Behind Every Pages

Chapter Fifteen:

Lestari

I entered my sibling's room without permission and found him staring at his phone. I saw a picture of a girl there, but I couldn't see her face clearly as Luther quickly hid his cellphone.

"Don't you know how to knock? It's a basic manners, you should known that," he grinned, then playfully threw a pillow at me, which I dodged.

"Huwag kang mag-aalala, wala akong nakita, but she's pretty." I said, his eyes widened as he quickly looked away from me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What do you need?" I almost forgot the reason I came here, buti pinaalala niya.

"Samahan mo ako sa mall, bibili kasi ako ng school supplies, may pasok na ako sa monday." sabi ko.

"Don't we have drivers?" he asked.

"Walang available, you have no choice either. Go take a shower, I'll wait for you downstairs," he nodded, so I left. "Nagbibinata ka na—" I was shocked when he threw the pillow at me again, hitting me in the face.

"Get out!" he shouted in annoyance. I laughed heartily before closing his door.

I received a message from Ezra saying he was at the publishing company and had exciting news. It was obvious that his new book was about to be released. I hadn't even finished reading his last published book, and there was already a new one.

Even though we had become close, I never stopped supporting him, just like before. I thanked him for his stories that truly resonated with me. He also expressed his gratitude, saying that as an author, it warms his heart to hear how much I love his stories. Because of that, I always make sure to let him know that I will always support him and his stories.

When Luther and I arrived at the mall, he immediately informed me that he wouldn't be joining me. He said he would just wait in the parking lot as he was too lazy to walk.

I went inside and headed straight to the store. I don't know why, but whenever I visit this store, instead of going straight to what I need to buy, I'm always drawn to the books section. I saw a new self-published book by Continues Salvation titled "I Will Come Back". Sobrang pinagagaan ng libro niya ang loob ko, parang ang gaan-gaan sa pakiramdam ng mga payo niya. Ang dami kong natututunan, minsan ay iniiyakan ko pa talaga ang mga nababasa ko doon. I picked it up and placed it in my cart. As I turned around to look at the other side of the shelf, I noticed a poster about a book signing event next week, featuring Continues Salvation. I wanted to go and finally met her.

There was also a special guest author announced, hinted by an emoji of a round glasses. I was thrilled as I had a feeling it was Ezra. This made me even more determined to attend, but of course, there was a problem—my Dad.

After buying everything I needed, I took a quick stop at a coffee shop to buy an ice coffee for both my brother and me.

"Name po?" napaisip ako. Ano kayang maganda? Mrs. Valera? Haha baliw. Hmm...

"Eztari po" I said, trying to suppress a smile. The lady just nodded before writing down the name I gave. I sat on the side, waiting for my order. I scrolled through my Facebook while waiting.

“Sir Astley? Sir Astley?" the name sounded so familiar to me. When I looked at the counter, the man was no longer there. Astley? Baka kapangalan lang ni Ezra. I went back to scrolling until I was called.

“Ma'am Eztari?" agad akong tumayo at lumapit para kunin ang orders ko “Thank you po” sabi nito, tumango lang ako dito bago umalis. Habang nasa  escalator ako, pinicturan ko yung cup ko na may pangalan na Eztari at inistory 'yon sa IG.

Thing ba? Thing talaga kami hys.

'Yon na lang ang na caption 'ko. Baka ma-post nanaman ako sa FB.

When I reached Luther's car, I saw him staring at his phone again inside. Nasa labas pa rin ako bitbit ang mga pinamili dahil wala talaga siyang balak pagbuksan ako sa sobrang tulala niya sa phone niya.