Ephemeral|✓

Chapter 7

Chapter 7
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"Phoenix brought some bad news back home," bungad ni Ryder sa akin sa gate. Takha akong tumingin sa kaniya at bahagyang itinagilid ang ulo.

Palagi nang si Ryder ang nagbubukas ng gate para papasukin ako. Palagi na ring wala si Tita Olivia tuwing dumarating ako. Siguro'y iba na ang schedule niya sa trabaho kumpara noon.

Isang buwan na rin akong nagt-tutor kay Phoenix. Katatapos lang ng mga exam niya kahapon, kaya hindi ako masyadong nakatulog. Bigla kasing pumasok sa isip ko kung naturuan ko ba siya ng maayos o hindi. Perhaps my eyebags are worse now than ever. Kailangan ko nang sanayin ang sarili ko na huwag magpuyat.

"What is it?" tanong ko kay Ryder. Ramdam ko ang namumuong kaba sa dibdib ko dahil sa sinabi niya. "It's better if you hear it directly from him," sagot niya at iginaya ako papasok. I just shrugged and walked inside.

Pagbukas ko ng pinto ng kwarto ni Phoenix ay malawak ang ngiti niyang yumakap sa akin. Agad akong napaiktad dahil sa gulat. Ang saya ng bungad niya, pakiramdam ko'y hindi naman bad news ang dala ng isang 'to.

"Ate Azi, look! I got a perfect score here!" Masaya niyang ipinakita sa akin ang exam niya. Sa isang iglap, nawala lahat ng mga iniisip ko at ang kaba ko dahil sa nalaman. Malambing kong ginulo ang buhok ni Phoenix at um-apir sa kaniya, making him giggle.

I immediately glared at Ryder right after that for making me nervous. Masyado siyang magaling umarte, napaniwala niya 'ko sa sinabi niya kanina. Baka rin masyado akong napapraning kaya hindi ko na napansin na nagbibiro lang siya.

Tumawa lang si Ryder at napailing sa reaksiyon ko. Tuwang-tuwa siguro siya na naisahan niya 'ko. "My bad." Itinaas niya ang dalawang kamay na para bang sumusuko. Pabiro ko siyang inirapan at lumuhod upang makapantay si Phoenix.

Maging sa ibang subjects ay nakakuha siya ng matataas na marka. Ang ilan ay may tatlo o dalawang mali lang, kung hindi naman ay perfect.

Ang talino naman ng batang 'to.

I suddenly felt like a proud parent watching their child be giggly because of an exam. Ngayon ko lang kasi naranasan na magtutor ng isang batang tulad niya.

Ryder just looked at the both of us with a sweet smile on his face. He looked proud as well, I'm sure he just isn't showing it that much. "Keep it up, Phoenix! You did a great job!" puri ko sa bata na mas ikinangiti niya.

"Can I hug you, Ate Azi?" nakanguso niyang tanong. Natatawa ko siyang niyakap at mahinang pinisil ang pisngi. "And Kuya too.." dagdag niya na nagpahinto sa akin.

"I've hugged you for too many times already, Phoenix. Just hug her." Kumamot siya sa batok at nanatiling nakatayo sa tabi ng pinto. "Dali na, Kuya! Group hug!" pagpupumilit nito.

Alanganin na tumingin sa akin si Ryder na para bang nagpapaalam. I silently nodded at him, allowing him to join our hug. He looks like a child with a trantum. "How can I reject you.." usal niya sa sarili at walang nagawa kundi ang lumapit sa amin.

My heart throbbed when he walked towards us, then Phoenix hugged the both of us at the same time.

Well, maybe that was a kind of.. bad idea.

I can already smell his scent that's enough to make my cheeks burn. Probably the first time ever that I hugged a man like this close. "Thank you!" wika ni Phoenix at humiwalay na. The kid's sweetness was enough to drive away the awkwardness between us.

