She's The Boss

by M.G. Marquez

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  GUJI

  I got to Baguio by midnight. And I am sleepy.

  Paola gave me directions to where Janella was staying. She told me to go at once. All of them did actually. I don’t understand why they’re acting so weird today. Dad was one, the gang was two. I shook my head. I stopped at the house I assumed was the right one, given the address Paola wrote on this paper.

  I knocked once, twice, thrice. When I got annoyed, I planned to punch the door but it opened before I do. I saw a familiar face in front of me.

  Yvan.

  “What are you doing here, Guji?” He demanded. My blood boiled at that instantly.

  “What are you doing here, Yvan? I don’t remember Janella saying you were here, too.”

  “You better go home,” he was about to close the door but I stopped him. I looked at him intently. I said, “She’s my girlfriend now. Better to keep your distance,”

  “Oh? I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe tomorrow,” he still tried to close the door but I pushed that door, hard enough that he stumbled down.

  “Don’t act as if you have a right over her. She’s mine,”

  “She’s going to be gone before you know it. And it’s going to be because of you –”

  “Sweetie!” Janella rushed to me and threw a hug around me. My eyes never left Yvan though Janella’s already talking to me. “What a surprise! Let’s go outside and talk,”

  She dragged me out of the room and we walked down the street. I took off my jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She smiled.

  “You smell alcohol. Did you drink?”

  “A bit,” I glared at her. “Okay, three bottles... plus one. It’s not that much, okay?”

  “Why’s Yvan with you? We talked about this before right? No Yvan Policy. Why are you disobeying me?”

  “This will be the last time. I promise,” I saw that she bit her lip and looked away. “Can you take me home now? I want to run away,”

  “You’re drunk, miss. You might get sick along the way,”

  Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face on my chest. Whoa, that’s unusual. “Hey, did something happen?”

  “I just missed you. So much,” she raised her head so that I’m looking down on her. “I love you, Guji. No matter what happens,”

  “I love you, too.” I planted a kiss on her forehead before messing her hair up. “Let’s eat ice cream?”

  “Whoa, it’s a quarter before one, it’s freezing, and you want to get ice cream? Do you want to have a brain freeze?”

  “Well, I’m a BrainDead already so that won’t have any effect on me,”

  “So we’ll get ice cream then you’ll take me home,”

  “Why do you want to go home so sudden, huh?”

  “I want to watch your Championship game today, is that so bad? Klein and the others we’re cursing my death since yesterday,”

  “Okay, we’ll get ice cream, then we’ll eat at some great noodle house, then we’ll go home,”

  She was about to protest at the sound of noodle house but I covered her mouth with my hand. “We’re going to a noodle house and that’s final.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  MAGGIE

  “Maj, you left this at Baguio.”

  I bit my lip before facing the person I don’t want to see just yet. He handed me a stuffed donkey I’ve been looking for my whole life. I snatched it and walked away from him.

  “You won’t even thank me?”

  I turned around and said, “Thanks.”

  I stuffed the donkey on my bag and decided I should leave Yannie’s office. I’m getting more and more uncomfortable around this place. I was on the elevator then when Yvan stopped the door. He entered and stood across me.

  “I’m sorry for what happened last time,” he said. “If I offended you or something, I’m sorry. I just want to protect you.”

  I watched how the light transferred from one floor button to the next. I wonder how many minutes would it take for me to reach the ground floor.

  “Maj, please?” He walked toward me and touched my arm. I shoved them away.

  “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Stay away from me,”

  “I know that you’re angry with me because I kissed you –”

  “Shut it.” I heard a click and I know that I’ve reached my destination. The elevator’s door opened and I stepped out of it. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Don’t go near me again. From now on, let’s not be friends.”

  The door finally closed and Yvan’s pained expression was out of my view.

  I never meant to say those words.

  I will never mean them.

  Pres. Song Hyun insisted I needed bodyguards.

  “I’m giving you two bodyguards,” he laced his fingers in front of him. “And you’re not allowed to escape from them,”

  “I’m okay without them. Fred, Klein, and Jason can do the job,”

  “But the three of them are gays!”

