LA ORIAN ACADEMY: School of the Prodigies Christmas and New Year's Day Special || Underneath the Christmas Tree
Grinning as he went down from his room, little Dwayne (aged 8) went down to greet his mom and dad.
"Mom, dad!" tuwang-tuwa si Dwayne nung mayakap na n'ya ang kanyang mga magulang.
"Hey there, baby," bati rin ng kanyang mommy sabay tapik sa kanyang ulo.
"I made something for you," agad pinakita ni Dwayne ang kanyang ginawang pop-up card para sa kanila—ang pop-up card na iyon ay s'ya, ang kanyang mommy at daddy at isang Christmas tree na ginuhit n'ya. "Merry Christmas!"
His mom smiled at him but she never said anything in return while his dad remained silent and serious beside her.
"You shouldn't waste your skills in doing such rubbish things, Anton," wika ng kanyang ama.
"Instead of doing that 'artwork', you should study to be the rightful heir for our family's company. Everyone is expecting from you," agad n'yang kinuha ang card mula sa kamay ni Dwayne at parang wala lang n'yang itinapon sa tabi. Napayuko na lamang si Dwayne dahil doon.
"Hon, he's still a kid. Let him be," ani kanyang ina sabay hawak sa braso ng kanyang ama.
"He should know the sense of responsibility and stop fooling around at the young age. It's his training to be a competent successor," wika ng kanyang ama. "I'm tired," agad na itong umakyat sa second floor ng kanilang mansyon.
Lumuhod ang ina ni Dwayne sa kanyang harap at hinaplos ang kanyang pisngi. "I'm sorry about that, baby," agad n'yang kinuha ang kanyang wallet at dumukot ng ten thousand pesos mula roon at binigay sa bata. "Here. Buy all you want, okay? I'll call Mario to escort you to the mall. Smile now."
Kahit hindi n'ya gustong gawin, pinilit na lamang ni Dwayne na ngumiti. "Merry Christmas, mom..."
"Merry Christmas. I love you, son," tugon ng kanyang ina at hinagkan s'ya nito sa noo bago ito sumunod sa kanyang ama paakyat ng second floor.
No, you don't. You never love me at all. Because if you love me, you will not cheat with each other.
Dwayne's eyesight blurred as his tears start to pool on his eyes. Without a second thought, he dropped the money his mom gave to him on the floor and went out of their mansion.
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Little Clyde (aged 8) is smiling widely at his parents who already went down from their room. He clapped excitedly as the butlers and maids smiled as they popped the mini confetti and party poppers they're holding. "Mom, dad, Merry Christmas!" isang matamis at malapad na ngiti ang iginawad ni Clyde sa kanila.
Ngumiti naman sa kanya ang kanyang mga magulang. "Merry Christmas too, baby," napatingin naman ang kanyang ina sa kanilang head butler na si Simon. "Simon, kindly watch over Clyde while we're gone? Please."
Bahagyang nagkatinginan sina Simon at ang iba pang butlers at maids na naroon. "Ye-Yes, Madame."
"W-Why? Whe-Where are you going?" inosenteng tanong ni Clyde.
"We're going on a business trip in Guam, son," sagot ng kanyang daddy.
"But-But what about the dinner? It's Christmas Eve right now. Can you at least stay?" nararamdaman ni Clyde na anytime pwede s'yang maiyak pero ang sabi ng kanyang daddy ay crying is for weak people at dahil good boy s'ya, hindi s'ya pwedeng umiyak sa harap ng daddy n'ya.
I helped Simon in preparing the dinner...
"I'm sorry, son. But our presence is needed there. You can eat dinner with Simon or with your friends. If you want to buy anything, just use your credit card. We have to go now," hinagkan s'ya ng kanyang mommy sa kanyang noo at kasama ang kanyang daddy ay lumabas na sila ng mansion.
"Sir Clyde..." narinig n'ya ang malumanay na boses ni Simon at naramdaman n'ya ang paghagod nito sa kanyang balikat. "You should eat now."
"I don't want to. I lost my appetite. Just eat the food we prepared," after saying it, he called their family driver and went out of their mansion.
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Little Archles (aged 8) is not having it. He's really not having it.
He may be happy that he's spending Christmas Eve with his family but he didn't want to celebrate it with some prominent, high-profiled, two-faced people.
His eyeglasses slowly became blurry as he hugged his toy dinosaur, Rexy, so tight when he felt all eyes are on him now.
This place is full of monsters. They're all monsters.
"Mr. and Mrs. Koo, these are my kids Arthur, Aries and our youngest, Archles," pakilala ng daddy ni Archles sa kanila sa mga investors nito. Panay naman ang ngiti ng mga kuya ni Archles na sina Arthur (aged 15) at Aries (aged 10) habang s'ya naman ay mahigpit ang pagkakayakap sa kanyang stuffed dinosaur.
"Oh, what fine boys they are," komplimento ni Mrs. Koo sa kanila. Tahimik na napasinghap si Archles nung mapunta ang tingin sa kanya ng mag-asawang Koo. "Oh, is this your son that won first place in the Math Olympiad in Belgium? What an excellent boy he is."
Tahimik namang napangiti si Archles no'n. Of course he's a kid—he likes compliments too.
"Yes, he is but he still lacking in his ability. He can't surpass his brothers yet and I'm worried that if he will not be able to do it, he will not be able to prove to us that he's the rightful successor in our company," wika naman ng kanyang ama.
Napayuko naman si Archles dahil do'n. Nanliit s'ya sa sinabi ng kanyang ama sa harap nila, sa harap n'ya.
He hates it. He hates being compared to other people... especially to his brothers.
Naramdaman n'ya ang marahang tapik sa kanyang balikat at tumingala s'ya sa kanyang mga kuyang si Arthur at Aries.
