PROM NIGHT

This is the worst night of my life.

I have a kick-ass dress. I have smoking makeup. I'm even wearing a tiara. And st
upid shoes.
Ugh, I hate it. There I was, dancing to the bouncy beat of the first piece, and
my friggin' shoes just snapped.
Nasira yung takong ko! Sa lahat ba naman ng puwedeng masira, nakakainis!
I imagined it to be perfect. Now it's just a mess.
"You sure you don't wanna dance?" my wonderful prom date kept asking.
Hindi ko alam pero...inabot ko yung kamay niya.
Naglakad kami papunta sa dance floor, parehong nakapaa. Pinagtinginan kami ng ib
ang sumasayaw, pero parang wala lang kay Raffy. He kept holding my hand, dinala
ako sa pinakagitna ng dance floor.
Dinala niya yung dalawang kamay ko sa balikat niya. Humawak siya sa bewang ko.
Did I dream that we danced forever
In a wish that we made together
On a night that I prayed would never end
No it's not my imagination
Or a part of the orchestration
Love is here at the coronation
I'm the king and you're the queen of hearts.
Kinakanta ni Raffy pabulong yung lyrics sa akin. Ang daming tanong sa utak ko.
Bakit ako nakapaa? Bakit ako nakikipagsayaw ngayon? Bakit si Raffy...?
Etong lalakeng to. Halos isang dekada ko na siyang kilala.
Bata pa kami inaaway na niya ko. Kinukurot. Sinisilipan. Binabato ng eraser.
Napipikon ako lagi. Umiiyak. Nagsusumbong sa teacher.
Wala akong pakialam kung matalino siya. Wala akong pakialam kung magaling siyang
kumanta at marunong siyang maggitara. Wala akong pakialam kung guwapo siya. Wal
a akong pakialam kung paminsan-minsan, mabait siya akin. Basta ang alam ko ayoko
sa kanya.
Nung grade one umiyak ako kasi hinila niya yung pigtails ko.
Isang beses nung grade three hinila niya yung upuan ko kaya napaupo ako sa sahig
.
Minsan nung grade five niregla ako. Nakita niya yung tagos ko at pinagkalat sa b
uong klase.
Nung first year high school ninakaw niya yung ID ko. Ilang araw akong pinagmulta
sa gate.
"Gusto kita." Bulong ni Raffy sa tenga ko. "Matagal na."
Sinipa ko siya.
"Sana sinabi mo na lang." sabi ko. "Pinahirapan mo pa ko."
Napatawa siya ng malutong. Natawa na rin tuloy ako.
"Sorry ha."
Niyakap niya ko ng mahigpit.
Halos isang dekada na niya kong inaalaska.
Minsan sa sobrang galit ko gumaganti ako. Inaatake ko siya. Hinahampas hampas. P
ero madalas nakakatakbo siya. Kaya hinahabol ko. Maghahabulan kami ng maghahabul
an.
Habulan. Halos isang dekada na kaming naghahabulan.
Naabutan ko rin siya sa wakas. _FIN.
"Lloyd, nasira nga yung sapatos ko. Natanggal yung takong," I kept telling my wo
nderful prom date. Lloyd is a friend. A next door neighbor. He asked me to the p
rom out of-I dunno, convenience I guess. Hindi na niya ako kelangang sunduin wit
h a fancy car. In fact, he was so galante, we rode a friggin taxi to the prom. A
t least hindi jeep, I kept telling myself na lang.
"Eh kung baliin na lang natin yung isang takong para pantay na sila?"
I squinted my eyes at him. Lloyd is not only wonderful and galante, he's also so
damn smart.
He kept fidgeting in his seat. He kept looking at some particular direction. Yea
h, yeah. I forgot he has this monster-sized crush on Aliyah, one of the girls in
our year.
"Just go and ask her to dance, Lloyd."
He looked at me hopefully. "Really? I mean. I can't leave you here alone. Everyo
ne's on the dance floor and..."
"C'mon." I smiled a little. "My night is already ruined. I can't let yours be ru
ined too. Go on and enjoy your night."
"You sure, huh?"
"Oo nga."
"Thanks!"At nagmadali siyang pumunta kay Aliyah. He was too late though. Naunaha
n na siya ng isa pa naming kaklase, si Brad Alvarez. Some jock, you know. Basket
ball varsity. Sa laki ng katawan nun, hipan lang niya si Lloyd eh mabubuwal na.
Dahan-dahan si Lloyd naglakad papunta sa buffet table, acting as if that's where
he was headed all along. Suddenly I feel sad for the guy.