  My mouth went O-shaped at that. “Really? Oh my gosh, this cause for a celebration!” I clapped and cheered, Pres. Song Hyun even joined me. Then I glared at him. “Don’t call them gays, President. They can knock you down in one punch,”

  “Just take my bodyguards with you. It’s a precaution,”

  “I told you, I don’t need them. They might restrain me from doing what I want, going where I want to go,”

  “You will take my bodyguards or I will ask you to stay away from my son?”

  I gulped at that. This handsome man does know how to negotiate with me. “I’ll take them. If you want, you can make them four or five. That will be perfect,”

  “Good,”

  The Happy Saturdays met at one of Fred’s restaurants and I was running late. They all looked up to me when I arrived. “Hi,”

  “Uh-kay. Who are those two again?” Kate pointed at the Guys in Black behind me.

  “My bodyguards. This is Benj and Harold,”

  “Hi, Bodyguards,” they greeted hesitantly. I guess their sizes overwhelmed them. They’re like two grizzly bears walking out of the wild. “Pres. Song Hyun gave them to me,”

  “So why do you have bodyguards and I don’t? You’re his daughter now and I’m a homeless boy?”

  “Great logic, Sweetie.”

  He switched his eyes from me to the ones behind me. He glared. I could sense that he’s killing the two mentally. “Do you have wives?”

  I threw my bag at Guji’s face. He complained. “What?! I was just asking!”

  I sat on the unoccupied seat next to Guji. When everyone’s not watching, he snatched a kiss on my cheek. I elbowed him. I turned around and saw Benj laughing. My cheeks flushed. “Stop stealing kisses, PDA-ist,”

  “Things get more exciting when stolen, Sweetie.” He winked at me. I was breathless. “So, why do you have bodyguards anyway?”

  “Your dad gets a bit overprotective on some things. I’m one of them unfortunately,” before he could suspect anything from what I’ve said, I announced that we should talk about our summer outing. “Who’s up for a little swim?”

  I looked at Guji who’s looking at me differently. I smiled.

  One afternoon, I decided to see Yannie. I paid her the part I should pay for the camera she gave me. After that, I went up the rooftop. I watched the sky turned yellow to orange to purple. Another day has passed, another day of my life gone. I only have 20 waking days left and I haven’t achieved much. I wiped a tear that slipped off my eye.

  All for love, I told myself.

  “BOO!” I screamed when someone tried to push me off the railings. “SWEETIE!” I exclaimed while his arms were around my waist teasing my fall, pushing me to the edge then pulling me back at once. “I’M GOING TO CRY I’M GOING TO CRY I’M GOING TO CRY!”

  Guji just laughed his lungs out after carrying me down the railings. I kicked his legs that he yapped in pain. Stupid, reckless BrainDead.

  “If you want me to die, just tell me right away!”

>   “Hahahaha you are so priceless!” He slapped his thigh over and over again, I spanked his head. That shut him up.

  “YOU’RE NOT FUNNY ANYMORE.”

  “Okay, I’m serious now,” he swallowed before taking out a sunflower from behind him. “For you, Sweetie.”

  “Oh my, thanks!” I took it and smelled it. Wonderful. “Why sunflower?”

  “Because you’re like the sun and a flower,” he smiled before holding my hand and leading me near the railing. “You’re the sun because you always light up my day. In every morning I wake up, it’s you that always make me smile. And you’re like a flower because you deserve all the love and care of the world. My love and care,”

  “You’re cheesy,”

  “Cheesy for you,” he sang in the tune of ‘Crazy for You’ which I find so corny. “By the way,” he looked back and made a face at my bodyguards. “Don’t they have other lives? Kids, wives to take care of? Why can’t I have you solo?”

  “Why? What do you want to do?”

  “Something PG-18.”

  “YOU’RE GROSS.”

  “I’m joking! Hey!”

  I walked away, covering my ears.

  The girls texted and said we should talk. Nikki even told me that she has something to give me so I’m not allowed to say no. I, as usual, came running late.

  “Fine. I’m late,” I raised my hands in the air, feeling defeated. I pulled two additional chairs beside me and asked Benj and Harold to sit on them. They smiled before doing so.

  “So we are here to…?” I began.

