Tahan na/Tahanan

01

Angel

I decided to take a short break from reviewing when I heard a knock at the door.

"Angel?... Son."

"It's not locked, dad."

My parents doesn't usually go in my room unless there's something really important that they need to tell me. And as soon as my dad enters my room, I could feel my heartbeat slowly increasing its speed. Last time kasi he delivered a really bad news.

"What's wrong, dad?" I ask carefully. He looks a bit uncomfortable as he takes a seat on the edge of my bed.

"Nothing's wrong, son. I just came here to tell you na may pupuntahan tayo tomorrow ng mommy mo, so you should probably free your schedule."

Free my schedule? What could be so important that I need to free my whole day tomorrow?

"Why?"

"You know your tita Claire, right?" Balik na tanong sa'kin ni daddy.

"Yeaaahhh..."

"We're throwing a welcoming party for her dau..." He stops himself mid-sentence. He purses his lips before glancing at me.

"James." He continues. "We're throwing a welcoming party for James... yung anak ni tita Claire mo. Magkasing edad kayo nun kaya naisipan namin ng mommy mo na isama ka para may makausap naman siya bukod sa aming matatanda. You should be friends."

I look at my dad.

"That's it?"

"Uh huh. Bakit? Were you expexting something else?" My dad looks so calm now but something feels kind of odd. I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired.

I look at him warily before shaking my head.

"Were you reviewing?" He asks when he saw the papers on my desk.

"I was just taking a short break." I study my dad carefully. I can't specify it yet but I can sense that there is something. Bad news or not, they're gonna have to tell me sometime.

"Oh, alright then. Well, matutulog na kami ng mommy mo. Good night, son." He pats my shoulder before heading out the door.

"Night, dad." My dad walks out of my bedroom much lighter than when he entered earlier.

My thoughts are interrupted when I receive a notification from my best friend, Ivan. I've known him since middle school when he'd always sit next to me at the school bus every morning. He didn't stop following me since then. From high school to college and now reviewing for our board exams in a few months.

Ivan Ledezma: brodie, anong oras tayo bukas?

Bukas? Oh, fuck! We had plans of reviewing at the library tomorrow. Hindi ko rin alam bakit gusto niya pa sa library hindi pa rin naman siya nag fo-focus.

Angel Ildefonso: cancel muna tomorrow.

Ivan Ledezma: H A