“Kayo talagang dalawa,” napa-iling si Manang Senya sa amin at nangiti na. “Basta, Samia, mag-iingat ka palagi. At kung magka-problema ka ‘man ay huwag kang magdadalawang isip na magsabi sa akin, ha. Alam mo namang parang anak na din kita.”
I smiled and just nodded. That's true. And I also treat Mana Senya like my mother. Mas madalas ko pa din kasi siyang kasama kaysa kay Bàba. She always take care of me whenever I am sick and the one who attends for me whenever there's a parents and teachers meeting at school . At first I was still sad at that thought because most of my classmates ay dalawang magulang pa nila ang pumupunta sa meeting habang maid lang ang dumadalo para sa akin.
As a child, a lot of questions went through my mind. I even asked myself kung nasa akin ba ang problema. But as time went by, I got used to it and I gradually accepted that not all children are blessed to have a complete family. And I also know that no matter what I do and how hard I cry, nothing will change. We can no longer be a complete family. Bàba will not come home from his business meeting, and even more Mama will not get up from the pit and come back to life just to attend a stupid meeting for me.
Nagpatuloy lang ako sa pagkain at pagkatapos ay nagpahatid na ako kay Manong Jude papasok sa University. I don't know if I'm really that beautiful or people just really have nothing else to do but to watch me walk. It's just annoying to be famous sometimes because I feel like I'm losing my privacy because even inside the restroom may nahuhuli pa rin akong nakatingin sa akin.
When I entered the room, I was immediately greeted by the plastic slash fake friends of mine who even beat the ones made in china. Pinakitaan ko agad sila ng matamis na ngiti at nakipag-beso just to show off. Mga insecure kasi sila sa ganda ko.
“Hey, Mia, how are you!? I missed you so much!” Carina excitedly said while smiling ear to ear as if we hadn't seen each other for a year even though it's just a week because she went to France to celebrate her cousin's birthday. I saw the corner of her lips twiched evilly when she saw my face clearly. “What happened to your face? Puyat ka ba?”
“Yeah. Your face is...” Sasha pointed at me and made a disgust face.
Yes, the dark circles under my eyes is still visible but I have no plans to hide it because I love myself so much that I will not be ashamed of what I am. Of course, it's a joke, I tried to hide it with a concealer earlier but it did not successfully work. I still look tired and sleepless, but that's okay 'cause I'm always beautiful no matter what.
“I'm fine. Nag-bar kasi ako kagabi and forgot na may klase pala ngayon, " I answered as I sat down on my usual seat. “Kayo ba?” Sana hindi.
“Okay lang din naman ako. I was able to tour around France and buy branded bags and clothes like Louis Quatorze, Bleu de Chauffe, Chanel and Lacroix. And…” Carina stopped and her lips slowly formed a smirk na parang nagmamalaki sa amin. “And I just dumped Robi last night!”
“Really? But you just started dating last week, am I right?” Sasha asked like she could not believe at what she just heard na ikinatawa ng assumera.
Ang akala siguro ni Carina ay nahigitan niya ako dahil I dated Rob for 2 two and half weeks. She didn't know that I just dated Robi because Bàba had a business deal with their family and Bàba said that I should be good to the Manzanilla's only son, which is Robi. That's why when Robi asked me to date him, as a good and beautiful daughter to her father, I agreed. But I was turned off because we just started dating for a week and he wanted us to get serious immediately. And that's not it, I turned him down because he told me to stop wearing the clothes I normally wear because he said that they're too revealing and sexy. I mean, who you bruh? I'm not fucking yours!
CHAPTER 4
Start from the beginning
