THE ON1Y ONE (某某) [ TAG/ ENG ] FANFICTION

ACS 32

A CERTAIN SOMEONE FANFIC ''THE ON1Y ONE ''

JAMESVINCE

Chapter 32: Absence

On a Friday morning, Sheng Wang descended the stairs and walked into an unusual scene in the kitchen. His father, Clark, was in a heated discussion with lea.

"I can help, Clark," Lea insisted, her voice gentle but firm. "I don't want to just stay home all the time."

Clark sighed, rubbing his temples as he leaned on the kitchen counter. "It's not that, Lea. I just want you to take care of the kids."

Lea hesitated, She nodded quietly, agreeing to stay home.

Sheng Wang, watching from the stairs, felt a little lost. He didn't understand all the details but could sense the sadness hanging in the air. As if on cue, his father's phone buzzed. His dad glanced at it and then at Sheng Wang.

"I have to go on a business trip," Clark said, trying to sound casual. "I'll be at the airport soon."

Sheng Wang, used to his father's busy schedule, just shrugged. "How are you getting there?"

" uncle Pat will take you and Jiang Tian to school. I'll drive myself," Clark replied, already distracted by his phone.

"Let Uncle Pat take you," Sheng Wang suggested. "We can take the school bus."

But his father was too busy to hear him, already engrossed in his call. Sheng Wang just waved it off, realizing the conversation was over.

Later, as they walked to the school bus stop, Sheng Wang tried to lighten the mood with Jiang Tian.

"may I kukuwento ako..," Sheng Wang said, smiling as they waited at a crosswalk, "when I was a kid, I used to wake up early just to check out the street. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay before I went back to sleep."

Jiang Tian chuckled. "Why this street?"

"It's lively maingay, masaya .." Sheng Wang said, shrugging. "People are chatting, food carts, it's just interesting."

Jiang Tian nodded, smiling faintly. "I can see why you like it."

As they reached the school bus, a small hiccup appeared. Sheng Wang forgot his school card, but Jiang Tian quickly saved the day, swiping his own card for both of them. They found their seats, and Sheng Wang put on his headphones, lost in his thoughts.

The school day rolled on, and as they sat through classes, Sheng Wang heard the dreaded announcement: a parent-teacher meeting was scheduled for Sunday. Anxiety bubbled up inside him. His father was always traveling, and these meetings were just a reminder of his absence.

During a break, Sheng Wang sneaked out of the classroom to make a call, hoping to convince Uncle Pat to stand in for his father at the meeting. But he accidentally called Jiang Tian instead.

"Hello?" Jiang Tian's voice was soft in Sheng Wang's ear.

Sheng Wang froze, feeling embarrassed. "Uh... wrong number. Sorry."

"No problem," Jiang Tian replied calmly.

Hanging up, Sheng Wang sighed. There was no escaping it. He'd have to talk to his teacher, Mr. Martin, about his situation. Gathering his courage, he headed to the teacher's office.

"Mr. martin," Sheng Wang began, "my dad can't come to the parent-teacher meeting. He's traveling."

Mr. martin looked at him with understanding eyes. "I see. On Monday? Makakapunta ba ang papa mo."

Sheng Wang shook his head. "It's hard to catch him. He's always busy."

Before could respond, Jiang Tian entered the office, standing beside Sheng Wang. "No one can come to mine either," Jiang Tian said simply.

Mr. martin sighed, looking at the two boys. "Alright, how about this? We'll have a small meeting, just the three of us, whenever your parents are free."

The boys nodded, grateful for the compromise. As they left the office, they were intercepted by the guidance councilor.

"kayong dalawa..come with me to the Mingdao Building."

Sheng Wang was confused. "But we haven't done anything wrong."

The guidance councilor's face softened just a little. "It's about the hearing test you missed last time. We've been looking into it, and we'll talk about it now."

Walking together, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian exchanged glances, both silently acknowledging that, despite the absences in their lives, they were no longer facing these challenges alone.