The Pawrents

Kenjiro and Kuro

 "Someday, I'll have a place of my own that's even bigger and better than this." With his arms clutching brown paper grocery bags, 21-year-old, Kenjiro Suson gave a heavy but dreamy sigh. His eyes scanned the big condo unit in front of him. He's been house sitting it for a month now and the owner was a childhood friend of his, Maverick. Mav or Kuya Mavs, as he fondly called him, was one of the very few people he trusted in this world and vice-versa. That's why when Mav had a two month business trip that would take him out of the country, Kenji was the only person he thought of whom he could trust to guard his place. Their solid bond goes way back. Forged by their tumultuous years in the orphanage, where they only had each other to rely upon.

He sighed again. Unaware that he had been standing for more than 10 minutes while still clutching the paper bags. It became an unconscious habit when he started house sitting. Whenever he entered the posh condo unit, he automatically stopped and scanned the penthouse. Taking his time in admiring how lush it looked and dreamt of what his own would look like. An aggressive yowl from behind pulled him out of his fantasy. Kuro, his black Persian kitten was aggressively scratching the front door.

"Kuro-chan! Stop! Not the door! 'Pag 'yan nasira, pambayad ko yung mga pang-kitty treats mo! Sige ka." The naughty cat stopped clawing but continued bellowing as if it were being tortured. Kenji knew it was a signal that the kitten wanted to get out of the room and look for a mate. He pouted at his kitten and gently scooped it to nuzzle his face on its furry body. "Laki mo na talaga, Kuro. Marunong ka ng lumandi. Naghahanap na ng mate ang baby boy ko?" He hugged his kitten and swayed it around the room eliciting a soft satisfied purr from the feline. His phone rang loudly and he rushed to pick it up knowing it was the awaited video call from his Kuya Mavs.

"Yow, Kenji, mah boy. How are things there?" A bed-headed Maverick greeted him.

"All good, Kuya Mavs. I cleaned up your whole unit this morning." Kenji proudly reported.

"Cleaned up? Don't tell me you cleaned the whole place again?"

"Uhm, I did? I didn't throw anything away, promise! I just vacuumed, changed the drapes, bed sheets..."

Mav gave him a firm look. "Tsk.Tsk. I told you! There's no need to do that. You can just call a home cleaning service from the number I gave you. Just focus on scoring the side jobs that you need."

"Ay, panget ang home cleaning service, Kuya Mavs. Sayang lang ang bayad. Mas magaling pa ako maglinis sa kanila. Atsaka, baka mamaya may kunin pa silang gamit dito na 'di ko mapansin. Huwag na uy! You also paid me to house sit. Kasama na doon ang paglinis ng place mo."

"Bahala ka na nga," said Mav disapprovingly. "Kahit next month ka na ulit maglinis. Basta get more side jobs para maka-ipon ka for your last school term. Eyes on the prize, Kiddo!"
Kenji warmly smiled at his supportive Kuya. "Oh, by the way may mga dumating na packages and letters dito sa condo mo. Ang dami so I kept it in your room muna."

"Letters?" Mav's eyes glittered. "Kunin mo nga dali! I want to see!"

Kenji quickly fetched the stack and sorted it out for his Kuya to see. "Mostly bills naman siya..." He stopped upon touching a big letter sized, fancy ivory colored envelope. "Eto...hindi ko sure kung ano." He flipped it around and was dumbfounded to see his complete name in the addressee. "Hala. Baket pangalan ko nandito?"

"Bakit nga kaya? Buksan mo, dali." Mav snickered.

Kenji scaredly but gently opened the envelope revealing a thick university catalog and a letter addressed to him. He read the letter twice and even thought of reading it again as the words weren't registering in his brain. The letter was congratulating him for passing the initial screening of a scholarship application to a prestigious university. They were inviting him to take a series of tests and interviews in order to proceed to the next level. "Ano ito?! Hindi ko naman sinend yung application forms sa kanila." Kenji panicked.