Saturday, July 17
Jul. 17 Sat.
“Uyyyyyy!!! Si Celine, o! Omigosh! BAGAY KAYO, SOBRA!!! YESSSSS!!!� –my classmates *twitch*
One word.
Soiree.
*hides*
...
Okay, okay, I know. The IceQueen? In a soiree?! NO FRIGGIN WAY, MAN!
But I was. My bro forced me. And...he also forced me into an outfit quite unacceptable...
Pink.
Spag.
Strap.
...
Damn. I made the sign of the cross right before I stepped into the room. And when I did...
The class erupted. They all gawked and stared shockingly – some even hungrily at me. I sank into a highchair as they hurled praise after praise at me. I guess I just wasn’t used to all of it...especially after what happened with my dad earlier in the morning.
I glanced over at the other end of the room, and just laughed. The guys from LaSalle were lounging around on the other end, fiddling with their band instruments and eating candy, as we – the ahem. GIRLS – were all scrunched up in a tiny corner, nervously fixing their hair and eyeing the guys. I couldn’t help but analyze. It was nature’s way, ne? For survival, you must stay with your own species. I didn’t know about these other nervous wrecks, but I sure as heck aint a specie.
I stood up, roamed around, plastered a sweet smile, and went over to their ‘territory’. For what?
*raises eyebrow* to get CANDY, of course! What were you thinking?
Opening prayer made me grin. All I could remember were the last words the host muttered into the mic:
“Saint John de LaSalle...� he looked up at us.
I nervously glanced at some of my classmates who were avid Ateneo fans. They didn’t look too happy...
“Pray for us.�
But then...the host smirked and muttered:
“Mother Marie Eugenie...�
We all grinned and muttered a louder “Pray for us!� back.
When the party finally began, we formed a circle for the introductions game. The girls were supposed to pass around a plastic bag filled with an item from the guys. The guy whose item we picked would be our first partner. I unearthed an ID of this guy who played in a band. But when Anne came in late, I just gave her the ID, and got another item for myself. This time, it was a thin black plastic bracelet band...thingie. I twirled it around my fingers, and even tried to stretch it. But then, fearing it might tear, I just clutched it in my hand.
When the pairings came up, my partner turned out to be this guy who was a bit shorter than me, neat hair, white shirt with a red collar, and had pale skin. He seemed kind enough, so I smiled, shook his hand, and introduced myself. His name was Reekoi. As we sat down at the back together, he entwined the black band with some other similar multi-colored bands on his forearm. Wanting to open a conversation, I asked him what they were.
Bad idea.
Me: “Erm...ang astig ng armbands mo, ah...anong tawag jan?�
Him: *twitch* “Ah, eh...bastos eh...�
Me: *blink* “Ha? Pano magiging bastos ang bracelet?�
Him: *nervous laugh* “Gusto mo talaga malaman kung anong tawag dito?�
Me: *grin* “Try me.�
Him: *inhale* “It’s called a...�
Me: *raises eyebrow* “A what..?�
Him: *looks at me* “A...fu*k me bracelet.� *twitch*
Me: *twitch* *blink* “O...kay...�
Him: “If it breaks, you have to...erm...somebody, you have to...ehe...�
Me: *nods vigorously* “I get it, I get it, thank you for sharing!�
And so we talked, I could tell he was the social talkative type, but was obviously not used to me being so quiet. I tried, y’know. I opened different topics, and spoke in straight English, thinking his kind were the type who were kinda classy and haughty.
Him: *laughs nervously* “Ehehe...ano ba yan...nakaka-insecure naman... Dire-diretso English mo, ang galing mo pa...�
Me: *blink* “Ah, ganun ba? Sori ha, kala ko kasi... Sige na nga, tagalog na lang tayo! Galing din naman ako dito, eh, hahaha!� *pause* “Joke.�
Him: *laughs*
And so it went. He went on and on about his friends, school, and my classmates who he was previously aquainted with. I didn’t mind, he was being a gentleman. He even offered to get us some pizza and drinks.
...
Icebreaker game.
They took it literally.
We were supposed to place an icecube between our hand and the hand of our partner. The first couple who melts the icecube wins. The funny part? If you were really determined to win, you’d use...ahem...
Friction.
*twitch* It looked so wrong. We were laughing our heads off, just looking at the others. But Reekoi didn’t want me to do something like that, so we just... *twitching fit* held hands until the ice melted between them. It took quite some time, though, coz we had a considerably LARGE icecube. I wouldn’t let him support my hand the whole time...I knew for a fact that ice pressed against the skin for too long is actually a form of MEDIEVAL TORTURE. I made him switch hands and offered to support his hand most of the time. Besides...I wasn’t called IceQueen for nothing...
