Chapter 42 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 42

New pecked Tay’s lips with a quick kiss. Off’s a little envious, but he didn’t want to put Gun on the spot.

After pushing two tables together, Off volunteered to stay with their belongings while they fetch their trays of lunch.

On his phone, he was scrolling through Instagram when a female student approached him shyly.

When he lifted his head to look at her, she shied away. Off blinked. Confused.

After everyone came back and Off got his own lunch, the same student stopped next to him. 

“May I help you?” Off asked politely. 

Gun’s eyes bore on him.

Word: 100

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Chapter 41 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 41

New and Gun entered the wide cafeteria entrance, and Off felt his heart somersault so fast when he saw the smaller one coming their way.

“P’!” Gun’s smile widened. His bright eyes sparkled.

He looked ethereal with his styled hair, slight, barely there eyeshadow - coral pink, and lip-tinted lips. 

He had on him fitted blue jeans that hugged his hips and ass and a tucked-in wide, white polo shirt. 

Simple Nike shoes adorned his feet. 

“Nong,” Off choked. 

Tay and Arm watched their friend fall every step Gun took to reach their table.

“First time seeing you here, P’!”

“Hmm.” 

Word: 100

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Chapter 40 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 40 

For the first time attending their university, Off visited the other side of their campus - with Tay and Arm, of course.

Gun and New were still in the middle of their class, but once they’re out, they’ll be going straight to the cafeteria near their buildings. It’s where Off found himself waiting with his friends. 

He brought out his laptop to work on a quiz they’re supposed to turn-in this Friday. It was an easy quiz with only ten materials of multiple choice and true or false questions - he already studied for it last night.

He lifted his head.

There.

Word: 100

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Article | Japan Expo 2021 was a Festive Event at Our University!

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Written December 14, 2021

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

The yearly Japan Day at my University has always been a nice break right before the last month of the semester. Unfortunately, last year, because of the pandemic, no such events were hosted and participated by the students. Now that the campus was slowly opening its doors, several events, such as Homecoming, Late Night, and so on, had come back for this school year's students. I always come during Japan Day - as a volunteer and a participant. 

Imagine my surprise when Japan Day upgraded to Japan EXPO --- I thought the club hosting it, American x Japanese Cross-Cultural Club (AxJ), was really becoming more sophisticated. In actuality, the club's board members and regular members were really doing their very best to make such a big event possible. The event was held on November 18th.

In a Sailor Uniform

Even though I've been going to the event for years, this was the first time I actually cosplayed into something. Courtesy to my sister, the sailor uniform was a really cute first-time cosplay. I enjoyed dressing up into something cute. I told my sister we could be Kagamine Len and Rin next year!

The event organizers invited different shops from Instagram - most of them sold anime things, and there were those who sold K-Pop merchandise as well. Speaking of K-Pop, JAM, our university's official Kpop dance team, collaborated with AxJ to bring out very energetic performances that were fun to watch.

The biggest event was the Cosplay Fashion Show though. I must say that I like past years' cosplay fashion shows, but this year was also great. It's fun to see Kakashi in there. During the fashion show, the participants would do some talent show (though it's more like an entrance performance), then answer some questions.  

Poem | Seashore

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

I cried a river of tears last night

Because I couldn't keep the pain inside

But morning came and

A new dawn shone

So once again I showed you

My laughter and smile

Despair and anxiety had broken me

Like a shattered sea glass on a rocky beach

Where thundering display of rough waves

Smashed me against the sharp edges of a 

Tall cliff

Cutting my back and leaving me bleeding

Those same waves washed me to the shore

And I laid there unconscious

The blithering heat of the Almighty Sun

Scorching the bruised skin on my back

I heard silent footsteps on the seashore

And the first hope I had in a while

I woke up to blinding rays of sunshine and

Sunflowers, and a tray of understanding

And encouragement, and a cup of goodwill

With a little spice of love

And I knew no better present than the 

Current me

Who learned that self-love is all I need

I walked the dark, ragged path yesterday

I skipped around the garden of grass and 

Flowers today

I am new. I am. 

Chapter 39 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 39

There was silence. Then a roar of laughter echoed within their room. Thankfully the walls were thick and had great insulations. 

Off glared at his friends.

“Oh, shut up!” He said.

Tay wiped fake tears. “Oh, Peng. That’s… that’s…”

“Bitch, finish your sentence and I will…” he threatened. “And Arm, stop laughing. It hurts my ears!”

