IT WAS a gloomy afternoon. The curtains were close but she could smell the petrichor that lingered inside her room because of the open windows. While looking at the mirror, Havoc smiled seeing how still tidy her uniform was. It looked so new and smelled so good even it was the end of the day and she already came home from school. Her shoes didn’t even have a mark of the road dust or a raindrop.
Typical. That’s how Havoc did it. Be organized. Be clean.But her smile turned to grimace as she heard continuous knocks on her door."Havie, Havie!" A guy almost chanted her nickname with his baritone voice. Loud enough and even his breathing echoed inside the room as the young boy leaned over the door.Havoc shut her eyes as she felt irritation towards the guy behind the door. She just got home from school but someone was already inviting her outside. "I’m tired," she averred then scratched her nose tip. The rain was starting to pour outside and that made the curtains moved since the windows were opened. When the cold breeze suddenly brushed through her skin, she gently rubbed her upper arms to create heat out of friction. “We might get sick because of the rain. We can’t go out,” she reasoned out.Those knocks suddenly stopped. "Are you sure?"That made Havoc creased her forehead. “Why do you keep on pursuing me to go out?” Havoc sashayed near the door. She leaned closer and rested her head against the door, the only thing that separated them, to hear him better. She tried listening to him carefully.“I want to catch up with you. I wasn’t able to attend your birthday so I guess I owe you a day to spend with you. I came home late and your Mom told me you were already sleeping. You didn’t wait for me,” the guy answered in a low tone voice, calming to her ears. "Let’s go out. Just this one, Havie," he pleaded. The image of a cute and handsome guy trying to convince someone appeared in his mind. He sounded like he will throw tantrums if you won’t give him a favor.Havoc shook her head as she tried to avoid that kind of imagination. Besides, he’s the one who should feel guilty. Because she knew better and the truth was Havoc really waited for him. She just told her Mom not to let him know that she was still awake at that time, sulking because her best friend did not appear at her party."We’re too old to enjoy the rain," she inferred.But instead of giving up, Havoc received a peal of laughter from him. "You are just thirteen, so don’t try too hard to be an adult. Your adolescence period just started though," he avowed with a warning tone. "You should come! I’m sure that you won’t regret it. Even if you catch flu, you will end up smiling dead in bed,” he insisted again.Havoc rolled her eyes at once. “And why do you say so, Rhyme?” she inquired shortly as if tired of dealing with her best friend.“Of course! We’ll invite Meter to also play with us,” he answered immediately, sounded so confidently, sounded as if there was no malice with his words at all. But for Havoc, that answer made her eyes sparkled and her hands moved to twist the knob.The door opened slowly yet Rhyme barged in already inside Havoc’s room. He almost pushed her but he didn't notice and immediately invaded her place. He comfortably laid down which ruined the bed sheet and he even tackled the life-size bear which Meter gave on her birthday. Suddenly, her room became a mess."Rhyme!" she complained at the top of her lungs.Instead of listening to her, Rhyme roamed his eyes around the whole room. Anyone who will enter this room will know that this is Havoc’s bedroom. Too girly as you could say. Havoc is meticulous when it comes to her things. She over-organized them because that calms her. No webs, no clouds of dust, no wrappers—the room screamed elegance and perfection. She even placed a huge mirror to make her room look wider. She has complete sets of stuff, like a princess in a palace because that's how she's treated."Havie, you arranged your things again?""Yeah," she nonchalantly answered.“The next time you will do it, tell me so I could help. Those things are heavy!” Then he pointed to the cabinet, chairs, and racks.Havoc shook her head as Rhyme became too pushy and loud. She decided to pull her out of the room but failed because she felt something as their skin touched."Ouch!”"What happened?”They felt a sting between their skin.They both creased their foreheads yet decided not to waste any time, Havoc shoved that questionable spark. She didn't turn and continued walking outside. "Let us go, Rhyme. Meter should be waiting for us and we should let him leave on that spot!”THE POURING rain was strong enough to shower them. The moment Rhyme ran to chase Havoc, the water splashed. Rhyme was so naughty and whenever she will get teased by her best friend, she could not identify if she was annoyed or she should