Dagger Series #7: Unbalanced

Chapter 29: Lock

I scoffed. He wasn't lying, though. Marami siyang pera pero wala siya masyadong gamit. Halos every month may pinagbibigyan siya ng mga bagong damit na nakukuha niya mula sa mga sponsor niya o mga nireregalo sa kaniya. Like me, he rarely wears the same thing twice publicly. Kaya nga naiipon lang ang mga iyon.

"So what play are we going to do here?"

Kumunot ang noo ko. "What do you mean?"

"I arrived, and I was here for thirty minutes already. I've been messaging you, but you weren't answering. When I saw you, you looked like you wanted to bolt out of here." He gave me a knowing look. "I want to know what you want me to do so I can prepare myself."

"What if I need you to pretend that we need to go because you pooped your pants?" I joked.

Laughter burst out of him. He bumped his hips against mine since his hands were occupied. "Sure. If that's what you want."

Napailing na lang ako. Of course, he'd be willing to do it. Hindi ata uso ang hiya nang pinanganak siya. "There's no play."

"Sure?"

Tumango lang ako bilang sagot. We walked along the long row of tents without saying a word. Hindi nagtagal ay natanaw na namin ang booth kung saan naroon ang mga babaeng Dawson.

A sense of relief hit me when I saw that only Coal, Pierce, and Thorn were with them. He's not here.

I really have no clue what I would do if he were here. I didn't see him again after I hid from him that night. It's been four days since. Iniiwasan ko rin na mag-online kaya kapag tinatawagan lang ako ni Lucienne at saka ako may nakakausap sa kanila. She never mentioned anything about Domino, and there was no talk about any girl as well.

"Tiara!" Lucienne called out to me when she caught sight of me. "Gusto mo ng neon balls?"

Trust Lucienne to say the weirdest thing. "Neon balls?"

"Kwek kwek pero pinasosyal. Gawa ni Lia." Inginuso niya ang mga nakahilerong kraft container. May mga drawing iyon ng iba't ibang klase ng hayop. Sa loob niyon ay may iba't ibang mga kulay ng bilog na pagkain. And they're really neon-colored. "Para sa mga bagets."

Bukod sa neon balls ay may iba ring mga pagkain na nakahanda na. Even I, who don't have any appetite, find them mouthwatering.

"Iyong desserts gawa ni Mireia. Iyon namang mga gulay si Ember ang nagluto." She gestured the food with her hand. "At ako ang gumawa ng packaging."

"Huwag kang nagpapaniwala riyan. Siya lang ang umorder," sabi ni Trace na kakadating lang. "Hi, Tiara. Kamusta ang buhay bilang first daughter?"

"I don't think you can call a senator's daughter that. That's reserved for the president's daughter," I said with a chuckle.

"Ang unfair naman." Binalingan niya ang mga bodyguard ko at sumaludo siya. "Hello, dudes."

My bodyguards mumbled their greetings back. Unlike my first two bodyguards, Gary and Boris, they take their jobs seriously. Maybe too seriously. Lahat na lang ata ng gawin ko ay nirereport nila sa ama ko.

Itinuro ko isa-isa ang tatlong lalaki. "James, Jason, Jace."

"Wow." Nagpalipat-lipat sa kanila ang mga mata ni Lucienne. "That's a lot of J's. Ayoko pa naman sa mga J ang pangalan. Kadalasan mga red flag 'yan. O bitter lang ako kasi may kilala rin akong J na sa sobrang red flag, siya na iyong flag pole." Nakangising tinaasan niya ng kilay ang mga lalaki. "Red flag ba kayo?"

Halos sabay-sabay silang umiling. The way they look at her is familiar to me since everyone who meets Lucienne for the first time has the same expression. Iyong parang nakakita ng unicorn.