Chapter Three
Mallory
Hindi naman nahirapan sina mommy at daddy kunin ang documents ni Tisoy mula sa tita niya. I didn't think they even cared about him. After getting his documents, they enrolled him to my school. Ang laki ng inayos ni Tisoy mula ng dumating siya dito sa amin isang buwan na ang nakakaraan. His face wasn't sunken anymore, his eyes were brighter, he looked healthier. Sobrang kinatuwa naman iyon ng mga magulang ko.
Pinipilit ni mommy at daddy na kaibiganin ko si Tisoy. He also made attempts to befriend me but all those attempts failed. In my mind, he took away my parents' attention and affection from me. Kahit hindi naman totoo, iyon ang pakiramdam ko. I didn't like him and I made it very clear to him.
I never let him touch any of my toys. I never played with him. I never even talk to him. Mom and Dad knew I didn't like him. They felt even more sorry for him at lalong mas nabaling ang atensyon nila kay Tisoy na lalo ko naman kinaselos.
He was in third grade while I was in fifth when school started. Siya ang pinakamatanda sa klase niya dahil ngayon lang ulit siya nakabalik sa eskwelahan. I didn't want any of my schoolmates to see us together. It would be embarrassing if anyone would think that we were brothers and sisters. Kaya nga pag nasa school kami, I tell him to stay away from me as far as possible.
He didn't have any friends on his first day of school and he didn't know anyone. Nang mag-recess, he tried to sit on the same table I was sitting on in the cafeteria and I told him that he needed to find another seat because I was saving it for my friends. Tumayo siya sa table at lumipat sa bakanteng table. He sat and ate alone. I kind of felt bad about it. Pagkatapos naman ng ilang araw nagkaroon na rin siya ng mga kaibigan. Even my classmates and some of the sixth graders started having crush on him.
"Akin na ang baon mo." Hinarang ako ni Roy ang isa sa mga bully ng school habang papunta ako sa canteen. He was a big kid, too big for his age and he was fat.
I frowned at him. "Bakit ko ibibigay ang baon ko sa'yo? Hindi ka ba binibigyan ng mommy at daddy mo?"
"Pag sinabi kong akin na ang baon mo, ibibigay mo sa akin kung ayaw mong suntukin kita." He threatened.
"Bakla ka ba? My dad said mga bakla lang nananakit ng girls!"
"Wala akong pakialam. Yan daddy mo ang bakla! Gusto mo talagang suntukin kita?" Galit na sabi niya.
"Hindi bakla ang daddy ko! Ikaw ang bakla!" Sigaw ko sa kanya bago ko siya sinipa sa tuhod. I kicked him really hard.
He screamed out in pain and held his bruised knee. I just looked at him, not knowing what to do. Nang makatayo ulit siya ay inambaan niya ako ng suntok. All I could do was shield myself with my arms. Before his fist could land on me, he let out another scream. Napatingin ako sa kanya at ngayon ay sapo-sapo niya na ang noo niya.
"Mallory." I heard a familiar voice call me. Napalingon ako sa boses na iyon at nakita ko si Tisoy. He grabbed my hand and we ran. Tumakbo kami hanggang sa makahanap kami ng isang bakanteng classroom at nagtago kami doon.
"Okay ka lang?" Nag-aalalang tanong niya sa akin. "Sinaktan ka ba niya?"
I shook my head. I didn't know what I was feeling at that time. My heart was pounding really loud at alam kong hindi iyon dahil sa pagtakbo namin. Mahirap ipaliwanag hangga't hindi mo nararamdaman.
He held both my hands in his. "Hindi ko hahayaang may manakit sa'yo. Hindi kita pababayaan."
Parang may kung anong kuryenteng dumaloy sa katawan ko habang hawak niya ang mga kamay ko kaya agad ko iyon binawi.
Tisoy and I got in trouble. Nagdugo ang noo ni Roy dahil sa pagkakabato sa kanya at nagsumbong siya sa teacher namin. He told our teacher that we threw a rock on him. Hindi naman itinanggi iyon ni Tisoy. Galit na galit daw ang nanay ni Roy.
We were called in the principal's office and they called my parents' too.
"We do not allow this kind of violent behavior in our school." Sabi ng principal. "Hindi lang suspension ang pwede namin ibigay sa kanila. They could be expelled."
"We're so sorry, Mr. Nepomuceno. My daughter had been in this school since kindergarten, malinis ang record niya at alam kong mabait na bata si Tisoy. Hindi nila ito gagawin ng walang matinding dahilan." Sabi ni daddy.
"Kahit ano pa ang dahilan nila, mali pa rin iyon. Paano kung pumutok ang ulo ng estudyanteng binato nila? I can't let this go. I don't want them setting a bad example to other children in this school. I'll be suspending them for five days pero kapag may narinig ulit akong hindi maganda, mapipilitan na akong i-expel sila."
"Ako lang naman po ang bumato kay Roy." Sabi ni Tisoy. "Huwag niyo na po i-suspend si Mallory. Nadamay lang po siya. Nag-away po kasi kami ni Roy, pinipigilan lang niya kami."
He lied to save me from getting suspended. Dalawang beses niya akong sinagip ng araw na iyon. Alam ko kung gaano kahalaga sa kanya ang pag-aaral. He loved going to school, he loved learning new things. He could have told them the truth but he chose not to because he didn't want me to get suspended.
The club was packed. I had to squeeze into a crowd of drunk men and women dancing like idiots para lang maihatid ang isang tray ng alak sa table kung saan ako naka-assign. I could hardly breathe from all the smoke and the smell of alcohol in the club. Looking in the brighter side, dahil marami costumer ibig sabihin marami din akong mauuwing tip mamaya.
