Rain in Summer

PROLOGUE

The obnoxious, nerve-wracking screech of my alarm clock rudely shattered the serenity of my deep slumber. I could feel the irritation welling up inside me as I realised I had been yanked from my cozy dreams far too early. In a fit of frustration, I seized that wretched timepiece and hurled it across the room with all the force I could muster.

The seconds that followed were a cacophony of clattering and thudding as my alarm clock made contact with some unfortunate object. But honestly, I couldn't bring myself to care about the collateral damage. All I wanted was to bury my head back into the soft, inviting pillow, pretending that the whole alarm-clock-throwing incident was a mere figment of my imagination. I laid there, eyes closed, desperately hoping to recapture the elusive embrace of slumber, as the remnants of the morning's chaos slowly faded into the background.

Ang sarap na ng tulog ko tapos bigla na lang tutunog para bulabugin ako. Hmpf!

Ilang minuto pa lang akong nahiga nang bigla namang bumukas ang pinto ng aking kwarto!

"Haru wake up! It's already 6 in the morning! Papasok ka pa, baka ma late ka na naman!"

Napasimangot ako nang bigla na lang n'yang hinila 'yong yakap kong unan at malakas na ipinalo sa pwet ko kaya marahas akong napabangon at sinamaan s'ya ng tingin pero ang gago! Tinawanan lang ako!

"Langhiya ka talaga!"

Sumimangot s'ya saka lumapit at piningot ang ilong ko!

"Hoy! Baka nakakalimutan mong mas matanda ako sa'yo!"

Tinampal ko naman ang kamay n'ya saka s'ya sinipa kaya kaagad siyang napaatras habang masama ang tingin sa akin.

"Oo kasi gurang ka na! Gurang!" sigaw ko na ikinalaki ng mga mata n'ya. As if naman hindi totoo ang sinabi ko!

Alam kong susugurin n'ya na ako kaya mabilis akong tumakbo papasok sa banyo saka nag lock ng pinto. Natawa na lang ako nang marinig ko ang pag sigaw n'ya sa pangalan ko.

I glanced in the mirror, couldn't help but praise myself. Hair's all over the place, but hey, still looking pretty gorgeous!

Before anything else, let me introduce my beautiful self. So name's Chiharu, and sa Japanese, it means "a thousand springs" or "eternal spring" since spring season ako ipinanganak. But most people just call me Haru – it's simpler and has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

As for my background, it's quite the mix. My dad is a hundred percent Japanese, and my mom's a proud Filipina. I guess pwede n'yo na akong tawaging pinoy halo-halo.

Anyway, I'm currently sixteen, but in just a couple of months, I'll be leveling up to seventeen. And it's funny because some people insist I look older than my age. Maybe it's due to my body and height, which I totally inherited from my stunning beauty queen of a mother. She's got those amazing genes, and I guess they found their way to me too.

And okay, let me be brutally honest here; I'm not smart, sad to say hindi ko na inherit ang katalinuhan ng mommy ko, but I'm pretty sure I'm not dumb either. Saka ang importante naman ay masipag akong mag aral at higit sa lahat, maganda ako.

Tama na nga ang daldal at baka ma late pa ako. May pagka strikto pa naman 'yong first subject teacher naming si Ma'am Maeh Lan Dee tsaka bugnutin din kasi iyong driver ko.

After my usual morning routine, my supposedly 'kind' brother gave me a ride to school. Just to clarify, I'm totally being sarcastic—grr.

"Baba na kung ayaw mong sipain kita" sabi n'ya sabay tulak sa'kin kaya muntik na akong masubsob!

Walangya talaga ang gurang na 'to!

"Oniichan!" singhal ko saka s'ya sinaman ng tingin! Pero binelatan niya laang ako saka pinaharurot 'yong kotse n'ya!