Chapter 5

February 2013

"Okay, class. You can all start making your Valentine's cards. You can make it for your parents, siblings, friends or even for your teachers. Make sure to also write your messages with lots of love, okay?" our teacher instructed. She added something more but I wasn't listening anymore. I was already busy folding, cutting, and drawing.

I was planning to make Mama and Papa a Valentine's card each. I wanted to impress them so they would be happy and then I would also be happy and then we could be happy together again!

Half an hour later, my cards were finished! I started writing my message on it. My handwriting wasn't that pretty so I just drew many hearts to make up for it.

Once finished, I examined it and smiled, hoping they would like it.

~

By noon, we had successfully finished filming three scenes.

"Come back before one, guys. We still have ten scenes left to shoot. We should at least subtract three or four from it", I imparted. They nodded and started to leave in search for something that could fill their empty stomachs. I put my laptop back in my backpack and turned to Louise, "Where will we eat?" I asked.

She was waiting for me along with Daniella, Livvy, Harlyn, Dylan and Ade—

"Where is Adela?" I asked another question while I was zipping my backpack. I looked around after and our petite friend, Adela Aquino, was indeed nowhere in sight.

"She's with Carol", Harlyn answered, "Said they will eat at Celine's."

I shrugged, "Well then, where will we eat?"

"I saw a lomian on the way here. It's not that far actually. It's within walking distance", Dylan replied and the rest silently agreed as they started to also leave. I was actually not that fond of lomi, a Filipino dish made with egg noodles that was served with very thick broth, but I currently didn't had a choice so I just followed behind.

My friends suddenly started bickering whether lomi was better with or without chicharon, pork skin cracklings made from pork rind.

"It adds texture to it", Harlyn argued in which Dylan retorted with, "Not when it gets soggy."

"I just don't understand why anyone would put a crunchy chicharon on a hot soup! Like eew", Louise added quite hysterically which fueled their bickering more.

They continued to argue as we made our way to the lomian which was the lomi house. I didn't interfere and just watched them reason loudly.

I smiled. To have met such wonderful beings, I was beyond fortunate. They gave me the comfort I have been yearning for years. The sense of familiarity and belonging life hid from me were with them.

We weren't really together in a circle of friends. They each have their own with their other friends, and I used to have one too.

It was composed of five immature and naive teens, including me and Daniella. We met back in our first year of high school. I didn't exactly remember when we first hung out though. I guessed it simply happened, because all I could remember were just lots of jokes, of fun stories, of smiles and laughs, of fighting over food, of getting upset over little things, and lots of other precious memories I have kept in my heart.

My moments with them were all filled with joy which made me forget the chains of my past. But those moments were also temporary. This school year...tore us apart. We realized our differences and met different people who weren't indifferent. We found better things with better companies that were, I guessed, better than what we've had.

Well, that's life for everyone. Meeting people we thought would always be with us and being disappointed once we've realized that they wouldn't.

The things that needed to happen has to happen, eh?

Though I still sometimes wondered what would happen if we didn't grow apart. Would we still be the same? Would we still be laughing if we didn't stopped talking. Would we still be together if we didn't meet other peop—

I shook my head mentally. The things that needed to happen has to happen. No matter what the consequences were. Besides, they had found new friends and I also happened to find some on my own being in the form of old kids arguing over a trivial matter in front of me.

I chuckled with my thought which unfortunately caught their attentions and made them stop. They then looked at me over their shoulders and scowled all at once,

"What are you doing there?"

"What!"

"Tati, tell them just how disgusting chicharon is when paired with lomi."

"Come here, you."

Livvy dragged me towards her side and asked, "Now, which side are you in?" I looked at them dryly, feigning irritation, before I continued to walk, leaving them behind.

I grinned when I heard them all snarling at me.

•••

I went back to the resort earlier than everybody else. My friends were still at the lomian hanging about. The place was very cool that was why they decided to stay for a while. And I...well, I just wanted to be somewhere quiet.

I walked along a path paved with flagstones heading to the southern part of the resort where a garden was beautifully settled. It was surrounded by tall shrubs completely isolating it from the rest of the resort, one of the reasons why no one frequented it that much.

I smiled when I arrived and witnessed, once again, its splendor.

A necklace of pristine white sampaguitas encompassed a small pavilion sitting at the center of the garden. The pavilion was shadowing a set of vintage chairs including a chaise.

My body seemed to have weighed twice as I collapsed on the chaise, my legs giving up on me. I suddenly felt tired. I rested my head on the back of the chaise and closed my eyes. My sleepless nights were coming back at me.

I thought of just sleeping here and ditching my classmates since they wouldn't really find me here, but that would be just stupid because I couldn't sleep anywhere but my bed.

I roared in frustration and fluttered my eyes open. I was just blankly staring at the ceiling of the pavilion when a voice startled me by asking, "What are you doing?"

I whirled around and saw James leaning against one of the pillars of the pavilion, seemingly amused. I growled at him, "What the hell James! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

"Maybe", he answered and walked towards me. He lifted my left foot and placed them on the floor with my other foot as he sat comfortably opposite of me.

"This place's nice", he stated with so much ease as if he didn't just disturbed someone who obviously wanted to be left alone.

"Yes and it does not appreciate asses like you, so get out of here" I hissed.

"And this place's also not yours", he added matter-of-factly while looking at me with a smirk.

"Can't you see I'm having some quiet time here?"

"And you can't have a quiet time with me here?"

'Yes because your presence is bothering me', I answered in my mind.

I shook my head mentally. I looked around and sighed. I needed to leave. I didn't want to be around him especially with what happened earlier. I couldn't risk to let that happen again. It was also nearing one. I should go back to the receiving house to prepare.

I stood and was about to leave when he suddenly grabbed my left hand and asked, "Where are you going?"

I turned to him and replied wryly, "Somewhere you'll never know." I tried to free my hands from his strong grasp. "James, let go! I need to prepare for the next scene!"

"You've been avoiding me", he murmured, looking intently at me.

"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"You've been avoiding me", he repeated, "You'll usually order me around when we're shooting but earlier you didn't even glance at me!"

"Of course, I glanced at you! I'm the director, if you forgot", I retorted loudly.

"But you never said a word!"

"Because you were doing fine!"

"No, I weren't!"

"You did fine, James!"

"No, I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I did not because I purposely made mistakes but you didn't even bothered to correct me!" he thundered. I creased my forehead, utterly confused by the revelation.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice?!" he scoffed incredolously when he noted my confused expression. I honestly didn't.

"You should know better than this, Tati", he scoffed again, seeming to be disappointed, as he let go of my hand. I peered at him, quite awed by his...behavior. I was supposed to be the upset one, not him!

I kept my eyes on him as he glared at the innocent sampaguitas. Was he really that upset? Why would he even be upset?

I was too immersed with my thoughts that I didn't notice him standing and starting to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Somewhere you'll never know", he coldly replied using my own words, and left me standing there for God knows how long.

I felt tears in my eyes threatening to escape. I didn't know where it came from really. Was I upset that he was upset?

I stopped my tears from escaping. Why would I even cry when I did nothing wrong? And why would I cry in the first place anyway? I shrugged off the guilt that I was feeling before I walked out from the pavilion with heavy steps.