Burning with the Breeze

6: The Lighthouse

Chapter 6
[ The Lighthouse ]

Aurora

It's been days since I last saw Ander. Since the incident, I haven't even caught a glimpse of him. He doesn't attend classes anymore. I'm curious about his situation, but judging by the calm demeanor of his friends in the classroom, I assume Ander isn't in total devastation, which somehow gives me a sense of relief.

Surprisingly, the incident didn't become a hot topic in the school's daily gossip. Even the students who were at the party have remained silent, which, I suppose, is a good thing.

As the science lecture droned on, a sharp creak interrupted the monotony that drawn all the eyes to the door. There stood a guy with wet hair and a leather jacket, casually holding a pen and a notebook. The instructor glanced at the guy but just shrugged and went back to the chalkboard.

Ander, with his head down, walked dispassionately toward his seat beside me. I couldn't keep my eyes off him for a while, trying to gauge his overall well-being. But when I realized I had been staring too long, I quickly refocused on the discussion.

The class finally dismissed and we're now preparing to go out for lunch.

"How are you?" I asked, trying to sound casual, though my fingers fumbled with the zipper on my bag while I try to arrange my books inside.

He was still seated when I asked, but he ignored me and walked out with his friends without a glance in my direction.

I paused for a moment, following his figure with my gaze.

Throughout the class, he sat stiffly and his gaze was fixed on some distant point as if nothing around him mattered. I don't know what's going on in his mind, but I guess that after the short time we spent together that night, I'm once again outside the parameters of his life.

I shrugged.

Well, it's not like I really expected we would be close. After all, he's still the aloof Ander I know.

I came home at exactly 5:00 PM. As soon as I entered the house, I immediately saw a wet blue towel scattered on the floor of our living room and heard a basketball announcer talking on the TV without someone watching. I also smelled a familiar adobo's aroma coming from the kitchen.

"Ugh, Damon," I murmured as I rolled my eyes.

"Aurora!" Damon appeared before me and flashed a wide smile while holding a spatula.

"Yeah, it's not nice meeting you," I said casually and proceeded to the stairs.

"C'mon. You didn't miss me?"

"Who would miss your mess?!" I shouted as I approached the door of my room.

"You're so mean!"

I chuckled upon hearing his faded shout from the kitchen. I hate how Damon can be so naughty and disorganized when he is here but for some strange reason, the absence of his irritating presence made the house quite lonely and boring, making me miss him a little bit.

"Why are you cooking so early?" I asked him as soon as I reached the kitchen to get some milk.

"Didn't mom tell you? We're going to the Moraleses this evening. Tita Lourdes and Tito Inigo are finally here and they invited us for dinner!" Damon answered while slowly stirring the pork adobo.

Shocked, it took me a minute to process what he said.

"She didn't tell me!"

"Oh, so now, you know."