SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
"They will never—"
"They are in heaven, Mom," Asher cut me out. Of course, he knew. How? Probably, my aunt told him. Her smile was gone. "Is it true?" she asked, confirming it from me. I just nodded as an answer. "I am sorry." A smile was still on my lips, assuring her that I am well. "It is fine, Tita."
'Asher's mom is a great cook!' I kept on telling that in my mind while I was having a heavenly time eating. It was miraculous that I had eaten triple times than my usual meal amount.
Tita gave me a pink container when I was about to leave. "What is this, Tita?" I questioned, lifting the container and looking at what was inside from its base. "A pink container," she giggled at her own joke, "Oh, come on, Dear. You are in high school already. Do not tell me you did not know."
Now, I believe in the passing of traits from a parent to a child called heredity. Asher got his weird ways from her mother.
"I-I know, Tita, but what I mean is what is inside this container." She giggled again. Uh, what a happy, beautiful creature. "Vanilla cake. He requested," she told as she pointed her forefinger to her son who stood beside her. Asher smiled, showing his white teeth. "My mom's specialty. You will love it," he said before he winked. If I was just an easy-to-fall girl, I already shouted in happiness.
"Thanks then, Tita."
"Anything for you, My Niece." All of sudden, I looked at her with surprise. "M-my Niece?" She laughed awkwardly which made my forehead crease even more. "M-my Niece. Oh, come on. Oh! I forgot to tell you." She tapped her son's left shoulder. "Every friend of him, I treat like my nephew or niece because I do not have one. Just like him, I am an only child, too."
"Oh." Why did it feel like there was something wrong? Uh, right, it was just me imagining impossible things again. "I am honored then."
"Thanks for the dinner, Tita, and welcome to our place. I hope you would not regret going here."
After I got home, I ran towards the kitchen and brought out a fork. I sat down at my dining table and opened the container. The white triangular thing inside came into view and it shouted, "Eat me! Eat me! I am yummy!" That was a joke. A slice of cake does not shout because, in the first place, it cannot talk. It has no mouth, no voice box, so definitely, it cannot talk. I just sighed at my stupidity.
While eating the precious food, that exact words flashed in my head, 'Anything for you, my niece.' It felt somewhat . . . real. Maybe, I just missed Aunt Cecilia.
"Hey. Seriously?" I asked. Just like yesterday, I saw Asher's car in front of my gate. "What?"
"The school is just near. You are wasting gasoline."
"Correction: using, not wasting."
"Whatever. Just return your car inside your garage and return here and let us walk." I shot him with my glared eyes, trying to threaten him that I would hurt him if he did not do as I said.
In return, he looked at me lazily. "My body is too weak to walk," he reasoned out.
"So . . . " I smirked, " . . . you are weak?" He replied nonchalantly, "Yes." My smirk became larger. "Oh . . . so . . . you are a gay?" Again, without knowing, he replied, "Yeah—what the?! What did I say?!"
I laughed hard. "Wake up, Mister Sleepy. Snow White will never come and wake your sleeping mind." He pouted his lips like he always does. "First, you called me gay. Now, you called me a dwarf. That is too much for my handsome face!"
'Whoa. Too proud to himself, huh.' I rolled my eyes. "For your information, Mister Partner, I did not call you like what you are accusing me."
"Yeah, you did not call me dwarf and gay directly but indirectly."
"Oh . . . does it hurt?" I asked sarcastically. "Yeah," he held his chest like he was in pain, "It hurts. My heart hurts."
"Stop acting, Mister, and do what I said," I said, ignoring what he was doing. "I told you already. I am weak right now." I tapped his cheek to wake him, "You are not. You are just sleepy."
"So, what should I do?" he asked in a childish manner. "Do what I said." But then, he frowned. "I cannot."
"Come on. It will also help you wake yourself up!"
"Still, I cannot." This time, I frowned. "Then, I will go to school alone and forget that I have a partner." I started to walk away, not minding his reaction. So, what?
He did not follow me afterward. He was really weak.
"Good morning, Miss Sevilla," the school guard greeted me when I passed through the gate. I just nodded and smiled at him.
I looked again behind but found no trace of him. 'Oh, come on, Scarlette. What if he already arrived here but you did not notice?' I stepped backward and asked the guard who was still smiling ear-to-ear. "Sir, did you see Mister Asher Lucero?"
"Yes, I did. I saw him yesterday. He was with you, right?" I mentally rolled my eyes. 'Uh, how many times do I talk to a d-word every day?' "No, I mean this morning. Did you see him?" I repeated. "Not yet. Maybe, he will be late again."
"Thanks, Sir."
I was about to go to our classroom when I felt my phone continuously vibrate in my skirt's pocket. Someone was calling. It was Asher. I picked it up. "Hey, where are you now?" I checked my red watch. "It is seven o'clock already."
"Scarlette." My forehead creased upon hearing his voice. It sounded like a woman! "He," I chuckled, "Are you now confessing that you are gay?"
"This is your Tita – Asher's Mom." My eyes widened in shock.