“I saw you with Marlon earlier.”
Her voice startles me, and I flinch a little, my shoulder hitting her chin. She pulls back, rubbing her jaw.
“You scared me!” I exclaim. At least none of the palabok flew from my container. I place it down, and glance around, ensuringour parents aren't near. They must be chatting with Tita Bea and Jonathan elsewhere in the house.
When I turn back to Ria, I say, “Marlon and I are going to fake date.”
Ria’s expression glitches for a moment, opening her mouth once, before closing it. Then, she opens it again, “You’re kidding me!”
I wince a little at her raised voice, and motion for her to keep it down. Her eyes are wide now, looking at me as though I was out of my mind. Sums up how I feel.
“What do you mean you’re going to fake date him?” she asks, quieter this time.
“Exactly that,” I respond, because how else do I put it? “You know, the whole deal. We’re going to pretend we’re dating. Like Lara Jean and Peter, Simon and Daphne butdefinitelyminus the whole falling in love part, obviously.”
I shudder at the thought.
Ria is still looking at me like I’m an alien.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I say, swatting at her arm, “You gave me the idea.”
She throws her arms up, exasperated.
“When onEarthdid I tell you to fake date Marlon.”
“The other night! After we came home from Lolo and Lola’s house! You said I had to think of something to trick the family, to, you know, make them stop trying to set up Marlon and I somehow…”
Ria’s head tilts, recalling the conversation. That’s when her eyebrows perk up.
“Ate…it wasn’t an idea, that was ajoke.”
Heat creeps up my neck, my stomach churning as Ria’s words settle over me.
Earlier before, when I’d come back in from outside, Mum had asked me what Marlon and I were talking about. I simply toldher we were just catching up. I tried to pass it off as if there were more to it, to imply that something was going on behind the scenes.
Mum definitely bought it, because I caught the glint in her eye, and her lips stretched into a grin so wide it was nearly infectious.
This will work. It has to.
“Look, Mum and Tita Regina bought into it,” I inform her. I pick up the take away container again, and continue to fill it with palabok. “I want them to think we’re dating, so when we stage a break up, they’ll realise we actually aren’t good for each other. We tried, we didn’t work, and that’s the end of Marlon and Jaslene forever and ever.”
A crackling sound resounds as I push the takeaway lid onto the container. Ria juts her hip out, and from her stare, I can tell she still isn’t wholly convinced.
“Do you really think Mum and Tita Regina would fall for it? That they wouldn’t, I don’t know, suspect something is up?”
I tilt my head, as if to say,really?
“Trust me, with how Mum and Tita Reg were acting when they saw Marlon and I on the garden chair, they’d absolutely never suspect anything.”
“And Marlon is just going to agree with you? Aren’t you scared he’s just going to change his mind just as quickly as he agreed today? Remember that this is the boy you’ve practically hated your whole life…”
Strangely enough, Marlon is the least of my worries.
This would benefit him too, if not even more. I knew he and Christine had broken up half a year ago, and there were whispers that part of the reason why was because she was feeling insecure on how our families had wanted Marlon and I together instead. This would help Marlon on his next conquest, or if he wanted to try again with Christine.
I relay all this to Ria, who nods along slowly. The cogs in her brain must finally be turning.
“So how long are you guys going to do this for?”
