Read Online Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra - Free Book Online
Authors: Mina V. Esguerra
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own seat belt and
turned to face me. "I haven't seen them in a long time because I
knew Patty would be where they were, and I didn't want to see
Patty, so I avoided all of them."
I nodded.
"Well, now I know that I don't care
about that anymore. I'm done with it. And I thought you of all
people would understand how I feel and back me up a
bit."
"Of course," I said
immediately.
"Plus they'd give me less shit about
everything if I brought someone. Are you okay with
that?"
"What exactly do you need me to
do?"
He looked in the general direction of
Greenbelt with some hesitation, and then he exhaled. "Ellie, you
don't look at me like I'm someone you feel sorry for. Just keep
doing that."
I did get it. That look was a special
kind of pity that even my closest friends gave me. Friends of those
who've had their hearts broken want them to recover, but they want
it to happen right away, as if we could help it. As if we could
just glue ourselves back together. I could tell when they started
getting impatient, and yeah, that look was hard to see and be
around.
"So I get to be the cool one tonight,
and you're the pathetic one?" I teased. "Do we have to hold hands
and stuff? Would that convince your friends to leave you
alone?"
Lucas laughed, but I detected some
relief there. "Do you just imagine all the time that your life is a
romance story? I really did just invite my new friend Ellie to
dinner, because she's smart and likes traveling and is very into
pop culture and might fit in with my friends. All you have to do is
eat and enjoy yourself." He unlocked the doors and started to get
out of the car. "But if you feel like you need an excuse to take
advantage of me, just say so, I'm sure we can think of
something."
And then he slammed his car door shut
before I could protest. I caught up with him and instead followed
up with a solid (but harmless) thwack on the back of his
neck.
Chapter 12
It was almost like traveling, but the
food was free, and I didn't have to ride a plane.
Everyone at Lucas' friend
Mark's party was half a foot taller, years older, and leagues
cooler than me. Seriously. Every single
person.
In a way, it explained why he seemed
oblivious to the adoration the office people had for him. In this
crowd he was almost ordinary. First of all, they were all thirty
and older. At twenty-nine, Lucas was already one of the youngest,
an idea that I found strange and disorienting at first.
I didn't know anyone there, except for
Sandra, and I realized that I didn't have to pretend to be cool. I
entered that bar and got a feeling strangely similar to landing at
a new airport – this was a fresh start. Every single person there
was a fresh start to me.
And suddenly that put me at
ease.
As Lucas showed me around
and introduced me to one group of strangers after another, I
actually felt good about myself. It was easy when they welcomed him
so warmly – they really did miss him, I could tell. Normally I
would have been shy and insecure, being young and unaccomplished in
the face of the lawyer, the doctor, the grad student, the
entrepreneur, but I didn't care. They were his friends, not mine, and they would
only find out my weaknesses if I told them.
"So how long have you known Lucas?"
was the favorite question of the night. After saying "a few months"
several times. We got bored with it.
"She was my
childhood yaya ,"
Lucas said to George, the doctor.
"I met him at the MRT station
yesterday," I told Annie, the grad student.
"I met her in church," Lucas said to
Sheila, the lawyer, perfectly deadpan.
She was the only one who called him on
it. "Liar. You don't go to church!"
He was great at this, and I
bet he didn't even need me. By the second
hour I was feeling comfortable enough to stay afloat even as Lucas
was taken aside by a bunch of people who wanted to catch up with
him. Birthday boy Mark and his wife Lisa immediately headed toward
me when Lucas left my side.
"You're not really his secretary,
right?" Lisa said,
turned to face me. "I haven't seen them in a long time because I
knew Patty would be where they were, and I didn't want to see
Patty, so I avoided all of them."
I nodded.
"Well, now I know that I don't care
about that anymore. I'm done with it. And I thought you of all
people would understand how I feel and back me up a
bit."
"Of course," I said
immediately.
"Plus they'd give me less shit about
everything if I brought someone. Are you okay with
that?"
"What exactly do you need me to
do?"
He looked in the general direction of
Greenbelt with some hesitation, and then he exhaled. "Ellie, you
don't look at me like I'm someone you feel sorry for. Just keep
doing that."
I did get it. That look was a special
kind of pity that even my closest friends gave me. Friends of those
who've had their hearts broken want them to recover, but they want
it to happen right away, as if we could help it. As if we could
just glue ourselves back together. I could tell when they started
getting impatient, and yeah, that look was hard to see and be
around.
"So I get to be the cool one tonight,
and you're the pathetic one?" I teased. "Do we have to hold hands
and stuff? Would that convince your friends to leave you
alone?"
Lucas laughed, but I detected some
relief there. "Do you just imagine all the time that your life is a
romance story? I really did just invite my new friend Ellie to
dinner, because she's smart and likes traveling and is very into
pop culture and might fit in with my friends. All you have to do is
eat and enjoy yourself." He unlocked the doors and started to get
out of the car. "But if you feel like you need an excuse to take
advantage of me, just say so, I'm sure we can think of
something."
And then he slammed his car door shut
before I could protest. I caught up with him and instead followed
up with a solid (but harmless) thwack on the back of his
neck.
Chapter 12
It was almost like traveling, but the
food was free, and I didn't have to ride a plane.
Everyone at Lucas' friend
Mark's party was half a foot taller, years older, and leagues
cooler than me. Seriously. Every single
person.
In a way, it explained why he seemed
oblivious to the adoration the office people had for him. In this
crowd he was almost ordinary. First of all, they were all thirty
and older. At twenty-nine, Lucas was already one of the youngest,
an idea that I found strange and disorienting at first.
I didn't know anyone there, except for
Sandra, and I realized that I didn't have to pretend to be cool. I
entered that bar and got a feeling strangely similar to landing at
a new airport – this was a fresh start. Every single person there
was a fresh start to me.
And suddenly that put me at
ease.
As Lucas showed me around
and introduced me to one group of strangers after another, I
actually felt good about myself. It was easy when they welcomed him
so warmly – they really did miss him, I could tell. Normally I
would have been shy and insecure, being young and unaccomplished in
the face of the lawyer, the doctor, the grad student, the
entrepreneur, but I didn't care. They were his friends, not mine, and they would
only find out my weaknesses if I told them.
"So how long have you known Lucas?"
was the favorite question of the night. After saying "a few months"
several times. We got bored with it.
"She was my
childhood yaya ,"
Lucas said to George, the doctor.
"I met him at the MRT station
yesterday," I told Annie, the grad student.
"I met her in church," Lucas said to
Sheila, the lawyer, perfectly deadpan.
She was the only one who called him on
it. "Liar. You don't go to church!"
He was great at this, and I
bet he didn't even need me. By the second
hour I was feeling comfortable enough to stay afloat even as Lucas
was taken aside by a bunch of people who wanted to catch up with
him. Birthday boy Mark and his wife Lisa immediately headed toward
me when Lucas left my side.
"You're not really his secretary,
right?" Lisa said,
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