Owned by a Speed Racer

2

"What's your number?" I asked Ian while fidgeting with my phone. Looking at his direction, I noticed that his eyes never left the road. And when I say never, I mean literally never. Not even to look at me.

I tapped his shoulder. "Phone number," I repeated. I thought he was going to argue with me but he did not. He just simply recited his cell and I punched the digits on my contact list. Ian stopped the car when the traffic light turned red and I took the opportunity to take a picture of him.

"Hey! Delete that!" He protested but I giggled as I checked it out. How could he be so attractive even on a stolen photo? This is unfair. He tried reaching for my phone so he could erase the picture I took so I slid it inside my blouse.

“Daze!” He shook his head and grunted. If he thinks he can outsmart me, then he should think again. “Napaka-kulit mo, saan mo ba nakuha ‘yan?”

          I gave him a one-shoulder shrug. “I don’t know. Even my parents wonder. You’ll be the first to know once they get to the bottom of it. Can we take a photo? Pretty please?”

"Alright. But just one photo, there are only a few seconds left before the go signal lights up.” I pulled the phone from under the blouse and opened the front camera. I caught Ian suppressing a smile. I raised the phone and he leaned forward to make sure our faces would fit on the screen. “Say wine and cheese!”

“What? You’re only supposed to say cheese!” he argued.

“Ian, cheese won’t be complete without wine. Don’t argue with me, say wine and cheese!”

“You’re so weird.” He smiled at the camera and said, “wine and cheese!”

Click. Damn, we looked adorable together. No doubt we’d make the best babies and our babies would make the best babies and we’re going to be the best family in the face of the Earth, well, next to my family, of course.

He started driving again and he remained silent the whole ride so to break the ice,                     I told him random things about me. I told him how my pet goldfish died when I was eight, how I spent my eighteenth birthday and a bunch of other stuff he probably doesn't care about.

"Hey, are you listening?" I asked. He gave me a nod before he pulled up in front of the university. I unstrapped the seatbelt and stared at him. He looked back, confused.

“Go inside. Ano pa ang hinihintay mo r’yan? I don’t want you to be late,” he said.

I crossed my arms. "Not until you give me a kiss, baby."

"What now?" His forehead creased as if he couldn't believe that I asked for a kiss. Is he seriously going to make me wait for it?

"Kiss." I pouted. He palmed his face in frustration before shooting me a blank stare. There he goes again with that face in dire need of ironing. His face is more lukot than the average clothing taken out of the washing.

"Just go to your class, Daze."

"Fine!” I rolled my eyes and reached for my bag which was behind me. After I slung it over my shoulder, I gave him a sudden kiss on the cheek before I hurriedly opened his car door to go out, leaving him gaping at me. Grinning, I blew him a kiss and was disappointed that he didn’t even try to catch it. I waved before turning away to bolt for the university entrance.

***

On the way to my classroom, I saw Kristina. I called her name and her face lit up when she saw me. “Hey! Your mom dropped you off late?”

“Oh, no. It was Ian.” I bit my lip, trying to suppress the smile but I did not succeed.

She nudged my elbow and let go of a chuckle. “Until now, I still can’t believe that you were able to snag that guy! Your plan worked! Dati, we used to only attend his races lang! Now, you’re finally his girl! Jeez, I’ll be expecting some VIP passes next time, okay?”

“Sure thing!” The bell rang so I tugged Kristine to our classroom. We sat at the back.

My professor for this subject has this weird rule that only the top-notchers could sit in the first rows. So of course, my seat was at the very back. I'm taking up marketing, just because I didn’t know what else to take. I’ve failed a couple of times already and the only reason keeping me from being kicked out is because my father, Aaron Ceyx Monteverde, is influential. He and the owner of the school are good friends.

The professor entered and started discussing after he did a roll-call for the attendance. But after a few minutes of pretending that I was all ears, I gave up and took my phone out from my pocket. I sent Ian a text message: Baby, I'm so bored.

Who's this?  was his quick and stupid response.

