Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 11

"You wanna come?"

"Saan?" agad na tanong ni Ayon, na parang walang pakialam at agad nawala ang focus sa kanyang reviewer materials. Sabi niya may long quiz siya bukas sa isang major, pero heto at naglalaro na naman siya ng review-reviewhan.

"Inom ra—"

"Pass," she cut me off instantly. Nagkatinginan kami ni Sera.

"With Kuya's friends," dagdag ko, patibong sa kanya. Kunwari pa siya—basta alak, hindi niyan papalagpasin!

"Pass—sundo, Sera! Kayo naman, di niyo kasi nililinaw." Ngumisi siya at mabilis na isinara ang kanyang mga libro, pinagpatong-patong ito bago tumayo.

"Oh, where are you going?"

"Maghahanda na, syempre. Hindi naman pwedeng pangit ako mamaya." She grinned at me knowingly. "Malay mo, magsex kami ni Ezra tonight!" I could see the excitement in her eyes—even her lust for my brother was evident.

"Kadiri ka!"

"Oh my god, Ayon!"

I threw a crumpled piece of paper at her while Sera could only cover her face in embarrassment.

"I cannot! Harap-harapan mo pa talagang pinagnanasaan ang Kuya ko," I shrieked. I cannot even imagine—no, I wouldn't want to imagine it! Hindi ko alam kung bakit siya ganyan sa Kuya.

"What? At least I'm not doing it behind your back, because that would be fucked up, right?" she argued.

And there—she hit the bull's eye.

I glanced away, unconsciously remembering that asshole Akio. He's too damn confident, shameless enough to have the guts to blackmail me into exposing everything to my brother. I don't know if he's serious or just trying to scare the shit out of me, but knowing that he can do it in a heartbeat is making me anxious. Kailangan kong mag-ingat. I should try and avoid pushing his buttons—or else, he'll explode.

But a part of me wants to give him the benefit of the doubt. Pakiramdam ko, tinatakot niya lang ako—hindi rin naman talaga niya sasabihin kay Kuya. I can only assume for now that he needs something from me, and in order to get that, he'll have to keep our secret. Kailangan niya 'yun para mapasunod ako.

He can't just tell my brother about it...

If I'm wrong, then I don't know! Maybe I should start praying and ready myself to accept the wrath of my brother.

Ngumiwi ako sa kanya. I saw Sera staring at me, observing my reaction with her discerning eyes. Has she been watching me the whole time? Sinuklian ko ang kaniyang tingin habang ang isa ay natatawa lang sa aking reaksyon.

"What?" I mouthed. She only shrugged her shoulders and fanned herself with a mini fan in her hand. So sassy! Sinundan ko ng tingin ang ilang hibla ng buhok niya na nililipad palayo sa kanyang mukha.

"Can we just go to my place? Ang init dito— buti pa doon may aircon!" Hindi na napigilang magreklamo. Kanina pa tapos ang klase namin; isa lang naman ang subject naming tatlo tuwing Tuesday. Kaya ganitong oras, malaya kaming nakakapagkita dahil pare-pareho ang free time namin.

Iritado na rin ako sa init. Dama ko ang lagkit ng katawan ko, pakiramdam ko ang dumi-dumi ko na. Gusto ko nang umuwi at maligo.

"Sobrang init! Ang daming kasing demonyo sa mundong 'to."

"Bakit kasi hindi na lang itapal sa ozone layer ang mga demonyo na 'yan," dagdag na angil ni Ayon, ngunit natatawa rin naman habang inaayos ang kanyang gamit.