From the window of the bedroom, I saw a white van arrived. Teenagers who were just my age hopped out of it. A man and woman who were from the driver seat and passenger seat also got out of the van. I guessed they were Dylan's relatives.
I went out of my room and looked for Storm and Kirby. Saktong sakto nang patungo ako ng kwarto nila, niluwa sila ng pinto.
"Hey, Dylan. You have guests outside," I told him.
He looked surprised. "Those are my cousins," he said with a smile and then walked past me, heading the living room. Kirby and I followed him.
"Did you meet them already?" Kirby asked me.
"Not yet," I said.
Naabutan namin sa living room na masayang nagkukumustahan ang mga bisita roon kasama sina Lolo Max, Tito Travis at Tita Thalia.
"Storm!" Storm's cousins happily approached him. The three ladies there hugged him while the four guys just did fist bumps with him. When they noticed me and Kirby, their eyes turned on us. "Who are them, Storm?" The guy who had long hair just below the chin asked. He looked like a rock star but he was so cool though. He was good looking like Storm. Well, all Storm's cousins were good looking. I thought it was in their blood.
"That's Kirby and Demi. They are my childhood friends. We're always having vacation here, especially during Christmas vacation," Storm said.
He just nodded his head and then walked away to wander around the mansion. He didn't even mind to introduce himself to us. Kalahi rin pala 'to ni Storm. Suplado.
"He's Brayden Dandridge," the guy next to Storm said. I stared at him and I was surprised that he looked like the long haired guy whom he introduced. "And I'm Braydon Dandridge. We're twins." He smiled, and that made him look kind and gentleman unlike his twin. They had different hairstyle. That was why I hadn't noticed earlier that they were twins. Brayden had long hair while Breydon had fringe hairstyle. I guessed they were older than me.
"Is she your partner in your prom night?" the girl with blonde hair asked Storm. She was beautiful but looked like a brat.
"Yeah."
"Oh . . ." She looked at me from head to toe. "I'm Mandy Finn," she introduced herself, offering her flawless hand with cocked brow.
"Demi Frances." I gave her my sweetest smile as I accepted her hand and shook it. Her eyes squinted because of my kindness.
She later turned her eyes on Kirby. "How about you?"
"Kirby Perez."
The other two guys also introduced themselves to us. Sean Montano, the guy who always wore playful smile on his lips. Alexander Colmenares, the young one; I guessed he was just 12 years old. The other ladies' names were Juddith and Wren. They were Mandy's sisters. Parents pala nila ang mag-asawa na kasama nilang dumating dito.
Their names didn't bear "Ramirez" as their surname because their mothers were the Ramirez. Lolo Max's children were all girls.
I couldn't say that Storm's cousins were all nice, because most of them weren't that nice, especially the girls. Magtataka pa ba ako kung bakit ganito kasungit si Dylan? Hay! It's in their blood.
***
We were now eating snacks in the living room while watching movie. All the boys were occupying the wooden sofa.
"Why don't you join them?" Storm told me when he noticed that I was distant from his girl cousins. They were taking pictures outside the mansion.
"I think they don't like me," I replied.
"Ganyan lang talaga 'yang mga 'yan, ate Demi. Just love what they love and just nod your head everytime they tell something, even if you're not agree with them. I'm sure they will love you," Alex said while taking a nibble of his bread. Narinig pala nito ang sinabi ko.
"Don't," Kuya Breydon said. "You guys are always tolerating those brats. That's why they grew up bearing those bad attitudes." I thought he was right. Well, Kuya Breydon talked like that because he was mature enough to see wrong things and he was the eldest among the cousins.
"Magtatakha pa ba kayo? Syempre mana ang mga 'yan kay Lo―" Napatigil si Sean dahil tinakpan ni Kuya Brayden ang Bibig niya.
"Be careful of your words, kid, if you don't want to see yourself planting seeds beneath the sun."
"I'm just telling the truth. Palibhasa, kalahi ni'yo kasing dalawa ni Storm si Lolo Max," Sean said when Kuya Breyden let go of him. Nagpigil ako ng tawa dahil doon. He was too blunt.
