"I'll meet you next week, kiddo. Don't forget the files I told you to review. Bye."
"Bye, ma'am."
The polite smile on my face immediately dissipates after she logs out of the zoom call. I close my laptop with a sigh, finally relieved that the boring meeting has come to an end. Tumayo na ako sa kinauupuan ko at pumunta sa kusina, not bothering to change out of my outfit which are a formal dress shirt and a tie for the top, and a boxer shorts for bottoms.
Who cares kung naka-underwear lang ako, hindi naman kita sa zoom call at wala namang tao dito sa bahay.
Yeah, I'm alone. I have a new place, a single bedroom condo unit near my parents' company building. Regalo sa'kin 'to ng Dad ko when I was fifteen, and now this is where I live. It's nothing fancy, dahil ang hiling sana ni Dad ay maging project ko ito, na ipa-renovate ko at ibenta. He didn't expect that this is where I would move when I finally get fed up of their shit.
Pagkatapos ng away namin ng parents ko, I've decided that I didn't want to stay there anymore. So I said I wanted move out. Surprisingly, pumayag sila. But on one condition: I'm going to train in the company.
So they've put me under the care of Ms. Alonzo, the Assistant Director of V Kings Corporation. I'm pretty sure training the child of the CEO is not a part of her job, but somehow they managed to convince her. Every week day she teaches me things, sometimes through video calls kapag sobrang busy siya, like today, but usually I go to the company building myself. I sit in during the meetings, presentations and the like, and I write down notes for me to review and study.
My parents say that this is for me, to make sure na hindi raw ako maliligaw ng landas. I know it's bullshit, since it's not my future that they care about, but the company's future. Ito ang paraan nila para masigurado na hindi ako tatakas sa hawak nila. As if naman kaya ko.
"Ah, great." I sarcastically say as I opened the fridge. Lamig lang ang laman ng ref ko at wala nang iba. "Magaling, Axcel. Nakalimutan mo na naman mag-grocery. Makakalaya ka talaga sa parents mo niyan. Napaka-responsable mo eh."
Tumingin ako sa mini pantry, and luckily for me may nag-iisang intant ramen. Good enough.
Habang nagpapakulo ako ng tubig, kinuha ko ang cellphone ko sa kwarto at nagtext.
pwede po bang mag grocery na rin kayo bukas? -
Not even a minute passes before Ate Myrna answers.
- Sige young master
sabi ko po sa inyo wag niyo na ko tawagin niyan eh. -
- Ah oo nga pala. Pasensya na axcel
Napangiti na lang ako sa text ni Ate Myrna. I guess it's not easy to rid of old habits.
After she stood up for me, my mother fired her. I guess we were already expecting it, dahil nakita naman naming lahat kung gaano kagalit si Mom noon. Pero after I moved out, I asked Ate Myrna if she can work for me, kahit na part-time lang. So once a week she comes and cleans the house, do the laundry, all the things that she used to do nung nasa mansion pa siya. She's been working for the Villaramos family ever since Dad was a teenager, and now all of that is gone dahil lang pinagtanggol niya ako. Giving her half of my weekly allowance is the least I can do.
"Finally." Para akong batang gutom habang binubuhos ang mainit na tubig sa ramen cup. Tinakpan ko ito at nilagay sa dining table, a table that is significantly smaller than the one we have in the mansion.
Doesn't matter. Smaller tables makes me feel less lonely anyway.
The thought makes me pause. No, actually, it doesn't make any difference.
YOU ARE READING
Gangster. (Discontinued)
أدب المراهقينRich playboy Axcel Ace Villaramos had nothing else to do with his life, when he found out his nerd classmate Elise is engaged in a shady exchange in the school's abandoned building. Dahil sa isang blackmail ay naging personal maid niya ito. At dahi...
