My brother got stupefied with my out of nowhere question. But, he was quick to recover from the shock and smile at me sweetly.
"Of course, Nali."
"B-but... You look so tired," I look at the plants behind him to avoid his eyes.
"Yes. Indeed, I am tired," he calmly said. "But, it doesn't mean I'm not happy," he added.
My eyes dart to him, I'm so confused right now.
"Nali, I'm happy with what I am doing. Tho I get tired every now and then."
"After all, life isn't all rainbow and happiness. It is okay to be tired, taking a break for a while is not bad... Because in the end, all the tiresome days will mean nothing once you see the successful outcome of your hard work," he gently holds my hand above the table.
"That's when you will feel happy and relieved. You will realize that every sleepless nights, every tiring day, every sweat, all of it paid off..." Kuya Ryle meaningfully said.
"Do you understand?" he asked.
I smile sweetly, "Yeah."
"Good. Now, off to bed, young lady."
What he said made me laugh. I gather my things and go to him to kiss goodnight.
"Good night, kuya. Don't overwork yourself, please."
"Good night. I won't, ma'am." he even gave me a salute.
I go back to my room. I place the notebook beside my phone on my study table.
The phone lit up. There's a message.
From Kale.
Kale:
You free tomorrow?
Me:
I guess. Why?
Kale:
Let's go somewhere. Meet me at the front of Aling Cely's, 2 PM, sharp.
Me:
Where are we going?
Kale:
Dora's house!
I winced at his reply. Really? Do I look like Boots asking the children watching "where are we going?"
Kale:
Kidding aside. Anywhere.
Me:
Ok.
He sent me a good night text too, I just didn't reply. Too lazy to type a reply.
I put my phone near the lampshade and tuck myself on my bed. I hugged the head of Pink Panther— my pillow. Minutes later, I fell asleep.
"Hey, Nali." Is that Aly?
"What's up? I-I miss you, girl. I miss going to school with you," She's talking to me, right?
"Oh right, I forgot. Noe's still Noe." she laughed but there's no humor in it.
"I got your picture, I'm coming with you
Dear Maria, count me in
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle
And I'm the pen"
My whole being woken up when I heard the familiar song. What the hell? I fetched my phone.
It's 10:00 AM, there's a message too.
Kale:
2 PM, Don't be late.
I didn't bother replying and just shut my eyes close. I still want to sleep.
10 minutes passed when I decided to get up and wash my face.
I also changed my clothes into a black jersey short and a sky blue statement shirt.
I go directly to the kitchen to get some drink and bread for breakfast. I think bread is enough since it is nearly lunchtime.
After getting breakfast in the kitchen, I saw Pops at the sala, he's reading today's newspaper while the television is on.
"Morning, Pops."
"Morning, sunshine," he smiled at me.
Time flies too fast.
It's already 1:00 AM. I decided to take a bath for 15 minutes. Then, I blow dry my hair and went to the closet.
I choose a fitted denim jeans, and my white long-sleeve pull-over with the statement "Life is Fun," rolled 'til my elbow. I pick the light gray(kinda look like a dirty white) high cut converse. Lastly, my black sling bag. And I'm good to go.
Pops said goodbye after I told him I will be meeting with a friend. Which is true, I just didn't mention who it is.
Manong Jude dropped me off near the crossing, it's exactly two PM when we got there. Good thing that the light is still red, I jog to get to the other side of the road. Then, I turn to an alley that will lead me to the eatery.
From afar, I manage to get a glimpse of the eatery. When I got into the front of the building, I was about to go inside when Kale's message came across my mind. He said we will meet here, outside.
5...
10... I looked at the road in front of me.
15... It never fails to fascinate me. I smiled unconsciously.
18... Okay, what the hell?! He said SHARP, right? SHARP?!
"What the hell, dude?!" I said to myself.
I looked around, hoping to see the person I'm waiting for.
There. I saw him, standing far away from me.
I met his gaze. He got back from his trance then run towards my position.
He's smiling from ear to ear when he's finally in front of me. I smiled too, just a sarcastic one.
"Sharp, right?" I sarcastically said.
"Hehe, there's traffic," he nervously laughed. "Sorry, I'll make it up to you."
"Seriously, where are we going?" my hand is on my waist as I ask him.
"Don't know."
"What?"
"I don't know," he had the guts to repeat it huh.
"So what? We'll just stand here the whole afternoon? You had the guts to invite me when you don't even have a plan!" I spat, this is so annoying.
Kale looked back for a second. That's when I noticed what he is wearing today. This is my first time seeing him wear casual clothes instead of his uniform.
He's wearing an army green hoodie, faded ripped jeans and a pair of black Air Jordan 1.
"Let's eat first."
I didn't argue with that, I'm also hungry, so...
We go inside and Aling Cely is not there. She must have gone somewhere.
I'm just following this guy in front of me. He turned to go to our usual spot which is originally, my usual spot. He ordered our usual meal— for him, tapsilog with more garlic and cold water. For me, tapsilog with no garlic but two eggs and iced tea as my drink.
Tapsilog [ TAPa(beef), SInangag(fried rice) and itLOG (egg)]
"My treat," he announced.
"Better be."
"So, what's up? Did you use my gift? Did you write something?" he asked, chin resting on his palm, elbow on the table.
"Yeah," I mimic his posture and look outside.
"What did you write?"
"Secret."
"Oh come on, why?!" his brows meet.
"That's mine, it's private. I don't want you to know. You might tease me if you see what I wrote."
He groaned in frustration. Our food is now being served.
My mouth watered at the sight of the food as waiter put it on our table.
"Thank you," I expressed my gratitude with a smile.
He smiled back.
"How 'bout me? You won't say 'thank you'?" Kale spat sarcastically.
I winced and pouted with his attitude.
"Why would I thank you?" my brow automatically raised. "Dude, you made me wait earlier!" I rebuked him.
"Tss."
No one bothered talking between us. We just eat to our heart's content. We spent an hour there, just sitting, eating, and talking. When we are about to leave, he really did pay for my meal as well.
The noise coming from the vehicle on the road filled my ears.
I looked at the guy beside me, "Now what?"
"Again, I don't know," he laughed. Both his hands were inside the pocket of his hoodie.
His face suddenly lit up, like he got an idea. Kale pulled me by my wrist, I almost fell into the ground. Luckily, I managed to balance myself 'cause if not, I would really fell, face first.
We run. I'm behind him as he pulls me.
"W-where will you take me?" I was panting when I asked him.
My eyes dropped to his hand holding my wrist. For no apparent reason, my heart starts to beat fast. I'm getting tired. I turned my gaze to his face, tho only his side is visible to my eyes, his sweet smile didn't escape my dreamy orbs. It's like he's enjoying this running mania.
"We're gonna explore," he enthusiastically announced, not giving me a glance.
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Song: Dear Maria, Count Me In by All Time Low.