I arrived at our house after a long day with Mean. I’m lying on my bed helplessly and opening my phone. I had three missed calls and 1 text message, all of it from Pie. Why is that so? I opened the text message and read. I was shocked at what it says.

From: Hazelnut eyes (yes its pie’s codename)

Hey! Kim I’m sorry for that the text message earlier. It was sent to you by one of my sisters. I’m sorry. It’s really embarrassing. They’re a little bit playful.

               Oh so that wasn’t Pie. Yes! Which means she doesn’t have any special someone right now. I stood up on my bed and started moving to the beat of my heart. Yes, my lame victory dance again. But who cares. No one can see me.

               After dancing and jumping weirdly on my bed. I sat on it and started to think. Hmm? Let me see. It was sent just an hour ago. Maybe she’s asleep. Should I try to call her? Wait I might disturb her beauty rest. But she’s beautiful even if she has that dark circle around her eyes sometimes. I giggle when I remember when we had our finals week. Everyone have dark circle under their eyes. Tired was all that you can see in their faces but not Pie. She was cheerful, still smiling and kept on teasing her friends specially Puey who looked liked a squid out of the water. She’s still beautiful with those circles around her eyes. Sigh. How can someone be gorgeous even with those huge eye bags? Sigh. Oh Pie. I don’t know what you did to me. You’re making me happy with just simple things.

               I heard my phone beeped. I don’t know how long I was smiling alone. Silly me. I opened the text message and it was from…………

From: Mean

               Thanks for today. I can’t wait to see you at school. J

               “You’re most welcome. Good night” I replied to her SMS. Okay better think on what to say to Pie…….

Hi Pie, that’s fine. I actually thought it was for me.  (No wait. Delete. That might be too much)

I understand. It’s fine with me. I guess you’re really close to them. That’s why they can make fun of everything about you. Siblings are pain in the neck. (I think this is better. I should just make it a safe SMS. I pressed send)

I prepared myself to bed while waiting for Pie’s reply. I lay myself on my bed, tucked in comfortably. My tired eyes are giving up on me. I can feel it getting heavier and heavier until I closed my eyes.

The Next Morning

               I woke up 7 in the morning and checked my phone no SMS from Pie. I guess she’s still asleep. I prepare myself for my morning workout. I set my alarm to notify me after 30 minutes. I think it’s enough. I was about to walk out of the door when my Mom called me. She reminded me to be back before lunch, we will have a small reunion with my Mom’s siblings at lunch. I nodded and plugged in my earphones. I started jogging when I remembered that Mean will leave today at 8.

               As I was approaching Mean’s hotel, I saw her walking out the lobby. Hmm? She’s early. I run towards her and called her “Hey Mean. Leaving so early? Did you have breakfast already?” “Not yet. I was about to grab something to eat.” “Let me accompany you. I know a place where you can have a great view and food” I said and she nodded.

               We arrived in a small garden like restaurant. There’s a rooftop where you can see the whole town. This place reminds me of the Café Pie and I went to. We decided to take the rooftop. I was momentarily out of myself thinking about that day at the café. I wonder if I could take her out again. Sigh. I heard my phone ring. I quickly grabbed my phone thinking that Pie might be calling me. I looked at my phone and to my disappointment it was just my alarm. Oh gosh. That was embarrassing. I turned off my alarm. I looked at Mean and saw her smile. “Waiting for someone’s call? Or you were just so excited to turn off you alarm?” she was laughing at my silliness. “I was just surprised. It caught me off guard” I hope she buys my alibi. “Surprised? It doesn’t look like you were surprised. You were smiling while grabbing your phone Kim. You look like a kid whose excited to open the present” she was laughing really hard this time her hand holding her stomach, I can see tears on her eyes. “Hey. Stop it” it’s hard to defend myself now. “I can’t breathe. Hahahahahaha! Okay okay. I accept your excuse. You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.” I felt my ears heat up. “Let’s order and eat. I don’t want you to travel at night, its dangerous” This is me trying to change the topic myself. We ordered for our food.

While waiting for our food, I constantly am checking on my phone, still no Pie. Maybe she’s still asleep. I looked at Mean to check if she saw me checking my phone. She’s busy with her phone too. “You know you can call that person so that you won’t wait like that” I was shocked when she said that. So she was aware at my movements. “I was just looking at my clock. The waiter said it would just be 20 minutes. I’m really hungry to wait for 20 minutes” I checked on my phone again to let her see that I’m checking the clock. At last after 20 minutes, our food arrives.

