Wishing Upon A Grape

Six hours before midnight, every tick of the clock reminds me that in a few hours, 2024 turns into 2025. What is little ol' Mel doing before the clock turns to 12 am? A few things I need to tick off in my mental check board.

I'm in front of the whiteboard for a rematch. I wipe out the past writings, Cliches 101 no more. That did not help me whatsoever. It was a flunk (mostly my fault) Okay, shut up. I'm trying to be confident here!

Anyways, continuing... I opened a fresh marker. This time, it has a purple pigment. My thought process on why I chose that color is because he always has something purple with him.. I'm trying to attract him using that—sure he wears red and black a lot but it's the littlest details that's important.

His purple keychain, purple water bottle, purple helmet, and the latest addition is when I spotted him again at Aling Babe's sari-sari store—a new ear stud piercing that has a purple gem.

I don't have any information why he's obsessed with having purple in the most random belongings except for the fact that his little sister likes the color. If he does it for his sister, that's adorable. So I'm sorry that I'm going to use it for my own benefit.

What does Emi always yell if there's a challenging situation?

Ah! I'm going to put me first. She always screams that before escaping her problems but I'm no Emerald—I'm going to use that phrase to face my problems.

I write in that fading purple ink, "Making Cliches Happen." Accompanied by a few doodles. No steps, no rules. Just a title. I closed the cap of my marker, earning a satisfying click. I don't need to go by the books to have what I want. Nangyayari na nga eh kahit 'di ko sinusundan yung Cliches 101 plan eh.

Now, you might be asking me, what's the point then? To answer your question, imaginary crowd in my head—I'll take this as a reminder that clichés happen naturally, and I can make them happen too. I don't have to force it like I did with the Clichés 101 plan. I literally just pushed my chances like a damn domino piece.

Let's have an example. The first domino piece: Spin the bottle, pick a truth or a dare. If there's a slightest chance it can be directed to the person of interest, take the risk but not so much that it feels out of place or it makes you guilty. Based on my experience, it felt bad however it had an amazing outcome.

Second domino piece: 20 questions. I got to know him a little better but the last question is the third domino piece—he asked for my number. I think you're getting my point, it's similar to a domino effect. It keeps falling into place.

I just need to calculate the pieces or it might go astray. Ayoko mangyari 'yun syempre. Wala naman atang tao gusto ang bad ending.

I check off the whiteboard rematch in my mental to-do list. Four more to go. I open my phone to check the time. It's 6:10 pm, I've been staring at this board for ten minutes? That's kind of embarrassing. Oh well there's a notification from our section's' gc, I'll check that.

HUMANISTA NUMBA ONE

You + 19 others

York:
Talon kayo ha?
Ang liliit niyo pa naman

P.O. Queenie:
Kala mo ba 6 footer ka?

York:
Malapit na
Under nga lang

P.O. Queenie:

Sec Lou:
Kuya please stop with your dark humor
It's almost new years po

York:
Sige na nga
Swerte ka at kamukha mo bunso namin

Emi:
EBRIWAN GAGAWIN NIYO BA YUNG 12 KENEMERUT

Leo:
???

Emi:
YUNG GRAPES UNDER THE TABLE

That's actually in my list, of course it's on the very last as I need to do it twelve seconds before midnight. A daunting task.

The other three task are actually for new years eve preparation, Mom and Dad already have the food finished as early as possible and I was assigned to do three things: Set up the plating, Bring books for my parents to read for the new years, and stand outside the gate to give the kids new year's candies since we forgot to do that for halloween.

Better late than never.

Also I forgot to mention every new year's eve the subdivision celebrates it per block so we have tables set up outside and we can go neighbor by neighbor to eat. Ginagawa na nila 'to dati pa, 'di pa ako pinanganak n'un.

I may prefer staying home to read, however this event is actually really fun. Who doesn't like free food and random gifts? Sure it's an overstimulating nightmare but when is new year's not one?

It just means we get to blow the torotot and scream in more cruel harmonization than other neighborhoods. With the added loud booms of vehicles? Impending doom to my eardrums.

It hasn't even started pero tinatakpan ko na aking tenga habang papunta ako sa mesa which was outside though it did not pass our gate so we have some sort of privacy.

"Melvyn, sweetie~" Mom slid in beside me, "Here are the plates!"

I stopped covering my ears to get the plates from my mom's hand. I began to set up the multiple tables while mom kept on starting conversations that would finish in one reply.

"Oh, Melvyn!"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Would you like to do the grapes thing with me and your dad? I bought a few too many grapes," I smiled at her, nodding.

