by M.G. Marquez
CHAPTER TWELVE
MAGGIE
Yvan and I were supposed to have a date today because I won the bet. In the Divisions, I got first and he got second. We’re supposed to have a date but I can’t go because I have no limbs. I’m armless, legless.
So, I promised myself I’ll poison my monster to his death. He tied me up like a pig and I just can’t move even an inch.
My phone rang and I tried to reach it before he did. Guji was the one who answered. I cursed.
“Someone’s calling SeaweedBrain. Ah, Yvan? Why would Yvan call someone like you, huh?”
We have a date. You’ve got a problem with that? Give me back my phone or I’ll give you a thousand thumbtacks to eat! But all of that came out like this, “MMMM! MMM MM!”
“Hi Yvan,” he winked at me and I swear I died am going to kill him. “Yellow Cab? Now? Oh, I’m sorry. Janella is sick – terribly sick, I mean, she’s-going-to-die sick,”
I glared at him. I tried to kick him but I just can’t. Fuck this stupid rope!
“Don’t waste your time, Yvan. Go home. What? Yeah, I’m going to take care of her,” and he gave me his over-my-dead-body look. Dumb ass.
When he had put my phone down, my world crashed. That would only mean one thing – “Your date is cancelled. Poor you,” was what he told me in fake sympathy.
When he took off the handkerchief he used to gag me, I grabbed the chance to bite his hand. He wailed in pain and kept on pushing my head back. I gave up on biting him and screamed at the top of my lungs.
“STOP THAT!”
“You’re a shit. I hate you,” I pursed my lips, fighting back my tears. “Why are you so insensitive? You’re too much,”
I turned my back at him, curled myself that my knees were touching my chin. I closed my eyes and imagined I’m with Yvan at Yellow Cab, chatting, laughing, and writing our love story.
Guji poked my side. “Hey,”
“Don’t touch me,” I inched away from him.
GUJI
Being at peace doesn’t make my life peaceful at all. I’m terribly troubled, irritated.
I don’t understand why Foot Face stopped talking to me, if talking was the proper word to call it though. She even stopped attacking me, threatening my life.
She’s giving me zero attention which totally sucks.
It’s Finals Week and I don’t know what to do. It wasn’t like I wasn’t so used to this kind of situation, but I just felt like I needed to prove something now.
Or maybe, I just got sick of smelling papers for a minute and passing them right away.
Or maybe, I just wanted to see her pick up a fight with her.
“What?” she answered when I called her.
“Uhm,” You’re so irritating, you know that?
“What is it? You’re wasting my time,”
“Tss. COME OVER HERE,” and I’ll punch you in the face.
“I don’t want to,”
“NO. You have to come over here. Or do you want me to drag you in here myself?”
“Go. Make my day,”
Why is she making things so difficult for me, huh? “Hey, in case you forgot, you are my tutor. Tomorrow is Finals day and…”
“…and?”
I don’t know why my stomach’s getting a bit funny right now. It’s so weird even my throat felt like there’s a huge lump in it that I can’t swallow.
Tensed, I said, “I need you.”
I ended the call as soon as I had said it. Damn it.
I just got used to her telling me everything in the worst way possible. I got used to her pushing me to do things I don’t want to do. She’s a rough person, which by far was the least of my favorites, but I enjoy her ways of making my life difficult.
Whoa. Did I just say that?
I kept on coming back to her room just to check if she has returned. She hasn’t. She gave me reviewers and said she has to study for herself, too. She said leave her alone.
She said she can’t live to be with me anymore.
I thought it was a good idea. She’s a thorn in my eye, and I guess I am in hers, too. So what’s my problem? I don’t know actually.
“What happened? It seems that the war has ceased and our lives went back to being at peace,” Yvan laughed at his own joke. I rolled my eyes.
“Why don’t you ask Foot Face? She got angry with me when I tied her up and failed to date you,” I looked at him, mockingly. “What’s up with the two of you, huh? I didn’t know you know how to date girls –”
“Hey stop for a moment!” He tapped my shoulder which meant I have to shut up first. I did. “We had a bet. I lost. So, I have to treat her last Tuesday but you…”
“…tied her up so she couldn’t get to you,” I ran my hand through my hair in irritation. “SO WHAT? The world won’t end just yet! You can have a thousand dates if you want. Stupid Sensitive Foot Face.”
I stood up and ran toward the field. I kicked the ball and went straight to the goal.
Wide-eyed, Fred shouted at me, “Boss! Can’t you be more careful? You’re going to make a large hole in the net!”
“I don’t care!”
Why are girls such a pain in the butt?
