Phoenix_Marco

Florante Mendoza builds a wall and distances himself from the people around him. Larry, the witty, funny, big-mouth Larry crashes in head-first onto Florante's  walls and throws a party! 

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Party crasher, wall breaker, smile summoner boy falls head over heels with the sad boy. Sad boy holds back, looks back, runs back, hides back to the safety of his walls. Will they ever meet halfway?

The Summer I Fell In Love is a coming of age story that explores friendship, love and teenage alienation. Two boys  embark on an adventure to seek their rightful place in the world. As they traverse unfamiliar territories, both within themselves and the world around them, they must confront the challenges that will put the strength of their friendship to the test as they navigate through the twist and turns of adolescence.

The Summer I Fell In Love

Said mom as she blow-dries her hair in front of the mirror. Dad is sitting outside drinking his cup of coffee while reading "The Daily Mail". Mr. William Shakespaw is lying lazily on his lap. The new kitten in town Edgar Allan Paw is hiding under the bed.

"That poor thing is shy, isn't he? He's been hiding under the bed since yesterday." Mom talked to me on my reflection in the mirror.

"He's a little bit reserve like Florante."

"You're fond of him aren't you? I reckon you have been mentioning his name a hundred times over..."

"Yeah, we're good friends..." I looked away afraid my eyes would reveal the truth.

"Don't be too attached though, saying goodbye to friends can be really hard. Remember when we left home six years ago? You were inconsolable. You did not want to leave."

I closed my eyes and self-pacified where I stood.

High School will be over in six months and we will be leaving the country for good. I will enroll at Stanford Medical School in California. The same school where dad graduated.

It was all simple and well planned. Spend High School in dad's birthplace; connect with my Filipino roots and fly back home to pursue Medicine.

Now I have to face two things; how to tell mom and dad that I'm gay and how to tell Florante that we will be leaving soon.

"About that mom, can we stay here for good?"

Mom was astounded and dad shot me a sharp look behind his binoculars.

"I mean, I already made a lot of friends here. There's also a prestigious Medical School in the Capital."

"And the beach, the beaches here are really pristine...and the cost of living is cheap". I sounded stupid.

"Since when are you concerned about the cost of living honey?" Mom retorted.

I looked down not sure how to react.

Mom placed the hair-blower on top of the bed. She comes up to me and holds me by the shoulders.

"Look, I know that you already like it here but this has been decided long ago honey and there's not much we can do about it. Matter of fact, we stayed longer than we should-"

"Now go get your pal and we'll have our breakfast together..."

I stared at Florante sleeping on the bed. His hair is all mess up and his caramel complexion stood out against the white bed-sheet covering half his body. His right arm is raised above his head exposing the baby hairs on his underarm.

I grabbed my camera and took a shot. I cannot miss not to freeze this moment.

I suddenly felt a jolt of pain on my chest watching him sleep.

I crawled beside him on the bed, collapsed on his chest, and exhaled deeply.

"Hey, shithead...what's wrong," He said with his hoarse morning voice.

I tried to fight the tears from falling.

He bends his arms, runs his fingers through my hair and falls back to sleep.

Funny how fleeting moments can be. One minute you're happy the other you're sad.

Chapter 28