I finally found my table, there were four guys sitting there. I gave them a flirty smile as I put there orders on their table. When you act flirty and seductive around male patrons, you get bigger tips. One of them winked at me. I wanted to roll my eyes but stop myself from doing so.
Do it for the tip, Mallory.
"Okay na po ba ang order niyo? May kulang pa po ba?" I asked with a smile plastered on my face.
"Ikaw na lang ang kulang." Said one of the guys. Then they laughed like immature high school boys, even though not was funny.
"Pwede bang dito ka muna. Makipag-usap ka muna sa amin?" Sabi ng isa pa.
"Sorry, sir. Marami pa akong trabaho." I politely declined.
"Babayaran ka naman namin. Magkano ka ba?" Sabi naman ng isa pa habang tinitignan ako mula ulo hanggang paa na para bang hinuhubaran na ako.
My smile disappeared. "I'm sorry, mga sir. Drinks lang po ang binebenta dito, hindi ako."
"Baka naman magbago pa isip mo." Sabi ng isa at dumukot sa bulsa ng pantalon niya. He took out some thousand peso bills. "Ito? Pwede na ba?" Nagulat ako sa sunod na ginawa niya. He rolled the peso bills and shoved it in my cleavage.
"Bastos ka!" Galit na sabi ko. Kusang tumaas ang kamay ko at dumapo sa pisngi niya. I slapped him hard that it left a mark on his cheek. The other guy's he was with laughed and started teasing him. Halatang napahiya ang lalaki.
Tiim bagang na tumayo ito mula sa kinauupuan niya. "Ito naman talaga ang trabaho mo dito, hindi ba? Ang magputa? Tignan mo nga itsura mo, sa tingin mo may rerespeto sa'yo, halos ibilad mo na ang kaluluwa mo."
"Nagtatrabaho ako ng matino dito! Hindi ako bayarang babae!" Sabi ko at parang umakyat ang dugo ko sa ulo sa mga binitawan niyang salita. Kinuha ko ang bilog na tray na pinaglagyan ko ng mga inumin nila at pinalo ko sa kanya iyon. "Bastos ka! Manyak!"
"Sumusobra ka na, papatulan na kita!" Inagaw niya ang tray mula sa akin at inambaan ang ng suntok. I turned my head away before his hand could land on me.
"P're ang mga babae, hindi sinasaktan." Sabi ng isang malalim at baritong boses. Napalingon ako at nakita ko si Tisoy na nasa harap ko at hawak ang nakaambang kamay ng lalaki. "Wala ka bang nanay o kapatid na babae?"
"Huwag kang mangialam dito!" Galit na sabi ng lalaki. Sa kanya nabaling ang galit ng lalaki, he guy tried to punch Tisoy pero mabilis siyang nakailag at siya ang sumuntok sa lalaki. The guy's face dropped to their table.
Napasinghap ako ng biglang dukutin ni Tisoy mula sa pagitan ng mga dibdib ko ang isinukson na pera ng lalaki at isiniksik iyon sa nakaawang na bibig ng lalaking sinuntok niya.
He then took my hand and dragged me out of the club. Walang sabing isinikay niya ako sa kotse niya at nang makasakay siya sa driver's seat ay ipinaandar niya na iyon. I was still in shock. Hindi ko magawang magsalita kahit gustuhin ko.
"Are you alright? Nasaktan ka ba?" May halong pag-aalala sa boses na tanong niya.
"I-I'm okay." I said, shaking my head out of the trance.
"Kaya nga ba ayaw kong magtrabaho ka sa lugar na 'yun. That place is full of drunk douchebags. Mababastos ka lang dun." He said.
"I can take care of myself." Mariin na sabi ko.
"That's not how it looked like a moment ago." He shook his head.
"Ano bang pakialam mo sa buhay ko?" Galit na sigaw ko sa kanya.
"I care about you, Mallory." Mahinag sabi niya.
There's these damn tears ago, threatening to spill from my eyes. I looked out the window on my side so he wouldn't see it.
"You can't just... You can't just come back and decide to care about me!"
"I've always cared about you. I've always..." He paused. There was a sudden silence between us. Not the comfortable one. It was heavy. The kind of silence that breaks your heart, the kind that feels like it's squeezing your lungs, the kind that suffocates you.
The car stopped in front of a huge gate. He pressed a button in his car and the gate slowly started opening. He drove his car in and my jaw dropped when I saw the house. It was a huge french styled mansion. I had never seen an actual mansion in my whole life until now! It was so beautiful, like a mansion straight out of a hollywood film.
He stopped the car in front of it. Binuksan ng isang lalaking nakaabang na doon ang pinto ko at inilahad ang kamay niya para alalayan ako sa pagbaba ng kotse. I took his hand and he helped me out of the car. When Tisoy got out of his car, he gave the key to the guy and we went in.
The interior was as beautiful as the outside of the house. I tried so hard to contain my excitement when I saw how beautiful it was. Everything were mostly black and white combined with a mix of dark wood. The interior made it obvious that a man was living here.
Naisip ko na kung sakaling may kasama siyang babae sa mansyon na ito, it would have atleast have a touch of something feminine. But there wasn't a single trace of it. He must be living here alone.
"Are you living with someone? DO you have um... a wife?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
Lumingon siya sa akin at kumunot ang noo niya.
"I mean, I don't want any trouble. I don't want her to get the wrong the idea..." I fidgeted nervously with my hands.
"I'm still single." He smiled and his dimples came into clear view.
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