"Alright. I'm guilty," sabi naman ni Storm. That was why they all laugh and I also let myself laugh.
"How did you befriend Storm, Kirbs? Weren't he rude to you?" Sean asked Kirby who was just listening to their conversation like me.
"Storm is nice, though," Kirby replied.
"Woah!" they all exclaimed in surprise. Storm just shrugged and fixed his eyes on the television. He didn't talk anymore.
"Kuya Breyden, you should be nice, too," Sean told Breyden.
"I'm nice. You just don't see it because you're nicer than me," cool lang na sabi ni Kuya Breyden. Sean just shrugged.
"Demi, were you and Storm classmates since highschool?" Kuya Breydon asked me.
I nodded my head.
"But you two are going to study in college, right? What course are you going to take?"
"A medical course, Pharmacy."
"That's nice. You and Storm will be a perfect match if he is going to continue his dream to be a doctor," he said and then tapped Storm's shoulder.
"I'm not gonna take a medical course. Dad wants me to take business course," Storm said. I stared at him and it was obvious that he didn't like his father's idea but he needed to obey whether he liked it or not. Well, Storm was the heir of his father's company so he couldn't escape.
Kuya Breydon had a long conversation with me. He was very smart and intelligent. I learned a lot from him about the course that I was going to take. He also took a medical course and was still studying. He was soon to be a doctor. That was why he was very happy when he heard from me that I was taking a medical course.
After my conversation with Kuya Breydon, Storm was ordered to water Lolo Max's planted flowers in the garden so I came with him. I was surprised that he accepted the order or his grandfather. Who would have thought that Storm could be a gardener?
"Are you okay?" I asked Storm while he was watering the flowers using the hose. "Why don't you just tell to Tito Travis that you really want to be a doctor and that's your biggest dream?"
"I'm okay," tipid lang na sabi niya.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Ngumuso ako. "Sabagay, ang gusto mo nga pala ay maging great drummer."
I heard him chuckle. "Yeah."
"Why don't you make more covers?" I suggested.
"Covers of what? Notebook?" he joked.
Hinampas ko siya sa balikat. "Baliw! Cover ng kanta, syempre!"
"I make cover songs."
"Pero hindi pa sapat 'yun eh. Dapat yung medyo kakaiba."
"Yeah, maybe I should sing a song while dancing," he said, pulling back his laugh.
"Yeah, a sexy dance, maybe." I laughed out loud. "Oh my gosh, Dylan! I can imagine it. It's disgusting!"
"Do you want sample?"
"What? No way! Yuck!"
"This is yucker." He suddenly pointed the hose to me and its water poured out on me. Halos maligo ako dahil doon. I covered my face with my hands while running through the garden. "Dylan! Stopped!" I screamed. But he did not stop attacking me with that water. "You!" Lumapit ako sa kanya at pilit na inagaw ang hose sa kanya. Matagal akong nakipagbuno sa kanya bago ko iyon nakuha at tinutok sa kanya.
"Sh*t!" he reacted and then ran away from me but I chased him. I was laughing while taking my revenge on him.
"Jusmiyo!" We heard a baritone voice somewhere, so we stopped and turned our head to that person. "Storm! Demi!" galit na sabi ni Lolo Max.
Nagkatinginan naman kami ni Storm. Nagkibit-balikat lang siya at nagpigil ng ngiti. Pigil na ngumiti lang din ako.
***
Hindi ko inasahan na makakasama ko pala sa iisang kwarto ang mga babaeng pinsan ni Storm. Dito rin kasi sila tumuloy sa kwartong ginagamit ko dahil wala nang magagamit na kwarto ang mga ito. Tatlo lang kasi ang guest room dito pero malaki ang mga iyon. Dahil pare-parehas naman kaming babae, pinagsama-sama na lang kami. I admit that their presence was very intimidating because of their sossy and sophisticated aura. Kaya naman nakaupo lang ako sa isang upuan sa tabi ng bintana habang nag-i-scroll sa news feed ng facebook ko pero ang totoo niyan, pinakikiramdaman ko ang tatlong mga kasama ko na ngayon ay nasa kama at nagkwekwentuhan.
