Chapter 16: Project OMG
Geo called it Project OMG or Owning Mattheus through Geovanne. I called it Project Stupid, even when I didn't mean it. I was still up to having Matt back into my life, be it because I wanted to prove something to my brother or because I really did miss him. And since Geo was a willing bridge, I wouldn't question it.
I woke up with a different mood. I was contented, knowing I had stood my ground, even when it cost me my relationship with Zach. We could patch things up in the future. I just didn't want to think about him now. I had other things to do, other concerns I should handle on my own. I was sure he was taking care of me, but he had to learn to do it without tying me down.
"Mission Impossible Photo Wall and Project OMG launch today. Officially." Geo winked at me as we had breakfast on his favourite spot at World Park.
Berkeley and Reagan had separate cafeterias to prevent overstaying of lovers. Like dating would be the only reason for students to overstay. They kept forgetting that since there was barely a thousand students in the whole of the school, including the high school department, the student body was strong on cliques.
This sports fest season, however, all athletes were to eat at Berkeley cafeteria, since they hired a nutritionist that specialized in providing food, fitted to almost every athlete, depending on their profiles.
Then, of course, there were those who brought their food to World Park so they could eat under the acacia trees with their friends and partners. But that was too much of a hassle – bringing food and cleaning up. So most often, students ate at the cafes and just hung out elsewhere. Geo was one of the few who still went the extra mile.
He was bringing pancakes, bacons, eggs and toasts this morning. He knocked on my door at five and left as soon as he had told me to get ready for a tiring day. Then he returned an hour later, just about the same time my alarm went off, so we could walk together.
"I don't know how they do it. Keep the bacons crispy even after an hour of having them inside takeout boxes," he said.
"It's a secret they won't let you in on."
He laughed and watched as I poured him coffee. Being the one to have a coffeemaker readily available, I brought South American brew on a thermos and two mugs.
"Thank you," he said as soon as he was done with his first sip. "That's amazing."
I found pleasure at the fact that he liked it. "So why are we here this early?"
"What do you usually eat for breakfast?" He had shifted to lay on his side, elbows propped on the picnic mat and focused on me. If I didn't know that he was really fond of making conversations with people, I would've felt uncomfortable with his stare. They were deep. Like please-show-me-your-world kind of deep.
I stirred my coffee after having placed sugar and creamer in it, ignoring him as he kept his eyes fixed on me. "You mean when you don't interrupt me?"
"Yes, when you're not busy being mad at people you just can't stay mad at." Geo snickered, popping a slice of the toast into his mouth.
"God, you are so conceited." I knew he meant himself.
"It's one of the many qualities Mattheus doesn't actually show to people." When I raised my eyebrows at him, he continued, "I mean, come on. He is a jock. He's more of a jock than I am. It's way too impossible for him not to be conceited."
I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him. Perhaps Matt was a little conceited. I mean, on January first, he texted me and asked me to come over to his hotel because he knew my brother wouldn't agree about us going out normally. He came to Tarlac then, but he didn't want my brother to know.
It was the way he asked me to go there that I wouldn't forget. I'm tired, Zoey. I don't want to argue with you. So if you could just please come over so we could have lunch. I'm starving. And I'm leaving early tomorrow morning.
Matt didn't try anything stupid with me. Not at that time. We went for lunch at the hotel cafeteria and that was just about it. We sat in front of each other, staring at each other, without a topic to discuss. Imagine him traveling three and a half hours by bus and he still didn't have anything to talk to me about. Imagine me having gone there against my brother's will and I still didn't know what to ask or say.
"I thought we were talking about you," I said, swallowing hard just to take me away from the memories of Matt.
"We're talking about you and him," Geo countered. "Project OMG."
"Stop that. It's lame."
"The reason behind this is lame."
"You're the one who suggested this."
"Because it will end the lameness. Geez." Geo sat up and took a sip of his coffee. He wrinkled his nose right after, though it didn't seem to be of displeasure. "Next time, you're bringing blended coffee."
"I would've thought you'd be a black-coffee kind of guy."
