Let’s Just Let Destiny Take Control
A cute good-looking friend of mine from college, DonutGuy, called me up unexpectedly today, after a quick misunderstanding through text. Back in college, when there was still such a thing as free calls if you don’t last more than 1 minute on the phone, we used to do that all the time. He’d miss call me and I would be calling him back, saying, “Hello, DonutGuy? You called?”
Yes, my classmates had a blast making fun of me back then for those cheapskate phone calls.
Okay, I admit. I used to have this huge crush on him. His unexpected phone call brought me to an instant flashback of those days, back when I was still my more naive and less cynical self.
Flashback music please…
We actually met during a Battle of the Bands thing in school. He was brought along by a childhood friend of one of my classmates. They were three guys, we were three girls. After the Battle of the Bands, we went to play billiards, hanged out at the boys’ apartment and went home in the morning. My classmate, YoungMama, entertained her childhood friend and my other classmate, Lee Lee*, started being chummy with the other guy. I never was the friendly type so I spent most of that night smoking and joking with my girlfriends, occasionally smiling at the boys. It wasn’t until I was going home that he, DonutGuy, decided to accompany me.
And thus, starts the incredibly confusing saga of our so-called relationship.
Back when I was young, I never knew how to handle a new interest (Hmmm… when I do think about it, I think I still don’t. LOL…). He would find opportunities for him and his friends to drop by our school and see us and I, who didn’t know how to flirt back then, could barely look him in the eye when our friends were around. When he would visit me alone, we would talk about his dreams, our friends and our families and eventually, I started looking forward to seeing him more. He was a working student at Mr. Donut at the mall near my school so I occasionally dragged my friends to the donut shop just to get a glimpse of him. Suffice it to say, I stuffed myself with a lot of donuts and coffee during that particular time.
“[Mistress], I ahmmm… I have something to tell you.”
I smiled at him. “Yes.”
“Let me find the courage to say it first,” he said, as he tried to take a deep breath.
“Come on, tell me.”
“I’m not sure how to say it.”
“What is it?”
It took him some time to come right out and say it. I had to painstakingly drag it out of him.
“Ahmmm… the thing is… I… I like you.”
I smiled. Yes! I said to myself. “I ahmmm… I like you too, DonutGuy.”
“So, let’s just let destiny take control, okay?”
“Okay,” I mumbled hesistantly.
I was left there, still standing, confused by what had just occurred. I had no idea what he meant but apparently it was supposed to mean that we have an understanding already. Ergo, kami na (we were officially a couple). But at that time, I have already been with two boyfriends and I knew that that was not how it was supposed to work. Isn’t the guy supposed to tell the girl he loves her or something to that effect? I mean, hello! “Let’s let destiny take control” certainly doesn’t equate to “Be my girlfriend”! So, the next day, along with his friends, he visits me and my friends in school. I didn’t know how to react so I ended up completely ignoring him. He gets mad at me and apparently goes drinking with his friends. I got pissed off with his overly possessive reaction so, I dragged Lee Lee to a bar, got pissing off drunk as well, and proceeded to bitch off about him while Lee Lee, who was texting one of his friends, reported stories to each other of how inebriated DonutGuy and I were getting because of the said incident.
We must have been extremely embarrassed about the incident, knowing full well that we both got drunk because of each other that we couldn’t find the courage to face each other again. Suffice it to say, our couple status lasted for only a day and we never saw each other ever again.
Although we remained friends – probably because Lee Lee ended up dating his friend for more than three years – we never really talked about that incident. And strangely, even after Lee Lee and his friend broke up, we still remained good friends, albeit, long distance. Sometimes, I do think about how I could have better handled the situation and how it would’ve been if things were different. We were both too idealistic back then, him, because he hasn’t experienced having a girlfriend yet that time and me, because I played it safe and never took any risks. If we had met today and he would still have done the same thing, I would have known better what to do and I would have been DonutGuy’s girlfriend in a heartbeat.
