My Cell phone is Cell POO
I can’t believe this! Do you remember a time when you wished the whole world except you stood still and you’d put things where you’d want them to be? Or do things to others the way you’d want? Well, honestly I never had that thought until today. I was pretty stupid and I could tell that even with my eyes closed or even when I’m sleeping. Maybe tripping in my shoelaces during a press conference last school year was better than what happed just a while ago. Or maybe telling Diane that Brenda has BO when Brenda was just two feet behind me was even better. I’ll never go back to school expecting all the humiliation I’d be getting.
Just before the classes ended this afternoon, Lorna took my phone out from my skirt pocket and little did I know passed them on to our other classmates. If I knew this was going to happen I should’ve deleted or at least changed my wallpaper. Gosh. I was just checking out this wonderful story with love charms that worked. One says that if you took a picture of your crush and made it wallpaper on your phone for three weeks without anyone knowing, then you’ll win his love. Pretty dumb. I was starting to stick with it, got Mark Ting’s picture and tried to wait. I waited! And to think I had trouble taking that picture without him looking my way! (But he never did look my way so it was kind of easy for a beginner ) But just after two days and seven hours, my charm jinxed. I shouldn’t have listened to that stupid superstition.
Maybe I shouln’t have. My bad.
A couple of girls came and teased me that afternoon. They said nobody like Mark was going to like me. Argh. Can you believe it? I mean…really? Nobody? Obviously they liked him themselves. Mark Ting was a half chink and totally under high school girls’ list. I sighed. I was sad and pitied myself but I was furious. How dare they take my phone and passed it on? I was sure my phone had reached Mark by now. I heaved an exasperated sigh.
Maybe I am not going to go back to that school again. Ever. I didn’t even tell my family I had this horrible mistake. I was just sitting on the sofa staring blankly at the TV eating the Hershey’s chocolate Mama brought us from work. I felt terribly exhausted. I didn’t really know what did it but I closed my eyes and started to think who I am. It was a dumb thought but I did anyway.
Oh yeah, right. My name’s Alexandra Rae Gil – or just Alex. I prefer it that way. Some say it sounds like a guy’s name but it’s okay for me. Sounds cool. But I totally am not. Could a fourteen year old girl who sits on a corner counting some flies landing on some people’s food be so cool?
Oh well, so much for that. I don’t want to remember who I am anymore. It would just depress me even more.
“Ma?” I called out from the living room. “What’s for supper?”
“Are you okay, Alexandra? We’ve just had supper,” Mama replied in a worried voice while sticking her head out from the kitchen door, probably doing the dishes with Ate Remy. “Shrimps, remember?”
“Oh, right,” I mumbled while standing up.
I realized we did have supper, but my stomach felt really empty. I strode to the fridge and took out some brownies my brother and I baked the other day. I took out the pretty ones my younger brother baked and left the flat ones…or the ones I had baked. It was shameful to have a younger brother that outdoes everything you do. He’s still eleven but he thinks he’s older than you. Sheesh. Couldn’t anyone find a cure for arrogant-younger-brother-syndrome? I had always complained this to Mama and constantly asks her where I got my genes. Mama is well-reserved and dresses the way I couldv’e had if not for some things. Papa is smart and organized. He’s a documentarist. I had nothing of their good things except that I play the guitar – something I don’t think is worth getting proud of. Ben, my younger brother got everything I had ever wanted but he didn’t seem to notice that. He was pretty good at everything. Well…almost. He isn’t such a big fan of music and books unlike me who’d spend all my allowance for them. He reads books…but only those that they are required to read. I am a much broader reader but he seems to know more things than I do. Sigh. Can’t the world rotate backwards and change its mistakes? Shouldn’t the older one be much more intelligent and cool? But I doubted the Earth even knew it rotated.
“Hey, Alexander,” Ben teased while I passed by his bedroom. He thinks that I’m better off as a boy. After all, he said, I don’t dress myself like the others do. I’m a girl, for heaven’s sake! I wanted to scream right on his face but he threw a small package aimed directly at my face. I was quick, though. I caught it with my right hand and scowled at him.
“What’s this?” I asked, trying to look angry. He shrugged and continued playing with his stupid computer games that I bet he’d won several times. Boy, he should be exhausted now, shouldn’t he?
I opened the package slowly in my room, careful not to rip the wrapper up. It was a gift from Uncle Manny all the way from Manila. He’s Mama’s brother and he works for a large recording company there. I frowned. Uncle Manny must’ve been lonely. He has no children and his wife died when they were still newlywed. Anyway, he’s my favorite uncle and he regularly sends packages for me here in Iligan, a small city with nothing but a few malls and a lot of waterfalls. Sometimes he sends me albums or musical instruments. Last summer he sent me my very own acoustic guitar. I was always excited each time I open a present from him. It was always a surprise…the kinds I would never outgrow.
This time he sent me an iPod with a note that said: listen to music, play more. You have a lot of showing to do when I’ll be back.
I smiled. Uncle Manny really has a wonderful taste. Plus, he likes music very much.
