Kim was so surprised at the amount of people showing interest on her godbrother. Especially the young ladies, who were almost ogling him as he passed by. Kim shook her head irritatingly. He was “fresh meat” after all.

Sitting on their table were Serra and her other friend, Lucy Gomez.

Lucy had been Kim’s and Serra’s friend since sixth grade. Lucy transferred to their school from Manila and had no friends of her own during those times. Both Kim and Serra immediately decided to take her in under their wings and tutelage. Lucy had been their closest friend, of course, apart from each other.

Lucy is this shy, bespectacled girl with a homely face and figure. Though not as pretty as the other two, Lucy makes up for that with her very infectious personality. She had naturally curly hair and had the most piercing set of brown eyes Kim has ever seen.

A couple of other girls wanted to join their table but Serra expertly ditched them in lieu of “HER” boys.

What's more surprising though, was that even the guys were not immune to Gerald’s charm. Even the campus elites the likes of Jimmy Gonzalez and Tristan Manuel found their way to their table.

Jimmy is Serra’s on-again off-again, basketball playing jock of a boyfriend. Right now, one could guess that they have broken off again, especially judging the way Serra purposely has not been paying attention to him at all.

Jimmy is this 6-foot-tall, very intimidating giant, who is really nothing but a softie once you get to know him. Kim is very fond of Jimmy, in a brotherly kind of way. She finds it cute how simple minded he was and how gullible he could be.

Jimmy’s best friend is Tristan. He is this tall, wiry boy with an effusive personality. He is funny at times, but Kim doesn’t like his sense of humor in general. She finds him too in-your-face and too grating. You see, Tristan had been Kim’s very ardent, never-giving-up suitor these last few years. Sad to say, the young man had been on Kim’s case ever since he had laid eyes on her three years back. The boy is relentless in his pursuit of Kim. She had turned him down on a number of occasions but Tristan just won’t take no for an answer. Nowadays, Kim doesn’t really mind him hanging around her all the time. He seemed harmless anyway.

There was another guy there on the table, Levi Coscuella. Kim barely knows anything about him other than that he is also a member of the varsity basketball team and that he has a secret crush on Lucy. He seemed like a good guy too, but he is too quiet for Kim’s liking.

Now that Gerald was here, Kim felt an odd sense of abandonment from her friends. All the attention had been on him and Kim felt a bit neglected. Nonetheless, she continued to eat her lunch quietly.

“Is it true that you played for Lower Merion High School?” asked Jimmy.

“Only for a year, man...” Gerald answered meekly. "When we moved to Pennsylvania..."

“Is that a famous school?” Serra said blankly. She seemed bored at how the conversation was coming along. She was already drumming her long fingers on the table.

“Hello?! Lower Merion...Kobe Bryant’s high school!!!” exclaimed Levi, expecting the girls to react positively.

He drew nothing but blank stares from the girls.

Apparently, the girls had more to grab their attention than just basketball. Both Lucy and Serra had their eyes glued at Gerald all the time. Kim’s reaction instantly soured as she saw her girlfriends’ faces. What bothered her more though was the fact that Gerald seemed happy with the attention the girls were throwing at him.

Gerald, meanwhile, tried to hush the animated boys down, “Like I said, I only played there for a year...”

“You should try out for the varsity, man!” Jimmy egged Gerald on. “Imagine, you played for a division one high school team...We sure could use someone like you on the court!”

“Hey, I’m not that good!” Gerald said humbly.

“In this school,” Tristan said. “Anybody that can drive to the hoop without stumbling with the ball is good enough. This institution is so devoid of good players. We could barely scrape ten good guys to make a single team. Coach Rivero will have a field day knowing he has a potential starter enrolling in his bloody school...”

“In that case, I’ll try out for sure...” Gerald promised.

“I’ll tell coach about you right away. You’ll be a shoo-in, man!” Jimmy said as he playfully punched Gerald’s arm.

Tristan followed suit by patting Gerald’s nape.