Both men increased their loudness instead. 

Ah, fuck, he thought. Off grabbed a shirt and boxers before entering their shared bathroom.

Under the hot water from the running shower, he thought of Gun. His cute smile. His bright eyes. Everything.

Turned to cold quickly.

Word: 100

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Chapter 38 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 38

Seeing his change in mood, Tay sat up from his place on his bed. 

“So?”

“I asked if I could court him. He said yes.”

“That’s great!” Arm exclaimed.

“But you’re not happy because you missed the chance to ask if he can be your boyfriend?” Tay asked, emphasizing the last word. 

Off nodded. 

Arm pondered, “Well, then. You can start courting him - shower him with love and all. Show him how you love. THEN, you ask him to be your boyfriend.”

“Give it a month or two,” Tay advised. 

 “But I planned to kiss him on the next date?”

Word: 100

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Chapter 37 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 37

They separated that day after spending another hour or two in the park together. The giddiness and happiness Off felt didn’t leave him even when he arrived at his dorm room.

Tay and Arm looked at him like he was crazy when he began humming Crazy in Love off-tuned.

“What’s wrong with you?” Arm asked.

Tay concluded. “Something might have happened with N’Gun. What? Did you ask him to be your boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend?” Off thought about it. He only asked Gun to court him… date him. Was that a clear “be my boyfriend?” scenario?

His excitement dampened a bit. 

“No.”

Word: 100

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Chapter 36 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 36

With his prolonged silence, Off’s hope began crashing down.

He was halfway saying “Never mind” when Gun said, “P’, I… I think. I think, maybe. Just maybe, I’m okay with it?”

Off blinked once. Twice. Then, thrice before it sank in. “Pardon?”

Gun turned to him and gave him a huge, bright smile. “Yes, P’! I want you to court me! Let’s date! Courting is dating, right?”

Off embraced him, happiness radiating from within his being. “I guess that’s what it means.”

He didn’t kiss Gun. No, he couldn’t. This was their first time going out… but on their next date?

Word: 100

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Chapter 35 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 35

After paying for their goods, they returned to the bench they vacated earlier. Like the ice cream truck, the tree gave a shade to several benches, including theirs. 

“Nong Gun,” Off said in between bites. “May I be with you?”

“Huh?”

“I like you. May I…” Off hesitated when Gun froze with his wooden scoop halfway into his hanging mouth. “May I court you? Ugh… to get to know you more?”

Gun slowly put his scoop onto the ice cream cup, then placed it between them. He stared at a distance before blinking a couple of times. “What? What? Court?”

Word: 100

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Chapter 34 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 34

“So what’s yours?” the seller, who had an amused smile and a white towel around his neck, asked Gun.

Still pouting, Gun replied, “Do you have a tiramisu ice cream cup, sir?”

The seller was already reaching for his freezer. “We do. We do. What about you, tall guy?”

“A vanilla, please,” he answered.

Gun gasped. “Vanilla! That’s boring!”

“That’s what I want to eat though.”

“Sir,” he turned to the seller. “Ignore him. Are cheese or coconut popsicles available?”

“Uh-huh.” The seller procured both. 

Off sighed. “Well then. I might as well get myself a cheese popsicle.”

Gun grinned.

Word: 100

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Chapter 33 Take Her To The Moon

By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading,

Take Her To The Moon

 

Chapter 33

“But, P’!” Gun protested, the children looking at this big baby curiously.

“No buts,” Off said. “You didn’t let me pay the whole bill earlier, plus I was the one who mentioned it to you.”

Gun harrumphed. “If that’s the case, then maybe we shouldn’t get ice cream after all.”

The ice cream seller interfered. “Aiyo, these kids. Young man,” to Gun he said, “just let this man of yours pay for it. Aiyo. Aiyo.”

Gun blushed a pretty scarlet hue. He objected, “Sir, he’s not my man!”

“Yet,” said Off with a smile. 

“What he said,” the seller nodded.

Word: 100

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Chapter 32 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 32

“Do you want some ice cream?” 

The ice cream truck parked next to an unmarked curve. A big acacia tree’s spread branches and thick foliage provided it a cool shade.

Several children and their guardians congregated in front of its opened window waiting for their turn to order the chilled dessert. 

Gun turned toward it. His eyes shone. “P’, I want one! Let’s see if they have tiramisu-flavored ice cream cups.”

