Unspoken Favors

"Please mom," begged Emma.

"I'd prefer you don't go," said the woman sitting across her on the kitchen table. "Something might happen to you."

"But it's on Saturday," Emma pleaded. "Our exams are over."

"Who are you going with?" asked Ate Lydia. Ate Lydia is Emma's mom, our maid for as long as I can remember. She was scooping ice cream into her favorite yellow mug. [TL note: "Ate" (pronounced ahteh) literally means older sister. One may address women older than them as "Ate" as a form of respect, like what Aldrin calls Emma's mom.]

"Only my classmates."

"And who are they?" insisted her Mom as she sat down next to me at the kitchen table.

"Monica, Rose, and Jen," enumerated Emma. "You've met them before."

"Don't they have boyfriends already?" asked Ate Lydia as she handed me the brass colored half gallon container.

"Yes, but they won't go with us," exclaimed Emma.

"Oooh, so that's why," I teased Emma and laughed. "some guys are joining," I sung with an annoying tone as I dug the scooper into the rocky road ice cream.

"There's none," Emma complained. She threw a mad look at me before turning back to her mom. "It's only us, really."

"And what will you watch?" Ate Lydia continued her interrogation.

"Just The 6th Sense, mom."

"Woooooooow," I teased her. "Scary movie. How many hugs will you get?" I whispered so Ate Lydia won't hear. Emma retaliated by kicking my foot underneath the table.

"Where?" asked Ate Lydia after a spoonfull of icecream.

"We'll meet in Megamall"

"In Megamall? Good grief," said Ate Lydia with a skeptic tone. "Have you been there?" [TL note: SM Megamall is a huge mall found in the Ortigas business district about 3 kilometers north of Makati City.]

"Ate Aileen* has brought me there a few times in the past."

"You might get lost, I think you still don't know how to go there. Why there in the first place?" continued Ate Lydia with her relentless questioning.

"Maybe we'll just take the bus or the FX." [TL note: the FX taxi is a point-to-point public shuttle. Its name is derived from the Toyota Tamaraw FX although other SUVs and vans are also used.]

"I'm getting nervous for you."

"Please, Mom."

"Until what time will you stay there?"

"Eight, mom."

"No way. It's not proper for students to come home at eight o'clock."

"Tsk, that's right. It's too far at night for 8," I said smiling. I can tell Emma was really annoyed, but watching them while eating ice cream was really entertaining.

"Mooom this is just once in a while," said Emma. She was almost whining when she got interrupted by someone who just entered the kitchen.

"Hello," a voice from the kitchen enterance said. I looked up and recognize the origin of the voice.

"Hi Ma." My mom stood beside me and placed her hand on my head.

"Good Evening, ma'am," Emma greeted my mom. Emma got up from her seat to serve my mom some ice cream.

"Ah, Ayen*, Guy called long distance. He'll call again later at 9," reported Ate Lydia. She got up to offer my mom a seat.

"Don't worry about him. He's a big boy already," she laughed to pretend that she didn't care, but knowing her, she's excited to hear from the guy who she is seeing for about 4 years. They've been together for a year before my mom confronted me about him but before that, I already I knew that Uncle Guy is not really an uncle when he began staying at our house for months at a time.

"Thank you," said my mom as she took the cup of ice cream from Emma. "Whats with the ice cream?"

"Emma is asking Ate Lydia if she can go out this Saturday for a date," I answered proudly.

"Eeeeeeeeh! It's not a date," Emma said in a very frustrated tone. "Kuya Aldrin, you're so annoying." I can tell by her looks that if I teased her a bit more, she'll start crying. I stopped antagonizing her and enjoyed the ice cream. [TL note: "Kuya" (pronounced kuhyah) literally means older brother. One may address men older than them as "Kuya" as a form of respect or, in this case between Emma and Aldrin, a form of endearment especially since they're virtually siblings.]

"Oh dear," sighed Ate Lydia. "Her classmates are inviting her to a movie."

"I see," said my mom. "How many are you?"

"Four of us girls," answered Emma. "We wanted to hang out because exams are over." She knows that she'll be able to rely on my mom for support.

"There you go," said my mom before she turned to Ate Lydia. "I suppose you should allow her. It's just once in a while." I can see Emma's cheeks tighten to prevent the smile thats slowly forming on her face.

"But they want to watch in Megamall," argued Emma's mom.

"Are there any guys to accompany you?" asked my mom as she began to consume the ice cream given to her.

"None, ma'am. It's just really us girls," clarified Emma.

"I see," said my mom. She seems to be enjoying the ice cream. "I dont think there will be any problems." At the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Emma jump.

"But they'll come home at night," said Ate Lydia

"Oh... Then send a chaperon," exclaimed my mom in an effort to convince Emma's mom to agree. I saw Emma grinning, but the grin quickly turned into a frown when she heard what my mom had to say next: "Hey Aldrin, you go with Emma."

"Why me? I'll be busy on Saturday"

"What 'busy'? Didn't you say your finals are over?"