Boys! Kim rolled her eyes. When testosterones flowed, they could barely contain themselves. She was starting to get irritated by the Gerald-worship, that she wanted to move tables. Fortunately, the other two girls were feeling the same thing.

“Can we please talk about something else other than basketball?” asked Lucy.

“Yeah, girl, you’re right. Maybe we could talk about something more interesting...” added Serra.

“Like what?” Gerald said.

“Hmmm...let’s talk about you and Kim...” suggested Lucy.

Lucy smiled at Kim playfully. It seemed as if she was up to something bad. It was as if she was goading Kim to reveal a juicy tidbit.

Kim immediately looked up to her friends, “The two of us? Gerald and I? What’s there to talk about?”

“Actually, a lot...” Tristan agreed. “You two never even got around to telling us how the two of you met...”

The group, excluding her and Gerald, nodded repeatedly... much like those toy dogs on car dashboards.

Gerald saw the discomfort in Kim’s eyes. He immediately decided to provide the details the others needed.

“That’s a very boring story really,” Gerald answered. “Our moms are best of friends. Her mom was my godmother. My mom was her godmother. So, we’re godsiblings since we were little. We hadn’t met until that summer eight years ago. She was nine and I was eleven...I left for the states a few months later and we haven’t spoken to each other until a week ago...”

From the look of the faces of the others, Kim knew they weren’t satisfied with Gerald’s story.

“So, you were friends since you were kids?” Tristan asked further.

“You can say that...” Gerald said, his eyes glinting mischievously at Kim.

Kim gave him back a firm look. IN her mind she wanted to say to him, “Shut up!”

The others were quick to realize that there really was
more to the story than what they were led to believe.

“I think there’s a lot that you guys are not telling us...” said Serra.

“Serra...that was it," Kim denied. "We met, he moved away and he came back...end of story!”

“Kim, I’m your best friend. If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you’re the worst liar I’ve ever seen...” guffawed Serra. “Look at you, you can’t even keep a straight face...”

The guys were quick to pounce on her.

"Kim, you have to be poker-faced when you lie..." said Levi.

“I’m serious...I’m not lying...” Kim declared.

"Yeah, right...lies are written all over your face like an open book, Kimmy..." chuckled Jimmy.

"Why don't you all believe me?" Kim demanded.

"Kimmy, people like you just can't lie," Tristan said. "It's just not in your system, you're not coded for that. YOu were born too good to lie..."

Kim rolled her eyes at him.

"You know what, someday I'll get you all back...I'll lie to you all big time, you won't even know it," Kim chuckled.

The others, especially Tristan, were very much interested in their conversation now. They seemed to have touched Kim's raw nerve and they were very much enjoying seeing her stew in her seat.

“So, you guys spent a summer together,” Lucy fuelled the fire. “How was it like?”

“We played together...a lot.” Gerald revealed.

The others cooed meaningfully.

“We we’re kids, you fools. What else do you think should we have done other than play?” Kim exclaimed.

“I don’t know, sis. That’s because you never told us anything from before...” said Serra.

“Gerald, please tell us...when you were kids, was Kim always this secretive?” asked Tristan.

Gerald thought for a minute then said, “Hmmm...definitely!”

Kim’s eyes immediately shifted back to Gerald. She gazed at him in utmost terror. Gerald, meanwhile, grinned back at her with the sliest smile she has ever seen.

“Maybe you don’t know about this, but Kim really has some deep, dark secrets she didn’t want revealed to anyone else!” Gerald disclosed.

The two other girls squealed in delight.

The boys then wolf-whistled scandalously, which gave their table more attention than Kim ever wanted in that situation. Her friends’ banter and most especially Gerald’s piercing stare, made Kim ultra uncomfortable.

She squirmed in her seat.

“So, Kim, should I tell them the story?” Gerald said.

“What story?” Kim immediately replied. She looked at Gerald in complete confusion. His smile never gave away anything.

“Yeah...what story is that?!!!” chorused the others.

