Fidelity

17th

ASAP

Nabitawan ko ang hawak na kubyertos sa narinig mula kay Daddy.

"What?" I mindlessly mumbled as if I didn't hear a thing.

He shrugged before wiping the corner of his lips with the table napkin. "The enrollment is fast approaching.. Natural lang na pag-usapan ang tungkol sa kukunin mo sa Senior High. You may be in 10th Grade now but you'll be a Grade 11 student in no time... I heard the pre-registration starts next week—"

"Dad, I'm not taking STEM!" putol ko dahil yun lang ang tumatak sa isipan mula sa nauna niyang sinabi kanina.

Maswerte ako at kaming dalawa lamang ang nasa hapag ngayon. Kung nandito si Mommy ay tiyak na hindi makakalampas ang pagtaas ko ng boses sa Ama.

Dad calmly looked at me while placing back the cloth on the table. He doesn't look mad nor thrilled. Just plain-ass impassive.

"What do you plan to take then?" tamad na anas niya, wala na sa akin ang tingin. I opened my mouth but nothing came out as he spoke again.

"Do you even have plans?" aniya habang abala na ngayon sa binabasa mula sa iPad na inabot ng assistant.

Lumunok ako. Bumagsak ang tingin sa mga daliri kong nasa hita. I suddenly felt uncomfortable with not knowing what to say.

"I don't know... I just know STEM's not for me.." tikhim ko. "I'm kind of interested in design so I was thinking.. maybe Arts—"

"Solasta," natigilan ako nang banggitin niya ang pangalan. It's a universal knowledge that something's off when you're not being called by your nickname.

"School is not about what you like, or what you don't. It's about what's best for you. We already had this talk before, I'm not repeating myself to you," he fixed his french cuffs as he stood up. "I don't care what you're into. Just do as you're told,"

He stormed out of the dining area without looking back at me.

Hindi ito ang unang beses na nabuksan ang usapang ito. Totoong bata pa lang ay lihis na sa nais nila ang sagot ko tuwing tinatanong kung anong gusto kong maging paglaki. That's why they kept dismissing my hopeful dreams. My sister's into healthcare; Dad said it could get her into politics and be his successor. With that, I am left with no choice but to take engineering and be Mom's successor.

Ilang sandali pa akong natulala bago agad na tumayo. Kung inaakala nilang makokontrol nila ko ay nagkakamali sila! I'm never shutting up about this. I clenched my fist and went after his way.

"Dad! There's no way I'm—"

Ang malakas kong tinig na dumadagundong sa buong mansyon ay naputol nang makarating sa living room. Dad was nowhere to be found. Iba ang nadatnan ko roon.

Unti-unting bumagal ang mga hakbang ko. Of course he's here. He always is. Seeing me at my worst, witnessing every single disaster in this family. Damn. He's annoyingly always present at almost everything.

Talagang pinanindigan niya na ang pagiging mapapel kay Mommy. Worst part is, Mom's actually impressed with his knowledge and skills! She's even treating him like some sort of apprentice or something now! Bwisit na bwisit ako tuwing naririnig siyang pinupuri ni Mommy. I don't even get to receive any of that!

And by the look in his eyes right now, it seems like he even heard the row I had with my Dad. Mas lalo lang nag-init ang dugo ko.

"Solace," I heard Mom coming out from her home office. She was flipping some papers with her hand. "What's all that fuss about?"