FORTY-SECOND
“I still can’t believe Nereo and XZ had something. It was like... incest,” Kai said out of the blue while looking in the mirror at his reflection, fixing his black toga. Napalingon sa kaniya ang lahat dahil sa sinabi niya ngunit agad ding nabaling ang atensyon ng lahat kay Lucas nang sumagot ito.
“It’s not.” Nakaupo nang komportable si Lucas sa sofa habang binabasa ang takbo ng programa mamaya na nasa booklet na hawak niya. Binaba niya sandali ang binabasa at muling nagsalita.
“Nereo’s adopted.”
Nagulat sina Kai, Sam at Pete. Alam ng mga Del Fierro ang buong pagkatao ni Nereo. Hindi nagulat si Sky dahil narinig niya ito noong pinag-uusapan ito ng mga magulang niya noong bata pa siya kaya alam din niya kung bakit laging iritable si Lucas dito.
Nang makita ang reaksyon ng mga pinsan niya ay mas lalong hindi makapaniwala si Kai. “And you all knew but you waited until my graduation to say it?”
“I didn’t,” saad ni Sam.
“Me too,” ani Pete.
“You knew about this, Seb?” lingon ni Kai kay Sebastian kaya lahat ng mata’y napalingon din kay Sebastian.
“Err... you know how it is, mein Vater und... und sein Vater sind... are, you know, cousins,” (You know how it is, my father and... and his father are... are, you know, cousins,) paliwanag ni Sebastian na may kasama pang hand gestures. German accent but with Italian hand gestures.
“My dad and your dad are also cousins!” sabat ni Kai na tumataas na ang tono ng boses.
“First cousins,” dagdag ni Skyler sa sinabi ni Sebastian, tinutukoy na magpinsang buo ang mga tatay nina Sebastian at Nereo upang barahin na ang logic ni Kai. Kanina pa siya nakaayos sa toga niya. “Let it go, Kai. It wasn’t his story to tell.”
“I just can’t believe that you guys knew but didn’t even bother to tell us—the ones who didn’t know.”
“What difference would’ve it made?” ani Hayden kaya sa kaniya naman napalingon ang lahat. “He was still our cousin whether you knew about it or not.”
Tumahimik na si Kai at umupo kaya si Eze naman ang pumuwesto sa harap ng salamin sa BR.
Tumayo si Lucas. “I guess I’ll see you guys at the party. Congratulations,” bati niya kanila Kai, Sebastian, Eze, Sam, at Skyler na mga naka-toga na at lumabas na ng BR.
Hindi naiwasan ni Seamus mapangiti nang pagmasdan ang mga pinsan niyang ga-graduate na. Halos tatlong buwan na siyang nagta-trabaho sa DeV Cruise Line bilang tubero. Nakita naman siya ni Hayden kaya bahagya siyang siniko ng kambal.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Nothing. They just look so good,” sagot ni Seamus kaya napatingin sa kaniya ang mga pinsan.
“If Nereo was here, he would be so proud of you,” nakangiting wika ni Seamus kanila Kai, Sam, Eze, Sebastian, at Skyler.
“Of course, he would. And he’d say he couldn’t wait until next year because then, he’d be the one who’d graduate with Luke, Hayden, and Pete,” saad ni Eze.
“Oh, I guess I did the right thing dropping out of the university,” wika ni Seamus kaya nakakunot na lumingon sa kaniya ang mga pinsan.
“What? How is that the ‘right thing’?” kunot-noong tanong ni Sebastian.
BINABASA MO ANG
Lost Stars
Teen Fiction[SMUG Series #1] XZ Martinez is a smart young woman. She was born to a rich and famous family but she doesn't seem to like it. Unlike her older brother, Valentine, XZ is and will never be used to the attention people are giving her but she guesses t...
