Airplanes and Airports

Chapter 7

It was the day my brother got his license; he's 16 and I was 10. He was happy so we went to Central Park, like we always do. Scott never really went out on dates with girls that he liked. The only girl that he took out for ice cream was his little sister, namely me. I never really understood the reason why, maybe it's because I don't know anything about dating and all. I'm only 10, after all.

We were sitting on one of the benches along the park. It was a windy April afternoon. He bought me a really big violet cottoncandy, which of course made me happy.

"Scotty, why didn't we ask King if he wanted to go with us?", I asked innocently.

King was my older brother and Scott was the eldest. They get along, but I've never really seen them go out or play ball together. I'm not even sure if they talk like Scott and I do. They're brothers, they should talk. So, maybe they do. But then again, King's only 12 and maybe he doesn't know what the older boys, like Scott, do.

 "Well, it's our day today, poppet. King and I have our 'day', too.", he smiled and took a sip of his soda.

 I continued eating the cottoncandy he bought me. After all, for a 10 year old kid, whose cheeks were rosy and chubby and who doesn't really care about being heavier than other kids her age, it is a piece of heaven. Food is a gift from the gods that we are bound to put in our mouth and we should be happy when we're eating whatever it is that we are eating. And that time, I was eating and savoring my cottoncandy.

 Days like this - one quite far from home with my brother - is somewhat fun and exciting. I was the youngest, therefore, I wasn't really allowed to go out without my nanny or without a chaperone. I'm not even allowed to go somewhere by myself.

 Scott leaned back and looked up at the skies. He's thinking again. He might be years older than I am, but... I can read through him sometimes. He is my brother, after all.

I poked his side, "I gave Poetry a shot, Scotty."

 He smiled but he didn't look at me. "Poetry happens everyday and happens to everyone, poppet. But, I'm glad you did."

 Whenever I tell him what I did - may it be getting the right answer for a really difficult math problem, or maybe getting just a passing grade in a quiz, even the tiniest things - he'd tell me that he's glad that I did it. Sometimes, he'll tell me that he's proud of what I did.

 "What is it that you want to become when you're older, poppet?" he asked out of the blue.

 I chuckled. "I want to be a model! I saw what mom designs for them. I want to wear them someday! All those fabulous dresses."

He messed up my hair and chuckled. That's how he is. He'll mess up my hair when he's happy or when I'm happy. It made me feel as if I'm the happiest kid in the world when my brothers do that.

"How about you, Scotty? What do you want to be?", I asked him.

 He looked at me and smiled sadly. He let out a sigh and stared into nothingness. I've never seen him like this. He's always all smiles. Scott is the happiest person I know and the most optimistic one too! It's as if he's never had a problem his entire life. He's unlike King, who's always cranky and grumpy. Scott smiled and laughed at anyting.

"I want to be happy."

My class starts at 11AM, saktong 11AM ako nakadating sa building ko. I even rushed to the room, which was on the 2nd floor. 209 ung room ko. There were students waiting outside the room too, a lot. I looked inside the classroom and to my surprise, meron ng students dun. I don't know if I should panic or not. I sighed and naghanap ng mukang friendly sa crowd that was outside the room. Everybody's talking to everybody and I hated to but in and I didn't really want attention.