Frozen Fire

Chapter 37

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Chapter 37

The Calm Before

Mabilis na nagdaan ang panahon. It was as if life had suddenly pressed the fast forward button. Parang kailan lang ay nag-aaral pa ako para sa final exams namin and now I'm at home preparing for tonight's Noche Buena.

First semester flew by fast and the next thing I know, it was already December.

It's Christmas.

The time of the year where the Alegre clan gets together to celebrate the holidays. This year, we are the host and so our relatives would be coming here tonight.

I faced the mirror and looked at my reflection.

It is our family's tradition to wear our best clothes for Christmas, pairing it with the Santa hat that my mom bought for us. Mayroon pa itong umiilaw na mga bituin na disenyo.

I chose to wear a white sweater as the top, red skater skirt for the bottom, and white strapped sandals for the footwear. I accessorized the look with pearl drop earrings. Naglagay rin ako ng kaonting make up. Nude eyeshadow with a dab of burgundy lipstick on my lips. I begrudgingly placed the Santa hat on top of my head to complete the look.

Nang makuntento na ako sa aking itsura ay kinuha ko ang aking phone at bumaba na. Paglabas ko palang ng aking kwarto ay narinig ko na ang boses ng aking ina at ang paggalaw ng mga katulong upang maiayos ang bahay bago dumating ang mga bisita.

"Delia, naayos na ba ang mga pagkain?" I heard my mom ask one of our maids while walking down the staircase. Kasabay ko ring bumaba ang aking kapatid na si Saffron. She was wearing a white long-sleeved dress with an a-line skirt which reaches just above her knees. She smiled at me and hooked her arm on mine.

"Merry Christmas, Ate," pagbati niya. I mumbled my greeting to her and she just laughed.

"Ang cold mo talaga, ate. Do you even have a boyfriend?" she asked, mockingly.

"And you have a boyfriend?" I scoffed. She laughed at me and shook her head.

"I don't have time for that. You know I want to be the valedictorian of the batch. I can't be distracted," sabi niya.

"Can't you balance things out?" I asked. She just shrugged.

"I can. But I have a lot on my plate right now. With student council, organizations, and academics. I don't think I can handle one more headache," sabi nito. I chuckled at her.

"That's fine. You're still young anyway," sabi ko.

"True," she agreed. She then looked at me and narrowed her eyes.

"How about you, ate? You're turning 20 next year. Don't you have a boyfriend?" she asked.

A boyfriend?

A face suddenly popped up on my mind. Napangiti nalang ako sa sarili ko.

"OH. You definitely have one! Spill the tea, sis!" maligalig niyang sabi. I shook my head at her.

"Let me guess. You're with Kuya Phoenix, right?" she asked. I looked at her and raised my eyebrow.

I never told her anything about my dilemma nor my escapades with Phoenix. I never really told anyone except for Elle and Doll. But I never told Saffron. Lalo na't hindi kami halos nagkikita sa bahay dahil conflicting ang schedules namin and she's a really active girl. She always has somewhere to go to even during weekends. Katwiran niya'y kailangan na niyang lubusin ang oras niya with her high school friends bago magcollege dahil baka mawalan na sila ng time sa isa't isa.