There was nothing I could do but to adhere to mama's unreasonable wishes, just to say that I have honored my father and mother, one of the things she and papa did not forget to remind us every day. The idea actually made me want to throw up. What am I, a drag queen? And would the god we were taught to worship want me to be the person mama was grooming me to become? Maybe she needed to review the Bible. Going against God’s handiwork will surely earn her negative points in heaven.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhaQpFaEun
After checking on my sister-in-law, I joined the women in preparing food for my brothers, who were building Ben’s house. Mama was out because she had to go to school.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfZ4zi0V2D
There were still a few months to go before they complete the house. But my "delusion" of working with the "real" boys in the family must immediately come to an end. Mama made it clear that the next time she learned about me doing manly things, she would, you know, hit me with the infamous slipper.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTV0dsviHIO
The women were already gathered in a makeshift hut to cook. At that time, some of Naya's relatives also joined in the making of that extensive project, most of them preparing food for the laborers.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEroMDJvdL
And there I saw a familiar face—the bridesmaid at the wedding Joe was telling me about. Her dark hair gathered in a pigtail, her face flashed the sweetest smile to every person she met, and her bright, smooth fingers worked masterfully on the leafy greens.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlvWDJ4BkC
My heart pounded wildly at the knowledge of her presence. Who would have thought I would see her at an event like this? Maybe mama's warnings were a blessing after all.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0YpjRC9jA
From time to time, my eyes would move toward the makeshift hut just to watch her, careful not to let mama's "eyes" see what I was doing. I wish this time the sun wouldn't set without me knowing her name, but timidity crept into my system faster than the speed of light, so I just gave in to the contentment of watching her from a distance.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iLWJSOIAi
A sudden warmth on my left side snapped me back to reality. Was it Joe again?360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESZtwyDFSN
When I turned my head in that direction, it was not Joe who sat beside me but Ben, his crossed arms resting on his knees. He was looking at me with a knowing smile on his face.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7CNwdGwxe
"Hey kuya," I greeted. "Tired of working already? You need a reliever?"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnEcUz3Yxo
So there was a part of me that still refused to quit my dream.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgpbQbfcJp
"Me, tired? Nah, I'm strong as a bull," he said, flexing his lean bicep. "I just had a water break, but I'll be back in a few minutes."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e5CM4IitF
I nodded. "Nice."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyIIMBiMPj
And in my head, I was wishing that happened to everyone.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdOSXVliv7
"What about you, Jude? Your eyes are beaming today. Saw a dude you like?" He joked, making me shoot him a wide-eyed glare. "Just kidding. You just look a bit different today, like your eyes are going somewhere."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ7pqOE32s
Oh. Was I that obvious?360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsoxrwJlgo
"Really?" I asked.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfJyNI9pGI
"Yeah. You've been eyeing that girl from the first time she’s been here," his mouth pointed exactly to the girl I was looking at, and because I tensed at the truth of his words, one of my hands immediately covered his mouth.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTQZKDErME
"Can’t you be discreet about that, kuya?" I hissed while my cheeks grew warm. "It's embarrassing."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HhZu5gxYW
"Aha!” he exclaimed, clapping his fingers, “So that's why you’re blushing!"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSeQt31yqo
I suddenly felt the need to get a mirror. Then I turned my head to see if mama's minions of 'marites' were lurking around. Good thing the area was clear.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8zoUQmefv
"No, I am not," I denied, but my treacherous lips could not stop themselves from smiling.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡku3CiiR399
"Your mouth is a walking contradiction, tol. You like the girl?"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsGskPHAeE
I quickly put my forefinger over my lips. "Ssshhh! Keep it down!"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0gN9ylPyt
"She's pretty," he said casually. I wondered how his wife might react if she heard him compliment another woman like that. “But you seem to be prettier than her. People might mistake you as BFFs, you know?"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhCeEKp7eW
"Do you ever shut up?" I hissed again.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ah3tOocUa
He threw his hands in the air, "Alright, alright, I'll stop."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5UHuNylKY
But he moved closer to my ear and whispered, "But you like her right? Admit it..."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCkr6H3E2Y
He gave me a pair of teasing eyes. This man would literally not stop at anything just to get the answer he wanted.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uPT0c2pTv
