ch. 9 - a familiar old man

CHAPTER 9
A FAMILIAR OLD MAN


Narrator: Back at the Cerritos Town Center, with Maja and Sarah passing by some stores…

Sarah: Alam mo, Mars, mas makulit sayo si Jay ngayon, isipin mo? Parang ng miss na miss siya sa iyo masyado.

Maja: Hay naku. Wala yan. Ang kulit naman talaga siya eh. Ilang beces na?

Sarah: Tapos tinawagan kapang “cutie.” Nakuuu… ano ibig sabihin yan?

Maja: Ganun siya sa mga babae, noh? Super sweet siya sa lahat ang babae ng kita niya.

Sarah: Aba… paano mo malalaman yan?

Maja: Kilala ko siya, Sars. Basta, parehas lahat ang ganyang lalaki katulad niya.

Sarah: Oh Maj… wag ka masyado mag selosa dyan.

Maja: Bakit naman ako mag selosa?

Sarah: Eh kasi na isip mo masyado sa ibang babae. Alam mo, parang a isip mo mabuti si Jay, o? (joking)

Maja: Ayy naku hindi, ah? (as Sarah smiles) (murmuring as she turns away from Sarah) Di ko siya na randaman.

Sarah: Asuuus… (lightly slaps Maja’s arm) Nahihiya ka pa. Sige na. (as Maja tuns away from her again, smiling) Aaminin mo na kasi, o?

Maja: Hindi ko talaga siya na randaman eh. Ano kaba?

Sarah: Hay naku, Mars. (puts arm around her shoulder) Diba dati ng gusto siya sa iyo, nung two years ago pa. Naku, patay na patay siya sa iyo, na isipin mo? Lagi siya ng kalbit sa iyo, parang yun fling ang nangyari sakin dati nung high school pa ako.

Maja: Talaga? Ng boyfriend kaba dati?

Sarah: Hindi naman, pero muntik na.

Maja: (as Sarah releases arm off her shoulder) Naku, sayang naming chance mo.

Sarah: Di bali. High school lang naming nangyari ‘to eh, at ayoko na may gulo.
Maja: High school talaga. Puro tsismis, saka madaming immature ang mga lalaki dun, noh?

Sarah: Oo nga eh. Mga loser silang lahat, at panay users din!

Maja: Tsk tsk tsk… wag na tayo maisipin yan. Least na alam natin we made it out.

Sarah: Yeah… eh si Jay?

Maja: Aba… si Jay na naman ang usapan natin?

Sarah: Mars oh Mars… sa tingin ko, ginusto mo rin siya dati. Lagi kayo ng ngiti, diba?

Maja: Ehh dati pa yan. Ngayon, friends lang kami.

Sarah: Talaga? Kahit ibigan kayo, ibig sabihin pwede siya tumatawaga sa iyong “cutie?” Ganun ba?

Maja: Tss… (smiling shyly, as if it were all a joke) Parang cutie lang naman yan. Iba yun “sweety” at “sweetheart.”

Sarah: Naku… pagdating ang Valentine’s Day, sigurado ako tatawag si Jay sayo yun.

Maja: Di, noh? Baka mya girlfriend na yun bago mag Valentine’s Day.

Sarah: (shakes her head, smiling) Hay Mars… gusto mo nga pala si Jay eh.

Maja: Susko… Isa ka pa rin, ha? (points index finger at Sarah as Sarah laughs) Parehas kayo ni Jay. Makulit.

Narrator: A minute later, the two girls approached an elder white man about 6’ tall. He was sitting on the bench on the left side of Wal Mart, holding the leash of his German shepherd. With its eyes open, it was watching the girls pass by. The dog, who was lying on the ground, suddenly rose to its feet as it growled, seeing the girls’ heads turn to it.

After one long mean snarl, the dog quickly approached the girls and started barking. The girls screamed in shock as they backed away from the dog, whose leash dragged out of the man’s hand.

The girls then ran away from the dog, who was about to chase them until the man quickly grabbed the leash handle, preventing the dog from doing that.

Man: (white dog barking) Hey, easy boy! (pulls dog tightly) Knock it off!

Narrator: The girls stopped, watching the man holding his dog tightly.

Man: (looks over at the girls) Sorry about that, ladies!

Narrator: The girls, however, were speechless.

Man: (hears his dog growling at the girls) Down, boy! Down, I said!

Narrator: The girls looked at one another for a moment, then turned their heads back at the elder man.

Maja: Bakit parang na kilala ko yun matanda nayan?

Sarah: (looks more closely at man) Si Walter Kowalski ata yan (takes one more close look at his face) Siya nga, noh?

Maja: Bakit ganyang tsura niya ngayon, mukhang matanda talaga siya?

Sarah: Eh siempre di namin siya ng kita for like ten years. Naalala mo ba nung bata pa tayo na lagi ng kita naming siya sa barbershop dun sa Katella?

Maja: (nodding) Oo. Pero… ng alala ba niya satin?

Sarah: Dyos ko! It’s been ten years, o? Kita mo ung gaano natanda siya ngayon? Baka hindi siya mag kilala sa lahat ang ng kilala niya ngayon, noh?

Maja: Edi sana uusapan tayo sa kanya.

Sarah: Ano kaba? Paano kung na hawak niyang baril?

Maja: (looks closely at Walter, who’s now petting the dog, back to Sarah) Di siya naman mukhang criminal, o?

Sarah: Kahit na. Basta, wag tayo malapit sa kanya. Tara na.

Narrator: So the girls continued walking down the town center, staying as far away possible from the elder man.

As for the dog, it continued to growl at the girls, who were crossing the street on their way to Gamestop.

Walter: Ey! Knock it off!!

Narrator: The dog then calmed down as it lied flat on the floor again.

Walter: I thought ya took yer sleepin’ pills already. Teh, (as he holds up a thick small bottle of Pendose drowsy pills, all of which became empty) how could some dimwit only put in 20 when there’s supposed ta be like 50? I thought for a second that bearded doctor was a butt-ugly terrorist. (tosses bottle in trash can next to him) No wonder he’s a hot head. (shakes his head)