Based on the psychology of coffee, the more socially bold people preferred frappes and blended drinks. So, yeah, perhaps his request suited him well.
"You think I drink black coffee because Matt does," he said. He was waiting for me to answer that, and when I shrugged my shoulders, he laughed.
I found it really creepy that he could see right through me. I hid my smile with my toast.
"Okay, so here's our game plan."
"Again? How many plans do you have?" I narrowed my eyes. He was taking this second round thing a little too seriously.
"A lot." He rubbed his hands together, as if the sun wasn't warm enough, and then scooted more closely to me. "From now on, you wear pink or anything girly, since we won't be in uniform."
"What?" I had never really liked the idea of changing my wardrobe for men. I liked wearing jeans and tank tops, sweaters and sneakers and running shoes. I loved them black. The closest thing to pink that I would ever allow myself to be caught dead in was plum.
"And heels. And skirts."
"Go fuck yourself, Geo."
He laughed loudly, perhaps surprised that I could talk that way. My brother taught me to. Seriously. "Trust me, I don't need to."
"You are so disgusting."
"You hurt me, you know." He shook his head, still laughing, and I found myself laughing with him. A beat of silence passed and he said, eyes beyond the manmade lagoon, "Since the year began, I promised myself I wouldn't do it with someone who isn't my girlfriend."
"Oh, please." Why should I believe that?
"What? Can't a man suddenly decide he doesn't want to play anymore?"
Geo was messing with my mind. It was like he knew so well why I left Matt, and he was telling me now that he wanted the exact opposite of it. It was strange – this setup. Geo and me, always together when Matt and a photo wall were all that kept us familiar to each other. In so short a time, I had known him much better than I had expected. It wasn't the facts; those had come to me long before this ever began. It was the very reality of him, and the feeling he brought, like he was a great part of my days now.
"We're dyeing your hair. Blonde. Matt likes his girls blonde."
"No, he doesn't!" Zoey specifically remembered Matt telling her how he hated Filipino women who dyed their hairs blonde. It's because he thought black hair was the most attractive crowning glory of women. "He likes them brunette."
"Well, you have brown hair."
"Chocolate brown and I happen to like it," I said.
"I like it, too." Geo winked. "Matt likes cheerleaders. But since you can't dance and you are not perky enough--"
"Never will be," I cut in.
"You will simply have to show up to his games. Take photos of him and make sure he sees you. That way, he will be energized and his team will win."
I had half a mind to tell him he was a genius, but those wouldn't crack Matt. Plus, "You are forgetting an important bit of the puzzle. My brother. He'd freak out if he saw me wearing girly clothes and attending their games."
"One of these days, I'd kick your brother's ass."
"Oh, I would love to see you try. I would actually pay to see anyone go against him."
The seven AM bell rang and he clapped his palms on his thighs. "Well, I have a seven thirty meeting with the council. We have to clean up."
"I'll do it."
"Oh, thanks, babe."
I shivered hearing him. Whether it was the good kind of shiver or the bad kind, I didn't know at the moment. "Don't call me babe."
"All right, babe." He stood up and ran, laughing.
Ugh! You just had to be with Geo!
"Wait!" As soon as he turned to face me, I asked, "Is that it? Your game plan?"
"There are lots more." He flashed his teeth as he smiled and it was only then that I had really appreciated his dimple. He had just one – on his left cheek, where I believed his jaw was more defined. Under the morning sun, his skin glistened the perfect shade of olive – the kind of beauty that was all his.
"From now on, you smile a lot, too, okay?" he added.
And I did smile at that moment. It was like his voice commanded me well, even without being firm or stiff. He was simply there and I simply followed him. What was it with these twins, I wondered, that by a certain force of nature, I had become this close and this comfortable around them?
"Yeah. Like that. You are so ganda when you smile." Then he turned and ran.
I sat for a few minutes after he had gone, feeling my heart race wildly and my cheeks burning in my face. I thought if I was making the right choice of letting him sell me to his brother. I did, after all, had a crush on him, too.
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