be laughing. Maybe both. Besides, Rhyme was the kind of guy who never leaves when she needs him. Even if she didn’t need him, he was there.But she couldn't deny that she's more focused on something else. She's guarding someone else's existence. And her eyes... her eyes kept on looking in other direction. Not on Rhyme's who's always there for her as a best friend since childhood but for the other guy, the twin brother—Meter.Havoc smiled as she turned her gaze to someone else, the one who was not playing, behave and just looking after them. Meter was sitting on the gutter while keeping an eye on his twin Rhyme. He was hugging himself as he shivered because it was so cold for him. Havoc’s brows met in an instant. She gazed at Rhyme to inform him about his twin, but she was stopped when Rhyme sprang her raindrops. Her attention was stolen this time and her eyes gave a death glare on her best friend.Because of that, they started playing once again. There were times that they slid and fell on the ground but that was nothing when you were having fun. That particular street was filled with peals of laughter and loud cheers until they got tired and decided to rest at sidewalk, close enough to look at Meter who was quietly sitting on the other side of the street.“Why don’t we sit next to Meter?” Havoc asked in curiosity.“He wants to be alone and I’m too lazy to get up. I’m really tired. You really want to sit there?” Rhyme casually responded while pulling the grass on his side."I wish I could but…" Havoc could not finish her statement. Rhyme thought she was too shy to initiate conversation if ever she sat next to his twin so he chuckled while shaking his head.For the next few minutes, silence ate them as no one tried to insist on a new conversation.The sound of the pouring rain dominated as if that was the only thing to hear, and it seemed like they were the only people in the private village there were in-wide streets, high-end cars, mansions."Hey, Havie. I have a question," Rhyme suddenly uttered."Hmm?" she responded even if her eyes stayed at Meter."Do you like my twin brother?""Yes. Why did you ask me? Are you jealous?" I even scoffed.Rhyme burst into laughter. He even held his stomach when he couldn’t handle the pain from laughing. It took him long before he recovered from Havoc's statement and when he did, he looked at her again with a straight face. No reactions, and if there was, Havoc couldn't read it from his eyes--until he smirked."As if. Do you want me to help you instead?”This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance in reality is a coincident and/or used in fictitious purposes. The setting and culture of the story takes place in the Philippines so if you encounter any confusion especially with terms, do not hesitate to post a comment starting with the line “I want to know:” Ate means elder sister. This term is also used to address an older woman. Kuya means elder brother. The characters used to address Tito and Tita to the parents of their friends. These parents used to address the daughter/son of their friends as Hija/Hijo. Reviews and gems are highly appreciated. Thank you! Happy reading!
"PRINCESS, WHY don't you come out and entertain everyone?""Mom, I don't want to," I nonchalantly refused the idea. I heard knocks for five minutes straight which I didn't mind. I found relief when she stopped bothering me. Finally, there was peace.Sixteenth of May. Today's my twentieth birthday. I should be celebrating with the closest group of friends but it turned out that Mom created a big party, a surprise one, and I didn't like it! The crowd wasn't that huge, specifically more or less twenty, but still... they're not my real friends!They were just here because they weren’t brave enough to reject the invitation that my Mom sent to them. They were here because Mom thought they were Rhyme and I’s mutual friends, but no. They were here for Rhyme. They were here to see him. They adored him. This wasn't even his day, it's mine! When I said mine, I mean I wanted myself to be the one who will organize every damn thing to happen now. It ruined my day. Things shou
I THOUGHT I drowned in my dreams and when I woke up, I will be at ease. But it turned out that someone poured a dipper of water on my face. I was bedraggled like a dying plant in a garden. Great!"What are you doing?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. “What are you doing?” Rhyme mocked me. “Why are you paddling like a dog in deep water?” he teased me while containing his laughter.I gave him a death glare and I didn’t give him an answer. That made him spoke again. "You’re not waking up and it’s already noon. I should be out to my work so how am I supposed to wake you up then?" Rhyme explained."Then leave!" I avered. "You are not required to ask permission or tell me when you need to. As if I gave you such obligation or rule." I tsk-ed as I rolled my eyes."I have to. You might get into trouble or accident if ever I leave you without giving a heads up or at least wake you up, you clum
