Chapter 11 - Catching Up #3
Jane answered first.
"Friends lang kami."
I nodded.
"We're just friends."
"Ah. Akala ko kayo na."
I laughed.
"No."
"Okay. Anyway, kamusta?"
Normal catch-up followed.
Work.
Who still talked to whom.
Where people ended up.
Nothing long.
Then she smiled.
"Sige, alis na ko. Nice seeing you both."
"Nice seeing you."
"Bye."
She left.
Jane watched her disappear.
Then looked at me.
"They always pair us together."
I laughed.
"We were always together."
"Does it bother you?"
The question was casual.
Not loaded.
Just—
a question.
"I don't mind."
Jane nodded.
"Okay."
I looked at her.
"You?"
She shook her head.
"No. I don't mind."
"Then okay."
"Problem solved."
"Yeah."
I smiled.
"We're just friends."
Jane smiled back.
"Yeah."
That was that.
No tension.
No crisis.
No need to define something that had already been defined years ago.
Friends.
Still.
Good.
Then I saw lights.
Machines.
Noise.
Bright colors.
I stopped.
Jane almost walked ahead before realizing I wasn't beside her anymore.
"What?"
I pointed.
"Uy. Arcade."
She looked.
Then at me.
"Sige."
Beautiful.
We played badly.
Very badly.
Basketball.
Racing.
Some shooting game.
A machine where we both thought we understood the controls and absolutely did not.
Jane beat me in one game.
I demanded a rematch.
She won again.
"Rigged."
"Sure."
"Machine bias."
"Lia."
"Statistically suspicious."
She laughed.
Then I beat her at another game.
Completely fairly.
She accused me of cheating.
"Skill issue."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Wrong universe.
Wrong joke.
I moved on.
At one point, we tried a claw machine.
Terrible idea.
Jane pointed at a small toy.
"That one."
"Impossible."
"Try."
I inserted credits.
Missed.
She laughed.
"Ang galing."
"Shut up."
Second try.
Closer.
Missed.
Third.
Nothing.
Jane crossed her arms.
"Businesswoman."
"This machine has terrible economics."
"Excuses."
"It's designed against me."
"Sure."
I stepped aside.
"Your turn."
She tried.
Missed worse.
I stared.
She stared at the machine.
Then—
"Rigged."
I smiled.
"Exactly."
Agreement achieved.
By the time we left the arcade, it was already evening.
We ate dinner.
Again.
Because apparently mall days required multiple meals.
Nothing special.
More talking.
Less serious now.
Random stories.
People watching.
Jane showing me something on her phone.
Me complaining about a terrible logo I saw on a sign.
Jane telling me to stop reviewing other businesses for free.
I told her I couldn't turn it off.
She said—
"Try."
I said—
"No."
Balanced friendship.
Eventually, we headed home.
Same ride.
I sat beside Jane.
Tired.
Not exhausted.
Good tired.
Mall tired.
Arcade tired.
Talked-too-much tired.
Very different from—
I worked fourteen hours and my brain no longer understands language.
I liked this version better.
For a while, we were quiet.
Then Jane looked at me.
"Masaya?"
I smiled.
"Yeah."
"Good."
I looked at her.
"There it is again."
She laughed.
"Arte."
"Consistent."
My stop came first.
I stood.
"Bye."
"Text me when you get home."
I sighed.
"You know I'm getting off first."
"So?"
"I'll be home before you."
"Exactly. Text."
"Fine."
She smiled.
"Bye."
"Bye."
I got off.
The ride continued.
Jane disappeared with it.
Normal.
When I got home, Sofia was in the living room.
She looked up.
"Kumain ka na?"
"Yeah."
"Who were you with?"
"Jane."
She paused.
"Si Ate Chloe?"
"She cancelled. Family emergency."
"Ah."
Then—
"Just you two?"
"Yes."
"All day?"
"Yeah."
Sofia looked at me.
There it was.
I pointed at her.
"Don't."
She blinked.
"I didn't say anything."
"You don't have to."
"Okay."
She went back to her phone.
I stared at her for another second.
Nothing.
Very disciplined.
I walked toward the stairs.
Then she called—
"Ate."
I turned.
"What?"
"Masaya?"
I stared.
Apparently everyone had the same question lately.
"Yeah."
She nodded.
"Okay."
I smiled.
Then went upstairs.
My phone buzzed before I even reached my room.
Jane.
Home?
I replied:
Yes.
Then—
You?
Almost.
A few seconds later—
Thanks today
I smiled.
Thanks din.
Then she sent:
send mo name ni celeste
I stared at the screen.
GOODNIGHT JANE
Immediate reply:
HAHAHAHAHAHA
I put my phone down.
Sunday.
No business emergency.
No major milestone.
No acquisition.
No impressive outcome.
Just food.
Coffee.
Old stories.
Two women I looked at for completely different reasons.
An arcade machine designed by criminals.
An old classmate once again assuming Jane and I were together.
And an entire college history we had somehow spent years knowing around instead of through.
I lay down.
Maybe catching up wasn't one conversation.
Maybe it was this.
One Sunday.
Then another.
A question you never asked before.
An answer you never thought you needed to give.
And enough time afterward to play arcade games badly.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.