Nerdy Delinquency

Chapter 3: Karma is a Bitch

It took almost half a minute of silence bago ako humalakhak.

Oh my god. They may not be great parents but they do have a great sense of humor.  "Damn, that was a good one. Napatawa niyo ako doon, " sabi ko habang nagpupunas ng luha sa kakatawa.

"We're not kidding Helena." seryosong sabi ni Dad.

Ilang segundo ko rin siyang tinitigan ay naghintay na sabihin niya ang mga katagang 'It's a prank!' ,but judging from his stoic face na hindi man lang ngumingiti ay malayong mangyari iyon.

Lumisan iyong ngiti sa mukha ko "What makes you think na papayag ako? " tinaas ko yung kilay ko. Who in their right mind would come up with this idea? Nababaliw na yata sila.

"Honey, isipin mo yun, makakauwi ka na ng Pilipinas. You're now going to stay with us. It will be fun. " sabi naman ni Mom.

"Really? Oh my god, sa wakas makakauwi na rin ako sa Pilipinas. Oh god, how I miss the traffic, the pollution, the heat! Sa wakas at maiiwan ko na rin mga kaibigan ko, my school, Nana, my things and my life. Bonus na rin pala at makakasama ko ang napakamapagmahal kong mga magulang. I am so excited, can we leave now?" sarcastiko kong sabi. Nagsisimula na akong mairita. They're thinking nonsense. Did they really think it would be easy? They can't just not show up for 8 years of my life and suddenly appear to ask a favor from me tapos ako pa ang mag-aadjust?

Sensing my sarcasm ay parehong Napabuntong hininga ang tatlo. I looked at Nana, I can't believe she's supporting this stupidity.

"Helena, we badly need you. We can't let the press knowing na naglayas si Lizzy, it will ruin Dad's reputation for the upcoming senatorial election. Sari-saring mga balita ang kumakalat tungkol sa pagkawala ni Eliza sa school nila, if kumalat ito sa madla ay lalala lang ito. We need to take care of it as soon as possible. You need to pretend to be Eliza habang hinahanap pa namin siya. " mahabang paliwanag ni Mom saakin.

Hindi lingid sa aking kaalaman na nasa politika si Dad. A year after I was shipped off to America ay pumasok siya sa mundo ng pulitika. I guess he just needs to take care of his little pest problem before stepping into politics, me.

Nakipagtitigan ako sa kanila hanggang ako mismo ang sumuko ng tingin. I clenched my teeth.

I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing this for Eliza. I love my twin, at miss na miss ko na siya. I'm always willing to do anything for her. The only reason why I'll do this is because of her. Gusto ko na rin siya makita, I missed her.

"Fine, but I make the conditions. First of all, I'll only pretend as Eliza for the whole semester only pag hindi pa niyo nahanap si Lizzy by the time I graduated then bahala na kayong maghanap ng palusot. Babalik ako ulit dito after that and I'll be eighteen by then kaya I want the newest Lamborghini model. Deal? " sabi ko.

"Deal, wala ng bawian. " mabilis namang sabi ni Dad bago ko pa madagdagan.

Gusto ko rin sana pagawan ng swimming pool sa bahay and maybe a jacuzzi too.

"We leave first thing in the morning tomorrow so probably have pack your things now. "'-dad

Nanlaki ang mata ko. "That's too soon! "

"We need to, habang tumatagal na nawawala si Lizzy mas maraming kumakalat na masamang balita tungkol sa kanya." sabi naman ni Mom.

"Fine. Pero paano iyong pag-aaral ko dito sa States. Mag-aaral ako bilang si Eliza but what about my own?" Baka nakakalimutan nilang may sarili din akong buhay dito.

"We'll take care of it, inaasikaso na ang drop out papers mo ngayon as we speak. Your grades will be the same as your grades when you're pretending as Eliza. I pulled some strings at her school kaya ayos na ang lahat. "saad ng magaling kong ama.