Kabanata 26 - When love flits between birds, their melodies soar to the heavens.

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Having a friend like Simeon meant that wherever you went with him, you were always treated like a VIP and given premium access to everything. When I mentioned that I was flying to Hawaii this Saturday for a New Year's celebration with my family, I extended an invitation to him, knowing he wasn't on good terms with his own family and often celebrated occasions alone. Without any hesitation, he gladly accepted my invitation. It also made me happy that he had a close relationship with my family, so it didn't come as a surprise that he wanted to join us and celebrate the New Year together. Cerise would be delighted to know that her beloved Godfather will be celebrating with us in the New Year.

This eventually brought us to our current situation, where we ended up at the airport and are now in the process of waiting for our flight. We decided to book our flight on the same day, which caused some issues with the availability of tickets and the flight schedule. Consequently, because it was a last-minute booking, the tickets turned out to be more expensive than we anticipated. My initial plan was to secure an economy seat, but Simeon took it upon himself to purchase two premium economy tickets instead. This created a disagreement between us, as I didn't think it was necessary to spend extra for the upgraded seats. Nevertheless, Simeon insisted on his preference for comfort during the entire duration of the flight, and he generously offered to cover the cost of both tickets. We've always had differing opinions on everything, which I guess was one of the downsides of being friends with him. However, I have grown accustomed to this aspect of his personality since our days in high school. Our friendships were driven by constant differences and disagreements, regardless of the subject matter. Some people we know found it an interesting dynamic, although at times it could be quite frustrating.

Simeon and I were seated next to each other in the departure lounge. Our flight would be departing soon, but we were patiently waiting for an indication to proceed towards the boarding gate. Simeon, while using his phone, suddenly looked at me and admitted, "I should've taken your advice and gotten some coffee and bread before we came here. My stomach is starting to feel queasy."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes in exasperation as I brushed aside the strands of my hair that were obscuring my view so I could properly face him. "You never pay attention to what I say. Now you'll just have to put up with your hunger until we're on the plane, where someone will take care of serving you food and drinks."

He chuckled and casually stashed his phone in his pocket. "Well, it looks like I'm not the only one who missed out on a morning coffee. I've traded in my mom's nagging only to find a replacement in you."

"I'm not your mom," I stated as a matter of fact. "You're so stubborn that you're like a magnet for nagging from everyone around you."

"And by 'everyone,' you mean just you and my mom?"

"Do you think I'm going to let you off the hook for all the embarrassing stuff you put me through in high school and college because of your stubbornness? There are some memories that I haven't forgotten, and they're stored in my brain like dusty relics."

He snickered and made a sweeping gesture with his hands as if to downplay my assertion. "Come on, let's not bring up that cringeworthy era again. We're leaving it in the past, where it belongs." Taking a brief moment to gather himself, he nodded with a hint of recollection on his face. "But I have to say, those times were truly special to me. I'm grateful that you were there and had my back. I always had this thought before that you might secretly be Wonder Woman because you saved me from so many troubles. But we've been friends for so long now, you don't have to keep that a secret from me anymore."

The way he always managed to make me roll my eyes and huff in annoyance with his outrageous behavior never ceased to amaze me. People wouldn't believe it if I told them that the most annoying and troublesome person from our high school and college days was now a dean of the College of Education.

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