The Broken Vinyl's Beat (Casa Nueva Series #1)

Kabanata 14

Kabanata 14
Senyorita

We spent our Christmas in the mansion. Umuwi si Mama at Papa, ilang araw bago ang Pasko. Kung hindi ko narinig ang pagtatalo nila sa study noong araw na iyon, hindi ko iisipin na nagkaroon sila ng hindi pagkakaintdihan na nauwi sa pag-alis nilang pareho sa mansyon.

Papa's eyes are always on Mama, kahit hindi siya nakatingin. And whenever I catch Papa staring at her, I always see the smile and the love on his face. Mahal na mahal niya si Mama.

We also went out of the country right after Christmas. We spent the remaining days of the holidays in Paris. We booked ourselves in Four Seasons George V, an art-deco landmark built in 1928. My eyes feasted on the buildings I saw in Paris. Ang sketchpad ko ay punong-puno ng sketches ng mga building doon!

Syempre, hindi rin nawala ang shopping spree namin doon. My parents and my brothers spoiled me so much! Umuwi tuloy kaming maraming baggage.

Hindi nawala ang communication namin ni Santi. We never really talked about our issue even though we had the chance to. I felt like what happened in the Grill & Bistro during Breanna's birthday was the reason why whatever barrier was in between us was lifted.

Marina is not Santi's girlfriend. I don't know if I'll be happy about that or not. Kung hindi siya ang gusto ni Santi, sino? Hindi ko tuloy alam kung mas gusto ko bang alam ko ang pangalan ng babaeng gusto niya o hindi.

When we got back to school in January, we've been bombarded with lessons and activities. Halos hindi na kami magkanda ugaga nang dahil sa dami ng pinagawa ng teachers.

When we had our free time, he accompanied me in the bleachers. Tanaw namin ang mga estudyanteng nagsosoccer sa gitna ng oval. May ilang mga babaeng estudyante from higher and lower levels na sinasadyang dumaan sa harap namin para lang makapagpapansin sa kanya. And the brute didn't even give them a glimpse! Ang mga mata'y nasa akin lang!

"Where will you celebrate your birthday?" He asked.

"How did you know na malapit na ang birthday ko?"

He smirked. "I know a lot about you, Sierra Serafina. Saulo ko lahat pagdating sa'yo..."

I pursed my lip, trying not to smile. "Maybe we'll just have an intimate dinner at home. Although Mama really wants to throw a grand party for me, I refused. My eyes were opened during Breanna's 17th birthday where she chose to reach more people and help them instead of throwing a lavish party for herself."

"Gusto mo bang gawin din iyon sa birthday mo?" he probed.

I smiled. "I'm not sure. Mama won't like it if I'll tell her that. She doesn't like it when I interact with people below our level and up until now, I cannot fathom why she's like that when Mameng told me that when she was younger, she was far from being herself today."

There was a long pause of silence between us.

"So you're not allowed to interact with me, huh?" he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Will you stay away from me if I say yes?" I joked back.

Pinakatitigan niya muna ako before he bit his lower lip and smiled. "I won't. Hinding-hindi ako lalayo sa'yo, Rafi."

Hindi ko nakayanan ang paninitig niya. Ibinalik ko ang mga mata ko sa field. "Good. Ayaw ko rin na lumayo ka." I bit my lip right after I said that. Damn it, Sierra Serafina!

He chuckled. "You don't have to worry. It's never gonna happen..."

We stayed like that for the following weeks. Magkasama kami sa loob ng classroom most of the time.