DATE THY ENEMY | ES:1

14

Happy Holidays! May you all have a merry merry merry Christmas! Stay safe always. Lovelots.

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Chapter 14
''Enemy''

Though it was summer, my parents only have limited time. Abala pa rin sila sa trabaho habang bakasyon ko na. In the working industry, the word, summer, doesn't mean a long vacation. I went here alone pero pagkatapos ng isang linggo ay sumunod din sila. Mas maiksi ang bakasyon nila ngayon. Dalawang linggo lamang at aalis na ulit.

''Where do you plan to study, Sven?'' tanong ni Daddy. ''Lalakarin ko na ang ibang papeles mo sa Maynila habang nagbabakasyon ka dito.''

Nasa hapag kami at magsisimula pa lamang sa aming hapunan nang tanungin iyon Daddy. I'm busy watching my mother who's helping a few househelp in preparing the table. She always do that. She wants to be hands-on in everything. While Lolo, Daddy, and I sat on our usual chairs. We all look like spoiled children with a loving mother.

''Do you have a university in mind, Sven?'' muling tanong ni Daddy, tuluyan nang nakuha ang aking atensyon.

I nodded. ''Yes, Dad.''

''That's great then.'' aniya. ''We need to fix your papers soon. Dalawang buwan na lamang at pasukan na. Hindi ka pa nakakakuha ng pagsusulit sa kahit anong eskwelahan dahil masyado kang abala.''

Now that I already graduated. We're already talking about this. Alam kong may idea na sila sa gustong kunin. Nasabi ko na iyon noong bagong taon. But I'm sure they don't have an idea yet on where would I want to enroll.

It's not that I'm too busy to take entrance examination in the universities in Manila. Hindi lang talaga ako kumuha ng pagsusulit. It's a waste of time and effort to do that if I'm not going to enrol there.

''I want to study here.''

Kita ko ang gulat na mukha ni Daddy, at halos mapatigil pa sa pag-upo si Mommy nang sabihin ko iyon. Kunot noo akong tinitigan ni Daddy. He had that strange look on his face.

''What do you mean, you want to study here, Sven?''

''I've been thinking... I think I want to study here...'' umiling ako para baguhin ang sinabi. ''No, I've already decided. I want to study here, Dad.''

''Here? Sa Santa Monica, Sven?'' tanong ni Daddy, gulat at gulong-gulo pa rin.

I nodded.

''Why here?''

I glanced at my grandfather when he cleared his troath to speak. Umupo ako nang maayos, nasulyapan ang aking ina na marahang ngumiti sa'kin.

''Why not here, Steven? If Vernaise wants to study here, let her.''

''We're living in Manila.'' Daddy said like it's the answer to the questions.

Huminga ako nang malalim at napailing. I know this decision wasn't easy to do. Paniguradong hindi rin ako papayagan nang ganon na lamang ni Daddy, kahit pa suportahan ako ni Lolo.

''Why don't we all eat first?'' Mommy said, wiping the quite heavy atmosphere. ''I don't think it would be a great idea to discuss that matter here and make the food wait. Let's just talk about it later after dinner.''

We all silently agreed. Kaya buong hapunan ay tahimik. Walang nagsasalita. Tunog lamang ng mga kubyertos ang tanging naririnig.

My father still has that scowl in his face whenever he'd look at me. Alam kong gustong-gusto niya na akong kausapin tungkol doon pero hindi magawa. Whenever it's about things like this, my mother is the boss. She doesn't talk a lot, but when she does, her words are like unbendable rules.