Chapter 36

Ria's guesting to Joshua's Youtube channel was done three days after. The interview was conducted at Ria's house, shot in the gazebo in the vast garden of their house. There they laid out various seafoods that they would eat in their mukbang challenge. "Hi guys! Welcome back to my channel," Joshua started. "Today I will be doing a mukbang challenge with my friend and high school classmate, Ria Nelmida." "Hi guys!" Ria waved at the camera. Joshua explained the different seafoods in front of them. Then they started eating. 'Ria might look skinny, but she really loves to eat," Joshua said. 'That's not true!" Ria denied. 'You said you always have midnight snacks." "Well, yeah… But that's because I am hungry. Actually, I'm really not fond of eating. I only eat to sustain. Know what I mean? Not because I enjoy it, or it's a hobby or something." "But you like seafoods?" Joshua asked while peeling a piece of shrimp. 'Not that much," Ria answered. "Mostly crustaceans and shellfish. As for fishes, just some because I don't like the smell." She grimaced. Joshua smiled. 'But this also smells fishy." 'Yeah, but… I don't know. Tuna, salmon, I'm not fond of. But these, they're fine." They continued eating while chatting. Most of the things they discussed are Ria's career as a novelist, and also her grandfather and mother. After that, they talked about their high school life. Both of them ended up asking questions to each other. "Did you ever think back then that you could be an actor?" Ria asked. "As a superstar... well, you were already famous back in high school." 'That's not true," Joshua said. Ria talked to the camera. 'Joshua is already famous even during high school. For those who do not know yet, their restaurant Pure Act Café was named after their dance group." "Yeah, but not really famous famous. You know what I mean? Just high school famous," Joshua said. "But you never really dreamed of being a big celebrity, like you are now?" Joshua pondered. "Not really. I think during that time, we already know, somehow, what we will be after high school. But again, fate is very mysterious. She changed everything." "Yeah... She's a very... fickle lady." Ria smiled mischievously. Joshua also smirked. "You bet she is." They continued eating, until Ria could not eat more. 'I can't eat anymore," she said as she started cleaning her hands. 'There's still a lot of food left. You need to eat more," Joshua said as he put more food on her place. 'But I'm so full already," Ria complained. 'So what are you going to do? You can't just watch me eat." Ria smiled. 'Actually, there's something I want you to see." She suddenly stood up. 'I'll be back!" She then left all of a sudden. 'Where are you going?" But Joshua's question is kind of late. Ria already went inside their house. "Oh well... I'll just eat while waiting." Joshua showed the shrimp he's holding to the camera. 'Let's eat!" Joshua continued eating while waiting for Ria to return. It didn't take long before the latter came back to the gazebo with a notebook in her hand. "What's that?" Joshua asked as he cracked the shell of the crab leg he is holding. Ria showed the notebook to the camera. "Slam book." She showed Joshua the notebook. "Do you remember when I asked you to sign this during our first year?" "You still have it?" Joshua is kind of amused. "Yes." Ria opened the slam book. "Let's see what you wrote here." Joshua just continued eating. "Found it!" Ria looked at Joshua. "Let's compare what you wrote here and what you would answer if ever these were asked today." She started reading the questions. "What are your hobbies?" "Eating." Ria laughed. Joshua smiled as well. "Right now, I would say that this channel consumes most of my time," Joshua said. "When I'm free, I go to Pure Act, so... But, you know, this channel is both work and hobby as well. So I guess, doing Youtube videos?" Ria nodded. "Okay..." "What did I answer back then?" Joshua asked. "Eating." Joshua chuckled. 'I'm serious! Here. Eating, dancing, hanging out with friends... You're a very outgoing person. Playing badminton, watching TV... You had a lot of hobbies back then." "We had a lot of time back then," Joshua explained. "Well, at least you got to enjoy high school." Joshua nodded. "Moving on... what is your motto in life?" Ria asked. Joshua paused a little to think. "Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations." "Wow!" Ria exclaimed. Joshua smiled. "I know that sounded corny." "No! It's actually nice." "I just realized that there are a lot of tough times... Life became so hard for us, for me. Then I became an actor, and everything became better." "Do you know what you put here before?" Ria asked. 'What?" Joshua also feels like laughing. Ria giggled. "Life is like a rosary that's full of mystery." They both laughed. 'Hey! That's not so wrong," Joshua said. 'Did I say it's wrong?" Ria said, still giggling. Joshua looked at the camera. 'For the millennials today, that's how our mottos were back then." 