Campus Royalties (Kingdom University, #1) | Published under Psicom Publishing

Chapter 14

This week had been hectic.

Darryl and I were scheduled to practice our piece for the project tomorrow, but the music room where we could use different instruments, were booked until next week. Ang ending? We had to practice in their house.

It was hard to convince Dad that Darryl was just my partner for a project when I told him I needed to go to a classmate's house and it wasn't Alice's or Yna's.

"Who's this Darryl? Can he be trusted?"

"Oh, please, Dad, it's just for a project."

"Dad, you're getting older," Ven chimed in. "Family niya 'yung nagligtas sa amin during that incident."

Realization hit him quite hard, and almost slapped himself for forgetting what they did. Well, at least, hindi ko na kailangang mag-effort pa.

He gave me his address during one of our classes at ni-relay ko naman 'yon kay Dad noong papunta na kami ro'n. Gusto nga rin sanang sumama ni Ven at ng tatlo pero buti na lang at may mga klase sila dahil for sure ay puro pang-aasar lang ang makukuha ko.

Their house was inside one of the richest villages in the city. The three-story luxurious house was reminiscent of a European mansion, with an aesthetic garden landscaping in front. Before I could even press the doorbell, Darryl had already appeared behind the gate.

Agad naman akong nagpaalam kay Dad at sinabihan siya na tatawag na lang ako if magpapasundo na ako.

"Pasok," he said as he guided me toward the main door.

I just realized I hadn't visited any of my classmates' house during high school since Alice, Yna, and I were always automatically a group when there were group projects. Kahit sa bahay ni Jess ay hindi pa ako nakakapunta.

Pagkapasok ko ay napanganga ako dahil sa interior. Everything was white and wood, with touches of gold. Ang linis tingnan at ang ganda rin ng pagkaka-design. I was in the middle of admiring the chandeliers when a voice caught my attention.

"Kuya!"

Turning around, I saw a boy about ten years old running toward Darryl. Was this his younger brother?

"Warren, I told you I have a guest," he said as the kid stopped right in front of him."

"You said we're going to play video games," the kid pouted.

"Later, alright?"

Warren's gaze shifted to me and he shyly bowed at me. He was the cuter version of Darryl and his curly hair made him look fluffier.

His younger brother opted to stay in the living room watching tv shows while the two of us went to the second floor. Apparently, he was into music, and his parents made him a soundproof room so he could just enjoy playing instruments and singing to his heart's content without bothering anyone.

"Hindi halata," I commented after he told me that.

Natawa naman siya. "Baka 'pag narinig mo akong kumanta . . ."

"Ano?" paghahamon ko.

He smugly shrugged in return. "Well, let's just see what will happen."

"You really can't stop being conceited even just for a day, can you?"

Pagpasok namin sa music room niya ay halos mapahinto pa ako. He had the complete instruments for a whole band, and I suddenly wondered if he could play them all. I wasn't able to ask about that since he was already on his serious mode the moment we entered the room.

Dahil meron siyang piano at keyboard ay pumuwesto kung saan ako mas sanay—sa piano. I started pressing the keys and it seemed like they were regularly tuned and maintained.