Echoing of Power and Passion

01 (Alicia)

Alicia's pov......

Alicia grew up in a not-so-peaceful family. Her parents were forced to marry just because her mom got pregnant, leaving her father with no choice but to choose Alicia, causing banter about abortion.

"Gosh! Ang hirap naman nito. Paano ba mawawala yung itim sa puwet ng kalan? Nakakainis naman, oh!" She was frustrated while scrubbing the pan. She was live streaming, as she often did while doing household chores. She earned money from the app by multitasking this way.

"Poppo... Poppooo... Oiiii..." My brother tried to distract me, knowing I was having a hard time washing the dishes.

"Wag mo akong pinaglaruan, Licht Bash!" I calmly said, trying hard not to get angry.

"Hans! Nag-po-Poppo si Ate! Kaya pala mahina ang wifi," he said, looking for an ally.

"Kaya pala lag! Tigil na sa pag-po-Poppo, Te," Hans joked, and my other cousins, who were playing video games with him, burst out laughing.

That was their everyday routine aside from doing household chores and playing on their phones. Her brothers’ sideline was making her upset, especially since she had anger issues.

"Pag di pa talaga kayo titigil diyan, lagot kayo sa akin! Kayo magluluto, maglilinis, tas maghuhugas ng plato, mga yawa!" she shouted as they continued laughing, not doing anything productive.

She just ignored them and continued what she was doing. She didn’t want her threat to come true because she hated leaving any household chores undone.

"O, Waping, na-update mo na ba ang enrollment mo?" Papa asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Pa, anong Waping? Pa, I'm 20 years old, and you still call me Waping," she pouted. Waping was her nickname—she had chinky eyes, and her dad was a fan of Jackie Chan, so he called her Waping after a character in one of Jackie Chan’s movies, Hua Ping.

"Sha... Sha... Waping man o Alicia, it's just the same, Anak, hahaha. Don't get mad, you're still my baby girl, noh?" Papa said sweetly, looking at her.

"Okay, fine," I smiled at my Papa. Ever since I was born, I was a Papa's girl, even though I was raised by my Grandma. "Naka-plot na ako ng sched ko, Pa, medyo natagalan yung pag-open ng next section eh," I replied to his first question.

"Oh, kamusta naman? Okay lang ba yung schedule mo?" He asked again while sitting on the small chair near the sink.

"Yun nga, Pa eh, paunahan kasi kaya ayun, agad kong plinot yung schedule without checking it. Ayun, naka-kuha ako ng 7 AM hanggang 8 PM schedule, Pa. Nakakainis," she said, feeling frustrated with everything at that moment.

She didn't like waking up early because she wasn't a morning person. She was the type to sleep in the morning and stay up at night, with a body clock that matched America's time zone.

"So, what's your plan? Magbiyahe ka or what? Mahigit 2 hours din ang biyahe papuntang school mo eh," Papa said. The university was far from her place; she lived in the province and had to travel almost two hours to get to the university.

"My friend offered me a room. Her aunt has a boarding house near City Hall. Since we're friends and they manage her aunt’s business, I'm free for water and electricity. I just need to pay for the room, which is 1,500," I said while continuing to scrub the pan.

"Na-visit mo na ba?" he asked.

"Yep, 15 minutes lang naman ang lakad papuntang school."

"Okay ba sayo?"

"Maliit yung room, pero for sure naman magiging comfortable ako dun. Isa pa, kilala yung family ng friend ko sa lugar nila so safe ako dun. Nothing to worry about safety, Pa."