LOVE-NAT, isang makulit na lovestory!

Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan

All throughout nung byahe, nag jamming lang kami ni Sef kasabay yung tugtog sa kotse niya habang umiinum ng Nestle Chuckie. Mula sa mga kanta ni Justin Bieber na Eenie Meenie hanggang sa Forget You ni Cee Lo Green. Kulang na nga lang ata ee magsayaw kaming dalawa. Haha. Tawa siya ng tawa saken, hindi naman daw kasi kanta ang ginagawa ko. But it didn’t stop me from... well, shouting as he called it. Haha. Actually, nag-stop over pa nga kami saglit sa gasoline station kasi bibili daw muna siya ng makakain.

“Oh, ano pa gusto mo?” He asked while placing two large packs ng Lays dun sa basket na hawak-hawak niya.

I looked around. “Gusto ko yun!” Tinuro ko yung chicharon na may sawsawan pang suka sa loob. Gaah, ka-tulo laway naman. Haha.

He stared at it for a moment, looking quite doubtful. “Ito?”

“Oo. Masarap yan!!” I reassured him.

He shrugged and placed the said chicharon sa basket. Napunta naman kami sa beverage section. He took a handful of coke-in-cans. Pero sa totoo lang... hindi naman kasi talaga ako ma-coke na tao ee. I pulled the hem of his sleeves. “Sef,” I muttered softly. “Pwedeng yun na lang akin?” I was pointing at the Nestle Chuckie, your chocolatey buddy! Haha. Yung iniistraw pa!

Tinignan niya muna ulit yung mga pinagkukuha niya parang kino-compare niya then he stared at me for a moment, without a word binalik niya yung mga coke-in cans at yung Nestle Chuckie yung ni-rade niya. Haha. Parang bata din talaga tong lalaking ito ee.

Kamuntik pa nga kami maligaw kasi nagkamali siya ng liko. Kailangan pa tuloy namin magtanong at maghanap ng u-turn slot.

Mga ilang tanong pa ee, narating din namin ang E.K. Marami-rami na nga din ang mga nakapila sa labas. Iba-ibang grupo, samu’t saring mga tao – bata, matanda, mga magbabarkada, pamilya at meron pa nga isang buong barangay.

I excitedly went down the car, tinatanaw mula sa pinagparkingan namin sila Borge. At sa haba ng binyahe namin nitong si Sef ngayon lang sumagi sa isip ko ang silipin ang cell phone ko. Unsurprisingly, meron na akong 204 new messages with matching 22 missed calls mula kay Borge at Japo.

WWWAAAAAHHH!! Asan na ba sila?? Pumila na kami ni Sef sa bilihan ng ticket, hindi mapakali ang ulo ko kakalingon. “Sino pa bang hinahanap mo ee andito na ko.” Sef said, still unaware of my plans.

After a minute or so... “ELLIEEE!!!”It was Borge, kumakaway-kaway na siya mula dun sa loob. Ang mga walang hiya, nakapasok na pala sila. Hindi man lang ako hinintay!!

Bigla namang sumulpot si Japo. “Grabe, it’s about time you two showed up.” He was handing us our tickets. “Binili ko na kayo kanina. Pamasko ko na yan sa inyo aa?”

Sef eyed me suspiciously yung tingin na parang, Plano mo toh nuh?

“WHOAAA!!”I acted surprise. Yung tipong kanwari hindi ko alam na andito sila. “JAPO!! ANONG GINAGAWA MO DITO? PANO MO NALAMANG DARATING KAMI??”
Japo looked confusingly at me. Napaka SLOW talaga nitong kumag na toh!! Ggggrrrrr...

Hindi ko na hinintay pang magsalita si Japo. Kinuha ko na lang yung ticket na binibigay niya samen sabay takbo papasok sa loob. “TARA NA BILIS!!” I was shouting.

