Owned And Treasured ✔︎ [unedited]

Chapter 22

SHORE

“Hello, whoʼs this?” tanong ko sa kabilang linya. Bigla na lang kasing may tumawag sa akin kinagabihan. Obviously it is from an unknown number.

“Anak ako ʼto, your beautiful mother.”

Nagulat naman ako nang marinig ang tinig niya. Yes, she really is mom. But how did she get my number? Maybe she asked my brothers.

“Whatʼs the problem, mom.” I asked her.

“Hindi ka ba pupunta rito sa mansyon?” tanong niya pabalik. Tila ba inaasahan niyang magpupunta ako roon. Well, I donʼt have a reason to go there and also, I donʼt want to.

Kumunot ang noo ko. “Sa mansyon? Bakit? Anong meron?” Wait. I think I know why.

“Your classmates are all here. You should join their party as part of the class.” masayang saad ni mom.

Sheʼs excited for my classmates huh. I may be part of the class but I never felt like I was. Out of place. Hindi ako dapat makihalibilo sa kanila dahil wala akong pakialam sa kanila, as simple as that.

“May gagawin pa ako mom, I canʼt go there.” sabi ko at umastang nanlumo.

“But you need to go here—”

Hindi ko siya pinatapos. I said “Goodnight.” and I ended the call.

Gusto kong sagutin si mom at ilabas ang saloobin ko. She said that I need to go there... Who told her I need to? The hell they care about me.

Well, I shall go the Hudsonʼs resort. Itʼs a little bit early and I could make it in time. Thereʼll be some VIPs there.

Tumayo ako sa kama ko dahil kanina pa ako nakahiga at tulala sa kisame. Wala akong magawa. Wala akong makausap.

Gumayak na ako at bumaba na sa kusina. Kailangan kong iwanan ng makakain si Jamie in case he gets hungry while Iʼm away and water when he gets thirsty.

After that I rode my car and drove my self to Pangasinan. Habang nagmamaneho ako, biglang sumagi sa isip ko na may dinner pala ang Altavistas kasama ako bukas. Before Sunday, kailangan kong madala sa vet si Jamie tomorrow. Maybe after bringing him to the vet, Iʼll be able to join Altavistaʼs dinner. I need to manage my time well so I wonʼt be stressed and also to finish them at the right time.

I remember that last week, I saw kuya Brent holding a huge box and he said it was from the Lopezʼs. Ang alam ko ay ang VIP na tinutukoy ng staffs namin ay Lopez din. Hindi kaya magkapareho lang? Hindi ko man lang natanong si kuya Brent kung anong laman ng kahon na iyon pero mukhang mabigat dahil tagaktak ang pawis niya habang buhat buhat iyon.

Bumuntong hininga ako. “Iʼll meet them pretty soon.” saad ko at kinalma ang sarili. Hindi ko naman kailangan magmadali.

Abalang abala ako sa pagmamaneho nang marinig kong kumalam ang tiyan ko. Hindi pa pala ako kumakain mula nong umalis sila Adrian sa bahay ko.

Mamaya, kakain agad ako pagkarating na pagkarating ko ora mismo sa resort. I need energy to entertain the VIP even though it wasnʼt my job to entertain customers. But I should at least learn how to do that in case I need to do it in the near future. Communication is always important in any way, of course.

After four hours of driving along the road, I have safely arrived at the Hudsonʼs resort. Sinalubong ako ng mga staffs at agad silang nag-report sa akin nang makapasok ako roon.

“Sir Calvin, mamayang 8:30 po ang dating ng mga VIP.” sabi ng head staff. She handles all bookings and schedules and our family pays her high salary because of being trustworthy and hard working person and also the others.