“You know...the one about our...little adventure...” Gerald said as he winked at her.

Kim immediately understood what he was about to reveal, “Oh, no...no way!!!”

“Please, Kim...let him tell us about it...”

“Yeah, man, what’s it about?”

Kim just shook her head despite of her friends’ urging. Gerald just waited patiently for her signal.

“Gerald, come on. You can’t just drop something like that and then leave us hanging,” said Levi.

“I don’t know, man...You heard, Kim. She said no and I promised her not to tell anyone about it unless she approves of it.”

The girls squeezed Kim straightaway from both of her sides. Kim grimaced from the two girls’ excited pinches.

“Kim, please...” begged her friends.

Kim knew right there that it was really a lost cause. She had to give in to their plea.

“Okay, okay...” Kim said. “As long as you both stop pinching me...”

Serra and Lucy squealed in victory like pigs waddling in mud. If they were by themselves, Kim swore they’d be dancing at this point.

“Are you sure it’s okay, Kim?” Gerald checked with her once more.

“Duh, I have no choice but to say yes, haven’t I?” Kim replied.

“Gerald, quick...tell us the story!” pleaded Serra.

“Come on man, quick! Before she changes her mind...”
Jimmy compelled Gerald on.

Gerald took one last look at Kim. Her eyes twinkled brightly.

He then held his breath as he began telling them their story...
.

.

.

“It was a summer to remember for the both of us,” Gerald started with fervor. “Back then, Kim and I...you can say we were young, rebellious and stupid...”

Kim smiled fondly as she saw her friends listening intently with what he was about to say. Gerald has this way of commanding attention. When he speaks, everyone tends to listen. His eyes would light up in such an animated fashion, it draws in even the most sceptic of sceptics.

“Back then, we were free to do what we wanted,” Gerald continued. “Our parents were too busy doing grown up things, we were left to our own regards all day long. One day, while playing in their attic, we discovered something valuable inside Kim’s great-great grandfather’s baul (wooden chest).”

“What was it?” Jimmy asked.

“Sshh...be patient, Jim...” Serra chided him.

Gerald smiled to them once more as he continued telling them their story, “What Kim and I found was a map...drawn by Kim’s great grandfather himself...”

“What kind of a map?” interrupted Levi.

“A treasure map...” Kim answered matter-of-
factly. “During pre-Japanese invasion, my great, grandfather, Don Tiburcio Chiu buried his great wealth on an undisclosed location in the city of Canlaon. What Gerald and I discovered in his diary, was the exact map to his buried treasure... ”

“Canlaon City?...that’s a bit far from here...” said Lucy.

“Don’t tell me you two went hunting for it?” Tristan exclaimed.

“Didn’t I just tell you we were both young and stupid?” Gerald laughed. “So, one day, our curiosity got the better of us. Kim and I ran away from home. We rode at the back of cargo trucks all the way to canlaon city. With just the map and a knapsack full of cookies, we strolled and strolled until we got to the actual location...just where it says 'X' on the map.”

“Oh my God,” said Serra. “You two were crazy...”

“Yes, we were...” Gerald said. “We obviously weren’t thinking really well. All we were concerned about was to satisfy our adventurous spirit. We said to ourselves, once we would get to the treasure, our parents would be so proud of us...”

“What did you do next? Did you find it?” Levi asked impatiently.

“We’ll get there, my friend...” promised Gerald. “It actually took Kim and I three full days just to get to Canlaon City. By that time our ration was so depleted and we were both so tired and scared. You see, Kim’s grandfather buried his treasure near the foot of the volcano. We had to travel past the scenic Inyawan falls towards the middle of a forest. The site itslef was in sitio Panubigan and in the middle of it's protected forest cover was an enchanted balete (rubber) tree...”

“Enchanted?” Lucy repeated.

“Yes...enchanted in a sense that at night, millions of fireflies would flock to it in token worship. That tree has been regarded as the oldest tree in all of the Philippines...” Gerald revealed.

