Of. Course.
Tousled brown curls greet me first before my gaze skitters down toward the twisted smile that’s been the subject of all my nightmares since the first time I laid eyes on it.
Marlon. The littledevil.
I clear my throat with a loudahem. He doesn’t even bother to look up.
“AHEM,” I practically growl.
Still, he doesn’t acknowledge me. With the tongs I was reaching for first, he scoops up a large serving ofpalabokontohisown plate.
“I was reaching for that first,” I state, but my voice comes out sounding more childish than threatening. Only then doesMarlon address me, his brown eyes meeting my own, and his expression morphs into one that’s just unadulterated evil.
“Sorry,” he drawls, mockingly.
I hold my hand out, gesturing that he hand the tongs over to me. He doesn’t.
Instead, he collects the smallest portion, and plops it clumsily onto my plate, causing it to wobble a little. Then, he turns to my Lolo Marcus, who’d been standing patiently beside me this entire time.
“Here you go,Lolo,” Marlon urges sweetly, pressing the tongs against his fingers, before walking off. I hiss an exhale through my gritted teeth.
“Ang cute nyong dalawa[5]!” Lolo exclaims, gesturing the tons toward me and Marlon like a conductor. The toast I’d eaten this morning threatens to make a reappearance. I swallow down my queasiness, and just laugh away his statement.
“OhLolo,” I respond through a pained smile.
Before he can continue rambling about how perfect Marlon and I are together, I leave.
I’ve heard it all before, different renditions of the same chorus. Of howperfectMarlon and I would be together. Of how both of our families have been planning our wedding since birth. The same old tale, same old nightmare.
I spot Ria on the living room couch, balancing her plate atop her thighs. She quirks a questioning brow, as I lower myself beside her with a thump.
“Oh mygosh,” I sigh dramatically.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Marlon,” I say, stabbing my fork into my small portion of palabok.
“What did he do this time?”
Everything, I want to say.
“He didn’t let me getpalabok.”
Ria glances at the portion I was twirling around my fork. I roll my eyes, placing it down.
“I mean, he took the tongs from me. I couldn’t get the serving I wanted.”
“Okay, then just go back again. The line is clear at the moment.”
Ria is being much too reasonable right now. I shoot her a glare, and say, “That’s not the point. Fume with me, will you?”
“You’re right. Marlon sucks, I can’t believe he would do that, howdespicable, he is the absolute worst,” she recites through a mouthful of food, and a spit of rice sprays onto my chin. I wipe it away hastily.
“Lolo also made a comment about us again,” I continue, gruffly, fueled by Ria’s mock anger.
“So? Just laugh it off, you should be used to it by now anyway. If you finally get a boyfriend, it’ll all stop, don’t worry.”
I narrow my eyes.
