Chapter – Bad memories
Inside a building which resembled Melbourne's Federal Hotel and Coffee Palace, she stepped into one of the flats on the fifth floor. Gru felt secure in his life.
"A positive feeling about being fired from the job I must say. At least you, me and the girls finally get to live together."
"Looks like you brought us to Lānaʻi where we can get…" her eyes were lit on the pineapples. "Pineapples! Um yes, pineapples."
"I didn't know you liked pineapple." said Gru.
"Think about it! We can make pineapple juice, Piña colada, tepache."
Lucy entered a wardrobe, rummaged through it.
"Not quite. Um… no. Where is it?"
Gru waited and waited. He gradually gotten bored while waiting and slumped on the table, snoring.
"Aha!" she exclaimed.
"Gru! Gru!"
"Yes, yes, I wonder, if you…"
Gru was flabbergasted by Lucy who was presented in short sleeved dress.
"Look at my baro't saya! Isn't it beautiful? It's made from piña, you know?"
"That's what you wore during our dates." Gru reflected.
"And that will be very exciting with pineapples– Yay!" Lucy cheered.
"Yes, very exciting."
An upset Margo entered the flat where Gru, Lucy, Agnes and Edith greeted her with a cheer.
"Hey, Margo, how was the trip?"
"Very dull."
"What's wrong?" asked Gru.
"Boys are the reason."
"Did they do something bad to you?" asked Lucy.
"I had a crash."
Margo entered her room in a huff. Gru and the others looked puzzled.
"What's going on?" asked Agnes.
Inside her room, Margo recalled her first date with Antonio. Her memory flashed in dazzling white to another where things took a wrong turn.
"Antonio, I got some…"
Margo's eyes widened in shock, upon seeing him with a long black haired girl.
"Well, Antonio, who is this?" she asked grimly.
"Oh, that's my new…"
"… loved one?" Margo looked unimpressed.
"Por favor, let's not take this personal! In fact, I brought her here for a dance."
"Now I see what you've been doing behind my back. You said you were coming to the date. You promised to be with me. How could you do this to me?"
The other girl was surprised to see the tension and argument escalating.
"Because I wanted to. She is a pretty orchid to me."
"So I'm not any pretty to you?" Margo insisted.
"Come on! Don't be such a sour sop! Also, papa told to love anyone as long as I'm happy. And I seemed to have found my happiness."
"ENOUGH! I can't believe I'm hearing this. You're taking this way too far. You poured salt over me." Margo gave an undisguised look of disdain.
"Oh really? Look at you! You needed to prove your worth to me."
"Why you…"
"Uh… uh… watch it! We're in a party and we don't want to make any hubbub." Antonio interrupted. "And one more thing, you only liked me for my looks."
Margo slumped on the chair, watching the couple leave. A knock on the door snapped Margo back to her present location. Someone opened the door. It was Lucy.
"Margo. What happened?"
"Nothing!" she turned away in veiled anger.
"Looks like there's something troubling you! You can tell me."
"No, I can't. I'm having bad memories from two bad dates."
"Two bad dates?"
Lucy sat on the bed next to Margo. She decided to explain to Lucy about her experience.
"At least with you and Gru, you were happy. But, me? I meet boys who are condescending, deceptive and are bullies. On the trip, I was hoping for it to be smooth and pleasant. Instead boys bullied me. For this, I hate boys."
"Oh honey, I know the pain. I felt the same as you since I was a teen." Lucy tried her means to reassure her.
"You do?"
"Yes, I was bullied by a group of boys too when I lost my parents. One boy did the same thing to me, cheat on me for someone else. That was more the reason I chose the job that I used to do. When meeting Gru, he was bitter, but later he changed."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I mean to say not all boys are bad. It's all a pie. A portion of it is rotten, but the rest is good."
"It's impossible."
"How could you say it's impossible when you've never tried? Alright, I'll let you get some rest."
Lucy kissed Margo before leaving her room, almost saddened.