As I was putting down the iPod back in its box, I heard our telephone ring and quickly dashed for it.
“Hey, Alex,” the voice in the phone said. “It’s me…Karla.”
“Yeah? Um…Karla?” I wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe she’d found out everything about my cell phone secret – which is now not a secret anymore, of course. I saw my knuckles turning red from rubbing it on the rough stone table the phone was on.
“I..uh…I got your phone. I’ll come over to give it back.”
Well, I was sort of relieved when I found out Karla has my phone. She has been my best friend since second grade when someone teased me about being a wimp and she came over and talked to me like we’ve known each other since we were infants. Was I ever so glad!
Karla, I could say is the total opposite of me. I am tan-skinned while hers’ isn’t. She loves sport so much and I’m asthmatic. She’s socially cool and I’m a dweeb. But there is, however something we could get along with, and that’s music. Karla plays the violin but rarely shows it to others. I wonder why cause she’s pretty good.
Karla was quite flushed when she handed my phone back and asked if she could stay for a while to tell me her story and so I could also tell her my whole story. I told mine first.
“You mean it was because of a superstition?” she exclaimed.
I nodded.
“Omigosh Alex. You’re being silly again.”
“I know. I just…well…I’m a girl too…and a stupid one, remember?”
She tipped her head to the side that made her straight hair fall at the back of her shoulders.
“At least I have it back for you.”
“Thanks, Karla.” I gave her a hug. Then I stopped. “Do you think…?”
“Yes,” she said as if reading my mind. “Mark saw it.”
She laughed a little.
“Was he mad at me?”
She gave me a look then scratched her chin.
“Nah. I don’t think so, Al. But he wasn’t really happy about it.”
I lay in bed that night praying hard that he wouldn’t be mad at me. If he’d be mad at me then it really would be dooms day. And I dreaded for that thing to happen. Mark and I aren’t even friends and then we’d go off as enemies? That’s one kind of impression. I can’t sleep that night. I kept thinking what might happen the next day and also, I kept hearing my brother go ‘HWOW! YEAH! DIE YOU FOOL! HAHA!’ from his room. Gosh. Maybe my brother has gone crazy. How could a computer game make you feel really good that you’d forget about sleep? I could hardly imagine. Papa’s voice rang from their room, “Benjamin! Go to sleep now or I’ll have to send that computer to the street children!” I smiled, trying not to laugh. Ever since Papa made some documentary videos for an NGO company, he somewhat earned a soft spot for the children on the streets. I heard Ben grumble from his room but still silently saying “Haha. Yeah. Nice shot.” I’d be crazy being with this family.
I looked at my alarm clock at the side table. Eleven forty-three and I’m still feeling a bit hungry. Now, I’m suspicious whether I really did have dinner. Oh, man. I’d be getting fat at this rate. And if I’d buy clothes to fit me better, I won’t be able to get the book I had been eyeing on since last week. I tried to fight my hunger but I couldn’t. I went over to the fridge and found nothing for a midnight treat except something in a plastic bag. I smelled it, but my runny nose wouldn’t let me, so I thought it was just great. I munched a little and didn’t find anything bad so I finished till the last bite.
“Thank goodness,” I mumbled after I gave off a slight belch and rubbed my tummy.
“Ate?” came my brother’s voice from the foot of his door. “I could see you Ate Al. What the heck are you doing there? Ghost-hunting?” He chuckled and closed the door.
He asked me a question and didn’t even wait for an answer? He’s nuts. I could never really understand him. I think I could never understand boys…especially my brother.
I retired to my bedroom and waited for my eyes to close. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep… I was desperate. I thought counting sheep was my only hope. Fifty-two sheep, fifty-three sheep. My vision was fuzzy. Was I going to sleep now? Was I?
I haven’t answered my question however, because the last thing I knew, I was awakened by my alarm clock that read six o’clock. I grunted and sat up straight as I pressed the off alarm button. Click. My stomach was aching and I went directly to the bathroom. I wasn’t having my period as I thought I had. My stomach really hurt and I can’t move that much.
“Ma,” I called out weakly with my hand on my abdomen. My mum just turned around for a second and went back to her work.
“Yeah, honey?”
“My…stomach really hurts.”
Mama must’ve thought I was making an excuse to not go to school. She didn’t say anything for what seemed like an hour until she said, “Whatever you say, honey.”
Mama strode to the fridge and opened it wide. I could see she was putting the pitcher back inside to cool it.
“Where is it?” she asked with her hands on her hips. She looked like she lost a rabid dog. She searched inside again. Then she looked at me.
“What?” I winced still feeling the pain.
“Did you take the spoiled sandwich in the fridge? Your Papa needs it for his Biology-experiment-video.”
I stood there dumbfounded. I didn’t want to think I ate a spoiled sandwich. I winced again from the pain.
“That was about five days spoiled. Let’s get you to the doctor,” she said as she clutched my wrist.
“No!” I wanted to say. But I knew my voice didn’t come out. I didn’t want to go the doctor! The last thing I’ll need is the students thinking I was hiding away from the embarrassment I’d be getting at school.
