Hey You

Chapter 24

"Hm," Dahlia, Jane's mother, tried to look at her phone better to see if the message that she was currently reading was really from her daughter.

"Why?" Marco, Jane's father, turned his attention from the game he was watching to his wife.

"Himala tong anak mo at nag-send ng message sa akin," she was still in disbelief. She read Jane's text message over and over in her head.

"I thought you guys texted often. Isn't that what mothers and daughters do?" He stared at the television already in trance with the game.

"Not to ask permission," she claimed. "Sayo lang naman nagpapaalam yang batang yan eh."

"Hm," even he was astonished. "That is odd. What did she text you?"

Dahlia put her reading glasses back on and read out loud. "'Mom, just letting you and dad know that I'm at a friend's house. I'll stay here overnight. I'm okay, don't worry. Good night. Love you.'"

Marco had a huge smile on his face like he was close to laughing.

"Bakit?" Dahlia asked when she noticed him.

"It's just funny," he snickered.

"Bakit nga?" She looked at him with a frown.

"It's just really odd that she texted you. It's so odd na I find it funny and kind of cute at the same time," he reasoned.

"Ang tanong: why? Bakit nya kaya naisipan na i-text ako?" She wondered out loud.

"That's good though, isn't it? Maybe she's actually trying to be more responsible. Maybe she's finally taking your advice to get things straightened out before she graduates. Maybe this is one of her efforts to try and please you, please us," he replied.

She watched while her husband took a big gulp of his beer. "I guess hindi lang ako sanay. She prefers to go to you. Mas nagsasabi sya sayo kahit na di ka na magtanong."

He grinned at his wife again. "Because our daughter's smart. Alam nya kasi na you're going to lecture her, so she's skipping that part and goes straight to dad."

Dahlia rolled her eyes. "Tapos oo ka naman ng oo pag may inaask sya sayo. Kaya lumaki ulo nyan eh. Naging rebelde. Halos di na umuuwi dito sa bahay. Lagi na lang nasa labas kasama mga kaibigan nya. I don't even think na she started her research for the colleges na she wants to apply to. Ewan ko ba sa batang yan," she sighed. Then she crossed her arms by her chest and rested her back on the couch.

"Just let her be. Para ka namang hindi naging teenager. She's supposed to go out there and explore. That's what she's doing. Being a teenager is her chance to try new things and make mistakes. You can't pressure her to be perfect," he told his wife.

Her eyebrows met. "I'm not expecting her to be perfect, I just want her to lessen yung mga dati nyang pag-screw around. She needs to know na this year is the real deal. The past few years she's allowed to have fun—because she has the luxury to do so. Some kids her age kinailangang mag-seryoso ng bata pa lang because they can't afford to do whatever they want kasi inaasahan sila. Jane, on the other hand, eh namimihasa porket may mommy't daddy sya na sasalo sa kanya. Kaya ganyan yan eh."

"Darling, I get it. Okay? She's our only kid. I get why you want her to have a good future, pero part of succeeding in life is to actually go out there in the world exploring, learning, and making mistakes. She's on the right path. I'm actually glad she gets to have fun kasi tama ka, not all teenagers are given the opportunity to have what Jane has. We're blessed because we're able to give that to her. Just let her figure out what she wants to do in life. Our job is to be there for her to guide her, not to tell her what to do. Pabayaan natin sya to find her own way," he reminded her. "And besides, kita mo naman nag-eeffort na yung bata. She stays home more often now, too. I see her doing schoolwork every time dumadating ako. I think she's really trying to do better," he pointed out.