Knowing the Vixen

Seventeen

Nagising ako nang umaga dahil sa ingay ng doorbell. Eyes still closed, kinapa ko ang kama hanggang sa makapa ko ang cellphone at tinignan ang oras.

"Shit."

Wala akong hangover dahil kaunti lamang ang nainom ko kagabi pero masakit sa mata ang liwanag galing sa cellphone ko. It's still 7 in the morning. Sino ang pupunta sa unit ko sa ganitong oras?

The doorbell kept ringing, whoever is outside must be an impatient person. So I stood up, still half awake and walked to the door. Binuksan ko ang pintuan at kaagad ako nakatanggap ng pitik sa noo.

"Papagurin mo ba ang daliri ko kakapindot ng doorbell?"

She's not yelling but it felt like she did. Her low pitched voice lingered for some time in my ears, thinking why is she here in this early cold morning.

"Get inside kids, wake Jillian up."

Then the kids ran inside, giggling as they greeted me with good morning.

Kaagad akong napamulat, "You went here just to wake us up?"

She shrugged. "Train your little sister to be an early bird. Huwag mo siyang itulad sa iyo. Move."

Bahagya niya akong tinulak para makapasok at dumiretso sa kwarto ko. Mabilis kong sinarado ang pintuan at sumunod sa kanya. Naabutan ko siyang nakadapa sa kama ko at nakapikit.

"So much for being an early bird."

Kinuha ko ang mamahalin niyang bag at nilapag iyon sa vanity table. Hinubad ko rin ang stilettos niya dahil baka madumihan ang kama ko. Do girls always want to wear dresses? Palagi ko siyang nakikitang nakasuot ng dress at heeled shoes. She's so feminine.

"Let me sleep for a while. I haven't slept."

Bumuntong-hininga ako nang makitang naangat ang laylayan ng bistida niya. This woman needs to be watchful of her movements. Inayos ko muna iyon bago lumabas at pumasok sa kwarto ni Jillian para tignan kung nagising na ba siya. When I opened the door, I saw them three bouncing in bed and pillow fighting. I smiled and slowly closed the door to not get their attention.

I went to my bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. Nagsuot ako ng plain maroon V-neck shirt at grey sweatpants para komportable. Lumabas ako kaagad at inayos ang kalat namin ni Brandon kagabi. He is still in the sofa and snoring softly, by the way.

Pinasok ko ang mga natitirang canned beers sa refrigerator at nang matapos kong maligpit ang kalat ay nagluto ako ng agahan. Hindi ako masyadong marunong magluto so I chose to cook whatever's easy to cook. And that means frying egg, bacon and ham.

"Who are those little humans?"

"Sit Bran, kumain ka muna bago umalis. What time is your flight?"

"10 am," he lazily answered. "Who are those kids? Ginising nila ako."

"Vixy's siblings."

"Who's Vixy?" He asked while yawning and then pressed his head on the table.

"Xybelle."

Kaagad siyang napaupo ng tuwid, mukhang nagulat sa narinig."Xybelle? She's here?"

"Can you stop calling her Xybelle? Close ba kayo?"

He laughed and shook his head, "You, my man, is possessive."

He's talking nonsense so I shoved a fist-size bread filled with scrambled eggs inside his mouth. He choked and laughed at the same time, letting some bread fly out. It's the nastiest thing to see in the morning.

"Coffee or juice?"

I was dumb to ask, hindi nga pala siya makasagot dahil puno parin ang bunganga niya ng pagkain. So he went to the fridge and find something to drink.