Dumpsite

If he were not so frustrated at the heap of garbage currently sitting in his backyard, Mr. Malawa would be enjoying this copacetic morning right now. If only he'd chosen to stop griping, then by now he would be enjoying the blazing sun rising above the treetops and the glinting dews that had clung to the bougainvilleas that he himself had been tending to. But no-as of the moment, his eyes were nothing but loyal beholders of this mountain of wastes currently defiling his morning.

"Bwisit!" he exclaimed as he glared at the slimy bags of garbage. "Why are these still here?"

Upon hearing his father's scream of infuriation, Jess, who was preparing a cup of coffee, went out of the kitchen and strode over to the old man's side. "Is something wrong that you are screaming like this?" he asked.

"Why are these still here?" Mr. Malawa repeated, pointing tremulously at the engenderers of his wrath. "Shouldn't have your cousin brought them outside at 6 a.m. earlier? The garbage truck passes by our house around that time, after all. Tê? Now that the basureros have already left our purok, what are we going to do with these?" At which Mr. Malawa gestured at the bags of garbage with more vehemence.

"Well-"

"That sloth," Mr. Malawa said, not caring to let his son finish, "Isn't it his duty to bring the garbage out every morning? Call him this very instant. That brat needs an earful."

"Oh, Papa. Let this shortcoming of your nephew's slide just this once. Wasn't he the one who finished all of Mikka's projects last night so that the two of you could make an excursion to the Lagoon? And, for goodness' sake, he's just a thirteen-year-old kid. He's bound to make mistakes every once in a while, right?"

"Shut that mouth of yours already, Jess. Besides, if that cousin of yours knew that he wouldn't be able to wake up early the next day-well, thanks to the sacrifice that he made for your sister-then why didn't he bring the garbage out before he slept last night? That would have been the smart thing to do. Anyone who'd been in their right mind would have done that!"

"Pa, you know as much as I do that that is inadvisable. After all, leaving the garbage outside for too long will just give the stray dogs a chance to scatter them all over the street."

"Whatever! Just call Mark. Hurry."

Seeing that arguing with his father would bear no fruit, Jess acquiesced and did as he was told. Deep inside, he didn't want Mark to be berated. He was unable to fulfill his task today, yes, but that failure of his was not a result of an irresponsible behavior, but of a selfless deed. "Hadn't Papa tasked Mark to complete Mikka's school work last night, he would've had the energy to wake up early today and bring the garbage out." Jess thought to himself.

Jess was against what his father was about to do, but he knew that in the end, only the latter's wishes would prevail. Which was why, as much as it revolted him, he woke Mark up and brought him to the old man's side. And though he knew that his presence wouldn't prevent his father from reprimanding Mark, he still chose to stay beside the boy-if only to accompany him in the scary experience that he was about to go through.

"Today you only had one job," Mr. Malawa said malignantly without looking away from the heap of garbage, "and you didn't even manage to fulfill it."

"I apologize, Tito. I was-" Mark began.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses." At which Mark's head bowed down. "You ungrateful kid. Do you have any idea how much I spend for you every month? Oh"-Mr. Malawa massaged his temples-"I don't even want to think about it."

"I-I'll do better next time, Tito." Mark offered querulously.

"You-know your place, okay? If I didn't take you in, you would be sleeping on the streets right now. Mark my words, totô-unless you turn your back on this indolence of yours, you won't ever succeed in the future, let alone stand on your own feet. So do yourself a favor and work hard like a real man, got it?"