rivals

Chapter Eight

(Maddison's POV)

"I totally agree with your idea Maddie. Tutal, wala nga lang din namang bearing sa acads mo kung meron o wala kang sasalihan sa Foundation Day o Intrams, mabuti pang tumulong ka na lang sa mga assistance committees ng college niyo dahil considered as participation pa rin naman yun. Mabuti na rin yun, alam ko namang mananalo ka rin lang naman sa kung ano na namang balak mong salihan. Mamaya, matriggered na naman ang kuya mo. Naku! Paniguradong World War III ang aabutin ng UVC sa inyo. Kaya mas mabuti na yung naging decision mo. Less pressure at pagod, nakapagpromote ka pa ng world peace."

Nasa pool area kami ngayon at nagkukuwentuhan ng kakambal kong si Eric. Pareho kasi kaming walang pasok tuwing sabado. Katatapos lang naming mag-almusal at mukhang pareho naman kaming walang gagawin for school kaya heto kamit pansamantalang tumatambay dito.

"Sus! Bilib ka na naman sa akin. Wag mo ngang panindigan ang pagiging number one and only fan ko at ang OA naman ng World War III. Hahaha!"

"Hahaha! Wag ka nang kumontra diyan, buti nga pinagtitiyagaan pa kita diyan eh at as if naman, hindi mo din naiisip yun, eh alam naman nating pareho na sobrang triggered si Greg lalong-lalo na sayo. Hahaha! Baka nga maghighest ka lang sa isa sa mga pipitsuging quizzes niyo eh magdeklara na iyon na giyera laban sayo! Hahaha!"

"Sabagay may point ka, hahaha! Ewan ko ba dun. Tss! Teka lang, maiba tayo, ikaw anong sasalihan mo?"

"Spoken word poe" Hindi pa man niya natatapos ang sasabihin niya ay napahagalpak na ako sa tawa.

"Hahaha! Grabe, seryoso Eric? Hindi ako nakikipagbiruan sayo ah."

"Huh?! Eh sino bang nagsabing nagbibiro ako? Seryoso ako no! Sus, if I know, iniisip mo na namang corny ako."

"Hahaha! Don't get me wrong my dearest brother. Hindi ko naman iniisip na corny ka o ang spoken word poetry. In fact, I think its one of the most promising type of art nowadays. I appreciate it, I do. Pero napaka-unusual lang kasi na ikaw. I mean, you know, this is not your form of art. This not how you express yourself." Bigla namang naging malungkot ang kanyang ekspresyon.

"But I am no longer allowed to express myself in that manner. Well, I know I am the only one to be blamed for that so I need to suffer the consequences."

That left me speechless for a moment. Now, I understand.

"Oh, Im sorry for laughing Eric. But I totally understand you now and if that will make you happy for now while waiting until you're allowed to express yourself in that manner again, then rest assured that I got your back. Huwag kang mag-alala, pansamantala lang naman ito eh. Our parents are just concerned for our future and in order to have a bright one, we need to set our priorities on the basis of what our parents think is best for us. We need to understand that they only want us to have a good life someday. Kapag nasiguro na nila yun, then we can proceed in doing things that we like and will make us happy. You know, they want us to be happy but they also want to secure a good future for us. Hindi sapat yung mga panandaliang kaligayahan ngayong mga bata pa tayo kung kapalit nito ay ang magandang kinabukasan natin."

"You're right. You know what Maddie, I really admire how you matured sa pag-iisip at pagdedesisyon. As we grow older, you also grow wiser and sometimes I wish I had even just a pinch of that maturity para makita ko sa paraang nakikita mo ang mga bagay-bagay so that I can understand them better. What I have right now is too far from what you have. Naniniwala na ako sa sabi nila na lahat tayo magkakaiba. Kahit nga tayo na kambal eh. Sa ating dalawa, ikaw yung biniyayaan ng karunungan samantalang ako naman ang biniyayaan ng hitsura."

"Are you implying that I look awful?"

"If the shoe fits, then you know the answer to your own question."