TL note: From Chapter Ten on wards, the author (HaveYouSeenThisGirl) announced that she"ll be writing in third person point of view. So brace yourselves for some changes kittens!
So here"s another chapter to gobble up!
Chapter Ten"O—kay! Let"s start!"
"Huh? What do you mean by "let"s start"? Start what? And why are you wearing a bandana around your head? You look like a baluga." 1
They were in a park, sitting on a bench and breathing the fresh air since Eris still didn"t want to go home—she didn"t have anything to do in the club. Eros didn"t understand what crazy thing Eris wanted to do by donning a bandanna around her head, a fighting posture, and determined eyes.
"This bandanna?" she pointed at her head. "Cute right? Does it look good on me?"
"You really don"t listen, I just said it; you"re like a baluga. Whatever, what do you mean by start?"
"We should start making a listahan!"2
"Listahan?"
“Yup, list.”
He smacked her. "I do know what it is in English! Tss! What is it?"
Before Eros got too irritated and decide to leave, Eris explained immediately what she would like to do. She grabbed his bag and miraculously she was able to get a ball pen and a piece of crumpled paper which she made-do since that were the only things inside.
"It"s like this: I want to make a list with the things you can do to change. Perhaps like steps or guidelines? We"ll start with small good deeds until it grows bigger and bigger."
"Why start small when we could start big? Wouldn"t it fill the necklace faster?"
“Pfuiii~” she sighed. "If you really want to change, you should start with small deeds. If you rush things, you won"t achieve anything, and even if you manage to achieve anything– it wouldn’t be like what you’re hoping for."
"Yes, yes, you"re so talkative."
"Okay! Let"s start The Evil Dummy"s Guide to Kindness!"
"Say what? What do you mean by evil dummy? Evil, sure; but I’m not a dummy!"
“Ows? Prove it to me, pa.s.s your exams; but for the meantime, I"ll call this list as The Evil Dummy"s Guide." She said while writing the words on top of the paper and then wrote the number one underneath it.
"I"ll write six main guides that for sure will fill the red necklace immediately. Those six items should be your priority."
"Ahh… So what are those six things?"
“Number One: Ask forgiveness to those you’ve done wrong.”
"It would take us a year if it"s like that. I did so many bad things that I lost count."
"It’s okay, as long as you say sorry to the people who you hurt the most."
“Fine, number two?”
“Number two: Make friends, learn to smile, and laugh with others.”
“I already have friends, Seven and the gang.”
“I know, but what about your cla.s.smates? I think it’s nice if you’re friends with them."
“That’s impossible, they hate me.”
“Then make them like you. You’re so annoying! You grumble too much.”
"What? You think I’m the one who"s annoying? Look who’s talking!"
Eris stuck her tongue out towards him and just continued writing on the paper.
"Number three: Study hard and be a responsible person.”
“Number four: Remove all hate in your heart. Learn to forgive yourself.”
“Number five: Respect yourself and others.”
After that, she stopped writing and handed the paper to him.
"Here!"
He reached for the paper, his face expressed confusion. "What about number six? You said there were six guidelines."
"Yes.”
“Oh? Then why is there only five? Do you even know how to count?"
“Ummm… Yup!”
“Oh, then what is number six?” He asked impatiently.
"Number six is…" She smiled widely.
“Is?”
“… Is to treat Angel Eris to ice cream!"
Eros felt that he would fall down from his seat because of what Eris said. He expected that she would say something worthwhile but she only wanted something so small like being treated to ice cream.
"You’re so annoying!"
"Cam’mon Eros… please, please, please?" Eris placed her hands near her chest, while making puppy eyes with matching pouting lips.
"Tss! You"re a leech, you really like to be treated to food. Does your heaven even feed you? It looks like you haven’t eaten for ten years, you easily get hungry!" He placed the paper inside his pocket and stood up. He decided to treat her. He didn’t really have a choice since she’ll start to babble.
They saw a dirty ice cream vendor nearby. Eros bought two, the other one for Eris. After that, they left for home.