  “To talk about Yvan,”

  By the mere sound of his name makes my stomach churn. “What about him?”

  “He seems pretty sad about what happened to the two of you,” Nikki slurped her coffee float until the last drop of it. “And, he’s not in good terms with Lyn lately. According to her, Yvan’s attention was all on you. They had a fight last Monday, I think. They haven’t talked since then. He’s on the core, burning,”

  “All thanks to you, Bitch.” Typical Via, calling me ‘bitch.’ “I don’t like Yvan so much, you know that. But what the hell, rejection is bitter in the taste buds. I feel him,”

  “What do you want me to do? Say that ‘Oh, Yvan I love you too!’ like that? Oh please, you know me. I hate my closest guy friends liking me,”

  “What makes Guji different, huh?” I gaped at Pao. I told her, “Sometimes, you don’t need to have reasons. It just happens,”

  “Oh, Cupid.” We cracked at that. After the laughter died down, I saw Nikki taking out a black rectangular box from her bag. She pushed it to me. “I walked into him this morning. He said to give you that,”

  “Romantic,” Kate commented. I just rolled my eyes. I opened the box and saw a pair of eyeglasses with a thin, black plastic frame. He gave me a pair of eyeglasses because he knew my eyesight is poor. He knew I don’t have one myself.

  “I’m giving this back,” I stood up, stuffing the box in my bag. They stopped me.

  “You don’t have to,”

  “I need to. I don’t want to be unfair to him,” then they let me go.

  I stood up outside their gate, wondering if I should ring the bell or just leave the box on the mailbox. I chose to ring the bell. His mom was the one who greeted me. She’s really excited to see me. I felt guilty.

  “Hi, Maggie! How are you now?”

  “Perfect,” ugh. I used that word again. “Can I talk to Yvan?”

  “Of course,” she went back inside and in an instant, Yvan was already standing in front of me. I gulped. “Cantos, I came to give this back.” I handed him the black box he gave me. “This is so unfair for you. You are giving me everything, and I’m giving you nothing in return. I’m sorry.”

  “This is just a small thing, Maj. Why can’t you even accept such a small thing from me? Tell me how hard it is,” I could feel the heaviness of his words on my head, down to my chest. I exhaled.

  “I’m going now. Thank you.” I was already walking my way with my guards ahead of me, when he still spoke.

  “What did I ever do to you for you to treat me like this, huh? You don’t have any right to hurt me like this, Maj. I just loved you! Don’t throw our friendship away just because I told you I love you. This is unfair, Maj. This is unfair.”

  A tear fell from my eye and I wiped it away harshly. I swallowed the lump that’s been growing on my throat for a minute or two. I raced after my breath.

  “Thank you, Cantos.” I managed to say. “I owe you a lot of things –”

  “Don’t tell me that!”

  “Just stop it please! This isn’t helping you at all!” I could feel all my muscles tremble. “Stop loving me. Stop hurting yourself,”

  “Okay then. Tell me that you don’t like me. Tell me that you won’t ever. Tell that to my face,”

  “No, I’m going.”

  “Just say it!” I could hear that his voice was crumbling. I gasped. “Maj, just say it. Please do this for me. Help me stop this madness. Cut the hopes for me,”

  With clenched fists and a tightened chest, I turned around and faced him. My jaw tensed when I saw him crying, for the first time. Flashbacks of us hanging out together, laughing together, and sound tripping together made this a lot more difficult to handle. My lips parted but no words came out. I’m scared. I don’t want to hurt him.

  I never wanted to hurt him. He’s my best friend.

  “Yvan. Yvan Louie Cantos,” I’m sorry, but this is all for you. This is what you asked for; this is what I will give to you. “I don’t like you. And I will never ever like you, okay? Even if we’re the only persons in this world, I would never like you still. Even in our next life, I still won’t. You hear that?” I tried to keep my voice still but damn it, it always crumbles. “You are so pathetic to even think that we stand a chance. We don’t, Yvan. Okay? So get lost,”

  I saw tears running down from his eyes, as well as mine.

  “There are a million girls in the world. You have a million chances. So don’t waste your one life on me,”

  Then I started to run.