"Before you ask because I already know you're going to ask," She sassed.

"It's not for love's sake, it's for success' sake. Also, are you going to do it for romance?" She wiggled her eyebrows, gaining a unserious pout from me.

"There's a high possibility," I said with my chin up, proud that I gained a that's-my-son grin from Mom.

"I raised you well!" She giddily fixed the decorations we had.

"That you did, honey."

"Bloody hell, Armel!" I broke into laughter after I saw both of their expressions. Dad was confused why he got cussed out; Mom flabbergasted on how Dad just appeared out of nowhere.

"What did I do?" He sounded defeated as mom furrowed her eyebrows. I love my dramatic parents.

"I complimented you..." His voice faded near the end. Now dad was full on frowning.

"Yes, thank you for that honey but gosh please announce your presence!"

"Noted," His mood really depends on how mom treats him. My dad as I mentioned is a famous romance author so him acting like a lovestruck male lead comes to no surprise. Mabilisan niyang tinulungan si mom sa pagsabit ng mga decorations sa available wall space outside. Their height difference is my dream; their whole love life is my dream.

Maybe that's why I'm so desperate to make things romantic between us—sure I have unrealistic expectations and my whole inner monologue about making him mine was a bit out there. Embarrassing, unattainable as it may be, I do not care.

My entire life I've believed that I can never get the love I desire. Main reason being my insecurities getting the best of me—the whole of me even. Well, there are multiple factors why my mind runs on envy and overthinking pero pag iniisip ko kasi yung rason mas lumalala. That's why I mostly avoid it.

I put the last plate on the table, "I'll go upstairs to get the books po."

"Go ahead~" Mom sang while she was sitting on dad's shoulders in order to put the ceiling decorations. Our entry has a covering that is a perfect canvas for my creative Mom, alam kong pagbaba ko ulit may mga light up stars na yan.

And I was right. As soon as I stepped outside there were twinkling stars on the ceiling accompanied with a few hanging fake fireworks decorations. I'm always amazed at how she can think up a different style every year. Last year it was planet-themed, my personal fave.

"This looks mesmerizing, Mom."

"Thank you!" She went over to squeeze my cheeks. Napansin niya ang mga hawak kong libro at lumiwanag ang kanyang mukha. "Is that Happy Place?!"

She seemed so eager to get her hands on the book so I handed it to Mom, "You're the sweetest, Melvyn."

"Thank you po," I smiled. Dad, who I'm sure has teleporting powers, placed his arms around my shoulders habang nakangiti sa akin.

"Nagtatampo ako 'nak ba't hindi libro ko binigay mo kay Mom huh?"

"She already read everything you wrote po," He laughed. I gave dad the book I chose for him. Aaminin ko, I have not read any of the books I've given to my parents. Para mas thrilling kung natapos nila dahil alam kong i-kwekwento nila kaagad sa akin.

"Just for the summer," Dad ruffled my hair. "Perfect, this was the only one I'm missing in this series."

I knew that. I always diligently pick the new year's books even if I do not know the plot. I have a tendency to eavesdrop in a lot of conversations. My parents also fall victim to that trait of mine.

After some time, we finished setting up everything. I checked my phone for the time: 8:12 pm, we've been doing everything in two hours? Di ko alam kung mabagal ba 'yun or mabilis. Anyways, I could see the neighbors also finishing their setups.

Nakikita ko na ang mga bata tumatakbo, nagsisigawan, at syempre nag-aasaran.

"Dad, where are the candies?" I'll just mention this, Dad always hides the candies because we all know Mom is going to eat it all. She stress-eats sweets when there's a client that's lacking reading comprehension. Sadly, a lot of her clients are like that.

"Sandale lang nak, I'll get it."

"Thank you po."

Hinintay ko siya habang nakatayo na sa tapat observing our neighbor's behaviors. The adults are setting, some of the teens are helping or lazing around, and the children are playing with each other.

Or in this case...fighting. One of the kids pulled the other girl's hair all of a sudden. They were just playing a second ago!

"Don't do that please!" Hiniwalay ko ang dalawang bata. Umiiyak na ang isa, the other one looked mad.

"Please say sorry to each other, bad 'yun," I crouched down to their level, holding eye contact with both of them. The crying kid hugged me, I caressed her head trying to fix her messy hair.

"Bakit siya lang po may hug!" Sabi ng isang bata, she was clutching the edge of her dress in anger. "Siya yung nauna!"

