Entangled Deceptions

Chapter 24

Ito na ang araw na pinakahihintay ng lahat. Ang siyang opening ng foundation week na pinaghandaan ng todo at pinagbuhusan namin ng aming oras at atensyon.

"Merry Christmas!" The children greeted aloud altogether while raising and shaking their hands as I clapped and beamed in happiness after watching them perform cheerfully on the stage. 

Dumagundong ang halakhakan at kahit ako'y napatawa nang biglang yakapin ni Annie ng mahigpit ang katabi niyang batang lalaki na nabilang sa klase ni Dash. Halos hindi na makahinga ang gwapong bata mula sa pagkakayakap niya.

Both of them are the star performers in front and they should only have held hands and bowed their heads together. But then, my jaw almost dropped when I saw Annie being very persistent that she even pulled the boy's face closer to her and kissed him quickly. 

The boy bulged his eyes and blushed. Mas lalong natawa ang lahat nang bigla itong bumaba ng stage imbes na tumungo ng backstage. He ran quickly towards his mom na katabi pala ngayon ni Brix sa unahan ng mga upuan.

I laughed when I saw him clinging onto his mom before hiding his face on her chest in embarrassment. 

Ito talagang si Annie. Mana sakin.

Nabaling naman ang tingin ko kay Brix na pinagigitnaan ng mga naglalakihang negosyante at mga politiko na siyang naging panauhin ngayong araw, kabilang na ang ina ng batang lalaki na hinalikan ni Annie.

Brix chuckled at the little boy and said something to his mom. Natigilan ako bigla at napakurap nang matuon sa akin ang kanyang mga mata bago ngumiti ng malawak. I couldn't believe his attention was at me while he kept talking to the other guests beside him!

Naughty!

"Teacher G!" Annie ran towards my seat before hugging me tight. She looked at me and pouted her lips. "Uncle H is so bad!"

"Why?" Kunwari ay hindi ko alam kung ano ang pinuputok ng butsi ni Valther. Tumayo ako mula saking upuan nang hilahin ako ni Annie. 

Nagpatuloy ang program at masyadong mas naging maingay dahil sa mga panauhing mga estudyante na kasalukuyang kinikilig. Sila ba naman ang makakita ng mga naggagwapuhang mga binata na kabilang sa banda ng unibersidad.

"Hi, Elizabeth!" I was so glad to see Annie's mom here! She greeted and kissed me on my cheek. Well, she looks dashing as usual. 

Sila iyong tipong magkapatid ni Valther na nakakaintimidate ngunit approachable naman pala.

"Hi, ate!" She was actually the one who insisted that I should call her ate instead. "Annie looked so cute earlier. She's the best!"

Annie giggled when she heard me complimenting her while ate Valeen laughed and turned to look at Valther beside her.

"Cute my ass." Valther hissed and put his hands on his pockets. "Stop laughing, ate! It's not funny!"

Mas lalong natawa si ate sa tinuran ng kapatid. Halatang hindi kasi nito nagustuhan ang ginawa ni Annie kanina sa batang lalaki sa stage. Kung pwede lang nitong kutusan si Annie at ang batang iyon ay ginawa niya na.

"I'm cute, uncle H!" Kahit nakatayo kami ngayon at nakatingala sa amin si Annie ay walang makakapigil sa kanya na ipahiwatig ang saloobin. "Yuan is even cuter! I like him!"

Hindi namin napigilan ni ate ang matawa ng malakas matapos habulin ni Valther si Annie na kumaripas ng takbo dahil sa nalukot niyang mukha sa inis. Kung ganun ay Yuan pala ang pangalan ng gwapong batang crush niya.

Annie is such a tease. Alam na alam niya kung paano inisin ang kanyang tiyuhin.

"Ang batang iyon talaga mukhang hindi five years old sa kulit at talino." Naiiling at natatawang komento ni ate Valeen kay Annie.