Chapter Four | Half of Each

Seulgi

Dumiretso agad ako sa kabilang kanto kung saan nakatayo ang radio station office ng kakambal ko. Kahit si manong guard, kilala na rin ako dahil sa tuwing may makakalimutan si Wendy sa bahay, ihahatid ko agad sa office niya.

Sumenyas ako kay Wendy through the glass nang makita ko na commercial na. I mouthed ‘urgent’ to her. Alam kong hindi niya ko ineexpect dito sa office ngayon dahil ang alam niya nga ay magja-jogging ako.

She looks at me from top to bottom, akala niya siguro gusto kong ipakita yung jogging attire ko. “Dang, what happened to you?” Her eyes are fixated on my bloodied knee.

“I saw Irene!” I tell her excitedly.

“Where?” She asks further. We both actually tried to find Irene on social media last Monday. Sumuko na kami dahil kahit na pabaliktad na jejemong pangalan pa ang itype namin, hindi namin makita ang profile niya sa Facebook, Twitter o Instagram.

“Salome’s spot.” I see her face lit up. Parang nalaglag ang panga niya sa sinabi ko.

“Salome is Irene?” Tanong niya uli.

“Irene is Salome.” I confirm to her.

“Wendy, on-air in thirty seconds!” Narinig ko yung isang producer nila na tawagin siya.

“Go,” sabi ko naman sa kanya dahil mukhang rooted in place si ateng girl sa balitang sinabi ko. Pumasok naman agad si Wendy sa booth at nagsuot ng headphones. Medyo nadead-air pa nga siya ng five seconds, buti na lang at sinalo agad siya ni Eric with their usual catchphrase.

Nagpaalam at nagpasalamat na ako sa staff and went straight home.

Who would’ve thought na sa katangahan ko, sa pagkadapa ko, I would see Irene?

I never thought I’d be glad to have a scab on my knee this big. I remember how worried Irene was. It still feels unreal to me.

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“Remind me again why I even agreed to go on this date,” I asked my sister as I look at the reflection of myself in the mirror. I definitely look good with the outfit she chose for me. Komportable, oo. But I’m thinking maybe it’s a bit too much? I wore an oversized suit jacket over a plain white shirt, some skinny jeans, with my usual rugged Chucks.

Mukhang fuccboi ang datingan ko, to be honest. In my usual style, I would’ve ditched the suit. But I know my twin wouldn’t let me do that.

“Hindi porket may chance ka na kay Irene uli, you’ll bail out on this one. Sa pagkaka-alam ko, napakatagal ding pinilit ng friend ni Joy yung irereto sa’yo. It will be a bummer if you didn’t at least try to show up.” Okay, nakonsensya naman ako doon. I know how hard it is for Wendy to convince me of actually going to blind dates. And even Joy, going on great lengths just to do this for me, medyo nakaka-touch naman din. Napaka-etchosera ko naman kung hihindi pa ako dito.

“What’s two hours of telling someone how boring my life is?” I say in exasperation, admitting my defeat.

“You are not boring! Masyado kasing maliit ang tingin mo sa sarili mo. Think of it as a practice. For this date, try to act a bit more confident para naman when it’s your turn to ask Irene out, you’ll have some stuff to say.” Wala talagang tatalo sa two-minute pep talks ni Wendy. Kahit iwan na ko ng lahat, I know Wendy would still be beside me kahit ano pang bigat ng nagawa kong mali.

“Sino ba kasi naka-isip na sa isang art exhibit pa kami mag-date?” I spat at her, medyo na-caught off guard din kasi ako sa sinabi niya na maliit ang tingin ko sa sarili ko. Well, it is true. Iniba ko na lang yung usapan para madistract siya. Also, if it was the usual dinner-uwi routine lang, it would be, no doubt, shorter. But with a different setting, mukhang magtatagal pa ako.

“Yung friend ni Joy na nag-reto sa date mo.” Lumapit siya sa akin at inayos yung white scarf na binuhol ko randomly.

“Okay,” I conceded with my grim tone. At this point, I’m in no position to be choosy. Nakakahiya nga naman kung mag-cancel pa kami last minute. “But I’m wearing my cap.” I quickly grabbed the black one from the coat rack we have.

“Why would you wear a cap to such a formal event?”