Carla in Abt Ur Luv - Epi 19

Episode Title: Losing Friday

This blog entry contains episode highlights related to Carla's character, Brenda.

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Brenda and Stick walk back to the beach, where everyone is busy preparing dinner. She tells Stick that the situation is partly her fault because she trusted them too much. Stick sighs and tells her it's not her fault.

She asks him what's going to happen to them now. Stick tells her that he loves her but admits that he is confused because he doesn't know what he feels for Celine. He tells Brenda he doesn't want to get back together with her until he figures out his feelings. Brenda turns away at his words, but Stick follows her. He asks her to give him time.

Just then, Celine returns to the beach saying she couldn't find a ride home, much to Brenda's dismay. When Celine sees the food and says she's starving, Brenda quickly announces that she just lost her appetite. Celine merely smiles.

Later, Brenda and Stick proceed to the buffet table, where Celine sweetly offers him food, further upsetting Brenda.

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After dinner, Brenda goes to confront Celine, telling her she's got some gall returning to the beach. Celine smiles with false sweetness and taunts Brenda, saying Brenda can't do or say what she really wants to with everybody there because she knows she'll end up looking like the 'villain.'

Brenda controls her temper and finally asks Celine what she wants. Celine smiles and says she's just giving Brenda exactly what she wants: war. Brenda can only watch as Celine walks away.

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The next morning, Gens wakes up to find everyone involved in an awkward tug of war between Celine and Brenda -- with Stick caught in the middle.

Stick finally pulls his arms free of their grasp, sending everyone tumbling to the ground. He angrily walks off saying he's heading home. Both girls run after him.

Neri and Gens decide to pack up and leave for home ahead of schedule, but Gens convinces Neri that she should wait until after lunch.

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After lunch, Brenda and Stick arrive at one of the vans to find Celine already in the front passenger seat, smiling because she has outsmarted her rival and will be spending the long drive back to Manila with Stick. Brenda is infuriated, but cannot do anything about it.

Neri decides to play referee and gets Celine to move to the back seat. She tries to get the two girls to agree to a truce, at least for the duration of the drive, but before long Brenda and Celine are bickering once again.

Suddenly, Stick brakes hard, surprising them all. He says he thinks he just ran over something. He gets out of the van to investigate, only to find himself at gunpoint.

Everyone else arrives in the other van that is being driven by Gens, only to falls victim to the holdup that's already in progress. The crooks make off with one of the vans, leaving the group with just one van, no cash, and no phones.

Dejected, they all climb into the remaining van only to hear another bit of bad news from Gens: the van won't start.

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The boys make a valiant effort to jump start the van by pushing it, but it doesn't work. When their attempts fail, Gens decides to set off on foot for help. Neri decides to join him and asks Brenda to come along. Brenda is reluctant to leave Celine with Stick, but Neri is insistent.

As they walk along the empty road, Brenda asks Neri if she ever wonders if Gens is just infatuated with her, if there's a chance that Gens still loves Celine and will want her back. Neri calmly replies that only Gens can answer the question.

Brenda says she thinks Stick is just infatuated with Celine. Realizing now what her cousin is thinking, Neri asks Brenda if she'll be able to accept and move on if it turns out that Stick really loves Celine.

Before Brenda can answer, Neri gets bitten by a snake. Gens ties a bandana above the wound and says he'll try to suck the poison out. Neri tries to stop him, saying he might end up getting poisoned himself, but Gens tells her not to worry. Brenda can't help but be touched that Gens is willing to risk his own health for Neri.

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Later, night has fallen and no other car has come down the round. Gens is starting to panic because they have no way of getting medical help for Neri. Upset, he says this shouldn't have happened at all because they should have been leaving the beach only now.

At his words, Brenda breaks down and starts to cry. She admits that it's all her fault that they're in the predicament that they're in now. She apologizes to Neri and Gens. Neri calmly assures them both that she's fine, that she doesn't feel dizzy or ill from the snake bite.

Just then, headlights appear on the darkened road, and Brenda excitedly jumps up and starts waving her arms to attact the attention of the oncoming car... it is Mao and Bill to the rescue.

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Brenda files a police report for their stolen van. Neri gets checked out and is assured that her snake bite is not poisonous.

Everyone is finally ready to go home, and people start boarding the two vans. Brenda and Celine exchange looks, before Brenda silently climbs into Bill's van, leaving Celine to the other van with Stick.

As they drive home, Brenda cries quietly as she reflects: "Kapag talagang nagmahal ka, you can't avoid getting hurt, or hurting other people. Ang dami kong nasaktan, only because I can't accept losing. I guess now it's time. It's time to move on."