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It is a great morning. Nagising siya ng maaga ng walang sumusundot sa talampakan at pisngi niya. Nagawa niyang mag workout at maligo sa tamang schedule. Bumaba siya, presko at nakasuot na ng uniporme.
Nakahanda na ang agahan, ordinaryong, tulad ng kanyang nakasanayan. No weird smelly commoner's food. Walang binaguongang fried rice o tuyo.
Magana siyang kumain. Pero ilang minuto nalang bago sila umalis, ni sungay ni Maria hindi niya nakita.
"Frederick, have you seen that girl?"
"No Sir," sagot nito, nakuha ang tinutukoy. "Check ko po ba sa kwarto niya?"
"Yes," at ibinaba ang baso ng tubig. "No, nevermind. I'll do it."
Panandaliang hindi sumagot ang mayordomo. Hindi nakatakas sa kanya ang maliit na ngiti nito. "Okay Sir."
He didn't know what's so amusing about it. Caleb never once considered firing Frederick, but he just thought of it now.
Umakyat siya. He ignored the big plastic shuriken hung in front of her room and a quote, 'YOLO Everyday!' pasted on it. Kumatok siya.
"Hey, are you up?"
Walang sumagot.
Inulit niya ang katok, mas malakas. "Maria?"
He heard the door click open.
"Mon-Mon."
"What the hell happened to you?" tanong niya nang makita ang itsura nito, sumilip sa pinto.
Pareho ang damit na suot nito kahapon, magulo ang buhok at namumutla. Nangingitim ang ilalim ng mata nito.
"'Yokong mag-school."
Sinapo niya ang noo nito. "You have a fever. Dadalhin kita sa hospital."
"No," anito at umiling.
"I said—"
"—No," ulit nito, hawak ang uniform niya. Sa lakas ng hila nito, siguradong nagusot iyon. "No hospital... please..."
He stared at her for a moment, didn't like how her pleading eyes made him uncomfortable.
"D*mn it," he muttered. "Fine," then opened the door wider and entered. Pumasok siya para ibalik ito sa kama. "But you have to stay in bed. Don't—" natigilan siya, "—what the hell is this?"
Sa isang bahagi ng dingding ay estante, nangangalahating puno ng DVD sa taas. Nabasa niya ang ilang titulo katulad ng 'Akin Ang Mundo' at 'Ako Ang Batas ng San Mateo'. Sa baba nito ay basket puno ng iba't-ibang chitchirya.
For a moment, he thought her room was not part of his house.
Despite the variety of content, blindingly bright colors and things that looked haorded from decades ago, it was surprisingly organized.
Pero hindi iyon ang dahilan ng ikinagulat niya, o ang magkatabing poster ni Bruce Lee at kung anong Japanese ninja movie. What surprised him was the long table on the other side of the room.
There were three wide computer screens assembled side by side at the center. A pink laptop was on the left, while on the other side was a pile of books, mixture of fiction titles he have never seen before, black folders and envelopes.
Simula ng lumipat ito, kailanman ay hindi siya pumasok sa kwarto ni Maria. She never even invited him too. It is always her who goes into his room and destroy whatever peace he has.
In a short period she stayed in his house, she was able to cause havoc. Hindi na rin kagulat-gulat kung paano na-transform ang kwarto nito.
"I'm a gamer," sabi nito, "at isa akong super spy!"
He frowned with her joke. Doon pa lamang niya naalalang magkahawak kamay sila. Hinila niya ito sa kamang kalahati yata ay puno ng stuffed toys.
"Stay on bed for today," utos niya, walang lambing na itinaas ang kumot saleeg nito.
"Okay, " anito, naghikab at nanghihina, tapos ay ipinikit ang mata.
"Anong gusto mong kainin mamaya?"
Bumulong ito. "Ice cream."
"Ice cream?"
"Tsaka pizza."
"No." Panandalian siyang nagduda kung may lagnat ba talaga ito, dinama ulit ang noo. "I'll tell the staff to make porridge at tulungan kang magpalit ng damit. Tatawagan ko rin ang family doctor para bisitahin ka."
"Iinom ba ako ng gamot?"
"Of course."
"But... but mapait."
"Then no ice cream."
Dumilat ito. "Okay. I'll drink them." Nanghaba ang nguso nito. "Ang pizza din, maraming cheese ha."
Sick or not, she's still a monstrous glutton, Caleb thought, but then agreed. "Fine."
"Promise?" anito, nakadilat ulit, at kukurap-kurap na parang paslit.
Greedy little sh*t, he thought, but said the opposite like his mouth was independent from his brain. "I promise." Nainis siya kung bakit kulang ng sungit ang kanyang boses.
She grinned, closed her eyes, but the smile remained. "Thank you Mon-Mon."
"...Yeah." Tinungo niya ang pinto, pinigilan ang sariling mahilamos ang palad.
Sinulyapan niya ito, nakapikit pa rin. She was hugging the most hideous stuffed green toy he had ever seen. Bumaling ang tingin niya sa computer, pagkatapos ay isinara na ang pinto.
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Thoughts about this chapter? Maria sus. :D
Would you like to have a room like Maria's? :)
Ellena Odde ♥