Pagpasok ko, sila Borge at Jill agad ang sumalubong saken. I was somehow surprised to see Max. Buti naman naisipan niyang sumama. Andun din si Ken, si Meg with her cousin John. But who caught my attention was... the guy standing next to Max. Siya yung team captain ng soccer ball!! Si NICO!! Yung crush na crush ni Borge.

Don’t tell me... he’s with Borge??

“Uy Sef!” Nasabi ni Nico when he saw him. “Glad to see you here man.”

Mejo nagulat din si Sef. “Oh, sinong kasama mo dito?”

Nico smiled. “Si Bea.”

Lahat kami napakunot ang noo. “BEA?” I asked aloud. Sinong animales naman si BEA??

“Ehem.”Borge tried to get our attention. Parang sinasabi niyang, SIYA si Bea. [color="#9932CC"]“You know, Beatrice... Bea... get it?”

My eyes widened. “I-ikaw?” And in a split second, “Pppffffttt... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...” Sorry talaga pero hindi kinaya ng powers ko yun ee.

Borge’s cheeks were flustered as she glared at me. Kulang na lang ata may usok na lumabas sa ilong niya. “ELLIE!!!”She screamed, charging towards me.

I quickly broke to a run. “Oh, anong ginagawa ko sayo BEA?”

Soon enough, everyone was laughing.

---

Ellie is one crazy girl.

At napatunayan yun ni Sef pagkasakay nila sa Anchor’s Away. If there was one thing Sef wasn’t really psyched about, it was being hauled up hundred feet off the ground. Mejo takot ang binata sa heights. He could feel every part of him shaking like hell sa bawat sway nung Anchor. And to make things worse, talagang pinili ni Ellie yung pinaka nakakatakot na spot. Yung pinaka DULO.

Nangangatog na yung tuhod ni Sef pero si Ellie?? She was screaming with matching taas pa ng parehong kamay. Sila Japo, Max at Ken decided to sit sa DULO din pero sa kabilang side naman. Magkakatapat tuloy sila. And what made Sef’s eyes widened in shock was when Ellie half stood up when they were on the peak of the ride. [color="#8B0000"]“Japo!!”She shouted, grinning widely, and made a funny pose depicting a macho guy.

Everyone, including the strangers, couldn’t help but laugh and watch Ellie. Japo, Max and Ken started making a “Wohohohoho...” sound. At nung sila naman yung nasa pinaka tuktok nung ride, sila naman tong tumayo making different poses.

Everyone was enjoying it except Sef. Para lang siyang statwa sa higpit ng hawak niya sa handle. Ellie looked at him, smiling. “Hindi masamang mag-enjoy Sef.” She told him. “Relax ka lang.” She took his hand at wala ng nagawa si Sef, sinabay ni Ellie ang kamay niya as she raised hers.

He clutched her hand tightly as he let out a shout. “WHOAAAAA!!!”

Amazing. Her hand, the scream he gave off... somehow, his fear lessened and Sef soon realized how contagious Ellie’s energy could be.

From one ride to the next... wala siyang kapaguran. Hindi bumababa ang energy ni Ellie. She could make something simple rather exciting, something ordinary to extraordinary. Kahit yung pinaka simpleng ride lang ng bumb car ee hindi niya pinatawad. “HABULIN MO KO BEAA!!!” She would tease Borge lahat tuloy sila tawang tawa sa naging habulan nila.

Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan is child at heart.

This was not the first time na naka punta si Sef sa EK. But then... it feels like ngayon lang niya ito na-enjoy ng sobra. Totoo nga pala yung sinasabi nila nuh, it doesn’t matter where you are, mas importante kung sino yung taong kasama mo.

After an hour or so... “Japoooo,” Sef heard Ellie. “Gugutom na ko!!”

“Oh, bakit sakin mo sinasabi?” Tumingin si Japo kay Sef. “Ako ba ka-date mo?” Binatukan tuloy ni Ellie si Japo. “Okay. Okay.” Sabi ni Japo. “Sabi ko nga ee, punta muna tayo food court.”

