa kanya. I shut my mouth and drank my liquor when I realized how I ugly I was. "I'm sorry I surprised you with that," mahinang saad niya. "I was merely asking because I wanted to be assured for once." "Why? Does it matter to you?" seryosong tanong ko habang nakatungo at pinaglalaruan ang yelo sa baso ko. "If ever we built a more serious kind of r
BA'T NANDITO KA?" sigang tanong ni Clavis noong lumapit siya sa amin. His fists were clenched while his chest rose a bit. Pero kahit anong gawin niya, nagmukha pa rin siyang kawayan. "Sinong nagpadala sa 'yo rito? Hindi naman kita inimbitahan.""Well…" Euart seemed to never be faltered by our friend's arrogance. "Who could have invited me, hmm? Maybe, I invited myself here to take vengeance. What do you think?" Then, he smirked and pushed his eyeglasses up that was falling from his nose. I chuckled. Unti-unting nawawala ang angas ni Clavis habang namumula siya mula sa sikat ng araw."I invited him here. Is that a problem?" I butted in before a fight could transpire. "No. That's not a problem-""Anong hindi?! Eh, si Dalmi-""Ayos lang sa akin," putol ni Shanta at nginitian kaming lahat na nakapalibot sa isang bilog. "Wala namang nagbago. Barkada ko pa rin 'yan."I grinned. Nasagi ng mga mata ni Shanta ang pagtitig ko sa kanya. When she realized my e
AFTER ARRANGING our things in each of our rooms, all six of us decided to take a walk along the coastline of Lingayen, Pangasinan. It was near lunchtime, and so we let Lachlan and Katlego do the honor in ordering. Hindi pa bumababa si Shanta. Before I joined them, I knocked on her door a while ago. But she wasn't answering. I chatted with her, but it was all ignored. I didn't know what exactly was bothering her. Pero alam kong masama ang loob niya.Well, I failed to medicate her with fruitful vitamins. Baka nangangayayat siya sa kwarto niya dahil hindi ko siya nahalikan. And it was all thanks to her meddlesome cousin. Hindi natuloy ang pagpapakain ko sa kanya ng bitamina.Habang nag-oorder sina Lach at Kat ng kakainin, kaming apat nina Clavis, Jirario, at Euart ang naglakad-lakad sa dalampasigan. As we buried our feet in the white sand, it was like a foot spa. Although it's already May, there was something in the breeze that made it cool an