whodunit

jod was laughing the whole time. there's nothing funny about turning shell select inside out, at four in the morning, hoping that no one has taken it while we weren't looking. it wasn't funny either how jc was pretty sure that one of us had it. the chief, tago mo 'to routine has always been an adolescent prank, the perpetrator enjoying the sight of his friend fussing over the loss of a valuable item. the said item is returned only after tears had been shed and the words "papagalitan ako ng nanay ko kapag nalaman niyang nawala ko yon" had been uttered in between sobs. what was remotely funny in the situation we found ourselves in was jc's unfrantic demeanor, displayed by his eloquence and his calm tone -

"pare, okay lang. di ako magagalit kung tinago niyo nga. pero uuwi na kasi ako. halika na."

we were looking for his car keys - the keys to his corolla and steering wheel lock. ah, losing one's car keys - one of two things that can make grown men cry (the other one is getting kicked in the nuts - why they are referred to as such will be the subject of another entry). jod was still laughing, unconvincingly defending his innocence. i was explaining to the poor guy that it wasn't our style to regress and act like a couple of 14 year olds taking pleasure in tormenting their peers (there is a time and a place for this). he wasn't convinced and i was coming close to being exasperated. it was four a.m. we just had breakfast at the adjacent jollibee. our tummies filled, everyone was anxious for a good night's sleep or even a crack at bangungot while we're at it. i was saying things like, "empty the contents of your pockets" - the effect of a healthy overdose of cop shows. it was probably jod's laughter that was keeping him doubtful of our credibility.

"hindi, okay lang. ilabas niyo na lang."

he wasn't pleading with us. he assumed that sooner or later we would hand it to him, have a good laugh, then bring our asses home. it's like, "okay, i get the joke, haha, cough it up para makauwi na." even if he did, what could we have done? we really didn't have it. it's our own time that we were wasting. i was checking my own pockets to see if i had inadvertently pocketed the damn thing. found nothing but the three pesos i had left, keys to my house, and my phone. we went to his car, peered into his tintless windows, making sure he didn't leave them in the ignition. hindi puede, he said, he clearly remembers setting it down at our table in select.

this is where my little story ends. we are all aware of the fallibility of memory. and this is a clear illustration of it. just for kicks, we decided to go back to jollibee and ask the manager whether we left something or not.

"dalawang susi?"

bingo. case closed.