Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

T he bet with Cholo for the BA 161 exam ended up not just being an elaborate attempt to annoy each other but also a good motivation for me to prepare well with the upcoming exam. It took place the next Wednesday. I was not sure about whether I would beat Cholo on it, though, so I just let that go and decided to be chill while waiting for the exam results.

Prefect Brat did the exact opposite. I left the exam early and that seemed to make him nervous. Being the competitive soul that he was, he even called me that night to grill me about my answers.

“Cholo, we have a 142 seatwork tomorrow,” I told him over a video call, just as he started another question. The clock on my laptop read 12:30 a.m. “Can’t this wait?”

He was freaking out about the exam. I understood and his concerns were valid—after all, he would be risking his magna cum laude standing if he got less than a 1.5 for the class. I knew this because we started talking on the phone every night after our fast-food morning run and it had become a habit. We had been talking to each other a lot before that, about Ephemere mostly but now the conversations moved to other topics such as academics, people in school, and, of course, Era of Maidens.

As much as I liked talking to him, I would have to leave home early tomorrow to catch the first train north. I also had barely made a dent on my study list for 142 (my other weak subject, Finance) so I needed to get off the phone.

“Sorry,” he said, genuinely apologetic but still sounding bothered. “I hate 161, I swear. I always feel like I’ll flunk it.”

“Cholo, I understand that the idea of getting a grade lower than 1.5 is stressing you out but I would be at risk of failing two subjects this term if I flunked 142. I would then be at risk of getting dismissed out of the college. Utang na loob, can you go to sleep so I can study na, please?”

“Weh. I know you’re just going to sleep,” he said and made this smug face.

“Why don’t you sleep? You’re going to wake your kuya up, sige ka.”

“Naks, concerned. I’m not in Ortigas, though, so I’m not waking anyone up. You’re really turning over a new leaf?”

“Well, that’s the general idea but you annoying me at this hour when I’m supposed to be studying is throwing that off the rail.”

I stood from my chair and walked towards the window, which had a nice view of the night sky. The light from my study lamp was far behind me now, allowing me to appreciate the stars.

“Wasn’t that your aim in the first place? To set me straight?” I prompted.

“Aim? I’m not sure about that, Piece of Work. I’ve accepted that we can’t really go against nature but I’ll take what I can get.”

“Mukha mo, nature.”

“Okay, wait lang, I’m sorry, let me clarify that,” Cholo said, looking at the camera this time. He let out a nervous laugh, probably seeing that I did take offense. “What I meant to say was I’m happy with you being you as long as you don’t set foot in my office again. Ever.”

“You could have said it like that the first time,” I told him. “And stop calling me a piece of work.”

“Sorry. I wanted that to sound like an endearment. It’s not working, is it?”

“Never going to work.”

“Do you have a nickname for Gian Luca, too?”

“ Gian Luca ?” I sputtered, laughing.

“Why? That’s his name, isn’t it? Would you rather I called him Squidward ?”

I felt my smile drop off my face. “Bye.”

“I’M JOKING. Wait, don’t hang up!”

I did not. I walked towards the window and sat on the cushioned part, only to find something else sitting in there.

“AGH!” I screamed, jumping off the seat. The blood must have drained off my face as I froze, focusing on what I had just sat on.

“What in the…? What’s this doll doing in here?”

“Hey, I’m alone in here!” Cholo said from the other line, all traces of laughter gone. He sounded more scared than I was as I took small steps towards the doll. “Look, I swear. I’ll stop being an ass. Just cut it out.”

It must have been a full minute before my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It finally clicked and I raised the doll up to eye level.

“Melba,” I muttered, blood rushing back up to my head.

“Wha—you really had to give it a name?” Cholo said from the other line, his voice an octave higher. I would have found this funny any other day but my temper boiled straight over.

“Ugh, Liana!” I groaned, realizing that no one else could have put this back here except her. She had the other matching doll named Tindeng and this must have been her idea of a prank.

“Wait, where are you going, don’t hang up!”

“You are alone, Prefect Brat, what are you even talking about?” I said, torn between finding him funny and being annoyed at Liana. I took some more steps towards the door, about to reach for the handle when it burst open, revealing Liana who was still wearing jeans for some reason.

“Vinnie?” she said, her hair standing up in all directions.

I glared at her and put the phone away.

“Are you okay? I heard you scream.”

I was ready to yell. All the blood had rushed up to my head and I could not think straight. The pent-up anger I had all these years had boiled over.

“Did you put this in there?” I asked, my hands shaking as the raised the doll.

“Sorry,” Liana said. “I found that in the stock room and thought you’d want it back.”

“Seryoso ka?” I said, my voice going up a pitch, and I saw Liana recoil like I had hit her.

“I saw my doll and I thought you’d want yours, too,” she replied, voice small.

There was a pause. Liana bit her lip and looked like she was debating whether to say something or not. I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to do so.

“I remembered how good things were before. Part of me was wishing I could get my best friend back. Giving this back felt like a step in that direction.”

My eyes welled up. “Do you know what this doll reminds me of?” I said, voice calculated. “It only reminds me of how good things were when everything was normal.”

Liana gritted her teeth as tears fell on her cheeks.

“There was a reason I put it away for good. I didn’t want that doll anywhere near me because it was a reminder that no matter how much I wished to still have my proper family, I was never getting that back.

I wish I too could turn back time but here we are.”

“I’ll take her, then,” she said, trying to smile as she extended her hand towards Melba. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m grateful to you and Tita Cris for treating me so well,” I said. Something unfamiliar was pressing on me as I saw Liana’s expression and I later recognized it as guilt. I took one step towards her, feeling so empty.

It felt so weird without the default anger I always had with me.

“It’s no one’s fault that we’re here. But I really hope you understand that–”

“That’s okay,” she cut me off as she took the doll. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

She turned to go back towards the hallway and only then did we both realize that our parents were there and listening in the whole time.

“Good night,” Liana said, fleeing towards her room.

Our parents stared at me with expressions I could not figure out just yet. I waited for them to say something, but they just disappeared back into their room.

My phone beeped. Somewhere between opening the door and closing it, Cholo must have hung up.

Cholo Valiente

Are you okay?

Yes. Sorry.

I’ll go sleep now. See you tomorrow.