Chapter 3: New town, new friends.

KATANA. 

Kuya introduced me the people earlier. The three dudes are Jerome, Neil and Santi. They were my brother's friends back then and they kept in touch all through these years that passed. They also remembered me when I was still a kid when even I, myself, don't. They even stayed for a sleepover dahil miss na miss daw nila ang isa't-isa. 

Ang babae naman kanina, si Nana Neli, she was my brother's nanny and Ynah is her daughter. They were also the ones who took care of the house when we were in Manila so they lived here for almost 16 years. 

Kaya naman nag-desisyon si Kuya na hindi na sila paalisin pa. I mean, it's a win-win situation. Walang bahay sina Nana Neli kaya pabor sa kanila iyon. Kami naman ni Kuya, magkakaroon kami ng kasama. Nana Neli was even more than willing to work for us dahil napakarami raw naitulong ng pamilya namin sa kanila. Turns out, Mamala gave Ynah a scholarship kaya napaka-thankful ni Nana Neli. 

I didn't know how that night ended but I laid in my bed with a smile. Pakiramdam ko, muli kaming nagkaroon ng pamilya. 

The next day, I woke up late. Akala ko nga ako na lang ang hindi pa gising but when I went out of my door, the door across the hallway opened as well. Lumabas mula roon sila Kuya at ang tatlo niya pang tropa... na topless.

Okay....

They said they'll have a sleepover— but I didn't know they meant it literally! 

I stared at them with wide eyes and Kuya stared back at me as if he's already defending himself. 

"W-What the hell did you guys... do...?" mahina kong sabi habang nanlalaki ang mga mata. 

Kuya's eyes widened and so did the rest of the guys'. Para silang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig dahil namigas silang lahat sa tapat ng pinto. 

"What the fuck, Katana?!" defensive na sigaw ni Kuya. "Ang dumi ng isip mo!" 

My eyes widened. "Well, it's not my fault you guys are topless..." I trailed off and eyed them from head to toe. "...and all sweaty and shit," I added. 

All of their eyes widened. Santi even covered his body as if I'm harassing him and the two guys wore their shirts on. 

"It was just a fucking sleepover!" sigaw ni Kuya. 

I dramatically put my hand on my mouth with still wide eyes. "Nagtabi-tabi ba kayo?!" 

"Lah!" sigaw ni Jerome at tinuro ako gamit ang nangangatal na kamay. "Hindi, 'no! Nag-kamustahan lang kami kagabi kaya rito na rin kami nakatulog!" 

"Weh?" 

"It was just a sleepover!" muling sabi ni Kuya kaya napatawa ako.

"I know. I was just joking, chill," sagot ko na nagpatawa kila Jerome at Neil. 

"This girl's crazy," Santi muttered behind me when I continued walking down the hallway.

Nang lingunin ko siya ng may matalas na paningin, he pretended like nothing and looked up at the ceiling. 

Sabay-sabay kaming bumaba matapos no'n at nadatnan namin sa kusina ang mag-ina na naghahanda ng almusal. After greeting each other, we all started eating.

And for the nth time, muli ko na namang naalala sina Mamala at ang dati naming buhay noon. 

Sabay-sabay din kaming kumakain noon... at ni minsan ay hindi ko naisip na aabot kami sa punto na wala na siya. 

Mamala wandered around the world for 86 years— and if I was given a choice, I'd rather die before the day she did so I won't live without her.

Nang matapos kaming kumain, nag-aya sina Santi papunta sa downtown. At first, I refuse to go. Gusto ko pa rin kasing ipakita kay Kuya na hindi pa rin ako kumbinsido sa pagtira namin dito. Pero hindi ko alam kung anong ritwal ang ginawa sa akin ni Santi dahil napapayag niya 'ko. 

Dahil linggo ngayon, bukas daw ang amusement park. Mamayang gabi naman, magbubukas ang perya. That's why they all decided to spend this day to tour us around Terryn. 

We all went to downtown using Santi's family's van dahil hindi kami kasya sa kotse ni Kuya. 

Nang makarating doon, saglit muna kaming naupo sa mga benches dahil may hinihintay pa daw sila Kuya. Not too long after, may lumapit sa aming dalawang lalaki. One of them was just a bit taller than me (beacuse everyone else is way way taller than me— even Ynah), but his enthusiasm was as high as kite. The other one, on the other hand, looked stiff and intimidating. Tuloy ng ipakilala sila sa akin ni Kuya na mga kaibigan niya pa raw, I only greeted Daryl (the jolly one) back. 

