(Too many translations in this chapter for me to make a whole list! There will just be translations for any dialogue that needs it ^^)

December 17th

It was early Saturday morning, and Akira decided to stay in for the day by himself. His moms had gone out and wouldn’t be back until later, meanwhile Imani was spending time with her family. This was the perfect day to relieve himself of his worries.

He sat up from his bed, stretching his muscles. A sigh of relief fell from his mouth as his body relaxed. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, then sat there quietly, his eyes half closed as they gazed at the ground in front of him. He kicked his feet for a small while, then finally let his feet touch the ground. He stood, stretching one last time before making his way down to the kitchen. The house was quiet, but not eerily quiet. Birds were chirping outside, dogs were barking, and the chickens were clucking. Akira heard these noises everyday, but today, it made his morning more peaceful.

His hand wrapped around the cold metal of the fridge handle. He yanked it open and stared at the contents inside. There was only some leftover rice and longganisa, but it was not enough to fill him up for the morning. 

 “Not much to eat…ug Gigutom ko..” (Not much to eat..and I’m hungry..) He thought to himself. Akira sighed, then hastily grabbed the house keys and his wallet. He fixed himself up then put his shoes on, heading outside. He locked the door and took a short walk to the nearest Sari Sari store. When he arrived, no one was there.

“Ayo!” (Hello, anyone there?)

Akira heard some scrambling and objects falling over before a young boy came bursting into the store.

“Hala, sorry po.” (Oh my god, sorry)

Akira tilted his head, “Ano..abli ba mo karon?” (Um…are you guys open today?)

“Oo, abli mo.” (Yes, we are open)

“Ah, sige sige. Naa kay itlog ug pan?” (Ah, okay okay. Do you have eggs and bread?)

“Opo” (Yes.)

“Sige! Duha itlog ug isa pan, palihug.” (Okay! Two eggs and one loaf of bread please.)

The boy nodded and went off to grab the food. He came back with two eggs and a loaf of bread.

“Unsa pa man imong gusto?” (What else do you want?)

“Mmm, isa kape palihug.” (Mmm, One coffee please)

He then reached up above him, grabbing a coffee packet that was hanging up at the front of the store. He placed the items in front, and slid them through a small hole to Akira. Akira grabbed the stuff and pulled out his wallet.

“Pila?” (How much?)

“149 po.”

Akira rummaged through his wallet, grabbing 149 pesos. He handed it to the boy.

“Salamat po.” (Thank you.) The young boy said.

“Salamat kaayo.” (Thank you very much) Akira replied with a smile.

He turned, heading back home, his groceries in hand.

Once he made it, he quickly cooked his breakfast to fix his growling stomach. He grabbed the leftovers from the fridge and heated them up while he cooked two sunny side up eggs and sliced the bread. Once heated, he plated the rice and longganisa nicely together, and added his eggs on top of the rice. The bread sat on the side of the plate.

He happily took his plate and sat down on the couch, turning the tv on. He took a large bite of his food and immediately smiled widely.

“Ahh! Lami!” (Ahh! Yum!)

He kicked his feet, and continued watching the tv and finishing his breakfast.

After he cleaned up his plate, he hopped up, walking over to the kitchen sink. He placed it inside then began to wash the dishes he used. While doing that, he thought about what to do for the rest of the day.

“Hmm..mom asked me to run the store in the evening, so I’ll do that..but what else? Maybe I can watch Joshua and JP play basketball with their friends..” He thought. But then he sighed deeply, as he remembered something. Shiro lives in the same neighborhood.  “But, Shiro might be there.” Akira groaned and threw his head back. But, he pulled himself together, and took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to let their situation ruin his day. He cleared his mind and finished washing the dishes.

              Once he placed the last plate on the drying rack, he gently dried his hands with a washcloth. He finally decided what he was going to do for the rest of the day.

First, he was going to do some grocery shopping at SM at 10.  Then cook and eat lunch with his Lola and Lolo at 12. After that, he will run the store from 1 to 5. And to end off his day, he will cook dinner for his moms before they come home. 

By the time he finished writing down his plan, it was already 9:30. He hastily got dressed, then left the house. His family only had one car, which his moms took, so he had to resort to taking a 10 minute walk down to the nearest jeepney stop. He waited for about 5 minutes for the Jeepney to arrive. He hopped inside and slid up to the front. He leaned over to the driver.

“SM Seaside palihug…Tagpila ang plete?” (SM Seaside please..how much is the fare?)

“20 po.” 

“Sige sige.” (Okay.)

Akira took out his wallet once again, taking out a 20 peso bill and handing it to the driver. The driver took the money, then started up the jeepney. The ride was slightly bumpy, like always. It was rare for a car ride to be smooth in the Philippines. The aggressive driving and no required seatbelts didn’t help much either. 

He put his headphones on and turned on whatever song his finger landed on. His head gently leaned onto the walls of the vehicle, his eyes closing slowly. The music began to fade in, a familiar tune played into his ears.

It was the very song that played the night of the 8th grade winter dance. The night Akira realized he was in love with Shiro.

…..

Friday

December 20, 2019

7:30 P.M

Akira: Age 14

Shiro: Age 14

The loud music of the dance blasted throughout the venue, blue and white strobes of light flying around. Akira sat quietly by himself at a table in the far back. Imani was off dancing with a girl, and Shiro was talking to the girl he liked, Kaya. So, Akira was left alone. This ruined his mood. He was so excited for this dance, and he thought he was going to have the time of his life. But here he was, drinking fruit punch in a long baby blue dress in the dark corner of the room. He kicked his legs in the air, and he stared down at the table.