The Ugly Duckling (PUBLISHED UNDER PSICOM)

Ugly #2

Sinuot ko ang black nerdy round horn rimmed glasses habang tinitingnan ang sariling reflection ko sa salamin at ngumiti. This is going to be so exciting. I can already feel it. Kinuha ko na ang bag ko at matapos ay nagmamadaling lumabas ng kwarto ko.

I flipped my hair na pinaghirapan ko for half an hour and walked with grace. I'm not used to wearing flats anymore kaya nakakapanibago but it is very comfortable. I like it.

"Oh, may bagong maid tayo?" Natanggal ang ngisi sa bibig ko nang makita ko si Avis na mukhang kakalabas lang sa kwarto niya at nakatingin sa akin. She's really cold.

Hindi ako nainis dahil alam kong inaasar niya lang ako. Avis doesn't have any sense of humor at talagang cold talaga ang personality niya kaya if you don't know her personally ay mapagkakamalan mo na nilalait ka niya sa mga biro niya.

I widely grinned at my sister and twirled. "Do you like it?"

"I really have a weird sister." She sighed, shaking her head before leaving me behind. Napanguso akong sumunod sa kanya.

"Hindi mo pa sinasagot ang tanong ko!"

"You're already twenty, Les. Stop playing around."

"But I'm not playing around. I'm not doing anything at all."

"I know you, Maria Celestine. You'll do anything to keep yourself entertained. If something goes wrong, don't come running to me because I'm tired cleaning after your mess." Malamig na sabi sa akin ni Avis at tuluyan na akong iwan.

How dare she call me by my full name! Sinabi ko naman na sa kanila na Les ang tawag nila sa akin. Maria Celestine is too old fashioned for someone who's as modern as me. When I'm old enough to realize how baduy my name is, I immediately confronted my mother and told her how I hate her for naming me this way. Okay, maybe I kinda like Celestine since kinuha iyon sa middle name ni mom na Celeste but Maria? Now that's a different story! Napakabaduy talaga!

I followed Avis downstairs. I didn't take what she said seriously kasi alam ko naman na hindi niya ako matitiis. With an attitude like mine, I couldn't help from getting myself into trouble and because Avis is the boring and older sister, she feels responsible kaya she always ends up setting things straight for me. But that's not something that happens very often. I mean, I always get into trouble pero minsan lang naman ako pumapalpak kaya minsan lang rin ako sinasagip ni Avis. She's just overreacting. Pareho sila ni Daddy. They always exaggerate.

"Avis, where's your sister?" Dad asked when my sister got settled in our seat. We make a habit of eating breakfast and dinner together. Minsan, we always eat out lunch as a family kapag walang busy sa amin.

"Good morning Dad! Good morning Mom!" Masayang bati ko sa kanila kaya napalingon silang dalawa sa akin. Avis didn't bother turning her head to look at me and she looked really bored. My parents on the other hand looked horrified when they saw me.

Mommy covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God, what happened to my beautiful daughter?"

"She got ugly." Walang emosyon na sabi ni Avis at imbis na mainis ay lumawak ang ngiti sa mga labi ko.

"I did." I nodded and posed for them. Inilagay ko ang isang kamay ko sa likod ng ulo ko at ipinamewang ang isa ko pang braso at matapos ay ngumuso. "Do you guys like it?"

I woke up early to give myself a total make over. I worked hard for it. Kung ang iba ay pinaghirapan ang sarili nila para gumanda, pinaghirapan ko naman ang sarili ko para pumangit. I thickened my eyebrow with a black eyebrow pencil, wore fake braces, and added fake blemishes on my face. It was such a hard task to make yourself look ugly especially when you were born a goddess. Really hard.