Hiding Behind the Lenses (Arte del Amor #3)

Chapter 2

I fell asleep on my brother's bed. Naalimpungatan lang ako nung bandang madaling araw na at nakitang katabi ko si Kuya Gav, samantalang ang may ari ng kwarto ay natutulog sa carpet.

Napatingin ako sa recliner chair niya na hindi niya ginamit dahil punong puno ng maruruming damit. Nagpasya akong tumayo na at pinatungan ko sila ng tig-iisang comforter.

I immediately cringed at what I did. Ang sweet ko naman yata masyado! Kaya naman kahit balot na balot sila sa comforter ay pinatay ko ang aircon para magising sila mamaya sa init. Hehe.

Alas singko na kaya hindi na ako dapat matulog pa dahil gusto ni Mommy na mas maaga ako ngayon. Pumasok ako sa kwarto ko para tingnan ang phone ko, bumungad naman sa akin ang mga chat ni Sydney at Gia. I just ignored them and went straight to Chad and I's conversation.

Kung mapapansin ay palaging siya ang nauunang mag-send ng message sa akin, tapos sobrag tipid ng mga reply ko. Hindi ako makapaniwala na ngayon, ako naman ang mauuna, tapos hihingi pa ng pasensya!

I typed, then erased every progress because I can't seem to apologize. Lalo lang yayabang ang isang 'to kung magpapa-sorry ako. After at least half an hour of thinking about what to say, all I ended up sending was I'm sorry for yesterday.

All that's left to hope for is he'd accept it, and be civil towards me. Though I'm sure Mommy wants something more than that. A lot more than being civil.

After taking a bath and changing into my uniform, I went downstairs to meet her. She's already wearing her usual formal dress with pearls around her neck, her stance screaming authority in this house.

"Good morning, Daddy, My," I kissed my parents' cheeks before I joined them in their tea table.

"You didn't fix your hair today, anak." puna sa akin ni Mommy. Perhaps my wavy hair is all over the place that she had no choice but to notice it.

I shrugged, "I think it's fine."

"It is not. Fix it before you leave for school." utos niya at tumango na ako.

Naagaw ang pansin ko ng mga nakatambak na folder sa gitna ng lamesa. Mom noticed my curiosity so she reached for them and opened one, "These are the offers. Apparently, a lot of companies, mostly for younger kids like you, want you to model for them."

"Photoshoots, then?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to choose for you?" Mom asked the obvious. I just nodded because at the end of the day, ang gusto pa rin naman niya ang masusunod.

"Sure, I don't know anything about that yet anyway."

When my brothers woke up after another good thirty minutes, that was when we went to school. Humihikab pa nga sila nang bumaba kami sa kotse.

"Do you have ganap today?" tanong ko bago kami naghiwalay ng direksyon na pupuntahan. Humalakhak si Kuya Gael, "Ayusin mo nga magsalita!"

Si Kuya Gavin ang sumagot, "None. Why?"

"How about basketball?"

"May practice game mamaya. Manonood ka?" Si Kuya Gavin nalang ang kausap ko dahil naglakad na papalayo si Kuya Gael. I wanted to try watching them for once, since I never really cared about their hobbies whatsoever.

"Maybe. See ya!" I waved.

Iniwan ko doon si Kuya Gav na mukhang nagtataka sa biglang pagpapakita ko ng interes sa araw nila. How rude! Kapatid kaya nila ako, natural lang na magtanong ako paminsan-minsan. Dapat yata hindi ko tinanong at sinorpresa ko na lang.

Pagdating ko sa building ng Elementary Department ay maraming bumabati sa akin na nakasasalubong ko. I will just give them a smile and I don't even try to hide the fact that it was forced.