Beware of the Class President (To be published!)

CAPITULO 51 - Death Upon Death

CAPITULO 51 – Death Upon Death

"GUSTO MO BA ANG BAGO MONG KAPATID?"

I was in the bathroom, taking a bath, but Papa's question kept going around in my head.

Papa asked me that first, before asking how I was doing in school. My big brother and I were studying in a private school, and our tuition had been overdue for two months already. Patay na kasi ang mama namin, kaya wala na kaming natatanggap na padala mula sa sister nito na nasa abroad.

But did Papa care about our school? Papa looked very happy now. Happy with his new life. With his new woman.

Dinampot ko na ang color blue kong towel para punasan ang maliit kong katawan. Tapos na akong maligo.

I was about to leave the bathroom when I looked down at the floor tiles. There were hairs near the drain. Iiwan ko na dapat iyon, di ko matiis na di linisin. Sabi kasi ni Mama ko dati, dapat kahit boy ako ay malinis dapat ako sa house.

I looked at the hairs on the floor. There were many of them, all gathered near the tiles. I bent down to pick them up, but then I stopped. Some of the hairs were very long. As in long. Pero wala naman sa amin dito ang may mahabang buhok na ganito!

Ako, si Papa, ang kuya ko ay puro boys na maiiksi ang buhok. Papa's new woman and her daughter also had short hair, only up to their necks, ever since they moved in. But the hairs I was looking at now were different. They were very long.

Dinampot ko iyon para tingnan. Mahahaba talaga. Mahahaba na hibla na kung susukatin ay lampas-lampasan ang haba sa bewang!

Then I saw something else. Some of the hairs were white. Like old people's hair. But there were no old people living with us.

We didn't have relatives nearby either. Ang relatives ni Mama ay mga nasa ibang bansa na. So I kept wondering whose hair it was, and why some of it was already white?

Someone knocked on the bathroom door. It was Papa. "Julian? Tagal ka pa riyan?! Bilisan mo at wag mag-aksaya ng tubig! Wag nang mag-feeling mayaman at ganyang hindi na nga nagpapadala ang tita niyo sa abroad!"

Nagmabilis naman ako sa pagbibihis ng bagong damit. Lumabas ako ng banyo na nakasampay na lang ang color blue kong towel sa balikat ko.

Paglabas ko ay hindi lang si Papa ang nasa sala. Nandito rin iyong batang babae na anak ng bago niyang kinakasama. The girl who was only two-years older than me. Her name was Kena.

Kena was just standing near the door. Her hair was short, with a ribbon headband, and she was wearing a flowery dress. Hindi siya maputi, hindi rin maitim. Tama lang ang color niya. Mahahaba ang pilikmata niya, manipis ang nose, at medyo pink ang lips. Mukha siyang manika.

Two years ago nang magsimula ritong tumira sila ng mama niya sa house namin. Ang gusto ni Papa ay ituring ko siyang ate.

Sumimangot si Papa. "Nasaan ba ang Kuya Joachim mo? Tumawag kayo sa payphone diyan sa tindahan. Mag-long distance kayo sa kapatid ng mama niyo sa abroad. Bakit kamo tumigil na ang sustento niya? Kadamutan naman niya kamo!"