               While eating, I noticed the waiter was looking at us, no wait, he was staring at Mean. When we were done I called the waiter staring at Mean and asked for the bill. He walked towards us still staring at Mean. “Here’s my share” Mean was giving me money. “It’s fine. This will be my treat for you just don’t tell anyone about the alarm incident” she nodded holding her laughter. I’m going to die of embarrassment right now. I gave the money to the waiter and said “She’s single. You can court her. Staring at her won’t help you. Trust me” while I was pointing my finger at Mean. “Hey! Stop it. I’m right here you know” she slapped my hand. And stood up but got tripped. Luckily the waiter caught her by her shoulder. She straightens her body at once and thanked the waiter. The waiter just smiled at us and walked away. I looked at Mean whose face as red as a tomato. “Hahahahahaha! You’re face is red. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone about this. We’re even now.” I said to her teasingly while wiggling my eyebrows. She stomped her way to the stairs. I quickly followed her.

               We were on our way back to her hotel. We were silent. Mean is walking ahead of me and still not talking to me. She looks upset. What did I do wrong? I grabbed her wrist to let her face me before we enter the hotel. “Hey Mean. Why are you not talking to me? What did I do? Are you mad at me for teasing you? I’m sorry.” “Argh! It’s not about that” she said and removed her hand from me. I was staring at her waiting for any other reason. “Just forget it. I’ll see you at school” she said still not looking at me and walked away. I don’t get it. What did I do wrong?

               I walked home with a heavy heart. First, No Pie, no sms, no call, nothing and it’s already 11 AM. Then, Mean being upset. I really don’t know what I did wrong? Can you tell me guys? Help me please?

               When I arrived at our house, Mom was already dressed. Oh! I forgot. We will have a lunch with our relatives. “Kimmy, go and get change before your Dad arrives.” I quickly grabbed some clothes in my closet, throw my phone on my bed and run towards the bathroom. After 20 minutes, I walked towards our living room; Mom and Dad are talking about something. We took a cab to our relative’s place.

               When we arrived at my Aunt’s house (Mom’s sister), they were already a lot of people. The place is crowded. I forgot to mention that Mom has 10 siblings. So I have more than 30 cousins. They are like brothers and sister to me. I looked around when suddenly I felt someone grab my hand. “Piggy back ride Kim” I know who that was; it’s my adorable 7 year old cousin. I sat and gestured her to climb on my back. She jumped and kinda choked me. This kid is really adorable. “Okay Jeanie. Hold on tight. Let’s go!” I run around while she giggles. After running around for a while, “Jeanie I’m tired. Let’s grab something to eat then we’ll play again.” She agreed and I put her down. What a work out. I remembered I haven’t jogged earlier today. I was so down, I walked home.

               While eating I talked to my cousins who are about my age. Mikey, Marky, and Micheal are of my closest cousins. Your guess is right they are siblings. They parents name starts with letter “M” as well. They have 1 younger sister whose 5 years old and another brother whose 2 years old. We grew up together since they live near us. They are like a brothers and sister to me; we used to play basketball during summer. “Hey remember when we were so addicted in playing basketball, we were all tan because of it and Marky here is the darkest of us” Mikey said while grabbing Marky by his neck. “Hey. I wasn’t that dark. You were the darkest one. At night we can only see your eyes and your teeth” Marky defended himself and struggles to remove Mikey’s hand around him. “Oh yah! I remember when we played hide and seek one night when there was no electricity so it was really dark. He climbed on a not so tall tree and no one can see him. We were passing by him and we didn’t notice that he was just lying on the tree branch. We only found out where he was when he jumped from the tree” Michael said laughing out loud. “Yes that was hilarious. We were all shocked and can’t continue to play because we were laughing so hard” I added. We laughed at the upset Mikey. “Hey. I’m the eldest here don’t bully me or I’ll hit your head” Mikey said showing us a fist. We can’t stop laughing. I felt a tear escaped my eyes. It was really funny. “That’s enough. Kim here is so pale now. I think you need to play basketball again. You look lifeless.” Mikey changed the topic. “Yeah! That’s right you’re so white Kim, a lot of my classmates are asking your number to me. We can’t let you have all the women here. So we have to let them see the tanned Kim. They would runaway when they see you dark. You would look like a brunt tree” Now it’s my turn to get gagged up. “Hey! What the heck. Stop it. Let’s just bring this to the court” I looked at them with my game-on face. “Let’s bet on it whoever loses the game needs to stay under the sun for 5 hours.” Mikey and his lame punishment but I can’t back down now. “Game on!” everyone shouted.

               It’s already 3 in the afternoon when I realized that I forgot my phone. Great. What if Pie texted back or called? This is just great. Sigh. I felt someone pulling my shirt. I looked down and it was Jeanie. “Kim, will you sing for me. I want to win that prize” she pointed at the doll that is about her height. Currently, we have a karaoke set up at the backyard. Aunt May started a singing competition, whoever reaches a score of exactly 99 will win a Barbie doll or a Remote controlled car. It’s really hard to reach it. “Jeanie, you know I can’t sing that good. I’m sorry” I patted her head. She looked at me. I saw her eyes well up with tears, threatening to flow down. “Okay okay. Don’t cry Princess. I’ll try to get that doll for you. But you won’t get mad at me if I won’t be able to win that prize, okay?” I calmly said to her. “Yes Jeanie won’t be mad at Kim.” I walked hear the karaoke and looked for any songs. I keyed in the number and started singing.

