Then, Now, and Ever After

You Think I'm Cute?

"I can't think of a good name for your love team, Ate," Risa complained a week later, as they got out of Aina's car and out into the St. Tropez Court parking lot. They had just both come back from school after encoding final grades and sorting through their students' papers in the faculty office, and all that time, all Risa could talk about was the fact that Aina and Maki had teamed up for the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, and thinking of the perfect name for their team. It was probably worse than any other obsession she had over any celebrity couple, mainly because one-half of the couple she was now obsessed with was Aina herself.

"Look, first of all," Aina said, rolling her eyes, "we're just trying to think of a name for our team in the Easter Egg Hunt, not a love team—"

"It's the same thing, Ate!" Risa insisted. "And every love team needs a good name. Like KathNiel, JaDine, or my new favorite love team—AlPyo, even when Pio Alvez said he doesn't really want to have a love team anymore, but he and Alice Panganiban are just perfect together, you know? Hmm. AiSig? It sounds weird—like an iPad, or something. Maybe MakiNa? Does that work?"

"No, because we're not a love—"

"Or, wait. How about MA'AM? Because Maki Angeles and Aina Macaraig, and you're a teacher so it's perfect—"

"No," Aina said firmly. "Besides, why can't be something as simple as our old team name, Team Stunning Searchers? And come on, you do have to admit, names of love teams are almost as bad as wedding hashtags."

"Wait are we talking about wedding hashtags now??" Risa squealed. "Are you thinking of getting married? Ate! But yes! A thousand times yes!"

Aina raised her hands heavenward. "You're hopeless. We're not even dating or anything." The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside.

It was Risa's turn to scoff as she followed into the elevator. "The past couple of weeks, you've been spending so much time with each other."

Aina's hands hung in midair, her fingers hovering over the keys. Risa looked at her with a knowing, triumphant smile, and pressed the key to the 7th floor, where their unit was.

She had been spending a lot of time with him. When he had asked her to have coffee again the day after, they ended up chatting for so long that merienda turned to dinner then dessert, and they only left because the shop was closing for the night. And they met again the next day, for juice at the juice bar after their gym sessions, and eventually they ended up having dinner at Ahjummart, because she was shocked that he had never tried Mrs. Han's fried chicken, when it was the best in the metro ever.

They met again the next day, because he had an idea for her classes the next semester. And the day after that, because he wanted to ask for her suggestions for new topics to cover in his new series. And the day after that. And every day for the past two weeks.

"You're blushing, Ate," Risa said, cutting into her thoughts.

"What? I'm not." She glanced at herself in the elevator's mirror and found that she was, indeed, blushing.

"Uh-huh, okay," Risa said, in a tone that clearly said she didn't believe Aina at all. "See, you're going to fit right in showbiz, Ate. Even your denial is very showbiz. Anyway, you're teamed up for the Easter Egg Hunt, so that's a date too."

"In case you forgot, I only ended up teaming up with him because you abandoned me. And when is joining an Easter Egg Hunt a date—"

"It is so a date, Ate Aina," Risa said. "Because your idea of a perfect date is spending an afternoon in an escape room. Or a zombie run in Intramuros."