Antique Shop

by Shane Christian Cook

In a small city in Bulacan, there's a boy named Rommel, or "Mel" in short.

Mel is such a huge fan of music; the genres he likes pop punk, reggae, and hip-
hop. It helps him calm his mood whenever he's feeling stressed about the society
he lives in, mostly school and his family. There's a huge boundary between him
and his parents because both of his parents are too busy with their work, so they
don't take or allot time for their son. On the other hand, Mel is a high school
student; he is an introverted guy at his school, which is why he does not have
many friends like those typical high school students. But he has one friend
named Emman. Emman is an extrovert type of guy, which is why he has a lot of
friends, unlike Mel. But even though Emman has a lot of friends, Mel is still his
best friend. They have the same kind of music taste, and they were also
childhood friends. Back in the day, Mel and Emman used to play every day; they
were like brothers to each other. If someone bullies Mel, his best friend is always
there to protect him. If Emman has an emergency, financial problems, or family
problems, Mel also had his back; like a realhomies. One day, Mel and Emman
went for a walk on their way home from school. They passed by a new antique
or vintage shop in their neighborhood. Emman told Mel to come to the shop
because he just wanted to look at some old stuff. Mel agreed. So both of them
enter the shop, and a middle-aged man and a girl who are their same age greet
them. "Good day! Come in", the old man said. Emman also greeted him back and
said, "Good day, sir! Welcome to our neighborhood." Emman said, smiling at
them. Both of them are checking out and trying that stuff in the shop, and both
of them are amazed. Emman was looking at those paintings, books, and DVDs
while Mel got the attention of an old music box. He tried to see if the music box
was still working, but he couldn't figure out how that thing worked. "Do you want
me to help you?" Annie said. She was the daughter of an old man. "No, I'm good;
I'm just curious how this thing works. Thanks for offering, by the way," timid
Mel said. Even though he says no, Annie still helps him and teaches him how
the music box works. "Thank you," Mel said. "You are always welcome. Mmm,
what's your name again?" Annie said. "I'm Rommel, what about you?", "I'm
Annie, me and my dad are the owner of this shop. My dad really loves old stuff,
so he makes a business out of those things he's really interested in." Annie said.
Mel felt awkward because no one in his life had ever talked to him or started a
conversation with him except his best friend. That's why Mel did not know what
to say, so he ended up saying, "That's nice; I need to go home. Bye!" Then he ran
faster and awkwardly out of the shop, while Emman was curious about what
happened and why his best friend ran out of the shop. "Yo, what happened?" he
asked. "Nothing; I just want to get home early today." Mel nervously answered.
"Mmkay, see you tomorrow, I guess?" Emman said. "Cool, see you!" Mel said
while walking fast.

The next day, Mel saw Annie in their classroom. Annie approaches him as
soon as she sees him. "I guess we're classmates now," Annie said. "Yeah, I guess
so." Mel sighs. Mel did not really hate Annie; he just wasn't used to people talking
to him or being friendly with him. He didn't know how to act or answer properly,
which is why he always avoided her. Annie was a friendly teenager. She was
smart and she like to study and socialize. She was also active in recitations or
report when there was an activity that their teacher assigned for them. As a
matter of fact, Mel has a crush on her; he just doesn't know how to act or how
to say it to her because he can't even talk to her properly. After school, Mel,
Emman, and Annie walk together on the way home. Annie always initiates a
conversation with Mel, but he never answers all of her questions. The one who
always answers for Mel is his best friend, Emman. Annie feels bad about it
because Annie has a crush on Mel too, but both of them do not know their
feelings are mutual. The next day, Annie decides to confront Mel about how she
feels about him. She'd like to confess her feelings. "Mel, can we have a talk, at
least for a minute?" "Yeah, sure, what is it?" Mel curiously answered: "I just
noticed that since the day we first met, you're always avoiding me. Is there
something wrong with me? I like you, Mel. I just want to know if you feel the
same way or if you feel disgusted by me." Annie said. "Uh-m no! There's nothing
wrong with you. " It's just..." stuttered Mel. "It's just what, Mel?" she asked.
"Never mind! Stay away from me!" and he ran fast again to their home; he was
absent from school that day. Annie was feeling regretful about the confession
that she made; she thought that she should not have confessed about her
feelings because, in that way, she would never be with Mel again. On the other
hand, Mel was uncomfortably stressed in his room. He did not know what to do;
he was mad at himself because he couldn't answer Annie's questions or every
time Annie tried to talk to him. He was crying and shouting. After he suffers, Mel
decides to confess to Annie tomorrow how he really feels about her.

Later that day, Emman and Annie are the only ones who are going home.
Emman noticed that Annie was sad and not talking the whole time they were
walking. So Emman decides to start a conversation to help Annie divert her
attention. "I wonder why Mel goes home early; do you have any idea what's going
on with him?" He asked. Annie did not answer. She feels awkward. When they
got to Annie's crib in the antique shop, Emman talked again: "Hey, if you need
someone to talk to, I'm always here." She felt overwhelmed, so she cried in front
of Emman. She did not say anything about her problem, but Emman is still there
for her to comfort her, whatever her problems may be. After she cried, Emman
took her to the convenience store to treat her food, make her happy, help her
change her mood, and divert her attention. Annie was happy; she enjoys
Emman's company. She realized that she should not force herself on a guy who
does not want her, like Mel. But she's unaware of how Mel feels about her. The
next day, Mel was ready to confess to Annie how he truly feels about her and
how he adores and is amazed by her. He's also with his mom because there's a
meeting for the parents in their classroom. She saw Annie, and he smiled at her.
Annie smiled back, but not a happy smile. Then, when his mother and Annie's
father met, both of them were shocked. There's a revealed family connection.
Annie's father is also her mother's father, which means her mother and Annie
are sisters with different mothers. Mel's mother was a child from his father's
youth, so Annie was her auntie. Mel's mother and Annie's father were amazed
that they were meeting each other, and his mother was happy to meet her new
sister, Annie. Annie and Mel are shocked. Mel will explode on the information,
that the girl he likes is her auntie. He did not know what to do; he couldn't
confess how he felt about her because, upon the revelation, they knew. Later
that day, Emman, Mel, and Annie walk home together. Mel was still shocked.
Especially when he saw how close his best friend Emman and her crush, who is
her auntie, Annie, were. He did not know what to say, how to act, or how to feel.
He went straight home and cried again, thinking about the things that had
happened to him in just a day. He can't believe what happened. Her crush was
her aunt, and her aunt and his best friend are having sparks with each other. It
changed him. It made him think that he should change himself and that he
needed to face his fears before everything ended. So what happened in the past
cannot be repeated. He changed. Mel was no longer an introverted kid who
couldn't make a conversation with anyone; he worked on himself, gained more
confidence about himself, started to socialize, and focused on himself. Even
though she knows that his TOTGA is her aunt, at least he found a positive
solution in those bad situations.