Lumingon uli ako sa dance floor. Crap. It was a slow song, everyone seems to be
enjoying themselves. Couples are all over each other. A bit disgusting, but then
, maybe that was their version of sweetness. Better them than me anyway. Prom ni
ght with defective shoes.
Again, the worst night of my life.
"You don't seem to be having fun."
Gulat akong lumingon sa tabi ko, kasi ni hindi ako aware na may katabi na pala a
ko. Titig na titig kasi ako sa mga tao sa dance floor.
Nakangiti si Raffy Lozano sa akin.
"I'm fine." Tipid na sagot ko, with tipid na smile. Raffy Lozano is from my clas
s. He has actually been my classmate since grade school, and I don't really like
him. He's rude and arrogant and in the second grade he tried to peek at my pant
ies. He's plain annoying, and it's best to steer clear of him. Except now I can'
t, because of my defective shoes. As if this night couldn't get any crappier.
"You danced to the first piece pero hindi ka na ulit tumayo. Something wrong?" c
urious na tanong niya. He leaned back in Lloyd's seat and stretched his longish
legs. At talagang nagrelax na siya sa tabi ko.
"Nasira yung takong ko." I said simply, hoping he would lose interest and leave
me alone to my misery.
"Oh? Patingin." Sabi niya.Hahawiin na sana niya yung laylayan ng dress ko pero p
inagpapalo ko yung kamay niya.
"What are you, a freaking perv??" badtrip na sabi ko. God, this really isn't my
night.
"I just wanted to see." Seryosong sabi niya. "Not your legs. Your shoes."
Iritable kong tinaas konti yung damit ko, just enough for him to see the state o
f freaking shoes. "Oh ayan. Masaya ka na?"
"Tsk, tsk." Sabi niya, umiling-iling. "That sucks."
You don't say? Badtrip na sabi ko, pero sa utak ko lang. Ayoko na kasi siyang ka
usapin. I tried to keep my attention to the dance floor. People were having so m
uch fun. Hindi man lang ako makasali. Nakakainis.
"Haaay. Ang boring noh?" sabi ni Raffy, may kasama pang buntunghininga.
"Bakit ba andito ka pa??" tanong ko. "Ba't di ka magsayaw?" -nang makaalis ka na
dito, gusto ko sanang idagdag pero wag na lang.
"Ikaw rin naman hindi sumasayaw."
"Eh sira nga-" Why do I even bother repeating? Napahinga ako ng malalim, saka bu
ga. "Never mind."
Nagpalit na naman yung kanta. Slow dance ulit. King and Queen of Hearts. God, I
love that song. I should be dancing with someone right now. I don't care who wit
h, I just want to sway to that sweet beautiful song. But I'm not. Instead I'm st
uck here sitting with the most annoying person alive. Bakit ba ang malas malas k
o??
"Oh, favorite song mo." Biglang sabi ni Raffy. Napatingin ako sa kanya.
"Pano mo--?"
"...alam? Nung grade four tayo sinulat mo yan sa likod ng notebook mo. Tapos pau
lit-ulit mong kinakanta. Nainis ako kaya binato kita ng eraser. Natamaan ka sa m
ukha."
I flinched uncomfortably, remembering it. Talagang kelangan niyang ibring up nga
yon, of all nights, ngayon na sobrang badtrip na badtrip na nga ako? Ugh. Hindi
ko talaga gabi to.
"Sayaw tayo." Biglang sabi ni Raffy. Tinignan ko siya ng masama.
"Ilang beses ko bang-" hindi ko na natuloy yung sasabihin ko kasi yumuko siya. A
kala ko umiwas lang siya sa akin, annoying me as usual. Pero nagulat ako. Tinata
nggal niya yung sapatos niya. Pati medyas.
"Anong--?"
Nung matanggal niya yung sapatos niya, bumaling siya sa paa ko at nagsimulang ta
nggalin yung strap ng sapatos ko. Tinaas niya yung laylayan ng dress ko in the p
rocess pero sobrang nagulat ako at hindi nakaiwas.
"Oh ayan, pwede na." sabi niya, sabay ngiti. Tumayo siya sa harapan ko. Saka nil
ahad ang kamay sa akin. "Sayaw na tayo."
Nakanganga akong nakatingin sa kanya. Umiilaw ilaw yung dance floor sa likuran n
g ulo niya, making weird shadows in his face, making him look almost...likeable.
Ngumiti ulit siya akin. Hindi nakakaloko. Hindi pang-asar. Seryosong ngiti.
"Lia." Mahinang sabi niya, nakalahad pa rin ang kamay. "Halika na."