the peregrine

32

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 (𝟐) •

"Is that really your dad, Bonnie?" another one asked that just made me nod my head to prevent myself from throwing a glare at anyone.

When Dad arrived, it somehow raised a commotion within our class. A lot of guys, especially them, went near to my dad and attempted a conversation. Some moms from the other classes even came to talk to my dad.

Him, on the other hand, just simply sat there with his picnic basket with foods. And by the looks of it, he is starting to get uncomfortable with all the people surrounding him.

"Hey Dad! Do you wanna eat our lunch already?" I asked him as soon as nakalapit ako sa kanya. Tumango naman siya bilang sagot at agad namang tumayo.

We started to walk away from that place and agreed to not eat there since it's packed and noisy. I suggested a place, I told him its where I often go with my friends during lunch.

And when we got there, agad niyang inilatag ang dalang picnic mat sa damohan at sinimulang inilabas ang mga dalang pagkain.

"You didn't cook pork curry?" dismayado kong tanong nang mapansin ko na wala ang pamilyar na amoy ng pagkain.

"Yeah. Sorry. Didn't have enough time to prepare." he excused that made me look at him with worried eyes.

"Are you overworking yourself again?"

Agad naman siyang napaiwas ng tingin nang itinanong ko iyon. He usually do this when he's feeling guilty or want to avoid a question that would surely answer a 'yes' from him.

I sighed and began to eat the foods Dad brought, but then I noticed this was too much.

"Dad, can I...bring my friends over here?" I asked.

Agad naman siyang ngumiti ng matamis at tumango. But with that, I got nervous.

𝘋𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴.

But of course, I did not tell him that. He may freak out and be on protective mode. Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko at nagsend ng message sa groupchat ng buong club, with the exemption of the coach and advisor.

' 𝙸'𝚖 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚢.' said Sharmaine, who is surprisingly the first one to reply.

Nasundan naman iyon agad ng ilan, except for the four second years who are probably busy checking for some girls playing volleyball. And also for the first years who are still busy.

Hindi naman nagtagal bago dumating sina Sharmaine, kasama ang Captain at ang dalawa pang third years. I was very surprised that they actually came, lalo na't maaga pa ngayon para maglunch.

"Good morning, sir." bati kaagad ni Troy kay Dad with matching hand shake pa. Tinanggap lang naman iyon ng dad ko, ngunit parang ayaw niya dito dahil sa pagbago ng timpla ng kanyang mukha.

The others also greeted and thanked Dad for inviting them over. Kung hindi nagustuhan ni Dad ang presenya ni Troy, kabaliktaran naman para kay Sharmaine.

"Oh you're from her club too." I heard Dad said while he was talking to my fellow manager, "I hope she isn't causing too much trouble from you."

Agad namang kumunot ang aking noo sa sinabi ng ama ko. He really does like teasing me, especially when he pretends that I am still not a responsible adult and would still think that I would still cause problems for others.

𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭!

"Wait, Bonnie, where's Keith?" he unexpectedly asked while I was chowing down on some food. Narinig naman iyon ng iba at agad na nagpabalikbalik ang kanilang mga tingin sa pagitan namin ni dad.