"Katana," Daryl mentioned my name as we walked towards one of the booths. We were walking side by side while Jeran (the guy with him), was behind us. Ynah and the rest of the gang are also having their own world ahead of us. "I should call you Espada, don't you think?" 

I snorted. "Manahimik ka." 

He chuckled lightly. "Cool kaya 'yon. Espada. Katana... they're both swords!" 

"Walang nagsabing hindi," sagot ko na ikinanguso niya. 

Nang marating namin ang booth ng mga pagkain, bumili kami ng kung ano-ano. Tulad na naman kanina, Daryl accompanied me and Kuya was on their own group. Jeran was also behind us, eating in silence. 

That day continued. Naglibot-libot kami sa park at nag-try ng kung ano-anong laro. Nang sumapit ang lunch, saglit kaming kumain sa isang fast food chain at muling nagpatuloy sa paglilibot. Nang lumubog naman ang araw, we rode different rides and it was damn enjoyable. We even went to a horror house and I was laughing the whole time because Daryl kept on screaming like a damn girl beside me. He even hugged me twice! I thought it was just his moves but when I felt how fast his heartbeat was, I couldn't stop teasing him about it. 

Nang lumabas kami sa horror house, alas-sais na ng gabi. Nagpaalam si Ynah sa nanay niya na rito pa rin kami kakain kaya hindi na raw naghanda ng pagkain sa bahay si Nana Neli. 

Dahil doon, dumeretso na kami sa isang simpleng restaurant sa bandang dulo ng park. Nagulat pa nga ako ng kawayan ako ng isa sa mga waitress na hula ko ay mas bata sa akin. Turns out, it was Santi she was waving at. Nasa likod ko pala ang gago at pinsan niya ang babaeng kumakaway. 

After settling ourselves in one of the largest table, we ordered our food. While waiting, I wandered my eyes around the whole restaurant. Hindi ko mapigilang mamangha dahil kahit simple, maganda ang interior ng buong lugar. Halos lahat ng kulay ay magagandang tingnan sa isa't-isa. 

"I think I know the guy... but the girl beside him is unfamiliar. Girlfriend siguro," rinig kong bulong ng kung sinumang babae sa likod ng mesa namin. 

Are they referring to us? 

"Oo nga eh," rinig kong sabi ng isa pang boses. "Jeran and Santi are there. They're probably friends with the guy." 

So they're talking about us...

Tumingin ako sa likod ko, and my eyes met one of the girl's eyes. But instead of looking away, she just smiled at me as she stood up. 

Eh? 

I watched her as she walked towards our table. Sumunod din sa kanya ang babaeng kasama niya pa. Nang makalapit, she stood between Jerome and Neil and looked at my brother. 

"Hey," the girl greeted. 

Jerome was the first one who greeted back. "Hey, Belle," he said. Dahil doon ay nakumpira kong magkakakilala sila. "'Sup?" 

"I'm with Sandra," the 'Belle' said, pointing the other girl behind her. "We were just wondering who these guys are." 

She was looking at me and Kuya, so she's probably pertaining to us. However, no one spoke up. Kung hindi pa tumayo si Kuya para magpakilala, mukhang walang papansin sa dalawang bagong dating. 

Nakita kong nagningning ang mga mata no'ng Belle nang tumayo si Kuya, lalo na ng ilahad niya pa ang kamay nito sa kanya.

"I'm Karlos," bulalas ni Kuya, biglang nahulog ang ngiti ni Belle. "Karlos Miguel." 

I didn't know why it amused me, pero pinanood ko ng maigi si Belle. Parang may naalala siya bigla sa pangalan ni Kuya. 

"I-Isabelle," sagot niya kay Kuya at nakipag-shakehands ng mabilis dito. "Nagkakilala na tayo noon." 

Neil suddenly laughed. "Oo! Siya 'yong sumapak sa 'yo noon!" 

Napahalakhak ako. Napalingon tuloy sa akin ang mga tao sa mesa kaya saglit akong natigil. 

Isabelle suddenly landed her gaze on me. She gave me a questioning stare before looking back at my bro. "Girlfriend mo?" 

My smile fell, and the whole table fell silent. Isabelle suddenly felt the silence, so she looked around and smiled awkwardly. 

Kuya cleared his throat and pointed at my direction. "She's Katana Miguel, my sister." 

Isabelle and 'Sandra' looked surprised. While I, on the other hand, suddenly felt annoyance inside me. Pagkamalan ba naman akong shota ng sarili kong kapatid! 

Psh! 

Just when I thought my day would end great.