"Oh, right. Hey, Azi," biglang tawag ni Ryder sa akin. "Yeah?" Tumayo muna siya at pinagpagan ang binti niya. "Mom told me that you don't have to tutor Phoenix this week. She said that they won't have any classes onwards. Intramurals na kasi nila," sambit niya.

"Wait, what? Is Tita Olivia sure about that?" alanganin kong tanong. Tumango siya bilang tugon. "Don't worry though, she said that she won't reduce that to the amount she pays to you. It was her choice, afterall." Napatitig ako sa kawalan dahil sa nalaman. She's too nice..

"That's unfair.. I mean, hindi ko ginagawa 'yung trabaho ko pero babayaran pa rin niya 'ko?" bahagyang naguguluhan kong usal. "Yeah, that's what she said. Maybe she'll call you later about that after she's done with her work."

Akmang magsasalita pa 'ko nang buhatin ni Ryder si Phoenix at sumenyas sa aking sumunod sa labas. "Do you want to eat something? Tutal nandito ka na rin, just relax. Nothing's going to come out of you overthinking," nanenermon ang tono niyang wika at sinenyasan akong sumunod sa kaniya sa kusina. "Opo.." nakanguso kong tugon na nagpangiti sa kaniya.

I was left with no choice but to walk beside him towards their kitchen.

He gently put Phoenix down and made him sit on a chair. I just wandered around their huge kitchen, admiring the whole place. Napansin kong nagbabalat siya ng apple, dahilan upang lumapit ako sa kaniya.

"Let me help you," usal ko at kumuha ng kutsilyo. "No, I can handle⏤" Hindi ko siya pinansin at pinagpatuloy na ang pagbabalat. "At least use this peeler. Ako na sa kutsilyo." Umiling ako at bahagyang tumawa. "No, I can handle," gaya ko sa sinabi niya. He chuckled and continued peeling the apples.

Habang naghihiwa, panay ang tingin ni Ryder sa akin, dahilan upang mailang ako at mamula ang tainga. I averted my gaze on Phoenix, pero sa kasamaang palad ay nakatalikod ito sa amin at abala sa paglalaro mag-isa.

"Azi," biglang tawag niya sa akin. Gulat akong lumingon sa kaniya, palipat-lipat ang tingin sa mansanas at sa mga mata niya dahil sa pagkailang. "B-bakit?" Lihim akong napapikit nang bigla akong nautal.

Masyado yata akong kabado sa pakikipag-usap sa kaniya. Siya kasi, eh, titig ng titig.

"Have you ever thought of.. I don't know, rebelling to someone?" tanong niya. Kumunot ang noo ko dahil sa pagtatakha. His question was too random. "Huh? Rebel to who?"

"To someone important to you," sagot niya. "Of course, not. Why would I do that to someone I love?" Napayuko siya, tila ba may malalim na iniisip.

"But.. what if that person opposes your beliefs? And the only way is to rebel against them?" I sighed. "I can't really relate to you.. Wala pa 'kong naranasan na ganiyan." Tumango-tango siya at itinuloy ang paghihiwa ng prutas.

"But I'm sure, whatever your problem is, rebellion is not always the only answer. You can talk it out or something," dagdag ko. "If only I could.." mahina niyang usal at walang pasabing kinuha mula sa kamay ko ang mansanas.

He looked lost in his thoughts, his positive aura gone. All I can see is a confused Ryder in front of me. He's really different compared to his daily attitude.

"You peeled it enough. Thanks, Azi," pasasalamat niya at tipid na ngumiti sa akin. He called Phoenix with a lively tone, unlike earlier. He acted like nothing happened, like we didn't talk about something serious.

He's back at being a positive brother again. I still don't completely know him, even after a whole month. Right now, I started doubting whether the cocky and playful Ryder was an act all along. Something is whispering in my heart that maybe.. he really wasn't like that, or maybe I'm just overthinking things again.

What a good pretender. Ryder, who are you?

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