Me: *looks at him*
Him: *winces slightly, hides it right away*
Me: *turns our hands over, so that mine is supporting his* “Sabihin mo lang sakin kung masakit na, ha...�
Him: *laughs* “Ah, hinde, wala to!�
Me: *smirk* “Y’know...this is actually a form of medieval torture...�
Him: *blink* “Wow...di ko yun alam, ah...� *laughs* “Ang taas talaga ng English comprehension level mo!�
Me: *laughs* “Hinde, ah!�
Anne Marie: *cuts in* “ESTRADA TALAGA, O...AY NAKO, REEKOI, NAPAKA GALING NYANG CELINE NA YAN SA ENGLISH!�
Us: *laughs*
Him: *looks at his hand* “Woah...may pasa na ata...�
Me: *switches the ice to my other hand, gently holds his bruised hand with my dry hand* “Diba sabi ko sayo sabihin mo sakin kung nasasaktan ka na? Kaw talaga...�
Him: *looks at my hand* “Eh...may pasa ka rin pala, eh!� *looks up at me* “Ikaw? Di ka ba nasasaktan?�
Me: *blink* “Di ko nahalata...sanay na kasi ako...�
Story of my life. Anyway, when we finally reduced the cube into a thin sheet, and the couple beside us snatched it and trampled on it for fun, we went back to our seats. But when I got back from the bar, some other guy was sitting on Reekoi’s seat. I stared at him curiously for a while. He had wavy shiny black hair, pale skin, and was wearing a white polo shirt. Jokingly, I sat down on my seat beside him, and prodded him on the arm.
Me: “Oy! Lagot ka, magagalit sayo partner ko si Reekoi!�
Him: *looks up at me* “Ah, sorry, im sorry...�
Reekoi: “Hey, Celine...meet my friend Michael. Michael, this is Celine.� *grin*
Me: *shakes Michael’s hand* “Hi, I’m Celine, nice to meet you, Michael.� *smiles*
Michael: *smiles back* “...nice...to meet you too...�
Reekoi: “Hey, Celine...pwedeng kausapin ko muna si Anne Marie dito?�
Me: “Sige ba.�
Michael: *turns to me* “Ehe...parehas lang ata tayo iniwanan ng partner...�
Me: *laughs* “Ah, okey lang yan...Asan ba partner mo?� *grin* “Pagmasdan na lang natin siya, hahaha!�
Michael: *laughs*
So we chatted on and on about lots of things. He even introduced me to his friend Anjo who was behind us with my classmate Jappy. Anjo and I had a couple of hi-fives due to the lots of things we claimed that we had in common. When they were passing around the pizza, I forced Michael into taking a slice. When the paper plate filled with cheetos was passed around, well. *grin*
Me&Anjo: *eyes widen* *jumps off our chairs, reaches out for the plate* “IWAN NYO NA LANG DITO YAN, MAUUBOS NAMIN TO! AHAHAHAHA!!!�
Me: “Ang payat mo...�
Anjo: “Ikaw kaya ang payat!�
Me: “Hinde, hinde, mataba ako!�
Anjo: *pause* *grin* “PAREHO TAYONG MATABA!�
Us: *laughs* *hi-five*
Me: “Ang tangkad mo rin pala!
Anjo: “Hinde, hinde, maliit lang ako! Ikaw ang matangkad!�
Me: “PAREHO LANG TAYONG MALIIT!�
Us: *rofl* *hi-five*
Unlike the other guys who seemed kinda stuck-up with their partners whom they just met, Michael was pretty open to me. He was talking freely, like we were friends before. And what was funny, was that I somehow felt the same thing. At some point in the conversation...
Michael: *pause*
Me: *blinks* “O, whats the matter?�
Michael: *looks at me* “Alam mo...you seem...familiar somehow...�
Me: *eyes widen* “I...I do..?�
Michael: *continues to stare* “...like...Kilala na kita dati pa... Parang nagka-friend na ako na katulad na katulad mo...�
Me: *stutters* “S-sino yung...kaibigan mo na yon..?�
Michael: *shakes head* “Di ko maalala...basta...�
Me: *inhale* “Feeling mo talaga...kilala mo na ako dati pa?�
Michael: *mutters* “Oo...kaya nga sobrang...komportable akong kausapin ka...�
...
Well. I sure as hell tried my damn best not to get my hopes up.