I PURRED like a cat as I woke up, blinded by the sunlight. "Who opened the curtains on my room" I groaned as I heard a chortle instead of an explanation.I scratched my eyes and without opening them, still letting my eyes adjust, I spoke. "Rhyme, isn't it too early to annoy me? It's weekend, just so you know."I knew it was him. No one will ever do that to me. Besides, he was the only person who knew my passcode except for my mom and he also kept a backup key for my unit. I felt like he sat on my bed. Then he kept on poking me on my cheek. "Wake up, your highness, if you don't want me to fix your things and cook for you."The idea of him meddling with my things and cooking for me was such a nightmare so I immediately woke up and stood because of what he said. I couldn't make him do things because he's not a home buddy and as much as possible he wasn't allowed to touch anything here. "If you want to fix something, just do my bed and sit there, stay stil
"WHY DID YOU say that?! I'm not on my period!" I immediately threw words the moment Rhyme stopped the car in front of their house.He calmly looked at me. "You don't have to act like an actual masochist. Don't be stupid," he said while smiling."Come on! I have nothing against Meter's relationship. I'm happy for them—""That's not what I saw when we greeted them earlier." he cut me off.I couldn't respond to what he said so I bobbed my head then I decided to go out of the car.But my long face turned into a friendly one when I saw two familiar figures at the gate."Hello, Havoc! What's up?"I smiled and ap
"THE FOOD is ready, kids!" Our conversation was intervened when I heard Tita Doms's knock."Let's eat." Rhyme helped me stand from sitting on his bed. "Before I eat you," he added which made me flinch. I dodge his hand and because of my reaction, he laughed."Since when did you became a cannibal?"Instead of answering me, he scoffed. I shook my head as I found it annoying but I still follow him to the kitchen."Mom, what’s the viand? Havie might not like it.""I ordered a Ramen from where we ate last week in the Mall. I actually like it so I tried more variants and flavors,” Tita Doms answered.So this was probably what Rhyme told me where Tita was
IT WAS simple. The crowd was close to twenty people and everyone was closed with each other. Everyone was roaming around, gathering to talk about serious matters and even laugh at each other. Some of them treated Tito Miguel's birthday as their reunion. These were their friends in school years and colleagues at work.The event seemed so engaging which made me feel assured that Tita Dominique and my Mom organized this. Tita Seth wasn't present, as well as her family, because they resided abroad a long time ago. Tito Jaxer wanted to live in Italy because his parents grew up there also. When we were kids, they were actually here in the Philippines but when Tita Seth gave birth to their second baby, they decided to live somewhere else.I smiled at the usher who welcomed me as I reached the second flowered arch. My eyes scrutinized the whole place. The motif
I DRAGGED myself to the couch after I drank a glass of water to make myself calm. The party ended earlier than expected so I got home already but for almost five hours, I couldn't stay still. I kept thinking about them. Meter and Ania. Their parents. Even my Mom.I insisted to stay at home but she forced me to sleep in my unit. I sighed as I gave up on bothering myself about their problem. First thing's first, it's not my business but I was kinda involved since I knew something about it—Meter and Ania told me about it so I couldn't help but feel guilty somehow.My lids suddenly got heavy. I covered my mouth as I yawned.I stood and returned the glass I used to the kitchen sink and when I was about to get back on my seat, someone pressed the doorbell.
THREE DAYS after Tito Migs’s birthday. For that short period, I was able to finish my TBR and sent the commissioned critique paper to the clients. That's"An Analysis of the Communication Styles of Married Couples in Fictional and Real Life Settings"by Mildred A. Rojo-Laurilla. After finishing it all, I was just hanging up, waiting for the salary that I will receive tomorrow. It’s around 17,000 Philippine pesos if you convert it from dollars. Earlier, I was just sitting on the balcony, feeling the morning breeze with the sound of the busy streets while drinking vegetable juice. I was pondering on how I should start my bakeshop business from the initial capital I saved from my ten-month salary. I really wanted a bakeshop. That's the only thing in my head. Earlier. But Now…