Piper’s POV
“Who’s that?” Busy ako sa panunuod ng movie nang may kumatok sa kwarto ko. Alin lang ‘yan sa parents ko, kay Jarvis or kay Nate.
“Si Tita Sab ‘to, Piper.”
“Ay. Ayan na po.”
I walk towards the door and opened it for her, “Yes po, Tita Sab?” She smiled at me and entered my room. This is highly unusual. She rarely goes inside my room.
Umupo siya sa chair katapat ng study table ko while I sat on my bed. Are we going to talk about something important? Well.. obviously, yes. She seems sad. I wonder what happened.
“Are you okay, tita?” She smiled sadly at me. She’s not the usual energetic Tita Sab. “Is there a problem po?”
She let out a sigh, “May problema ba si Hailey?” Oh. She’s asking me about Hailey. As much as I want to answer her question, I just can’t. Hindi ko naman kasi alam. We barely talk. Heck, we don’t even talk at all.
Does she really have a problem?
“Bakit niyo po natanong?”
“Sobrang tahimik niya kasi. Alam ko naman na may pagkatahimik talaga ‘yung batang ‘yun kaya lang kapag nasa bahay alam niyo namang nag-iingay siya. I’m just worried because she hardly talks. Wala pa atang sampung salita ang nasasabi niya magbuhat kahapon.”
“May nangyari po ba kahapon sa kanya?”
“Bukod sa dinalaw siya ni Warren sa bahay, hindi ko na alam. Nalulungkot lang ako kasi alam kong may problema siya na ayaw niyang sabihin sa akin. Parang unti-unti ng lumalayo ang anak ko sa akin. Sa tuwing lalapit ako parang.. hindi ko na alam.”
Nagulat ako nang umiyak si Tita Sab sa harap ko. I don’t know what to do. How do I comfort her? What should I do? Medyo nagpapanic na ako pero hindi ko pinahalata sa kanya. Instead, huminga ako ng malalim at saglit na pumikit, “I’ll help you, tita. Aalamin ko po ang problema niya at sasabihin ko sa inyo.”
“Thank you, Piper. Thank you very much.”
***
Para akong baliw na naglalakad pabalik-balik sa tapat ng gymnasium. It’s our break time already but it seems like walang planong kumain ang jocks. They’re busy practicing. Even Warren.
Nang mapansin kong parang palabas na ang ilan sa members nila ay nagtago na ako.
“’Di ka pa kakain, captain?”
“Sunod na ako. Mauna na kayo.”
Yes! Finally!
When I finally made sure that he’s the only person here, I silently walk towards him. He’s so busy dribbling the ball that he haven’t notice my presence. And when he does, the ball slipped away from his hands.
“Anong ginagawa – “
I turned my back from him before he could even finish his sentence when I heard a noise. Looks like it’s not so safe to talk here after all.
BINABASA MO ANG
The Trouble with the Rule
Teen FictionTeen Clash (New Generation): An ordinary school with ordinary students following an ordinary rule. What's the rule? Simple. Stick to how things stand. A story about love, friendship and family. (Completed. Published under Pop Fiction.)
