( A conversation made about two days ago. My mom and an old friend were chatting about life and then some. As usual, I wasn’t paying attention until I heard this…)

Mum’s friend: “You know he’s a really nice guy. He helped us a lot”

(At the mention of the “name” my mom looks at me with a snide smile. My younger brother who was tinkering with his phone looked up and gave me a mischievous smile. I hope I wasn’t blushing. Mum’s friend notices.)

Mum’s friend: “Why what’s up with you and the son of “toot”?

(At this point my mom looks at me)

Mum’s friend: “Why? Tell me na. NaCute ka kay “toot”?”
( I am turning beat red, I know this because my younger brother is looking at me with that annoying look on his face.)

My dear mum: “Cute, cute lang. Bata pa yan.”

(Duh. My mom’s friend smiles at me. I smile back, still trying to kick my mom’s leg under the table)

Mum’s friend: “Naku, un! Naku, ang daming girls noon. He goes through girls like he goes through dirty laundry”

( At this point, I smile and sip my coffee. Without looking at my brother I know he is giving me his, “I TOLD YOU SO” face. My mom, in fairness defends him.)
My dear mum: “Eh mukha namang mabait ah.”

(My tita laughs and says something about silent waters. Finally, the topic is switched to my choice of school. Thankfully.)

Okay, I know I shouldn’t judge him based on that alone. Seriously, you know what I was thinking? I was thinking, “well, that’s expected.” Let me elaborate, girls are literally throwing themselves at him (Zena and I are wondering day and night why though) who wouldn’t be tempted. He is so not a saint. My mom and I continued talking about that topic all throughout the day and she said the same thing. She said that its only expected of him to be like that or labeled as that. Maybe, he has a lot of girl friends, not girlfriends. Okay, maybe I’m in denial here, but do you get my point here? I have no right to judge him because that’s what people think of him. In fairness to my mom, she seems to give him a lot of benefit of the doubt. She even said that she admired him ‘cause he can be alone, another indication that what was said to me isn’t true.
But then again, you’d never know. So, I’m glad I was given that warning. Despite my mom and I giving him the benefit of the doubt I couldn’t take away my younger brother’s “I TOLD YOU SO” face out of my mind and I couldn’t help thinking, “sabi ko na nga ba ganun din siya”
What am I yakking about anyway, I don’t even know him. Wahaha. I probably got y’all confused already.=)