"Hey champ, it's okay. Don't mind it. We don't mind it either," wika ni Arthur sabay ngiti sa kanya at bumulong ito sa kanya. "I know you're still a kid and you'll not gonna understand this but just so you know, business world is a crap."
Bahagya namang natawa si Archles no'n dahilan para tapikin s'ya ni Aries sa ulo.
"Wanna get out of here? We'll play in the park. That's your favorite place, right?"
"And oh! They have a huge Christmas tree there. I know you want to see it," ngumiti muli si Arthur sa kanya.
Ngumiti naman si Archles sa kanila at tumango. "Okay, big brother."
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"Shàoxiào, qǐng liú zài chē lǐ wǒ qù mǎi zhūbǎo nǐ bàba yào wǒ sòng nǐ huí jiā, hǎo ma?" Little Mark's (aged 8) father's secretary, Yifan said as he looked at Mark's blank expression on the car's rearview mirror. Mark has a bloodline of Filipino-Chinese blue blood (prominent, high-profiled and rich people) and he knows his dad's secretary knows and understands Tagalog but his dad wants him to be fluent in Chinese because their business is based in China so he needs to communicate with his father's staff and employees in Chinese. [*TRANS: Young master, please stay inside the car. I'll get the jewelry your dad asked me to get then we'll go home, okay?]
"Tāmen huí jiāguò shèngdàn jié ma?" tanong agad ni Mark. Nakasuot parin s'ya ng white tuxedo dahil isinama s'ya ng kanyang ina sa isang business party para i-expose s'ya sa mga business partners at investors ng kompanya nila. [*TRANS: Are they going home for Christmas?]
"Wǒ hěn bàoqiàn, niánqīng de zhǔrén, dàn wǒ rènwéi tāmen jīnnián shèngdàn jié hái zài bǐlìshí, yīnwèi tāmen hái zài bǐlìshí kāihuì," malungkot na wika ni Yifan pero pinilit n'yang maging masaya ang tono ng pananalita n'ya para hindi malungkot ang bata. Muli n'ya itong sinulyapan sa rearview mirror. "Dàn nǐ bùyòng dānxīn, niánqīng zhǔrén nǐ kěyǐ hé nǐ gēgē yīqǐ qìngzhù shèngdàn jié."
[*TRANS: I'm sorry young master but I don't think they'll go home this Christmas since they're still in Belgium for their business meeting.
But you don't have to worry about it, young master. You could celebrate Christmas with your older brother. (Gēgē in Chinese means older brother)]
"Dànshì... Zhè bùshì yī huí shì. Shèngdàn jié hé nǐ bà mā bù yīyàng," unti-unting napayuko si Mark at nanatili lang ang kanyang mga mata sa kanyang mga kamay. He may be an eight-year-old kid but having the IQ of 200 made him understand what's the life of being inside the family whose life revolves around the business world. [*TRANS: But... it's not the same. Christmas is really different from you can't spend it with your family with your mom and dad.]
And as a kid, he's sad about the fact that he can't celebrate Christmas with a complete family—with his older brother and with his mom and dad.
Natahimik na no'n si Yifan hanggang sa makarating sila sa jewelry shop na paboritong-paboritong puntahan ng pamilya nila. Iniwan naman s'ya ni Yifan sa kotse at binigyan s'ya ng laruan na sadyang bored na bored s'yang laruin.
Isang buntong-hininga ang pinakawalan ni Mark habang nakatingin sa bintana.
He may not be a naughty boy but he's not an obedient boy either so he went out of the car and went to a park five blocks away from the jewelry shop only to find a huge Christmas tree.
"Wow..." Mark muttered in awe. The Christmas tree shines so bright that night and it made him feel a bit of happiness. "Tài měile (it's so beautiful)..."
"Gosiengfiao?" napatingin agad si Mark sa kanan n'ya at bumungad sa kanya sina Dwayne na ngayon ay mugto ang mga mata at bahagya pang nakanguso habang hawak ni Archles ang kanyang kanang kamay at nasa kaliwa naman ni Archles si Clyde na mukha na ring nahimasmasan mula sa kakaiyak na yakap-yakap ang stuffed toy dinosaur ni Archles na si Rexy.
"You're here too?"
"I..." usal ni Mark. "Yeah... I... I got bored inside the car and I found this Christmas tree while strolling around."
Bahagya namang ngumiti ang tatlo sa kanya at agad na rin silang tumabi sa kanya at tumingala sa Christmas tree.
"It's pretty," suminghot si Dwayne.
"And bright too," dagdag naman ni Clyde.
"This tree guided us here," wika ni Archles.
"Yeah," usal naman ni Mark.
"Apollo?"
Lumingon sina Dwayne, Clyde, Archles at Mark kay Suzanne na ngayon ay nilapag ang isang Christmas gift sa sahig. "Kanina pa kayo nakatingin d'yan sa Christmas tree. Wala naman siguro kayong balak na buong gabi nakatanga d'yan. Uso kumain," bahagya pa itong natawa sa kanila.
"Ang galing ko sigurong mag-decorate kasi kanina pa kayo nakatingin d'yan."
Napakurap naman silang apat sa kanya. Parang kanina lang ay naalala nila ang malungkot nilang alaala nung mga bata pa sila tuwing sumasapit ang Pasko.
And that Christmas tree in the park where they met each other guided them to what they are right now.
And it seemed like that tree will be replaced with this girl in front of them.
"Merry Christmas, Apollo," Suzanne smiled brightly at them.
Brighter than the Christmas lights.
Dwayne, Clyde, Archles and Mark smiled at her.
"Yeah, Merry Christmas, Suzanne."
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year of 2020, everyone! I love y'all~ 🎉❤️