I walked home all by myself. I WALKED because that stupid Foot Face hasn’t returned my keys yet. Why is she hiding those for when I could still go anywhere I want to? Stupid.
I don’t usually mind the world around me. I just walked with my hands on my jacket pockets, giving no attention to anyone, to anything. It’s only just now that I have been so conscious of the streets. For someone like me who’s bold, I don’t know why but I feel unsafe. And to add, the word ‘safe’ isn’t in my dictionary at all.
From afar, I could hear horns howling, and wheels screeching. Little by little, the noise grew louder, clearer, nearer. In a second, I was blinded by car lights.
“Whoa!” I stumbled back as the car crashed into a store – just in front of me. Shards of glasses scattered everywhere. I brushed some of them off my body as I stood up. Besides the fact that no one’s in the driver’s seat, I realized that I am actually four inches away from being dead.
Awesome.
MAGGIE
It’s been three days already and I’m missing him getting more annoyed than ever.
The boys made a scene at our dance practice that my block mates went crazy. Nikki, whom I trusted to calm them down, joined them and even pushed me towards the freaks.
“You! How dare you ignore our Boss? Your face is so thick!” Fred exclaimed, pointing his finger at me.
“Wow. I’m sorry that my face is too thick for you, ha? But I think I’m a lot better than you because you’re not just a thick –faced guy, you are a thick-browed one.”
I was about to charge at him, but Guji said stop. All of my strength suddenly drained when I heard his voice. I missed that. He walked straight at me and grabbed my hand. I pulled him back.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.
“We need to go somewhere,”
“Heck I’m going with you?”
“I missed that,” he leaned in, my eyes grew wide. My heart jumped out of my chest and went straight to North Pole. He bit my nose. HE. BIT. MY. NOSE. I died. I died and died.
When I don’t know what to do and became frantic, I punched him in the face. “Why did you do that?”
Instead of answering me, he just dragged me away. When I tried to escape, he pulled me at my waist and carried me at his shoulder. Shit!
“Janella, just submit yourself to me. Trust me. Just this once,”
Trust you? How could I be sure that you won’t strangle me to death, or tie me on the railroad until a train smashes me into pieces, or throw me into Calumpang River to die?
He pushed me inside a car, with Klein and Fred at both of my sides. I can’t escape, or even move to scratch my itching arm. But I could kick the passenger’s seat where Guji seated. Ha! Hurray for me!
“HEY! Where are you taking me, you horse-faced monster?” I d
emanded, still kicking.
“Don’t call me horse-faced because you look more of a horse than I am,”
“Just tell me where the fuck you are taking me –” I failed to finish my sentence when the car suddenly stopped. All of them got out of the car that I was left alone.
“Get out.” He ordered. When I didn’t move an inch, he said, “Didn’t you hear me? I said, GET OUT.”
“NO! I don’t know where you’re taking me so I won’t get out!”
My resistance won’t do me any good if I’m against four robust men. Even my willpower sucked. They managed to get me out of the car without breaking a sweat. Geez. I need to learn Martial Arts.
“Get your hands off her,” Guji ordered them. When they did, he grabbed my hand and pulled me inside a… shopping mall?
Why are we in a shopping mall? This is not Guji’s thing.
All the while, I’m confused. Why does he have to kidnap me from my practice and bring me in a shopping mall? What are we doing in a shopping mall for Pete’s sake? I got more confused when we entered a pizza parlor I recognize as Yellow Cab.
Uh-kay. I am really confused. “What in the world…?”
He pushed me toward a seat, pulled it, and made me sit down. I looked up to him and cursed, said that I am going to kill him for kidnapping me. But he just said, “I call this kwits. Enjoy your date,”
I was about to catch him when he turned to leave, but someone coughed which I understand to call my attention. Appalled, I turned to face him.
My jaw dropped at the sight of Yvan smiling at me. He’s seated across me. What in the world is he doing here?
I looked around to reassure myself that he isn’t with someone else but me. He isn’t. There’s just the two of us in this table. U-S.
“Hi,” he said.
I looked at where Guji had gone but he was nowhere to be seen. My lips curved into a smile I don’t know why.
“Well, Guji said he was sorry,” Yvan told me. I secretly fixed myself, slap my cheeks many times so I could have instant blush on, and faced him while I pinned my hair at the back of my ear.
“What was that?” I asked, trying to be cute.
He laughed. “You don’t have to fix yourself for me. It’s okay. You’re okay,”
I looked away in embarrassment. This is my first date and I looked like I could use a shower. Damn that BrainDead Monster. He could’ve said that I’m meeting Yvan so I could’ve looked much better!
But I’ll let it go. At least, he did something to make it up to me.
Later, I’d do my part.