Morning Blushes

chapter fourteen

Hey... I need to attend an event somewhere with Mommy. 

That's the message I sent him and it's already almost an hour. I'm visiting my phone often. Hindi pa nagre-reply si De Guzman. 

My mother gently slapped my hand. "Yanna, put down your phone. Kanina ka pa."

I don't really care kung anong pag-usapan nila ni Kuya Adriane. Parang wala lang din naman kasi ako dito kapag silang dalawa na ang nag-uusap. If dala ko lang yung Kindle ko, kanina pa ako nakatapos sa binabasa ko.

"Mommy, where are we going?" I asked softly.

"Your uncle from Australia has arrived."

I swallowed in horror. I started to sweat in cold bits and my palm damp. What if magtanong sila na ikakahiya ni Mommy? Then I'm gonna be titled as the real big idiotic disappointment of my mother? What if even a single question, I wouldn't satisfy them with my answer? I know her side is really that... they're a different level. Ivy League graduates, med students, law students, lawyers, business tycoons, and a lot more from the top of society.

I'm still thinking about what De Guzman is probably doing now. I feel so guilty. Pero mas nakakainis yumg fact na alam kong wala akong magagawa. All I have to do is wait.

My mother is all smiles, so is my brother. They're saying their good evenings to each and every other human being inside. Pakiramdam ko talaga wala akong place dito sa kahit saang sulok nito. It shouts high. Just high. Sila yung mga malalayo na ang narating and they are on the top of their everything.

Sino ba dito yung uncle ko? I don't even know him. This is just a simple dinner but it looks extravagant to me. Feeling ko I'm meeting every people in foreign countries. Ang dami talagang tao... It's hard for me to start a conversation so bahala na sila. As if I'm gonna start one. I don't usually come to this once because my mother rarely comes to any. And maybe she's going and hindi lang ako sinasama because that would be shameful. 

They introduced me to everyone here since I'm the only one who cannot introduce myself. Just gonna greet everyone tonight and have small talks.

Pinuslit ko yung phone ko at mabilis na sumulyap. Still no reply. Is he mad? Kung hindi, he must at least reply that it's okay. Mas lalo na akong kinakabahan. What if he's really serious about that and he prepared? I don't know, man. I'm sweating nervously already.

I'm looking at the wine glass with water in it as if my life depends on it. Then my said uncle approached us as I tried to enjoy the food instead of the water.

"Hey, Adela! My coolest cousin," said my uncle. "Long time no see!"

Mommy smiled at him. "Goodness, Bonifacio! It's been a while, yet you're still the same guy." They both chuckled. "By the way, this is Adriane and Avyanna."

My brother stood up and offered a handshake. Ginaya ko na lang with an awkward smile. 

"This is now Avyanna?" He smiled. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen po." Thank god I didn't stutter.

"I think she's the same age as my son. You haven't seen him, right?" Uncle Bonifacio glanced at Mommy. "He went home with her mother here last summer and decided to study here. Wait, I'll call him." 

Uncle Bonifacio went away for a while. Kinabahan ako bigla. I am not so sure about that. I'm not the master of meeting new people without checking their background or going through research about their basic information and what to expect from them. That's exactly what I did when I came to the musical play. 

"Avyanna, better talk properly," my mother warned me.

Now she'll think of this son of my uncle as a competitor of mine.