Star & Twinkle (Completed)

Chapter 18

"Pwede pa naman habolin sya sa loob diba?" Vicky asked half-jokingly. Star rubbed her best friend's back. "Hayaan naman natin siya na hanapin kung ano yung pangarap nya sa buhay. Babalik rin si Twinkle satin," Star said as Vicky sighed deeply next to her. "Miss ko na kaagad sya, kaka-alis pa lang nya," Vicky admitted. "Ako din naman," Star confessed, too. "Eh sira ka pala eh, ikaw naman ang may gusto nito," Vicky said as she wiped her tears. Star laughed a little, "Eh oo nga, pero namimiss ko pa rin sya kahit ako may pasimuno. Gaya ng sabi ko, babalik din sa atin si Twinkle. Hayaan muna natin syang hanapin ang sarili nya." Star said and Vicky sighed.

Meanwhile at the plane, Twinkle held on to both the arm rests on both of her sides. Millie's parents quickly noticed. "First time mo ba sa eroplano, nak?" Millie's mother, Mel asked. "Opo eh," Twinkle said embarrassed, then she smiled nervously.  "Don't worry parang sumakay ka lang ng bus," Mel tried to reassure her. "Oo, bus na lumilipad," Millie said while her hand went up and down mimicking the plane's turbulence. "Oist, Millie, you're not helping her," Millie's father, Anton, scolded her daughter. Twinkle laughed a little when Millie crouched down to her seat after being scolded. "No seriously, Shine, you'll be fine. You'll love it in California. Ang ganda dun, I promise. Then mom and dad will take us to Disneyland. We're going to have fun there. Plus you know, mag-boys hunting tayo." Millie said in a whisper. Twinkle shook her head as she smiled at Millie. Then she stared straight ahead. She was starting to miss Star and Vicky. She tried to convince herself that everything was going to be alright, and that this was what's best for her and everyone else. She thought maybe if Star and Vicky didn't have anyone else to worry about other than themselves in the Phippines, then they will be able to have the time and energy to do whatever they want. When the plane finally took off, Twinkle tried to fall asleep. This was her way of avoiding getting motion sickness from the flight. Millie tried to find a comfortable position so she can sleep, too. After about three hours of being in a plane, Twinkle woke up and had to use the bathroom. She immediately felt dizzy when she stood up. Millie noticed when it took Twinkle a while to get herself to take another step. "Shine, are you still dizzy?" Millie asked, Twinkle had her eyes closed, but she nodded. Millie stood up and helped her to the restroom. "You're not pregnant are you?" Millie asked jokingly. "Di ko alam, di ko pa na-checheck," Twinkle answered. Millie chuckled. "Oh gosh, Shine, please don't faint here," Millie said when Twinkle lost her balance. A few of the flight attendants saw this and came to help Millie bring Twinkle to the restroom. Millie's nose wrinkled when she heard Twinkle puke while inside the restroom. When she was done, her color was almost back to normal. "Geez Shine, are you okay?" Millie asked again. Twinkle smiled, "Mas okay nako kesa kanina." Millie nodded then she took her back to where they were seated. After fourteen grueling hours on the plane, they finally arrived. Twinkle had a massive headache from having motion sickness all throughout the flight. Mel gave her medicine to take the moment they got out of the plane. After breezing through security, they collected their luggages and left the airport to ride a shuttle home. When they arrived at Millie's family's home, Mel showed Twinkle the guest bedroom and helped her get settled.

Meanwhile, back in the Philippines, Vicky and Star both fell asleep in the living room while waiting to hear from Twinkle. Then Star's cellphone rang. She immediately got up and answered it. "Hello? Mel?" Star said as Vicky got up and looked at her. "Hi, oh thank God nakarating kayo ng safe. Si Twinkle? How is she liking the U.S. so far?" Star asked. "Naku, hindi sya masyado naka-tingin tingin sa labas while we were on our way home. Grabe pala motion sickness ng batang toh," Mel said on the other line. Star smiled a little, "Oo mana sakin yan eh. Okay lang ba sya?" Star asked again. "Okay lang pero pinatulog ko muna, pagod din sa biyahe tapos nahilo pa. Tumawag lang ako para paalam sa inyo na nakarating na kami," Mel said. "Ah okay, sige Mel, sobrang salamat sa pag-tawag. Salamat din sa pag-accommodate sa kanya ha. Sabihin mo tawag sya sakin pag-gising nya, please," Star replied. "Okay sige, Star, I'll let her know na nag-usap tayo at patatawagin ko sya dyan pag-nagising na. Walang anuman Star," Mel said again. Star said her goodbyes and hung up. She sighed as she slowly went back to the couch. "Ano daw?" Vicky asked.
"Grabe daw ang hilo kaya pina-tulog na muna nya. Hindi na rin daw masyado nakatingin tingin sa labas nung pauwi sila kasi nahihilo pa," Star said. Vicky sighed, "Wawa naman." Star smiled, "Masasanay rin sya, kita moko nasanay na din ako kaka-travel ko." The next day, Twinkle called home. Star picked up her phone, "Hello?" She answered. Twinkle immediately smiled. She thought it was always nice to hear Star's voice even when she would call them when she was still in the province. "Hi, ate ko," Twinkle said. Star's heart melted when she heard this. "Hi, baby ko," Star replied. She had to pause when she felt all of her tears rushing to come out of her eyes. She tried to swallow them back. Twinkle felt the same way. When she heard Star call her "baby ko" for the very first time, she felt like boarding on another plane to return home. "Kamusta ka dyan? Kamusta na pakiramdam mo? Nahilo ka daw sabi ni tita Mel mo," Star asked. Twinkle swallowed back tears, "Okay naman po ako, ate. Hindi na po ako nahihilo. Hindi na rin po masakit yung ulo ko. Kamusta na po kayo ni tita V?" She asked. "Okay lang kami dito, Twinks, 'wag ka mag-alala. Mag-enjoy ka lang dyan okay? 'Wag mo kalimutan yung sinabi ko sayo na mag-tingin tingin ka ng brochure ng colleges dyan. May mga library dyan na pwede mo puntahan para mag-research ka din kung anong gusto mong mga course na itry. Mag-paturo ka kanila tita Mel mo kung papano mag-bus para hindi ka na magpa-drive masyado sa kanila ha. Basta 'wag ka mag-hesitate na tumawag sakin pag may kelangan ka. Andyan din si tita V mo just in case hindi kita masagot. Tawagan mo rin sya. Mag-ingat ka dyan ha. I love you." Star said. Twinkle swallowed again. This was also one of the few times Star said "I love you" first and it was getting to Twinkle. She was missing her even more now. "Okay po, ate. I love you din po. I miss you. Mag-ingat din po kayo ni tita V. 'Wag po kayo magpupwersa sa kaka-trabaho. Ingatan nyo po ang mga sarili ninyo," Twinkle reminded them. Star smiled. She felt as if she was talking to another adult. Star handed the phone to Vicky after so they can talk. After a couple of minutes, they hung up. "Namiss mo din noh?" Vicky asked. Star nodded as she smiled while she wiped her eyes, "Gets ko na yung sabi mo na iba talaga yung hatak nya sa tao," Star admitted. Vicky smiled, "Sabi ko sayo eh."