I searched through my bag looking for my phone. Ugh.. stupid phone.. gotta find- FOUND IT. "Hello?" [Nasan ka na?] The other line voiced. "Ces? Nasa covered court na 'ko. Sa'n na kayo?" [Sandali na lang kami. Mag-intay ka lang.] "Bilisan niyo, dadami na tao dun." [Oo na. Sige, baba ko na.] Then she hung up. I'm about to see them again. I said to myself. I waited patiently in the covered court of my old school. Sitting, standing, walking around. It's a saturday, and it's summer. It's hot even though it's still morning. I'm just thankful this place is open.
From outside I started hearing laughter, people shushing others, and loud whispers that I think are supposed to be quiet. I stepped out of the covered court and saw a sight I've wanted to see for a very long time: my friends. It was more shocking than I expected. It's only been months since I last saw them. There's been Twitter, too. There's also Denise's Facebook, but that didn't help much. Anyway, at the first sight of me they all rushed to hug (more like suffocate) me. Sarah, that innocent little thing, slapped me her trademark slap and started laughing. "Andreaaaaaa!! Sa wakas nakita na kita! Alam mo ba kung ga'no kita namiss!"
"O'nga!" Said Lilibeth, she became thinner, honestly. Though that won't stop me from calling her fat. "Tagal tagal mo na di nagpakita." "Andrea tumaba ka!" Alizza shouted mindlessly. "Ano ka ba pumayat nga eh." Contrasted Ana. "Di na bali basta nandito na siya, diba?" Monica said, patting my back. I looked at all of them, one by one.
Sarah, with her mouse ears I'll never stop teasing her with. Lilibeth, with that smile full of braces. Princess, and her chin. Monica, with the knowledge that she's gotten better at volleyball. Keam, with that small height that never changes. Ana, and her Taylor Swift-ness looks. Alizza, with that angelic face hiding something gray. John and his forever big smile. Jarmaine, and her now brownish hair. All these, I've really missed seeing. Then I realized someone was missing. "Nasan ung dalawa?"
"Susunod daw. Tinawagan ko kanina, kagigising lang ni Danica kaninang six-thirty. Tapos naliligo pa lang si Joebert ng mga ganung oras." Jarmaine answered. "Lagi namang ganun eh. Sila nagsasabi ng oras tapos sila late." John complained. "Tara, Seven Eleven tayo maghintay." My eyes grew bigger at the thought. It's been months since I've been to Seven Eleven near school. I walked ahead of them and called out. "Tara bilisan niyo, namimiss ko na magSeven Eleven kasama kayo!" All of them looked at me and smiled. Sarah grabbed my hand and we started running. I looked behind me and the others were running as well. We're acting like kids. "Naligo pa ko kung magtatatakbo tayo." One of them shouted, but I wasn't sure who. I looked at Sarah and remembered I ran faster than her. I lunged forward and was practically dragging her along. Though what used to be a long walk from school to the conveniece store was a short lived happy moment once more.
As we reached the store, we saw Joebert coming from Jollibee across the street. We all stood at the edge and waved our arms as high and weirdly as we could. When I saw 'we' I mean me and Sarah. The others stood at the sideline. He reached our side, I gave him a huge bear hug and went inside Seven Eleven. "Tara tara upo tayo." Sarah said enthusiastically. We all sat down in our usual place -- the center -- where any large group would sit. "Jarmaine, tawagan mo ulit si Danica. Tanungin mo ulit kung nasan na siya." Princess said. "Ah, ako na lang." Offered Keam, she stood up and called Danica.
"Next week na birthday mo! Ano plano?" "Kaya nga nandito tayo kasi birthday ko next week eh. Sarah talaga." Alizza hit Sarah on the head and tsk-ed three time. "Onga, Sarah talaga." "Kaylangan talaga mang-batok!" She tried to hit Alizza back and accidentally slapped Ana. (I have no idea how that could've happened.) They started hitting each other like before, but then stopped immediately. Keam came back after the phone call and sat down beside Lilibeth and Princess. "On the way na daw. Nasa school na daw siya." "Ang bilis naman." "Pati oras mabilis, eight na o." "Hala o'nga no. Tara labas na tayo." We all stood up and when we got outside, Danica was there.
She ran like crazy, as always, and hugged me so tight. I, of course, hugged her back. We exchanged greetings and were on our way.
No comments:
Post a Comment