Ria must sense my aura, because she turns her head to me.
“Stop doing that,” she says, and I narrow my eyes.
“Doing what?”
“Waiting foryou know,” she lowers her voice a little, so our parents don’t hear, though I doubt that they could, even if her voice was louder.
Dad brought along theHamiltonsoundtrack for the trip today, and it always distracts my parents from Ria and I’s backseat conversations.
The ending ofTake A Breakdrifts through, and Ria sings along with Eliza and Angelica, as they both beg for Hamilton to take a break. She widens her eyes as she sings the lines ‘take a break’, while staring at me. I perk a brow in amusement, shaking my head.
AsSay No To Thisbegins to play, and Maria Reynolds jumps into the scene, Mum throws her head back to sing along, with my Dad accompanying her as Hamilton.
“You do realise this is a song aboutcheating,” I announce, through the gap between the front seats, but Mum holds up her hand to halt my words as she belts out a chord.
Ria and I glance at each other, before bursting into laughter. Already, the knot in my chest begins to unravel itself, and I will myself not to think of Rafayel, or Marlon, orboysat all for the rest of the drive.
The markets are already bustling once we arrive a little past 10 am, so we opt to eat brunch first, in hopes that the crowd will disperse a little once we arrive.
There’s a Filipino restaurant nearby, much to our satisfaction, since there are hardly any Filipino chains around where we’re based in Western Sydney. It’s a small establishment, family run and with only a few customers when we walk in. The walls of the restaurant are adorned with shelves selling Filipino imported goods.
Immediately, I’m embraced by the intimacy of the place, and though I wasn’t born in the Philippines, I always feel at home whenever I’m surrounded by spaces of my culture.
“Kamusta na!” the patron - a middle-aged man - greets as we saunter toward the counter. I order myself a serving of rice and chicken menudo from the food display, only slightly disappointed there isn’t any palabok.
We take a seat at one of the central tables. A small TV installed into the corner of the shop plays the Filipino filmDiary Ng Panget,and I watch along with intrigue, despite my limited understanding.
As we eat, Mum thankfully doesn’t ask me much about Marlon. Instead, she asks about how my assignments are going, and I tell her about the short-film production. She asks Ria about how preparations for Year 11 and 12 are coming, and Ria just grunts.
“It’s going,” she responds, the unfinished sentence being all the answers we need.
I sympathise with Ria; Year 11 was one of the worst years of my life academically.
“How’s your major piece?” I ask, taking a sip from the calamansi juice. It’s so good and refreshing; there needs to be more calamansi sold here in Australia.
Ria grunts again.
“I’m getting there,” she says.
She waves off the conversation, wanting to move on. Mum assures her that no matter the mark she gets, as long as she’s tried her hardest. I’ve always been grateful that Mum and Dad don’t put as much pressure academically on Ria and I, as opposed to other stories I’ve heard from old friends of mine at high school.
After we eat, we begin exploring the markets and as my parents head down the clothing path, Ria and I diverge toward the second-hand books and handcrafted books.
Table upon table displays an array of different items. I eye certain Stephen King books I don’t yet own, and gush over a table of crocheted book sleeves. Then, I come across one displaying handmade keychains and embroidered patches.
My eyes fall upon a particular keychain that catches my interest. It’s a crocheted crescent moon that reminds me of Sailor Moon. I reach forward, my fingers closing around the keychain.
Marlon’s artwork of her flashes through my brain, interweaving itself with the memory of watching Sailor Moon with him late into the night over call, muffling our laughter and discussions with our blankets so as not to wake our families. It’s become a sort of tradition of ours now, every night, and one that I’ve begun to look forward to.
“May I help you?”
The vendor approaches me. Her eyes fall on the crescent moon keychain.
“Do you like moons?” she asks.
I nod, smiling, “I do, but this might be for a friend.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, interested.