But he was a nice enough guy. Throughout the soiree, we had various partners, and I was introduced to a lot of guys. It took every ounce of my memory powers to memorize their names and faces. When we had another match-up game, I got my hands on an ATM receipt (with mathematical equations scribbled at the back). Jokingly, I raised it up and laughed:
“Kanino ‘tong resibo? Di ka marunong mag-add! Hahahahaha!�
Another laugh answered mine. “Ahahaha! Akin yan!�
I watched as a tall, lanky, extremely thin guy walk over and sit beside me. I shook his hand and introduced myself. His name was Drew. We had a blast talking to each other, the words just tumbled out of our mouths. We were like long-time friends, chatting away and laughing at the things we had in common like insane lunatics.
Me: “Pare, ang payat mo!� *laughs*
Drew: “Ako kaya ang pinaka-payat sa class! 98 pounds!�
Me: *gawks* “Pucha...eh ako nga, 109! Sige nga, anong waistline mo?�
Drew: *grin* “24 inches!�
Me: *doubles over, laughing* “Leche! 25 lang ako!�
Us: *hi-five*
Drew: “Ako isa sa pinaka matangkad sa class! 5’8!�
Me: *hi-fives him* “Wow, pare, 5’8 din ako!� *rofl*
Him: *eyes widen* “Talaga?! Sige nga, tayo ka nga!�
We both stood up and compared our heights. PANTAY LANG! Ahahahahha! We made another hi-five before he gave his camera to his friend, and asked him to take our picture.
“Okey lang, kunan tayo ng full-body picture?�
“Sige ba!�
Insanely high, I stood beside him in the middle of the circle of chairs. We posed back-to-back, to compare our heights. But the camera took quite some time before it flashed, giving everybody else the chance to see me and Drew posing like a couple...
My classmates: “OH MY GOSH, SI CELINE!!! YES, DI NA MAN-HATER! NAKIKIPAG-POSING NA!�
Everybody: “YEBA! BAGAY KAYO, HAHAHAHA! PAREHONG MATANGKAD NA PAYAT! ASTIG! PROMDATE, PROMDATE, PROMDATE!!!�
Realizing what horror I had done, I doubled over, laughing, and sank back into my chair. But...as the party went on, a lot of guys asked for my number and for me to pose with them in their pictures...
I had no idea why. Really.
*scratches head*
I got to chat with Ino, a really hilarious guy.
Me: “Hey, I’m Celine, nice to meet you.� *smiles* *shakes his hand*
Ino: “Hey, I’m Ino, nice to meet you too.� *smirk*
Me: “Ino, eh? How’s that spelled?�
Ino: *blink* “Hmm...I-N-O. Wait, hindi pala. I-N-O-H pala.�
Me: “Inohhhh?� *laughs*
Ino: “Eh, sayo, pano kaya? S-E-H-L-E-E-H-N...�
Me: *rofl* “S-sehleehn?! Napaka senswal naman ng tunog na yun!�
Us: *laughs our heads off*
As the guys were asking for my number, ym ID, friendster, and picture, Ino was ‘coaching’ me on how to pose. He demonstrated...Pose one: sensual. Pose two: even more sensual. Pose three: schoolgirl pornstar. Pose four...MOVE ASIDE, ALECK BOVICK! *twitching fit* Needless to say, we were laughing like idiots the whole while. Even other guys were joining in on the laughter.
Towards the end of the soiree, a guy came up to me and introduced himself.
Him: “Erm...hello...Do you recognize me?�
Me: *blink* “No, sorry...I don’t believe we’ve met...� *shakes his hand* “Heya, I’m Celine.�
Him: “I’m Dondi. You...you go to the parish where I serve, right?�
Me: “Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish?�
Dondi: “Yeah...I serve there.�
Me: *looks at him* *eyes widen* “Oh my gosh...ikaw...ikaw ba yung sacristan dun?!�
Dondi: *laughs* “Yeah!�
Me: *laughs* “Sabi na nga ba, eh! Namukhaan kita!�
Dondi: “Ikaw nga rin, eh, pagpasok mo pa lang sa room, sabi ko...’kilala ko to ah...’�
Us: *rofl*
Dondi: “Well, kita-kits na lang on Sunday!�
Small world, ne?
...
When it finally ended, we were waiting in the reception area. I was just listening to their chatter, on who they had a crush on. I just rolled my eyes.
But then, after the guys who I met waved goodbye to me...
I smiled.
Heck. This day wasn’t so bad after all...
Icequeen out.