"Regarding what you said previously, you died a month before graduation?" Eros asked out of curiosity.
“Yup.” She said while licking the ice cream. "It"s unfortunate, unexpected.”
"How did you die?"
"I was raped and beaten."
Eros stopped and smacked Eris.
"Ouch! Why did you hit me?"
"Why are you still smiling? You look like you’re happy retelling how you’ve died. You seem happy that you were raped!"
“Of course I’m not happy! Do you want me to cry?"
“H-ha? No! Don’t cry, I hate those things, but at least don’t smile. What happened to you is seriously unfortunate." Eros didn’t expect that that was the cause of Eris’ death. He had thought that she was ran over by a car or died because of a sickness. He had never considered that she could have been a rape victim. Suddenly he felt sympathy towards her.
"It"s okay Eros!"
"It"s not okay! What happened to you is not okay!"
"I know. Umm Eros, let"s not talk about it. Wee! The ice cream is so delicious! Thank you for the ice cream Eros!"
Eris turned her back and started walking, but he caught a glimpse of her melancholic expression before she turned away. With that moment, he realized that her smiles were forced. Who would even smile if that happened to you?
He suddenly felt admiration towards Eris; she was able to smile even through a painful experience. He went near her and tapped her shoulders, she looked back at him. He hugged her.
He didn"t know why he did it; it was like something was urging him to hug Eris. Maybe because he has sisters like his Ate Risa and Chill. He thought that if something happened to them like what happened to Eris, he wouldn’t be able to smile.
He felt Eris" hug tighten. "Eros, thank you."
He didn’t say anything and they stayed like that. Eros couldn’t understand what wa.s.s happening to him. It wasn’t the first time that he hugged a girl– he had plenty of girls who he had a pa.s.sing relationship with, but he felt uneasy with what he was currently feeling while hugging the angel.
He felt the heartbeat of Eris. He even heard his own. Are they really close? And why did he feel cold near his chest? It was a really strange feeling… too cold…
"Eros… umm… Eros… my ice cream spilled on your shirt…”
Eros recovered his bearing with what Eris said; he immediately loosened his hug and pushed her.
"Fuuc—chicken!" Eros was holding the wet area of his shirt.
"It"s because you suddenly hugged me while I was holding an ice cream, see what happened!"
“Arghh!”
"Ayee, you"re so sweet Eros! I feel kilig,3 I wish you"re always like that! Maybe I"ll fall in love! Hohoho!"
"H—hey! What are you saying? Shut up!"
"But seriously, I felt kilig when you hugged me! Ayee! Maybe you have a crush on me that"s why you hugged me?"
"You"re a malicious annoying angel! Argh!"
"H—hey! Let go of my hand!" Eris held his wrist while he was wiping the wet part of his shirt.
"Let"s go to the club, you can change your clothes there and then we"ll start. I"ll tutor you. You have a quiz tomorrow."
"Let go of my hand first you pervert!"
"Aysus4, me a pervert? You"re the one who hugged me. You"re more of a pervert than I am. Don"t you like it, we look like a couple?"
"Couple your face! Let go of me!"
“Don"t be shy! Let"s go!”
Eros couldn"t do anything and just allowed Eris to drag him while holding his hands. What an annoying angel. But there was a part of him that was smiling, knowing a special girl arrived in his life.
Annoying Angel Eris— the angel who will change his life.
FOOTNOTES:
1 BALUGA: (1)used to describe an indigenous group in the Philippines called the aetas. They wear a red bandanna around their head during ceremonial dances. (2) It can also be used as a derogatory term to describe someone who has curly hair and dark skinned. (3) dolphin
2 LISTAHAN: list. I did not translate this first to not lose the meaning of the conversation.
3 KILIG: (Filipino Word)
Source: Oxford Living Dictionaries
Adjective: causing or characterized by a feeling of exhilaration or elation.
Noun: A feeling of exhilaration or elation caused by an exciting or romantic experience
4 AYSUS: expression