"What happened?" I asked. Yakap ko pa din ang humihikbing bata.

"Sabi niya tomboy po ako! Sabi ni papa kadiri maging tomboy," Her grip on her dress tightened. "Naka-dress ako! Paano ako naging tomboy?"

"Well," I stared at the crying kid who was now looking at me. "Tomboy is a fashion style so you aren't considered one since you have a pretty blue dress on."

Her angry face softened, she must've liked that I complimented her dress.

"So, why did you call her that?"

"Kasi..." She buried her head against my chest, her tears staining my shirt. The other kid scoffed at her actions.

She clutched onto my shirt as she mumbled something in between her sobs.

"What was that?" She heaved a sigh and whispered.

"Gwapo po siya..."

My eyes widened, mouth agape. There were two possibilities: she was trying to insult the little girl by saying she was a tomboy for having a masculine face or she has a crush on this girl who was glaring at her. Kulang na lang masunog 'tong bata sa init ng galit nung isa.

"May I ask how she said that to you?"

"Sabi niya "Tomboy ka ba?" habang naglalaro kami!" She stomped, agitated by the situation.

"So... what did you mean by that?" I questioned the still-sobbing girl.

"Tinanong ko lang po dahil sabi ni mama mga tomboy yung may mga gusto sa babae gusto ko po gusto niya po ako..." Bulong nito.

Oh my gosh am I witnessing a childhood crush gone wrong? This poor kid was just mistaken about what tomboy means. Parents really need to educate themselves before educating their own children.

Look what happens when you don't get your facts checked. This girl just wants to know if her crush likes girls and the other thinks being called a tomboy is an insult. What's more is that one of them resorted to violence instead of communicating. I mean they're kids. I can excuse why they don't know they're making a mistake, I'm just heavily judging their parents right now.

"Um...what's your names?" Describing them as kids in my head is tiring and I wanted to teach them a lesson while using their names for a higher chance of my words resonating with them.

"Ako po si Laya," She finally let go of her dress which is now crinkled. "Yan naman pong iyakin na 'yan si Elira."

"Don't call her iyakin," I gently told her. "You hurt her and for that you need to say sorry."

"Also, Laya being a tomboy is not disgusting. As I said tomboy is a fashion style, girls who dress up more masculine. You did not need to resort to violence you could've just told her you weren't one." She nodded slowly gripping her dress once again but this time out of guilt.

"And as for you Elira, you need to say sorry for hurting her feelings even if you were mistaken. Tomboy isn't a girl who likes girls. Your mom was wrong about that," I whispered the last part to her, just in case she did not want Layla to know why she asked that in the first place.

"I'm sorry Elira...'di ko na yun uulitin..."

"I'm also sorry!"

Both of them were now crying, I opened my arm so Laya could join in for a hug. Niyakap niya din ako, now I have two crying kids in my embrace. I did not expect for my new year's eve to have a crying session.

"Elira, Laya! Huwag na cry!" A childish voice shouted. I peered over their heads to see a curly haired girl with her right hand on her hips and comically pointing at the two.

"Temi!" The two didn't stop crying instead they went over to the girl engulfing her which caused them to topple over. Salamat na lang at meyron si Zy para isalo sila.

Sandale, si Zy!?

Napatayo ako nang mabilisan, wiping my clothes to clean off the dust. My dad who probably saw the whole thing nudged the bowl of candies to me signalling me to give the kids the candies. Kinuha ko ang candy bowl while mindlessly staring at Zy who was interacting with the kids.

They almost fell earlier tas ngayon naman inaakyat nila si Zy like he was a monkey bar. Elira was koala-hugging his legs, Layla was swinging using his big biceps—arms I totally meant arms, and Temi! She's Zy's sister I think? Well, she was on his shoulders messing with his beautiful curls.

The way his hair bounced makes my heart want to bounce off my body.

"Um... candies?" I awkwardly went near them. Temi jumped off his shoulder, scaring me. Baka kasi ma-mali pagkahulog niya. Elira and Laya were now holding hands as they waited for me to give them candies. Pulang-pula ang mukha ni Elira—hayst mas naunahan pa ako ng mga bata.

"Pwede din po ba ako kumuha, Kuya Mel?" He titled his head and pointed to himself.

"You're not a kid," Sabi ko habang binibigyan ng candy ang mga bata—may iba ding bata na lumapit n'ong nakita nilang binibigyan ko ang tatlo.

"Ageism."

"I do not have ageism."

