Athena’s P.O.V.
“Y-You? W-What are you doing here?” Halos walang boses na lumabas sa bibig ko.
I frowned. How did he know my address?
I found it really hard to speak—malat na malat ang boses ko dahil sa sobrang sakit ng lalamunan ko. But above these, nand’yan na naman ‘yong mga nagtatakbuhang kabayo sa dibdib ko. I was always like this, whenever he was near.
Instead of answering me, tinitigan niya lang ako nang nakanganga. It could have been perfect dahil kulang na lang ay tumulo ang laway niya.
I rolled my eyes. Aba! Ngayon lang ba siya nakakita ng d’yosa? Of course, I was named after the Greek goddess—Athena.
“Hello? I’m asking you, what are you doing here?” Lumapit ako sa kanya and I even waved my right hand on his face.
But still, no reaction came from him. Nakanganga pa rin.
“Uy, Cristoff? Ano ba? Anong ginagawa mo rito? Hindi ka na ba nakakaintindi ng English at nakanganga ka na lang diyan ha? Alam mo, masakit ‘yong lalamunan ko kaya ‘wag mo na akong pagsalitain pa!” Niyugyog ko na ‘yong kanang balikat niya to make him realize some sense and to wake him up. He looked like he was stuck on his daydreaming even though he was totally awake.
And for that, it seemed like someone had just splashed an iced water on him that’s why he got his senses back.
“H-Helena, a-ano kasi eh, hmm… sabi ni Mrs. Cheng, may t-trangkaso ka raw kaya nagpaalam muna ako na… na I will pay you a v-visit for us to discuss our p-proposal for the Annual Camp. P-Pinayagan naman niya ako para d-dalawin ka,” pautal-utal niyang sabi.
Malamig naman dito sa garden pero bakit tila pawis na pawis siya no’ng makita niya ako? I clearly had no idea what was wrong with him.
“Hmm, okay. Sure!” I smiled. “So let’s go to the Study Room and talk about it. Kumain ka na ba?” tanong ko. If this was all because of the Annual Camp, I could get him inside our house. Isa pa, wala naman siyang magagawa sa akin dahil kung may plano man siya, kalimutan na lang niya at baka hindi na siya makauwi pa nang buhay!
“O-Oo. Pero, Helena… p-pwede bang? A-Ano… hmm… ‘yong ano kasi,” napapikit na siya sa pautal-utal pa rin niyang pagsasalita.
Naiinis na ako. What was really wrong with him that he still kept on stuttering?
“Alam mo, Cristoff? Wala akong time para mainis sa’yo but the way how you are responding to me now, nakakainis ka na… you kept on stuttering and I didn’t even know the reason why! If you wanted to tell something, then tell it to me straight away! If you’re worried about my parents na makita ka nila rito, don’t worry kasi pumasok na sa office si Daddy and… wala naman na akong mommy. Kung makiki-CR ka naman, may CR do’n sa Study Room. In fact, we have a lot restrooms here…” sabi ko. I couldn’t help myself but feel sad at the thought of mentioning my mother.
“I—I’m sorry for your mom, Helena. Pero… p-pwede bang magbihis ka muna?” He told me as he opened his eyes and looked away.
Everything felt like happening in a slow motion on what he said. Now, ako naman itong pinagpapawisan. My jaw literally dropped. It made my eyes wide open as I slowly looked down to see my entire body. Holy, crap!
That’s when I remembered that I only wore a pair of see-through blouse and pajamas… and because it was just a see-through, it looked like I was only wearing a two-piece red swimsuit matched with a transparent cover-up. Shit!
I immediately went inside our house and ran upstairs. Because of my adrenaline rush, I was able to reach my bedroom that was still located on the third-floor level. It was tiring but all I could do was run as fast as I could and to get away from him. I even forgot that we had an elevator here. I leaned my back against the door when I closed it, I closed my eyes as well.
Now I know why that jerk couldn’t help himself from sweating! Oh my God, he had the chance to see my precious body!
I knew I was still young, pero isa sa mga bagay na maipagmamalaki ko sa lahat ay ang pagkakaroon ng magandang hubog ng katawan sa murang edad pa lang. I had perfect and gorgeous curves despite being a teenager. Early-bloomer as they said.
Dahil nga hindi ako pwedeng maligo ay nagpalit na lang ako ng damit. Pakiramdam ko ay nanghina ako lalo no’ng tumakbo ako pataas. I forgot to use the elevator kaya talaga namang nakakahingal. I was still catching my breath up to now.
I called one of our maids using my intercom and she immediately came to attend to my needs. I had a personal assistant, Ate Paula, but she was currently on leave.
“Ate Mitch, pakisamahan na lang po ‘yong bisita ko sa Study Room. Doon na lang din kasi ako didiretso, thanks!” bilin ko.
“Ay, Ma’am… kausap po siya ng daddy niyo sa ibaba,” tugon niya na siya namang ikinalaki ng mga mata ko.
Did I even hear it right?
“Wait, what? Daddy is still here?” I asked her.
If Daddy caught me talking to Cristoff wearing my see-through stuff, I’m surely dead! my mind kept on screaming.
“Yes, Ma’am. Ang totoo nga po niyan ay si Sir Miguel po talaga ‘yong nagpapasok sa bisita niyo pagkatapos niyang sabihin na classmate niya kayo.”
“Ah, okay. Sige, makakalabas na po kayo. Ako na lang ang tatawag sa kanya sa ibaba mamaya, thanks po.” Alam kong mataray ako minsan, pero magalang pa rin naman ako sa mga katulong. I always talked to them properly.
Lumabas naman si Ate Mitch.
Few minutes went by, I decided to come out of my room and went to the garden. There, I saw my father talking to Cristoff.
Really? Daddy is talking to him? I narrowed my eyes when I overheard some of their conversation.
“She’s my princess, young man, so once you did something wrong that made her cry, I’ll find you and I will punch you harder than what you think. I could be a criminal in an instant, so you better not mess with my daughter!” I heard Daddy warned Cristoff as he let out a chuckle, showing his clenched fist.
And my father was even laughing, huh? What the hell is happening?