BOOKS before BOYS

CHAPTER 3: Pretender

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"Lennox!" sigaw ng best friend ko. Yes, I do have a best friend. Babae pa. I do have lot of friends everywhere. I mean, kahit saan talaga may kaibigan ako. Siguro dahil sa business ng family ko and because of the influence of my dad. Kilala si daddy worldwide. Siya ang current CEO ng Villacosta Costructions Inc.

"What's the matter with you again, Shantelle?" Yeah, I talk to her that way. Sobrang nakakarindi siya to the point na kahit best friend ko siya gusto ko siya bigwasan. Ow, she's Shantelle Akira Valencia, my best friend. We've known each other since we were in middle school.

"I just wanna ask lang if you have a partner na para sa exclusive ball na inorganize ng company niyo." maarteng tanong niya.

"Wala. I don't want to waste my time attending that stupid party of ours. Wala naman akong gagawin dun. Kukulitin lang nila ako to find a partner for life." inis na sagot ko.

Anyway, I'm Lennox Alastair Villacosta. Yes, I'm the well-known heir of the Villacosta's. I'm living the life everyone wanted. I have everything that I want but I'm not really happy. My family wants me to get married as soon as possible. Gusto nila na pakasalan ko ang anak ng major shareholder namin. I don't like Takara. I never like her. Mayaman siya, oo. Pero hindi ko siya gusto.

I'm so stressed about that stupid exclusive ball na inorganized ng family ko. It's stressing me out to the point na ayoko lalo pumunta. How are you going to attend if the ball is for the upper class only. Sobrang discriminating ng dating. Plus the fact that it will be held in London. I only have one week to decide kung pupunta ako.

***

"Alastair, your mom and I will be leaving to London on Sunday. You need to be there before the event. Okay?" sabi ng daddy ko.

"Yeah, but.." hindi ko natapos ang sasabihin ko dahil biglang nagsalita si daddy.

"No buts, Alastair. Enough with that stupid excuses of yours." pagputol niya sa sasabihin ko.

Mukhang wala na talaga akong choice kundi ang sumunod sa kanila. Alam kong madi-disappoint si daddy lalo na si mommy kapag hindi ako sumunod.

***

Sunday na at ngayon ang flight ng parents ko papuntang London. Hinatid sila ng driver namin papuntang airport. Hindi ako kasama dahil may inaasikaso ako sa university. I need to finish all the tasks before I leave. Masyadong loaded ang sched ko as an Engineering student and captain of the team at the same time. My parents didn't agree with this setup. They only want me to focus sa acads and let go of the team, but I can't. Kaya nasunod ako sa kanila kasi yun lang ang way para maipagpatuloy ko ang paglalaro.

***

Monday na agad. Tangina ang bilis ng araw. Kapag ayoko sa mga nangyayari lalong nabilis yung araw. Ako na agad yung may flight ngayon.

Nandito ko ngayon sa airport at naghihintay na tawagin ang flight ko to London. Walang alam parents ko na ngayon ako susunod. Hindi ako nakatulog ng maayos dahil panay ang tawag nila mommy sa phone ko. Maybe they already landed kaya nakakatawag sila.

*phone ringing*

"Hello? Mom?" sagot ko.

"I just want to remind you to be here before the event, okay?" mahinahong sagot ni mommy.

"Yes, mom. I'm trying to get there as soon as possible." kalmadong sagot ko.

"Okay, sweetheart." malambing na sagot niya.