"Ate, please don't send Aldrin as chaperon," complained Emma. "He'll just act all cute because he has a crush on Jen."

"Huh. That Jen has some nerve," I argued. Jen was her classmate and she's been texting me ever since Emma borrowed my phone to text her. "Why did you give out my number to her?"

"Will you go with Emma, Aldrin?" Ate Lydia turned to me, not wanting the discussion to digress.

"Go with her, sweetie. Take the car so you won't have problems commuting"

I sighed, nodded, and shoved a big spoonful of icecream in my mouth. I looked at Emma. She just got her permission, but it seems she didn't like the way things worked out.

=======

"Hey don't blame me for the traffic ok?" I argued. "You know that the MRT is under construction." [TL note: this is the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).]

"Just go faster," Emma said. "They're already inside."

We were almost running to the Cinema. The truth is I want to watch the movie but I didn't want to go with her. Her classmates have the tendency to be very noisy, not to mention very annoying.

"I don't want your friends to see me, ok?" I told Emma. "When the movie ends, let's meet at Wendy's. Just text me."

"Ok," she said. She was preoccupied with hurrying so she didn't have the time to argue.

We got our tickets and went inside as soon as possible. We peeked at the screen from the side of the cinema and I saw that the ending credits of the previous screening is still rolling. Emma went on ahead to meet up with her classmates while I fell in line at the concession stand. I got a bit annoyed because we could've taken our time. I didn't like being hurried for nothing.

Confident that I didn't have to deal with Emma's friends, I got myself a large coke and a tub of popcorn for the movie. (Hey, I enjoy movies, ok?) The theater lights were still on when I entered. Leonardo di Carprio was running in the trailer of "The Beach" when I found a good seat a few rows in front of Emma and her classmates. "This should be far enough not to be recognized," I told myself. They were at the top right corner of the cinema.

I slouched and raised a foot. I took a handful of popcorn and watched rest of the movie trailers. Soon the lights went out and last few trailers began to roll. I was getting comfortable when my cellphone beeped. I forgot to put it on silent mode and I got shushed by strangers around me. I took a peep at my cell phone and saw that it was Emma.

Wr r u? badtrip. i wna go home.

why? whats wrong?

Their BFs came too. we agreed its just us girls. im alone here. i feel op. [TL note: OP means out-of-place.]

I raised my head to take a good look at Emma's party. She was at the left end, and beside her were 3 couples. From the light on the screen, I can see that her classmates were busy talking while Emma was holding her 5110, unable to relate in the couples scene.

u dont hav to hav sum1 2 enjoy d movie. u didnt pay to chat, ryt?

eh jeff wants 2 go play billiards l8tr. awkward. shouldve just been us

dats wat u get. didnt i tell u to get a bf already hehe

and u still gotta annoy me. ah nvm. lets go home after this.

do u want 2 play billards with them later?

yeah but i'd be awkward. lets just go home.

Emma looked as if she just got cheated in a game. She was leaning away from her friends, with her hand on her elbow, obviously annoyed and getting bored. Her friends were still chatting so I got up, climbed and moved to the free seat on Emma's left.

"Sorry," I pretended to apologize."There was a line at the snack bar so I took quite a while."

Emma was confused for a bit, but she easily catched on. "Have a seat. It's starting."

"I got us popcorn and coke," I told Emma. "Dammit, there's only one straw!" I told myself, but Emma realized this and casually told me she didnt want to drink.

Her friends started saying "hi" and Emma introduced me to her friends as "the son of her mom's boss". I just nodded and smiled at them.

So I was sympathetic. Big deal. I had to do what I can. She wasn't such a bad girl and she didn't deserve to get her time out ruined. She is a good student and she deserves some fun.

Soon, the movie started and Emma's fingernails started digging into my right arm. An hour and a half, a swollen right arm and a deaf right ear later, the lights went on. The movie has ended and I suggested we eat dinner at Kenny Rogers' Roasters (when it was still cool lol). After that, we proceeded to play billards. I don't want to discriminate but I was a bit uncomfortable playing with Emma's friends from highschool and she knows that. Nevertheless, I didnt want to embarass her in front of her friends, and being the only one of legal age in the group, I kept myself well behaved. All night, Emma was elbowing me and grinning because we were winning the games. She said the other guys were getting jealous for their GFs, so I should lessen my antics. I just kept a stiff grin, and from time to time I reminded Emma that she owes me bigtime.

We got home around 10:30 pm with 3 worried grown-ups waiting for us. We got a good scolding and grounding. I wont be able to drive for a semester. We got sent to our rooms soon after that.

"Goodnight," I told Emma when were about to enter each others' rooms.

"Goodnight," she replied. We both got scolded but she was able to flash me a smile. A few minutes later, I got a text from Emma.

sori even u got grounded. but thnx 4 tonyt. ty really üüü gnyt.


*Lydia is Emma's mom's name and Aileen is my mom's name (Ayen is her nickname). Both are real names btw.