new lives; old friends

Gel and I have been trying to book Nikko for months, but didn’t get an appointment ‘til a week before I left. Seriously, it’s like getting in line for an iPhone 5. But really, Nikko has been the busiest of bees that we rarely get to see him. In fact, I’ve seen him only twice since graduation. The first one was a 30-min lunch sandwiched between a demanding day at work. But I can’t complain, in any case, he seems to be the most successful among us three.

When Nikko asked me where I wanna eat, I didn’t have to think a second: Yabu. I first had Yabu with Nicole, and I remember watching each other’s eyes spasm after our first bite. It’s seriously crazy good. My favourite is the Rosu Katsudon. Imagine this: first class pork loin with a trimming of fat, encrusted in fine golden breading and topped with wet omelette and sweet sauce. So good I still enjoyed it despite having Nikko harass me the entire time, telling me how Canada sucks, massively. Haha. It’s been a while since the three of us sat together and ate. In fact I remember the last time: Eat Sumo at Square, after Creative Writing class with sir Caloi. It was almost 3 years ago, so I didn’t mind the teasing. Although, I remember tearing up at one point. I found it somewhat novel, Nikko was almost always my pre-set picker-upper. Afterwards he gave me a gift (a Hulk bobblehead) with a note that said: Tisa! Every time you move him, his head-shaking will represent my disappointment. Tss. Canada amp. Yup, he’s sweet all right. Needless to say, I rarely move it.  

I remember basking in that moment. The comfort of old friends, old jokes and old stories we’ve heard and told countless times. I remember the drive home to Gel’s house after that lunch, and talking about how much things have changed, and how much we missed our college glory days, despite calling them juvenile. Looking back now, I don’t mind that things have changed. That between fall outs and make ups, there’s a tear and wrinkle in the pages; things you can no longer iron out to make it seem unspoiled.

I’ve never been the one to repress my cheesiness, so yeah, I love these two. Through fall outs, through creases and wrinkles and whatnot.