He stood and reached for Off’s arm, tugging him there. 

He’s so cute, he thought, shaking his head at Gun’s enthusiasm. 

“It’s my treat this time, P’!”

“No. Mine.”

Word: 100

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Chapter 31 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 31

They found themselves in the middle of the park where a fountain twenty-feet diameter in size continuously flowed with cool, transparent water. The sun hitting the tendrils created rainbows fading between spaces.

Off led Gun to a wood-and-metal bench to sit. 

“So, P’,” Gun said. He’d been talking about a journal article he read for his thesis paper - something about the use of practical spaces not utilized by others - and how it was such a waste. “When are you gonna give me your phone number?”

Off chuckled, “Ok, ok. You really are eager, huh? It’s nine-O-nine…”

“Thank you, P’.”

“Hmm.”

Word: 100

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Chapter 30 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 30

“So, wanna go for a walk?” Off asked Gun who enthusiastically got to his feet while slinging his shoulder bag on himself. 

“Let’s go, P’!” Gun said. “The park is near here.”

They’re walking the distance toward the University Park side by side. “So, P’,” Gun started, “do you have Zelle?”

“I do.”

“Then give me your phone number, P’, I’ll send you my food bill now.”

“We’re about to cross, Nong,” Off chuckled. “Why the hurry? Want my phone number that badly?”

“Who says?” Gun glared at him. “Then give it to me after we cross.”

“Okay. Come on.”

Word: 100

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Article | First Time Watching A Symphony Orchestra LIVE

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Written on December 9, 2021.

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

When I opened my school email, I saw one from the school's orchestra supervisor. The performing arts, especially the orchestra, always send emails about some performance or recruitment. Usually, if it doesn't have anything to do with my major or minor, I just automatically put any email I received under "Read", but for some reason, I opened that email. At that time, I just felt I had to.

Poem | Morning To Class

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

The sparrows are chirping

The grass is gleaming from the morning dew

I take a deep breath

The smell of rosebushes swirl around me

The morning sun is awake yet chooses to 

Hide behind gloomy, foggy clouds

It's a cool morning

I'm driving E Street and Kendall Avenue

The red lights are so few

Same as vehicles with their low-beam lights

And playlist singing all dawn and night

Chapter 29 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 29

Gun blushed and smiled shyly. “Of course, P’.”

He signed for the waitress to bring their bill. When she did, Gun snatched it from him.

“Nong, I’ll pay for our food.”

“Nuh-uh. I’ll pay for mine.”

“But I’m the one who invited you out.” He tried to reach for it, but Gun hugged it to himself while avoiding him. 

“But I wanna pay for mine.” He pouted.

“Okay, okay.” Off reached out and Gun gave it to him. “I’ll pay in one go and you can just send me your part of the bill. Deal?”

“Deal.” He said hesitantly, pouting.

Word: 100

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Chapter 28 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not post or copy to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 28

“Apparels.”

“Clothing industry, P’?” His eyes bulged. “Wow! I mean, how come?”

“Arm’s degree is in fashion design. Tay’s in photography…”

“And you’re in business. So, you three are into fashion?” Gun looked impressed and interested.

“Hmm.” He hummed with a smile. “We’re actually in the middle of establishing our brand.”

“Wow! What’s it called, P?”

He chuckled. “You’ll be the first to know when we settled everything.”

“Promise, P’?”

“Of course, nong.”

They continued their lunch until they finished everything on their plates.

“Ahh, I’m so full,” Gun said. “I’ll definitely be coming back here again!”

“With me, right?”

Word: 100

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Chapter 27 Take Her To The Moon

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

Please do not copy or post to another site. Thank you. Enjoy reading.

Take Her To The Moon

Chapter 27

“Oh? When?” Off finished his ossobuco and gave a slice of pizza to Gun. 

“Thank you, P’.” He said after swallowing his bite of focaccia. “In October, P’.”

“That’s near. What day?” 

“Fourth, P’. October 4’s my birthday.” Off filed that information somewhere inside his brain. “Why Business, P’?”

Off thought of his dad’s company. “I’m my dad’s heir.”

Gun’s utensils clattered and he apologized hastily. “Heir, P’? You’re second-generation?”

“Third, actually.”

“By the way you look, it seems you don’t want to inherit your family’s business?”

“I’m the second son. Besides, I want to start my own.”

“Which industry?”

Word: 100

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