|
|
“You are a nun!” Rita chided her once when she refused to go out with someone whom Rita set her up with for the hundredth time.
“I’m not ready to have a boyfriend.”
“He’s not going to be your boyfriend. Well… you’re lucky if he does.”
Rita had made it a point to go out meeting guys from up there. She said that their only salvation from this damned place was a rich husband. Sometimes, Lala questioned if they would be able to get out of this rotten place and almost every time, the answer was “maybe”. They were turning 17 in a few months and graduating from high school as well. Out of almost a hundred students, they were two of the 20 girls lucky enough to get through high school. Most of the girls simply dropped out or went on to marry guys who were no better than they.
“This is just hell, all of this. Do you think getting a high school diploma will get us out of here?” Rita once complained when they were smoking blue seal by the railway out of their mothers’ sight.
“So why did you stay long enough for graduation?” Lala retorted.
“There was nothing else to do. I’m not pretty enough to go to Japan. Why don’t you go to Japan? You’re pretty enough.”
“Look at how flat I am!” Lala said pointing to her chest.
“When you go there, you’ll know how to make them big.”
“That’s not really the problem. You know how mama will take it.”
“That mother of yours will stop you from getting rich. If I were as pretty as you, I would be earning a lot in Japan by now.”
That was the last time she smoked with Rita because a few minutes after she entered their shanty, Luding smelled her and gave her a lengthy speech. That day, she lied to her mother about when she started smoking. There was no way she was going to tell her mother that she’d been smoking with Rita since they were 14.
But the risky adventures didn’t end there. They tried stealing money from the market nearby so they could have better meals after school and cheap accessories to go with their hand-me-down clothes from the relief drive that comes every two years. Rita also managed to get the answers to their Math test from their overbearing and arrogant teacher. How she did it, Lala would never know for Rita never told. All she noticed was how Mr. Solis started to treat Rita differently, almost special.
“You got to do what you got to do.” Rita said as they were walking home after acing the test.
“So what did you do, Rita?”
“You are so naïve. I can’t believe we live in the same damned place, go to the same school, and see the same things every day. You seem to be somewhere where everything’s nice and pretty.”
“Why are you suddenly so… so grumpy?” Maybe it was Lala’s hurt voice or the frustration in being on the wrong side of the fence that made Rita stop and for the first time looked so serious.
“La, I don’t know what your mother has been teaching you about this life. All I know is if we keep dreaming and hoping for something good, but don’t do anything to get out of here, we’re doomed.”
“You always say ‘get out’… what do you plan to do?”
“After my typing course, I’ll get a job in that big mall in Sta. Mesa. There will be so many people there, rich ones. I will find my fortune there.”
“You mean, you’ll find your rich husband there.”
“Yes. Why, are you hoping to get to college after graduation? Be a bank manager someday?”
“Gary got a scholarship to the Ateneo University…”
“La! Gary is super brain. But look at him, he’s weird. Unless you’re a super brain like Gary or you hit the Lotto jackpot, you will never get rich.”
“The government offers so many scholarships for high school grads, Rita. Maybe we should try.”
“Dream on, girl. I won’t waste my time.” That was the first and last time Lala heard and saw Rita so serious.
After being friends for so many years, Lala felt strange walking by herself on a summer morning. How many summers had she shared with Rita? Having no siblings meant having Rita for a sister more than a friend. She tried to go back to the final hours she spent with her best friend. For a brief moment they owned the world; defying rules by drinking as much beer as they could, staying up till the wee hours. Lala had never felt so free before last night, or was it just a few hours ago?
For a few hours they forgot that they lived in the poorest of lives. They walked by the railway talking about imaginary business ventures, dreaming about traveling to many countries, and living in beautiful houses befitting only the rich.
“I’m your boss. I order you to book my flight to… to… Paris…” Rita was obviously too drunk that night.
“No way. I’m the boss, I got higher grades, remember? The boss is always smart.” Lala knew the beer was getting to her head.
“Not in Math, though. And this… is… a fian… fiancial…”
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Feyikemi
WRITING IS MY PASSION. I have always loved writing - both in English and Filipino.
I would like to believe that I have touched some people's lives with the feature articles and poems that I've written in the past. And I hope my future writings will affect many people.
I delve into the deepest and darkest areas of the human soul, where very few people deal with and many prefer to suppress.
My style is always to let out angst in a creative way.
I also write about love, joy, and inspiration and I'm looking at sharing them here.
|
Comments
u r butiful khaingwinhtun | Jul 9th, 2005
U R Beautiful......
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