“I think I heard about that tree...” Levi admitted. “There was a documentary about it on TV last year...”

Gerald looked at Kim. She responded with an urging nod.

“Yeah, Kim and I reached the site at nightfall of the third day. We were so exhausted by that time as we had already been walking for days. Upon reaching the site, we immediately fell asleep under that very same tree...” Gerald continued. “When we both woke up the next morning, we got the biggest surprise of our lives. We were now surrounded by a tribe of Ati’s (or Aetas/ dark-skinned aborigins)...”

“Really? A tribe of Aetas? In Canlaon City?” asked Tristan in rapid succession.

“Yup, there were lots of them...” Kim corroborated Gerald’s story.

“How many?” the boy asked, somewhat not totally convinced of Kim’s story.

“About thirty...both men and women. They were holding makeshift spears...” Kim said.

“The tribe leader then spoke to us angrily. He said that Kim and I trespassed on their property...”

“Is that true?” Jimmy said.

Both and Kim and Gerald nodded simultaneously.

Gerald pressed on, “The Aetas tied our hands together and then took us to their camp, which was a couple of miles away from the balete tree was. They sort of thought that we were kids of NPA rebels and that we are threatening their camp.”

“Then what?” asked Serra.

“The aetas held us captive for three days. We struggled very hard to explain to them about the treasure we were looking for but of course, being simple minded as they were, they didn’t listen to what we had to say. The leader of the tribe then sent us to their babaylan (witch doctor) to help them understand our purpose of entering their area.”

“Witch doctor? What did she say?” Lucy exclaimed. She was still hooked like crazy.

“She didn’t believe our story about the treasure either. She even warned us not to dig around the area of the tree. Or else the diwatas (fairies) will punish us. She also said that the tribe leader now thought we were children of the volcano god and must be worshipped as such...and by being their gods, he would not let us go...” Gerald narrated.

"Gods? How did he come up with that?" asked Tristan.

Kim shrugged her shoulders, "We don't know. He just did..."

“Oh my, what did the two of you do then?” said Levi. “Those aetas practically kidnapped you...”

“Back there in the aeta camp we were treated like gods. Kim and I, we felt okay staying there at first. Who wouldn’t? We were given delicious food to eat and we were given the cosiest place to rest. Kim and I ate like crazy for days. However, after a weeks’ time, Kim and I got wary. We wanted to go home but the aeta townsfolk won’t let us...”

“Shucks...what did you do then?” said Serra as she bit on her fingernails. She would do that often if she was nervous or anxious.

“Kim and I went to the babaylan for counsel and she said, the only way we could get out of there is if we challenge their fiercest warrior to a duel...”

“A duel?!” said Tristan with a derisive laugh. “That is bull! What crock of inventive is that?”

“Shut the hell up, man!” Jimmy mocked him.

“Hey, Kim and I are not forcing you to believe us, Tristan...” Gerald said, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, go on, man...don’t mind that jerk...” said Lucy. “What did you do then?”

“So, that’s what we exactly did...” Gerald explained. “We challenged their warrior to a duel! He is this humungous guy with massive arms...his thighs wer like tree trunks!”

“What kind of duel?” asked Serra, suddenly struggling to keep up.

“You see, Kim and I had to be inventive...” Gerald revealed further. “We had to devise a way to outsmart them all. So, what we did was to challenge their warrior to a unique kind of duel.”

“You and Kim?” Jimmy said in disbelief. "Together?"

Gerald shot Kim a confident smile. Kim remained happy just listening to his story.

“You see, Kim was so brave to face this crazy scary warrior with me. Our battle plan was simple. We challenged this guy to a duel of whoever could last pain the longest. Kim challenged him to pulling eyebrows without tearing, while I challenged him to pulling teeth without crying...”
“That is one big load of bull...” guffawed Tristan.

“It’s true, Tristan...” Kim said. “that’s what we had to do to get out...or else we will be stuck there forever.”

