CHAPTER 4: THE FOUNDRY

THE GIRL WHO CAN’T DATE

By Eleventh

CHAPTER 4: THE FOUNDRY

“I know my brother is bound to get married someday but I never thought it would be too soon. I’m not quite sure if I’m ready to let him go. Ugh! Reunions are the dumbest thing ever. Whoever invented it is an idiot.” - Ira P.

PRESENT

Raine laughed hard making a loud snorting noise while sitting on an office chair, her feet on her study desk. Discovering how she and her mother think alike about reunions. She felt as if she had a connection.

Suddenly, a sound of a car pulling over can be heard from outside the window. Figuring out that her mother is home, she immediately hid the journal inside the drawer and ran outside to meet her.

“Hey! How’s the reunion?” Raine greeted Ira with a kiss, handing her a pair of comfy bunny slippers.

“Same as usual. Boring, waste of time, and messy. Anyway, you got any food?” Ira took off her stilettos and wore the slippers Raine handed her. Then she walked around the house sluggishly and slumped on the nearest couch.

Raine crinkled her eyebrows. “You just got home from the reunion that feasts with roasted pig, plates of pasta, brownies, etcetera. How can you look for food?”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have the appetite to eat earlier.” Raine could tell from the sound of her voice that she was weary. She sat beside her and took her hand to massage it.

“And why is that?”

“I punched someone in the face.” Ira looked at her daughter to see her reaction.

Raine gasped with excitement.

“There’s pizza in the fridge.”Raine pulled her mom to the kitchen and let her sit on the chair, then rushed to the fridge to take the pizza and warmed it in the microwave. “You have to tell me about it, Mom!”

Ira leaned on the chair and crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowed. “You sound very interested.”

“Can you tell? Of course, I am! So, what’s the story?”

“I punched Aunt Lucy’s son because he was a jerk.”

“NO WAY! Wait, what? Aunt Lucy had a son? I thought she was an old maid?” The timer beeped. The pizza’s ready. Raine carefully placed it on a plate and served it to her hungry mother.

“Well, apparently she was hiding him all this time because she had him from a married man.”

“Reaaally? That means… Aunt Lucy is a…” Ira nodded her head while munching on the pizza. “Oh, my gawd! This is a scandal!”

“It is! We’re all actually pretty shocked when she introduced him to the clan.” Ira answered biting on the pizza pleasingly. “Mmmm… is this from Albertos?”

“Yes! Anyway…” Raine pulled her chair closer to Ira. “So, how old is he? Was he younger than you? Older than me?”

“As old as me.”

“I see.” Raine paused and pondered for a moment. “If she has been hiding him until this time, why tell the family now?”

Ira paused and contemplated too. She wiped the sauce on her lips and then shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe the son wants to be recognized?”

Raine nodded in agreement. “Mmmm… could be. Okay, back to the story! So, what happened? Why did you punch him?”

“He told Usher he didn’t belong to the family because he wasn’t our flesh and blood. Ugh! Remembering what he just said to Usher still makes me furious. I wish I broke his limbs.” Ira dropped her pizza as she reminisced about what happened at the reunion.

“Whaaat an asshole!” Rained shrieked in disbelief.

“Hey! Mind your language, young lady!”

“Whoever that guy is, he has no right to say anything about our family, not even to Uncle Usher! Ugh! If I was there, I would… wait, you didn’t break any of his limbs?” Raine was so affected that she talked so expressively ignoring her mom’s reproach to her language.

“Just his nose. He bled a lot that Aunt Lucy freaked.”

Raine calmed down. Then she rested her chin on her right palm. Staring at Ira enjoying her pizza, she thought about how her mother has slain the night. “Waaah! You’re scary, Mom!”

“I just have to do it before your uncles will. Otherwise, Aunt Lucy will be sending that bastard straight to the ER.”

The three older boys are sophisticated men but true enough, they never let anyone get away with anything when it comes to protecting and defending each other.

2017 JOURNAL

Cool August wind hovered around the soccer field blowing the banderitas that loosely draped on bamboo poles buried on the ground and aligned two meters apart from each other. Maggie Natividad, Ira’s 27-year-old colleague, was struggling with putting up the colorful mini flags on the poles because it was too windy on the school grounds, yet she managed to listen to her friend’s rants about her brother announcing his wedding back at the reunion

“So, what are you planning to do? Stop the wedding? Why are you so against it? I thought you liked your brother’s girlfriend?” she replied, taking her long silky straight hair out from getting tangled with the threads.

“I do like Seah. She’s perfect for Ares. No doubt on that. And I’m not really against the wedding. It’s just that… I’m just not ready to let go of my brother. That’s all!” Ira whimpered, hiding her hands inside the pockets of her hoodie.

Maggie finished tying the banderitas on the poles and turned to face Ira, holding her hair to keep it from flying towards Ira’s face. “Think about this! What if you get married and your brothers will react the way you do, especially baby Usher. What would you feel?”