"Let's buy tickets tomorrow for the concert. We need to get the VIP seats," Mandy said.
"Yeah! OMG! I can't wait to see my husband!" ani Wren na tila kinikilig pa.
"Me too! I've been dreaming of this, to see them face to face. I'm gonna request to Dad to bring us on the back stage to have a picture with them," tila nagde-day dream na sabi ni Juddith. "Kyaahh! Baekhyun, I'm coming for ya!" she exclaimed.
They were talking about the Kpop group who would arrive here in Philippines to have a concert, and that was EXO. They were a huge fan of that Kpop group. That group was very popular since when I was in highschool. I was also into that Kpop group and I hoped I could see them also but I didn't have enough money to buy a ticket. It was expensive.
"Hey, Demi," Napaangat ako ng tingin at inalis ang pokus ng mga mata ko sa cellphone ko nang marinig kong tawagin ako ni Mandy.
"Yes?" pormal na tanong ko rito.
"Come here. I'll ask you something." She beckoned and then tapped the bed.
Napakunot-noo ako pero sumunod nalang ako. Nang makaupo ako sa kama, umusad siya palapit sa akin at tinapat ang screen ng cellphone niya sa akin na nagpapakita ng litrato ng isang lalaki.
"Do you know him?" tanong nito na tila may pagtataray pa ng kaunti.
"He's Kai of EXO," I replied.
She looked surprised that I knew the name. "Are you a fan of Kpop?"
"A little bit. I just know some of them, especially EXO," I answered.
All of a sudden I remembered Alex's advice: "Just love what they love and just nod your head everytime they tell you something, even if you're not agree with them. I'm sure they will love you."
Hmm . . . let's try, I thought.
Her brow cocked. "What does EXO stand for?" she asked again.
Ano nga ba? I forgot. Oh my! She was interviewing me to determine if I was really a fan. I was a fan but not that much.
"That means EXOPLANET, a planet beyond our solar system," she answered her own question while wearing a poker face.
"Yeah, it's EXOPLANET nga pala," I said and wore an awkward smile.
"When did EXO debut?" she asked more, and I lost my words again because I didn't know the answer. "It was April 8, 2012. Their first music video ever was MAMA," she answered her own question again. I was amused. She was really a big fan.
I just heaved a sigh and said, "All right. I don't know a lot about them unlike you do."
"It's okay," she said while rolling her eyes, pero hindi ko nalang pinansin ang pagtataray nito. "Do you know that EXO was divided into two before?"
I nodded my head and answered, "The EXO-K and the EXO-M, because EXO is a South Korean-Chinese band. But they're no longer OT12 anymore, because three members left the group."
She heaved a sigh. "Yeah. That was the saddest part of being an EXO-L since from the beginning. I witnessed how sad the atmosphere was when we heard the news that a member was leaving. Err, I don't want to remember that nightmare again. That was traggic because Kai and Luhan was my bias, and Luhan left." She palmed her face. "How about you?"
"I like them all."
Her brow cocked again. "That's strange for a fan. All Kpop fans have their own bias."
"Yeah! My bias is the Derp King, Chanyeol!" Biglang sabat ni Wren kaya napatingin ako sa kanya.
"Mine is Baekhyun!" sabi naman ni Juddith.
I just pouted my lips. "I like them all," I said again. They all giggled because of that.
"It's okay. The important is you like EXO because we love EXO so much, even if there is only one left. You are with us now," Juddith said and smiled at me. That was unexpected.
"Yeah right. You're so nice pala kaya ka naging kaibigan ni Kuya Storm. I'll call you 'ate' now," sabi naman ni Mandy.
"Me too!" Wren said.
A smile formed on my lips. "Oh, thanks! I think you three are also nice." Maybe they were just brats, but they still had good sides, just like Dylan.
They looked at me with amusement in their eyes before they bursted into laughter.
"I love you na, Ate Demi," Mandy said while pulling back.
Alex's advice is effective, I thought.