'I have a feeling you just copied this," Ria said. Joshua chuckled. 'But it's still kind of related to your motto today," Ria commented. 'How about you? What was your motto?" Joshua asked. Ria looked at her entry on the slam note. "Do your best and let God do the rest." "Oh! Very religious, huh!" Joshua commented. 'We're very religious back then," Ria said. 'What is your motto now?" Joshua asked her. "Life is a series of plot twists intertwined into a beautiful story." Joshua suddenly dropped the crab he was holding. 'I'm done here!" Ria smiled at his reaction. 'Let's just move one. Okay?" Joshua said as he continued cracking the crab open. "Describe yourself," Ria said. She suddenly laughed. 'Do you know what you wrote?" 'What?" "Tall, dark and handsome." 'Let me see." Joshua moved closer to Ria for him to read what's on the slam book. 'See? Even before, you're already narcissistic," Ria said. 'But that's the truth! I'm just being honest," Joshua said, though he also looked like he's about to laugh. "How about now?" Joshua contemplated. "I guess, I'm still the same." Ria laughed. "Tall, dark and handsome?" Joshua smiled. 'But it's the truth, right?" 'Whatever," Ria said. 'Let's just move on… Okay, let's move on to the exciting part." She looked at him intently. "Who is your crush?" Joshua was stunned. Ria is smiling smugly, as if scheming something mischievous. 'You know who was my crush back then," he just said to avoid the question. Then he just continued eating. "Everybody knows who your high school crush is," Ria said. "But, do you know what you wrote here?" Joshua stopped and looked at her. Ria read what was written in the slam book. "My first love." Joshua was stunned again. He is kind of amused with himself. "Okay, next," Ria said. "Define love." Joshua looked at Ria, who suddenly laughed at what she read. "You're crazy! Do you know what you wrote?" Ria asked. 'What?" Ria laughed before reading the slam book. "Love is like a rosary..." She wasn't able to finish because she laughed again. Joshua moved closer to her and looked at the slam book, confirming what Ria said. He then laughed as well. 'That was a very popular saying before, right?" Joshua said. 'And it was your favorite?" Joshua just smiled. 'So how do you define love now?" Ria asked. "Love is entrusting your whole self to that someone. You know, when you love, you give that person the right to affect you emotionally, physically, psychologically. You're not sure how and what effect she will give you, but when you love, you open up yourself to that person without expecting anything. You let yourself become vulnerable, and it's a risk too great, but still we take it because at the end of the day, it feels so great to be in love." "Wow!" Ria exclaimed. "That was amazing, Joshua Socorro." 'Don't say that! I'm sure yours is better." 'Mine?" Ria asked. 'Yeah. What is love for you?" "Love is relative." Joshua frowned. "It's true, right? What is love for you might not be what is love for me. It's different in every person. It depends on how we feel, what we feel, who makes us feel." Joshua looked disappointed as he continued eating. Ria just smiled. "Who is your first love?" Joshua looked back at Ria. "You said that your crush is your first love. This time, you wrote her name." Joshua suddenly felt alarmed. There is only one person that he remembers liking during high school. Ria looked at the camera. 'Do you want to know who is Joshua's first love?" That's when Joshua felt alarmed. He tried to reach the slam book to snatch it from Ria, but the latter moved faster away from him. "Hey! Your hands are dirty," Ria said. 'You know who was my love back then," Joshua said. "Don't you want to share it to others? This was in high school, right? That was like, more than ten years ago." "Yeah, but..." Ria looked at the camera again. "Do you want to know the name of Joshua's first love?" "Ria!" Joshua is starting to become impatient. "Let's put it this way... If this video reaches a million views, then I'll reveal who your first love was." "That's not fair!" Joshua said. Almost all of his videos reached a million views already. It's not impossible that the same thing will happen in this video. Ria just grinned at him, and it made Joshua feel more frustrated. "Okay. One million views seems easy," Ria said. "Let's changed it. How many subscribers do you have?" Joshua frowned. "A little above five hundred thousand." "Okay. If you reach one million subs, then I will reveal who is written here on the slam book as your first love," Ria said. "I think that's fair enough." Maybe. It's not that easy to get half a million subscribers. Except if people really are that curious about his private life in high school. Ria looked back at the camera. 'So, that's settled. I will reveal the name of Joshua's first love only after he reached one million subscribers. So if you would like to know the first love of the one and only Joshua Socorro, please subscribe to his channel."