Ira grimaced. “Honestly? They would rather give me away than hold me back. But the question is… will I ever get married?”

Maggie crinkled her eyebrows. “And why not?”

Ira shrugged her shoulders and her face turned sour. “I don’t know. Maybe because nobody is really interested in me? Nobody is pursuing me! I’m already 25 and I’m still single since I was born. My love life is like the Arabian Desert. It’s dry and dead!”

Maggie crossed her arms and looked at Ira with a scowling face. “Are you sure? Maybe you friendzoned all the guys that like you!”

“Nah! I never had anybody confessed their feelings to me.” Ira walked out of the school grounds when the school bell rang.

Maggie followed behind. “Or maybe somebody likes you but you’re just too naïve to notice?”

“Believe me! There’s no one! Zero! Blank! Nothing!” As soon as they reached the hallway, Ira took the stairs at the fire exit as a shortcut going to the faculty room. Maggie still followed behind, trying to catch up with Ira’s big steps.

“Are you for real? Are you even human?”

“I am real, Maggie! But unfortunately, I’m a plant!” Ira stopped at the end of the stairs and faced Maggie to emphasize that she isn’t normal.

Ira went through the door next to the stairs. The faculty room was almost empty. Most of the teachers have already gone home when the school bell rang for dismissal. Ira arranged her things on the table and was getting ready to leave, but Maggie wasn’t done with her lecture.

“You’re not a plant, Ira! You just need a makeover. Look at you! You never wear makeup. Your hair is always tied in a messy bun. And it’s like every day you wear sweatpants and hoodie to school.” Maggie remarked observing Ira from head to toe.

“I’m a PE teacher, Maggie! What do you expect me to wear? Dress and heels? And what’s the use of wearing makeup if I’ll be covered with sweat at the end of the day.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “EXCUSES! You don’t always perform practical activities. You do lectures in the classroom most of the time. So you should be wearing something else other than that!”

“Whatever! I’m sure getting a makeover won’t do either. That’s not going to make anyone take interest in me.” Ira grumbled as she compressed her stuff in her backpack.

“You’ll never know unless you try, Ira!” Grabbing her things and preparing to go home, Maggie noticed their other colleague, Skye Doromal, sitting comfortably on his seat next to Ira’s table, playing Mobile Legends with his phone. “I have an idea! Why don’t you try flirting? Try it with Skye!”

Disturbed by the ladies’ conversation, Skye accidentally dropped his phone and looked at the two with a cringed face. Then his phone shouted, “You have been slain!”

“Please don’t do such a disgusting thing!” Skye said coldly. He picked up his phone and was so furious to see one death on his record. Waiting for his hero to be revived again, he looked at Ira and said one more thing. “Do me a favor! Leave me alone!”

Feeling insulted, Ira’s upper lip twitched. “You smug! As if I would waste my time on you…”

“Hey! Just ignore that punk, okay!” Maggie had to come in between before Ira does anything regrettable. She pulled her away from Skye and out of the faculty room. Then, checking her watch, she gasped. “Oh no! I have to go!”

“Going somewhere?” Ira was curious.

“Mmmmm….” Maggie smiled meaningfully and then, shrieked excitingly. “I have a great idea. Why don’t you come with me?”

“Where exactly?”

Maggie didn’t answer her friend. Instead, she opened her bag to take her blush-on out and applied it on Ira’s face. She also dabbed a brown shade lipstick on her.

“Maggie, what are you doing?”

“You have to look pretty because WE ARE GOING SOMEWHERE! Come oooon!” Maggie grabbed Ira’s arm and excitingly left the campus. Then, they hailed a cab going to Hayes Street.

AT THE FOUNDRY

“Maggie! Where are you taking me?” For the nth time, Ira asked.

“Be patient, girl! We’re almost there. Oh! We’re here!” The cab stopped at the loading area and as the two went out, Maggie took a firm grip on Ira’s arm, afraid that she might run away once she realizes her plan.

The ladies stood in front of a four-story building made of glass walls. From the outside, passersby can see what’s inside the building and could smell the sweet aroma of coffee from Apostrophe Café on the ground floor. The famous Barber’s Cut is on the first floor, and Amanda’s boutique is on the second floor. And on the last floor, the biggest and the brightest signage flashed even in the darkest of night, The Foundry!

“Are we here to get a cup of coffee?” Ira’s left eyebrow raised, feeling anxious with Maggie’s plan.

“Nope! We’re going up there…” Maggie pointed at that third floor. “… at The Foundry! We’re gonna try speed dating!”

Jawdrop and popped-eyed, Ira attempted to escape. But before she could even run away, Maggie caught her hood and pulled her back on the spot.

“NOOOOO!”

Ira screamed for her life as if she has just been abducted by a dating pimp.