All Is Not Lost

Chapter 8

Adventure

I sat beside Mommy. In front of Laylin, na sa tingin ko ay siya ang sinasabing kaibigan ko. Best friend to be exact.

She avoided my gaze as I sit. Ang Kuya Riko niya ay nakatingin pa rin sa akin bago siya tanungin ni Daddy ng kung ano.

"So, how's the project, Annistin?" Mommy asked and sliced my steak for me, an unusual thing because she never does this.

Napangiti lang ako nang lahat sila ay bumaling sa akin at naghintay ng sagot. I stuffed my mouth with steak and gestured my hand as a wait.

No one would want me to speak with a full mouth. Table manners.

"Laylin right here said that you weren't home because of a heavy requirement at school. Incredible! Magkaibigan pala kayo ng unica hija ng kumpare ko?" Daddy laughed and poured another batch of wine into Tito Richie's wineglass, Laylin's father.

Napatingin ulit ako kay Laylin. She smiled at my father, but still avoided my gaze. Laylin is not my friend. Magkakilala lang kami dahil simula grade school ay magka-klase na. But we never hanged out. We literally know each other just by our names.

"You shoul've told us about that project, Annistin! Hindi iyong bigla ka na lang nawa--"

"Honey, she told us, remember?" pagputol ni Daddy kay Mommy at humalakhak.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Laylin saglit bago ko tiningnan ulit si Daddy. He turned to our guests and smiled sweetly that his eyes disappeared. "Nagiging makakalimutin na si Angelli these days. Does that usually happen to the both of you, too?" he asked to avert the topic.

Then they talked and discussed things like Mommy never mentioned a thing. Napatalon ako sa upuan nang matamaan ng paa ni Mommy ang binti ko. I took a quick look under the table and realized that Daddy kicked Mommy.

Nang matapos ang dinner at nasulyapan kong lumabas sa garden si Laylin, kaagad akong sumunod.

"Why did you cover for me?"

Laylin pulled the hem of her cardigan from her elbow to her arms and licked her lips before looking at me.

"I-I just felt that you need covering."

I paused for a while and thought about what happened these past few days. Nag-play lahat ng nangyari sa utak ko at napagtanto na walang masamang intensyon si Laylin. She never did anything bad to me before and she has no reason to wrong me.

"Santana approached me at school and asked for notes. You were absent for days and you're not at home as well..." she trailed and sighed. "When I told your parents about a project and then they claimed to be aware of it, that shows that they do not know anything about you. They're saving face because they thought I know and they do not."

That makes sense. Mapapahiya sina Daddy kung sasabihin ni Lalylin ang tungkol sa isang project ko na hindi nila alam. That would make them as a bad parents.

"Santana also asked me to give your excuse letter, admission note, and uh... medical certificate every day that you were gone."

"So, did you help me because of him?"

"No. I wasn't doing the favor for him, I was doing it for you."

"Why? Were we close?" Hindi ako makuntento sa mga sagot niya. Parang one way or another, laging may dahilan kung bakit nagiging mabait sa akin ang mga tao.

"No. But... I always knew you are kind, so there's no reason for me to not oblige. At isa pa... noong fourth-year high school tayo, a group of friends locked me in the comfort room with a boy. He attempted to do something bad to me, but you came in... and it happened to be that your brother is outside. Kaya na-report ninyo ang nangyari... otherwise, I can't imagine what could've happen to me."