I kept going to the bathroom even after we had been to the hospital. The doctor says I must stay at home for only for a couple of days if I take in some antibiotics he had prescribed. Only?! If he only knew what situation I was in. The first quarter exam would just be weeks away and I couldn’t just lie in the bed and rest. And the students are also expecting me to be there for the teasing they had prepared.
“I’ll go to school this afternoon,” I stubbornly told Mama. She was over at a table preparing some of my medicine. I thought she hadn’t heard me until she turned to me and frowned.
“I already called your school,” she said, approaching me. “They said they understand and wouldn’t pressure you much.”She handed me some pills and a glass of water which I gingerly took in all in one gulp. She had this look in her face that told me that I am about to be swooped down by my predator – Mama.
“Alexandra Rae Gil,” Mama said sternly. I swallowed. I knew what it meant if she called me my full name. It simply meant I really am in trouble. “Why did you eat the sandwich? Didn’t you know that something worse could’ve happen to you? And didn’t you know these medicines cost a fortune?”
“I…I was hungry,” I answered weakly and pretended that my stomach still hurt to avoid further nagging. But Mama must’ve known what I was up to because she just held my arm and glared at me before she walked out from my room.
I didn’t know Ben was right outside my door eavesdropping until he playfully said, “Alexander the not so Great.” He sneered at me as he went inside.
Argh. If only I could squash his face right there and then, I would. If anyone wanted a younger brother out there…please think again. Or if you insist, you could take Ben instead. “You could’ve used your head you know.”
I opened my mouth to talk but I was surprised I didn’t say anything bad but, “Right. You’re right. I should have.”
Well, maybe me thinking that Ben is right is really bad. But I knew he was right. I think I’m just too dumb to figure things out.
“It’s okay,” said my brother. “You could play my computer games if you want.”
What did he say? He said he would let me play his pc games? That was weird. What’s about it with my being clumsy? But I forced a smile and held his hand.
“Thanks, Ben. That’s really kind.”
He gave me a brief smile and said, “Whatever.” Then he went outside my room. He didn’t seem so bad after all. Well, maybe just because I admitted he was smarter than me made him feel good enough to let me use his things.
Things went a little better after that, even though I knew I might have trouble at school. I just said might. Maybe after the long absence I had, people would forget about the cell phone thingy. Papa brought me new sneakers from his seminar at Cebu and Mama made us a tray of halayang-ube which was our all-time favorite. She said however that this dessert would spoil easily so we must keep it preserved in the fridge or we’d start bawling with our tummy aches. Ben cringed. But I gave them a that’s-not-funny look and a don’t-say-anymore glare and I was satisfied for a bit.
I have to admit, playing with Ben didn’t seem so bad after all. He came home from school with a new game his classmate lent him and he was kind of excited to show me how it goes. We let out a few ‘WOOHOOS!!!’ and another ‘YOU LOSE!’ or ‘EAT DUST!’ I can hardly catch my breath from laughing.
We were both lying on his bed detangling the joystick wires when he walked over to his desk and handed me a piece of paper. It was a list, I guessed. He motioned me to read it, which I did – out loud.
1. Read/examine before eating
2. Study Math
3. Dress up once in a while
4. Exercise daily (coz your getting fat)
5. Loosen up with your OWN pc games
I figured that was the last time he’d let me play his games since he wrote the word ‘own’ so clearly I couldn’t have missed it. But I gave him a grin and crushed him in a bear hug.
Karla came an hour later with a bunch of homework. I grumbled as she smiled and asked me how I felt. I like Karla a lot. We were different in a lot of ways but somehow, we find ourselves engrossed in a lot of things together. She’s soft-spoken and bright. And she never lets me feel I was out of place. Anyway, she handed me her notebook in Trigonometry.
“Homework in this subject?” I asked in a sigh. I never really liked Math. Math for me is like being cooped up inside a cage of brain pecking monster-chickens. But I had no choice. I grabbed the notebook and began scanning it like I had seen the most horrible book that was ever published although Karla’s handwriting isn’t that bad, of course.
“How’s the students?” I asked as if I were a principal interviewing a homeroom teacher.
“Good,” she snapped back without looking up. “The same guys. Talking people on the benches and such.”
I nodded. That made me feel better. At least they weren’t acting like what I’ve expected.
I felt better when it was time for Karla to go, although my stomach still hurts a bit and I had to go to the comfort room to puke once in a while.
Striding to my bedroom, I took my phone and deleted the wallpaper.
“Rubbish,” I mumbled before I changed it to a blue teddy bear-wallpaper Ben downloaded for me. I love blue, and I love teddy bears. My room curtain was in a cool shade of blue, and my bed sheets were in powder blue printed with hoops and circles of dark blue although my wall was painted plain white. Just beside my dresser is a cream white shelf for my book collection. The room is small, yes. But at least I get to have my own room, and I liked it. Ben too had his own room, and it was a lot messier than mine. There were toys and clothes around and I didn’t think he noticed it because his face is always glued in front of his computer screen.
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