This is Daze! Do you have any other sanggols that I should know about?  My phone beeped again.

Stop texting and listen to your professor. I kept flooding Ian with my messages but he stopped replying. I put my phone inside my bag again.

I was frowning so hard that Kristina noticed the sudden change of mood. "What's with that godawful frown?"

"Ian stopped replying to my messages just so I would listen to this boring discussion about how that b***h Helen was abducted by Paris. I hate Iliad." I hissed and she let out a soft chuckle.

“The Iliad started in medias res. He’s not discussing the Iliad yet, he’s discussing the reason behind the Iliad. Like a prequel,” Kristina said and I made a face at her which made her laugh even more.

          The discussion was so uninteresting that it made me yawn for a couple of times. If I was my Kuya Zade, I would’ve loved this class. But maybe that’s why my name is Daze, because I’m his complete opposite. I knew I should be attentive. I could not afford to flunk another subject because I promised my Mom and Dad that I will at least try. 

"Class dismissed." The professor announced after the longerst two hours of my entire life. He gathered his things and packed them neatly inside his bag. He then waved, as if he was a senator, before he graciously walked out.

"Sa wakas.” I blurted out, relieved.

Many heads snapped back to look at me. My classmates’ eyes were wide and I looked back, confused with the way they reacted. Is it a sin for me to try speaking Tagalog? They, too, gathered their things and left after their initial shock wore off.

“Congratulations, Dazy.” Kristina grinned before she clutched her books to her chest. I walked out of the room and she followed me, grinning.

"Do I sound weird?" I asked her consciously while we headed to the cafeteria to buy some snacks before the next class starts. I think I’m going to need a sandwich and a soda.

"Not really. May accent ka, but that doesn’t make you sound weird. Chill.” We dropped our things on an empty table and went in line. She bought a bag of chips and a Coke. After we paid for our orders, we returned to the table to eat. Before I tore through the plastic wrapper of my ham and cheese sandwich, I checked my phone only to be disappointed to see that Ian did not leave a text message. I ate half-heartedly while staring at the blank screen, stupidly wishing to see it light up with Ian’s name on it.

 "Pre-occupied," Kristina muttered and I snapped out of my thoughts. She stared at my phone and back to me. She was raising her eyebrow as if guessing the exact thing running on my mind at that moment. Shy that I was caught waiting, I slipped the phone inside my skirt pocket and tried to divert her attention.

"Do you think I should speak Tagalog more?"

“I don’t know. Maybe? There’s nothing wrong with it. What’s with the change of heart?” I took a potato chip and stashed it inside my mouth. I could hear it cracking as I chewed it down. I gave Kristine a shrug before taking another chip.

“Ian called me amerikanang hilaw this morning. He thinks I should speak Tagalog because according to him, it works for me. I don’t know what he meant by that.”

“Maybe that’s his way of saying you’re cute when you speak the language?” she suggested. My face lit up, hopeful. That very instant, I wanted to learn every simple Tagalog landi phrase there is to learn. I will charm him with my persistence, cuteness and my ability to  use the Tagalog language in every malanding way I could think of.

I took my phone out again and opened our conversation. I started to type rapidly while biting my lip to prevent a snicker.

“Tine, how do I say my heart misses him already?” I innocently asked my friend.

“Uh. Nangungulila na sa’yo ang puso ko?” She answered, unsure. I guess that’ll do. My puso is nangungulila na because I miss Ian. I started to type that but right after I finished, I quickly deleted the whole text. I don’t want to come off as clingy so I just revised the message.

Ian. Sunduin mo ako mamayang alas-kwatro dito. Hintay kita sa parking.

I clicked send with a giddy smile on my lips. A minute and a half later, the phone beeped and I saw his name on the screen.

Nice try, stranger. My girlfriend does not speak Tagalog. Where is she and who the hell are you? I laughed out loud. Before I could even type a reply, my phone went black. Out of panic, I rummaged for the charger inside my bag but I discovered that I left it in the house. I cursed and asked Kristina if she brought hers but she said she lent it earlier to a classmate.