Ayesha Point of View
Smile.
When someone gives me a beaming smile, I always do respond. Most likely I smile back. And I probably feel happier too.
Yes, genuine smiles—whether from friends or total strangers—are infectious, and they evoke good feelings especially when that person's eyes met, I felt relaxed and secure.
A sincere smile indicates positive emotions, such as amusement, happiness, and pleasure which somehow I felt when Vener smile. I peeked at Ron and like me, she's smiling.
I guided Vener on the couch and let him sit there in front of the television.
"Here," he gave me the sweet white corn and even told me that it's freshly picked from the farm and already cook that is ready to eat. I stared at the corn and wondering how they manage to harvest sweet white corn when there was a typhoon and it was too risky to pick even though the rain stops. I pulled out all my thoughts and went to the kitchen to get a bowl and juice. When I returned, Ron and Vener were talking to each other while watching.
"So, you mean Ms Sandoval, really a corn monster?" Vener stated that made me feel embarrassed. I gawked at Ron but she's just acting like an innocent. I didn't know that I was the subject of their conversation. Speaking of calling me Ms Sandoval, I even told him before not to call that when it's not around the school premises. He insisted that he's more comfortable with it.
"You can say like that," and they both laughed. I didn't mind the two, instead, I just focused on the Korean drama we were watching.
"You have a farm?" Ron intrigued him and he nodded as a response.
"Our family owns it. Aside from our other businesses, our family-owned a farm where we cultivate coffee beans, corns and other vegetables," he said that caught my attention. His family was rich and that explains that a simple thing made possible.
"The beans your using in the V's coffee shop was the one you are harvesting in your farm," I inserted to their topic.
"Yeah. It's been in our third generation so dad was doing his best to take care of the business. Want to try to visit our place some other time?" Vener warmly invited us.
"Sure, if schedules are not tight," Ron looked at me saying that I should accept the invitation. So did I.
Time past and we didn't have to notice the time, it was already dinner. Ron offered him to grab his first dinner before going to his unit and he gladly accepted it. Ron went first in the kitchen leaving us two. Vener roamed his eyes around.
"Feel free to feel at home, we'll just prepare food for dinner. Just disregard our cooking skills later when you taste the food we're going to serve," I said but it may sound good but it was true.
"No, I'm not choosy. Whatever the food was as long as it's not deadly or poisonous, I can eat it," his eyes fixed on me and smiled as an assurance. Here we go again with his smile, I felt that there's it was a pounding chest that I can't explain and I can't resist but to smile back.
"I can help," he offered but I stood up not minding his offer and gave him the remote control. "You can change the movie if you don't like it. Don't worry we can go back with the episodes that we may miss."
I turned around and immediately went to the kitchen without hearing Vener's answer.
All I thought was that cooking time with Ron was peace and there was no unnecessary body reaction inside me but it's just what I thought. She teased me silently. She kept on glancing at Vener and the shifted to me and I can't help but blush like a teenager who happens that her crush was just around the corner. I have a natural rosy cheek that made it obvious when I blushed or turned red even if it was because of embarrassment or someone made fun of me. Her eyes gleamed and I frowned. I didn't know why did Ron tease me all the time about Vener. I didn't know why she was so excited about my involvement with him when in the first place was she's a man-hater and doesn't believe in a happy relationship, in short, she's bitter about love life.
A few minutes later, dinner was ready. It was expected that Vener was hungry and given that the metabolism of a girl and a boy was quite unusual. We cooked Pork Sinigang and Pinakbet.
"Sorry for the wait," I told him when he's about to sit in front of the dining table.
"Don't be. No problem."
"Let's eat," Ron said enthusiastically. "Free for criticism for improvement."
Vener gets food and tastes it. I waited for him to comment on the food but I ended up nothing. Action speaks a lot. He looked at us and gave two thumbs up. Ron shrieked because for us it was an achievement. We eat dinner silently, only the sound of spoon, fork, plates filled the silence and the television watching itself.
Then, Ron broke the silence by asking random questions to Vener and I silently hear him answering it all. One thing I observe to Vener, he has this mysterious aura but he's fun to be with. He can get along well with and has the personality of being good with other people.
"I was just curious. Who's taking medicines? Is there anyone of you undergo medication?" he asked and I suddenly hold tightly the spoon and fork in my hands while pretending to give a smile. Hearing the word medication felt like the world crumbled. He looked at me and shifted to Ron waiting for an answer.
"That's medicine? Don't think about it. Do we look sick?" Ron answered back and she shortly diverted the topic. I let out a sigh.