(https://youtu.be/lJmzEN_xgz8 - Just wanna by Amber ft. Eric Nam) *you can listen to this song to feel what Kim feels.*

When i first walked
In the room
I saw your face
Baby girl i was so amazed
I caught you smiling back at me
But i didn’t know what to say

            I smiled when I remember when I first saw Pie on our first day of school.

Hey now baby boy (yeah yeah)
Don’t you know (yeah yeah)
I’m ready for you you you
Now boy what you gonna do

Because i know you
The one i’ve been
Searching for
I know with you
My life means more
I wish i could say
These things to you
Come here baby boy
Let me listen to you

I just wanna love you
Give me that chance
Wanna hold you
Baby you know
That i need you i need you
And i’m wondering all the time
If you love me come
On over get to know me
Baby because i know
You need me you need me
And i want you
In my life yeah yeah

I wish I could sing this to Pie. To let her know what I feel. Here’s the rap part.

Yeah cut to the chase
We don’t play no games
The beating of my heart
Just tell me
If you feel the same
This feeling is true
You ain’t gotta play it cool
I’ve been searching all my life
Baby boy i know it’s you

Because i know you
The one i’ve been searching for
I know with you
My life means more
I wish i could say
These things to you
Now come here baby boy
Let me listen to you

I just wanna love you
Give me that chance
Wanna hold you
Baby you know
That i need you i need you
And i’m wondering all the time
If you love me come
On over get to know me
Baby because i know
You need me you need me
And i want you
In my life yeah yeah

You make me go
Oh woah woah woah
I don’t wanna be
Alone no more
Oh woah woah woah
Without you i feel
So cold yeah
Because days without
You they don’t feel the same
Now i see just you and me
Baby you make
Everything complete

I just wanna love you
Give me that chance
Wanna hold you
Baby you know
That i need you i need you
And i’m wondering all the time
If you love me come
On over get to know me
Baby because i know
You need me you need me
And i want you
In my life yeah yeah

I just wanna love you
Give me that chance
Wanna hold you
Baby you know that
I need you i need you
And i want you
In my life yeah yeah

La la la la la

              
               I was thinking of Pie when I was singing this song. I really miss her. “Hey Kim. Are you in love? Our Kimmy is in love” Mikey shouted and everyone started teasing me. I’m going to kill this Mikey. I was saved by the karaoke when it showed us the score. I was shocked when I looked at the screen. Now the teasing turned into shouting and cheering. I got a score of 99. Wow! Aunt May walked towards me and gave me the doll. I thanked her and walked towards Jeanie. I went down on my knees. “Here you go princess” I gave her the doll. She happily took it from me and hugged me. “Thank you Kimmy. You’re not in love, aren’t you?” she give me that suspicious gaze. I smiled at her and patted her head. “You’re in love. I hate you kimmy.” Then she run away. Sigh.

               The “Musketeers” brothers walked towards me. “Look at our Kimmy, all grown up now” Mikey said while messing my hair. “You were never this good in singing man. I guess love can make you a better singer” Marky added while bumping on me. “Kim. It won’t sound that good if you’re not in love” Micheal said while wiggling his eyebrows. “No. I’m not. The rap part made it sound good so stop. Or I will make you pay for this tomorrow” I moved away from them. “ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh. Bring it on Man!” Mikey shouted and raised his right hand. “Hey please put down your hand. You stink you know that” Micheal said pulling Mikey’s hand down. “What did you say?” Micheal started running away and Mikey is chasing him. We laughed at these silly brothers.

               It was 8 in the evening when we arrived home. I run towards my room to look for my phone. I opened the door and saw my phone lying on my bed. I jumped on my bed and opened my phone. 1 message received. I eagerly opened the SMS only to find out that it was Mean.

               From: Mean

                              Thank you for the food.

That was a short text. Maybe she’s still mad at me.

               To: Mean

                              You’re welcome. Are you still mad at me? I’m sorry.

Not long after I received a text. It was Mean again. Sigh.

               From: Mean

                              Just forget about it. Goodnight

Yes. She’s still mad at me. I don’t have any clue why.

               Still no text from her, the person I’ve been waiting for the whole day. Maybe she’s just busy. I lay back on my bed and staring at the ceiling. I smiled when I remembered our first day of school. The first time I saw Pie. Her smile captured me that day. Then I remembered what the three musketeers said earlier. “Kim. It won’t sound that good if you’re not in love.” Have I really fallen for her? Butterflies in my stomach, can’t breathe when she’s around, happy to see her smile. Are those the signs that I’m in love? I didn’t notice that I drifted to sleep thinking of her. When suddenly I heard my phone beeped.

               I grabbed my phone and saw the name of the person that I’ve been waiting for. My face lit up when I read it.

               1 Message from Hazelnut eyes