I sighed. "Alright, alright, I do. So?"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgoKPFHJANX
"So? What are you sitting here for, man? Go ahead, get her!"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKvYI7NbC1
My brow arched. "That quick? I don't even know her name."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyebnOOQFfY
"That's why God gave us the gift of curiosity. Now go, talk to her!" He gave my back a gentle push, but I stumbled on the ground like a sack of potatoes.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1jcdulihs
I pushed myself up and faced him.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI54a5E9uVX
"Don't do this to me, man, I can't talk to her on my own. Not when I look like this," my fingers went from the butterfly clip above my ear down to the oversized tee and short shorts that I was wearing.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWMxENwwUV
He cackled.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4V4nvIuDU
"You know you can always change out of that thing, right?" he said, smiling from ear to ear.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZMf3qngqA
To my surprise, he grabbed the shining pin from my hair, making me wince in pain. 360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsGK01rl4J
"Go get her, man, or you'll regret it," he continued.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KOOlmYw6f
My brows furrowed while I scratched the back of my neck.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIV2rCE3zjU
"Really? You won't come and help me out?" I whined.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjZgEUMYhH
Something hard hit my head so I cried aloud in pain. I looked down and saw a coconut shell cut in half. Then I turned my head in the direction where it came from and saw Lev, holding the other half while smirking at me. Beside him were the other brothers: Dan, Simon, and Asher. What in the world is this, Davao Death Squad?360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wlwBh4Z6v
"Come on, Judy, man up!” said Lev, smirking. "We're watching you."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVTmYDBVnK
Even them?! Now things are getting more complicated. But the good thing about it was, I got the support of my brothers in this.
Thinking mama might get back from work and see me trying to court a girl, I pretended to half-run with my hands fluttering in the air and hips swaying toward the makeshift hut, pushing in the back of my mind how Lev and the gang would react upon seeing me.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrzeXkj99g
I was panting heavily when I reached the hut. The young lady glanced at me curiously, and the sight of it added more strength to the pounding in my chest. She stopped paring the raw papayas.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPvjXH4kLR
"Hi, ate, are you okay? What happened to you?" she asked, concern evident in her pretty face.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WD6Cfwuxy
Much as I wanted to be offended at the way she addressed me, her soft, sweet voice melted away all the irritations that threatened to bubble up inside.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAmBpS0QiE
"Those boys," I answered and pointed to my brothers who were talking on the other side. "They're picking on me."360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jhh6BrAZa
Then I remembered that strong hit at the back of my head.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bM3GEpepF
"Ouch!" I cried, my hand rose to the part hit by the coconut shell. It was half-pretend. My head literally hurt. Damn Lev.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKBrJDs0UJ
The girl approached me and her soft hand landed on my shoulder. If I shuddered under her touch, it's good she never paid attention.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBUslK37V0
"What happened to you?" she asked.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrtJvHwYkR
"One of them hit me on the head. It really hurts..." my face contorted in pain.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcTax1VHav
The frown on her face reflected genuine concern. Seeing her like that filled my stomach with fluttering butterflies.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOayXhrQg3
"Come, sit down, I'll take care of it," she said and guided me on the wooden bench under the shade of the tree while her warm fingers tried to locate the painful part on my head.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYz1rTKmIvr
Taking advantage of the fact that the girl was not seeing my face, I looked at the spot where I left my brothers to see their reaction. True to their words, they really were watching, and they seemed to approve of it because I saw them cheering from where they were before going back to work.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIH9y3uhKH
"Oh look," the girl said, "You're bleeding!"360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3dkQ8vN7L
Lev must have hit me so hard. But with the girl’s warm body close to mine, I could tell it was all worth it.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9lx1llPUt
She took out a clean handkerchief from her pocket and used it to stop the bleeding on my head.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAIBP3Ot1B
When she finished attending to my wound, I turned to look at her and flashed a smile of gratitude.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDMsjrdZTO
"Thank you so much..." I said as if waiting for her to give her name.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YomgziCay
She gave me a smile that said she knew exactly what I was thinking.360Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWPoezPc3u
"Ester."