"Then give me candy," He smiled. Damn those dimples are persuading me to give anything he wants–No! These candies are for the kids that's what my parents told me to do, they will be the ones I'm following.

"Kuya Pollo! Ask mo po kay Kuya pretty more candy," Temi said, smacking Zy's legs to get his attention. Wait, did she just call me Kuya pretty? That's so nice of her to say.

"Narinig mo yung bata," Tinanggap niya ang candy na inilahad ko sa kanya habang nakangiti na parang batang nakakuha ng lollipop. I guess in this case he is. Talo niya pa ata sila Elira, na bumalik na sa mga bahay nila tas eto desperado for a piece of candy.

"Thank you po Kuya pretty!" Is it possible for a seventeen year old boy to have baby fever? Nanggigigil ako sa cuteness niya.

"You're welcome, Temi," I flashed her a smile which made her gasp and point at me.

"You're—" Zy popped the candy in her mouth confusing her to the point she forgot what she was about to tell me.

"I like this lasa po, Kuya! The candy is purple din po."

"What is it po, Kuya?"

"It's grape flavored," Sabay naming sabi kay Temi. Both of us laughed at the sudden synchronization. I guess we didn't know which Kuya she was referring to.

"Grapes! I want more po."

I tried to find if there were any grape flavored candy left, nadismaya ako para sa kanya dahil walang natira kahit isa lang.

"I'm sorry Temi there's none left," I copied her expression—pouting and disappointed. She seemed extremely fond of the taste.

"I'm going to ask Dad if he still has some in stock, okay?"

"Okay po," She giggled then waved Zy to move closer. When he did may binulong siya at agad-agad namula ang tenga nito.

"Yeah..." There was something behind that voice—it was different from his usual bright, upbeat, tone. His voice was smooth, nearly quiet yet his stare was familiar. It was the exact same look he had when we were having a conversation at the pavilion.

Parang tangang duwag tumalikod ako papalakad kay Dad. I instantly regretted that decision as soon I saw Dad's smile that screams oh-so-that's-your-crush-huh? Yes, Dad. Please do not make it obvious.

"Dad...?"

"Grape candy?" I nodded. Lips thinning at his

"Sadly 'nak, inubos na ni Mom mo," Of course she did.

"Are you talking about grapes?" Mom finally stepped a foot out of the gate, joining the road of chaos.

"If you're talking about grapes. I just realized I bought too many grapes that I forgot to buy mangoes for the mango float!" She groaned at her stupidity; I also joined her, that's my favorite new year's dessert.

"Bili ba ako?" Tanong ni Dad. He rested his hands on Mom's waist. "I can do a quick drive, honey."

"The market is closed, honey!"

"We can pick mangoes from the neighbors," Dad joked.

Napailing ako habang lumapit ulit kila Zy, "Temi, I am so sorry but there's none left."

"It's okay po! I heard na meyron po kayong grapes."

"Temi, I told you not to eavesdrop," Saway ni Zy.

"I did not po, that pretty lady is maingay po," I snorted at her comment. Yeah I know that was unattractive and I did that in front of my (more than) crush but Temi's statement is hilarious. Pati nga si Zy pinipilit 'di tumawa eh.

"Should I get you some grapes?" Napatalon siya, sayang-saya sa tanong ko.

"Yes po please Kuya pretty!"

"Ako din po please, Kuya pretty," Nakakainis talaga 'tong si Zy minsan. He's such a tease! He should be revoked from calling me Kuya pretty especially when he just says it to annoy me. Although, he failed in that matter—he's not annoying me; he's making me blush.

"Okay," Robotic Mel overtook me again as I walked inside the house to get the grapes. I made sure it was the purple kind.

As soon as I went back I gave it to her, ignoring Zy's dimpled-smile. "Here you go, Temi."

"Thank you po!" Kinain niya kaagad ang prutas habang nakangiti. Hala, may dimples din siya! Cute naman 'tong magkapatid parehong kulot at may dimples—she honestly looks like the mini girl version of Zy.

There's still a huge difference because she's pocket sized and I want her to be my child while her brother on the other hand is tall and I want him to be the fa—oh my gosh, Mel! I need a brain reset asap.

How do I even cleanse my thoughts kung nasa harapan ko lang siya? I want to become closer to him to achieve my goals but when he's near I forget how to act human. Instead I'm robotic, stupid, and red as a tomato acting all shy and timid.

Come on, self! Pick a struggle. The way I'm describing myself is almost close to those characters who are the reader's least favorite. If I were a character in a book I would hate reading about my thoughts—it's too all over the place.

"Mel," Zy