Parent Trap

Of Current News and Opinions

Lea's POV

FRIDAY. Thank God it's Friday. We're waiting for the twins to come home since we are going for an evening ride to Tagaytay after dinner. And we'll stay there for the two whole days.

Me and Kendra arrived at four to prepare for the weekend getaway.

Ako na ang nagluto nang hapunan while Kendra volunteered to play with the younger twins in the living room.

I can hear their laughter which kind of surprised me since Mireya is aloof and all quiet with other people. Pero kay Kendra parang napaka-comfortable niya.

Hindi ko pa rin nakakalimutan ang unang beses na nagkausap kami ni Kendra, noong time na iyon ay nakakatakot siya at parang walang ka-amor amor sa mga bata. Pero san pakikitungo niya ngayon ay parang sanay na sanay siya.

Even Athrun ay lalong nagiging makulit kung kasama niya sa Kendra. Hindi ito lingid sa kaalaman naming lahat. Maging ang mga kasambahay ay tuwang tuwa rin dahil kahit paano ay nakakatulong si Kendra sa pag-aalaga kina Athrun at Iya.

"Alam mo, Lea. Minsan, naiisip ko na sana si Kendra na lang si Cassandra." sabi ni Manang Julia.

Hindi namin itinago ang tungkol kay Cassandra kay Manang Julia dahil pamilya na rin ang turing namin sa kanya at para na rin hindi sila magulat pagdating ni Cassie.

"Bakit naman ganyan ang naiisip mo, Nanay?" tanong ko.

"Ewan ko ba, magaan ang pakiramdam ko sa batang iyan. Kahit hindi ko pa lubos na kilala. Minsan napapansin ko siya na nakatunghay lang sa inyong mag-anak. May pangungulila sa mga mata niya. Siguro dahil wala na siyang pamilya."

Hindi ko alam na pinagmamasdan pala kami ni Kendra kapag hindi kami nakatingin.

"I appreciate sa concern niyo for Kendra pero sana wag niyong mababanggit yan kapag nandito na si Cassie." sabi ko.

Tumango lang si Nanay Julia bilang pagsang-ayon.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

At six thirty, nakauwi na sina Rohan at Roan pero si Aga ay pauwi pa lang. We decided to wait for him kaya dito muna kami sa entertainment room para manood ng balita.

Tuwing ganitong oras ay nakatoka si Rohan na mag-alaga kay Athrun at si Roan naman kay Iya.

So kaming dalawa lang ni Kendra ang nandito na nanonood ng news.

Natahimik lang kami pareho. I am multi-tasking, nakikinig ng balita while texting and browsing important stuff on my phone.

"The complexity of the country's present struggle is that most of the citizens are poorly educated." she said and I was not sure if she's talking to me or just muttering to herself.

But then she added, "While the poor continue to rant and blame the government for their current situations, they do not quite understand that being poor is a choice."

She's got a point. But I personally think that if the present government would strive better to address poverty issues and provide more livelihood, that would be a great help.

"Why do you think that being poor is a choice?" I asked though I already got her point. It's just nice to have a conversation with her. A normal conversation, far from the typical bantering which have been our repartee since she arrived.

"When an uneducated couple decided to raise a family of their own, they tend to look only at the beauty of having kids. They weren't thinking about the consequences. For an instance, a husband who cannot find a job which will provide sufficiently for his family due to lack of a degree."

This time, I voiced out my opinion to hear what would be her conviction on that matter.

"The government has been opening jobs, but usually, those jobs are for those who have knowledge, a degree, or at least a high school graduation certificate, white-collar jobs as they call it. To be honest, the educational system is kind of poor. No offense about the policies and regulations of the Department of Education, it's just that, most schools, particularly the public ones are in need of a more scrupulous implementation of those policies."

She's talking as if she had observed the system for a long time.

She's freaking twenty four for heaven's sake.

One of the surveys I have read, it says that at some schools, may it public or private, bullying is nonstop and cannot be totally eliminated. That's one of the reasons why there are drop-outs or out of school youth. But most surveys show that poverty is the main reason.

With the flow of our conversation, we are creating a problem tree. Poverty as the main problem and we are breking down the causes, up to analysing school policies.

"If you have the authority, what would be your intervention?"

"Well, luckily, I don't have. So I wouldn't have to squeeze my brain cells for that." she said jokingly.

But her eyes spoke of deeper understanding and intelligence that most young people like her do not have.

I recalled how confident she was when she told Alyssa that she can provide the training she would need to win The Voice.

And now, I think she really have the will to make it happen.

"Philippines is no different with London nor in the US, or any country for that matter. But the mediocrity of our educational system is dragging the country to the bottom."

If education is the most important then why didn't she pursued it?

"But you didn't even enter a College or a University." I said. "You didn't have a degree."

Then she fixed her gaze on me. "And so are you."

Touché.

"Do you know what's the difference between us and them?"

I stayed silent.

"First, we are both exceptionally intelligent."

That made me raise my eyebrow.

"Second, we are both hardworking. We strive to know more outside of school, more whatever school could offer. And I think you'll agree that we both learned something far more important that what's being taught in school." she said.

What's the catch?

"Third, we have the means to do anything we want, while others don't."

That means, having money and influence.

"So it all boils down to one simple fact, one cannot succeed without money." at the back of my mind, it wasn't true. History shows a list of people who became successful and famous who started from scratch.

"Money is not everything. Like I said, one may be born poor but it's up to him if he'll stay poor." she answered.

Back to square one.

"Oh, you're both here. Dinner is ready." Aga said when he entered the room. I didn't even heard when he arrived.

I was so enthralled with Kendra to be bothered with anything else.

Ah, everything about her is becoming more and more interesting and I intend to know more....

End of Chapter
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