“SO both of you won over this guy?” said Jimmy, his eyes peering at the two of them.

“Yes, we did. Little did he know that the tooth I pulled was already loose,” Gerald recounted. “And Kim, she was already so used to plucking eyebrows back then, that the task itself was so easy for her.”

“What happened to the warrior?” asked Lucy.

“He cried like a baby!” Gerald declared. "He went down like a whiny three year old."

The group clapped in unison. Cheers were exchanged for Kim and Gerald.

“SO, did they let you go after that?” Jimmy asked.

“Of course...” Kim said.

“What did you do then? Did you go back to the treasure?” Serra demanded excitedly.

“What do you think?” Gerald threw back at her.

The group became suddenly silent. They looked directly at Gerald’s eyes, searching for clues ...

“Oh my Lord....you bloody did!!!!” Levi exclaimed. “You found the treasure, didn’t you?”

Kim and Gerald smiled at each other.

“What? You found the treasure? Where is it now?!!!” Jimmy remarked.

“Didn’t we tell you it was cursed by the diwatas? ” Gerald said. “We were so young then and we were afraid that if we took the treasure home, the curse would come true...”

“You mean to say, you just left it there?” Tristan asked. Somehow, he had a change of heart and was now believing their story.

Kim nodded and said, “It wasn’t ours to keep...so we buried it again.”

“You crazy fools!” Lucy said. “After all that you have gone through, the least you could have done was to carry the treasure back with you...”

“Well, we’ve always talked about coming back to it. Gerald and I made a pact to go back and dig for it again in the future...” Kim said.

“Where’s the map now?” asked Jimmy.

“We burned it...” Kim and Gerald chorused.

“That means, only the two of you knows the exact location of the treasure...” deduced Tristan. "Bloody genius!"

“It’s a secret we’ve never told anybody,” revealed Kim.

“What treasure did you find there?” asked Levi. “Gold? Jewellery? Money?”

“It’s best that you don’t know...” Gerald sneered at him.

Kim laughed as the rest of the group groaned.

“How do we know that two of you are not pulling our leg?” asked Lucy.

Gerald opened his mouth and pointed at a hollow area between two of his teeth. “See that...that’s where the loose teeth came off during the duel...it never grew back!”

The grouped let out a big hush.

Kim raised her cowrie shell bracelet, “I’ve never told you this before, but this bracelet was given to me by the babaylan. She said that it will protect me from any harmful elements...”

Serra and Lucy’s eyes were now as big as saucers. They were so into it that they shivered in delight. The boys immediately got talking about strategies and modern day digging equipment.

Kim and Gerald remained silent, looking meaningfully at each other.

“So, when are you both going to dig for it? I can help, ” suggested Jimmy. “My dad has this mini-bulldozer, we could transport it to Canlaon City, if you wish...”

Gerald winked at Kim. “I think I’m ready to go now, what do you think Kim?”

“Me too...” Kim answered. “I think Mang Gerry is already waiting for us outside...”

Both of them immediately stood up and started walking away, much to their friends’ consternation.

“Hey wait, you two...come back!” they called after them.

Kim and Gerald never looked back. They walked out of the cafeteria with the biggest smiles on their faces.

“Nice touch...” Gerald said. “That bracelet thing was brilliant.”

“You too...kudos on that tooth duel stuff, I love it.” Kim responded. “By the way, what happened to your molar?”

“Basketball...got elbowed recently...” he replied with a mild chortle.

“Do you think they bought all of it?”

“Without a doubt, Kim. Did you see their faces?”

Kim nodded and smiled contentedly. They had done it again.

As they stepped out of the school premises, Kim looked up to him with utmost fondness. He was still the same.

“You’re still the best liar I have ever known...” Kim whispered to him .

Gerald smiled back at her. “You’re not bad yourself, partner...”

With that, they exchanged high-fives. Kim held her breath as Gerald held her hand a little bit longer than he should.

For a moment there, Kim convinced herself it wasn’t all a lie.

.
.
.