---

Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan

Pag dating namin sa food court, humanap agad ng upuan sila Japo. But in the end, naiwan kaming dalawa ni Sef dun, taga bantay.

He sat next to me. So kelangan talaga tumabi saken? Samantalang ang luwag-luwag sa kabila?? “Anong gusto mong kainin?” He asked, leaning on the table so as to look at me. Ayan nanaman siya sa mga kalandian niya!! Pero infairness ME LIKE IT. Haha.

“Ikaw...” I answered trying with all my might to conceal my smile.

He looked surprise. “Ako? Gusto mo kong kainin?”

I could have laughed pero mas madaling tignan siya ng masama ee. “Ibig kong sabihin, ikaw bahala!! Napaka feeling mo talga.”

“Aaah. Haha. Linawin mo kasi.”

Halos one hour and thirty minutes din kaming kumain lahat. Tawanan, kainan, kulitan at higit sa lahat, picture-picture. Wag kayo, syempre may picture din kami ni Sef!! Nyahahaha. Gawin ko kayang primary yun sa facebook nuh? Naku, umandar nanaman yang ka-chuvahan mo Eleonor!! Kala ko ba STOP na ha??

Nasabog saken si Borge ee. Non-stop talaga ako sa pangaasar sa kanya. Ee pano, hindi man lang niya nakwento saken that she and Nico were in good terms. Game naman si Nico. He was a funny guy. Hindi naman siya pikon kaya tinodo ko pa pangaasar sa kanila ni Borge. Hahaha.

Afterwards, napadpad kami sa Souvenir Shop. I decided to just wait for them outside. Mejo madami kasing tao ee, I don’t see the point na makipagsiksikan dun ee wala naman akong balak bumili. Sinamahan ako ni Max. We sat sa isang vacant bench just right outside the shop.
“Buti naman sumama ka.” I told him. “Alam mo bang nasa Australia ngayon si Sara?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He then smiled. “Actually, we talked on FB. At mejo okay naman na...”

Naexcite ako sa pagkakakwento niya. “Talaga? Sinabi mo na may balak ka ng manligaw?” Waaah. Natuwa naman ako para kay Darren. “Ano sabi ni Sara??”

Darren laughed, inakbayan niya ko tapos pinipisil-pisil niya yung ilong ko. Ang harot talaga nito kahit kelan. I was trying to remove his hands. “Maaax!!” I was shouting.

“Kala ko ba hindi mo ko tutulungan? Ee bakit tanong ka ng tanong?” He was saying, still pinching my nose.

Nararamdaman kong namumula na ilong ko. Nung pinakawalan na niya ko, natawa siya sa itsura ko. I knew my nose was bright red. “Pag toh napango, lagot ka saken!!”
“May ipapango pa ba yan?” He joked.

“Kapal mo oi!!” Pinalo ko siya sa braso.

“Well, hindi ko pa sinabi sa kanya.”He then said. “I just told her na gusto ko siyang makausap pag uwi niya. And she said okay. Gusto niya nga din daw ako makausap. Naisip ko kasi, mas maganda siguro kung sasabihin ko in person.” He then looked at me. “Teka nga, e ikaw? What’s going on with you and Sef lately?”

“Tss.” I rolled my eyes. “Sige na, pisilin mo na lang ulit ilong ko.” Natawa na lang si Darren.

---

Sa loob ng Souvenir Shop

Nakadungaw sa bintana si Sef. Nakita niya sila Ellie at Max na naka upo sa bench. Nagkukulitan yung dalawa.

“Sweet nuh?” Bulong ni Japo sa gilid niya.

Sef smirked at ipinalo yung hawak niyang stuff toy sa ulo ni Japo. “Sira ulo.”

“Ikaw nga, umamin ka nga saken.” Japo said, yung itsura at tono niya nangaasar ee. “Are you... hmpmpf...”

Bago pa ituloy ni Japo yung tanong niya Sef had the stuff toy smashed right on his face. “Serves you right.” He scoffed.

To be continued.