Chapter 5: The Seemingly Nice and Awesome Day

 CHAPTER 5:

 

The trip passed by-quiet and boring.

After a straight 8 hours, we finally got to our Baguio home in a place high in the mountains and deep in the coldness of the city.

After hours of light naps, I woke up seeing that we were already winding down a familiar slope with a signboard at the side of the road saying; “Green Meadows” and it was already deep in the night. Probably around 10 pm.

 

I have to say, the first time we went here, I really mistook the place for having actual meadows. And yeah, maybe I did throw a baby tantrum when I realized this was absolutely false advertising.

There may be some grass in the playground and in the nearby farm house, but the place was already full of small condos or houses. So yeah, I’m a bit disappointed.

Soon, we got past the sign and were heading up a steep slope that headed to a small village which housed condominiums that were for rent and other houses having their own owners.

Dad let loose a sigh, making both me and Skye look up at him with the same bored look.

“We’re finally here.” dad muttered under his breath as we turned into the corner where the condominiums were.

Currently, we didn’t own a house. Dad bought a condominium instead-which was a good choice considering all the houses I’ve seen here were pretty far apart from each other and gave off the feeling of ‘we hate people’.

Also, we had very nice neighbors. One of our neighbors would be Rickie- a guy a little older than me but enjoys accepting my challenges to him when it comes to playing Tekken. But now that I think of it, I’ve never beaten that guy once.

 

Dad parked the car in front of a long, two storey, cream colored building which had wooden doors far apart from each other. Once dad fixed his parking, he quickly pulled out of his seat and started to get things from the back of the car.

“Here Cyreen.” He called, throwing the house keys to me. “Open the house for us while we take up the luggage.”

I nodded once and sluggishly walked up the stairs, feeling wobbly and sleepy as I did.

Jeez, despite years of coming up here during nighttime, this feeling of dizziness just won’t go away.

After a few clumsy trips, I finally got to our condo which was at the farthest end of the hall.

 

Once I pulled the screen door, a white wisp seemed to slip past the corner of my eye. Instantly, I jumped and whipped my head to the place I saw the wisp with my arms tingling while my heart drummed on my ribcage.

Once I turned my head, I sighed heavily to see nothing around me. Just a few insects flying around.

“Damn, I must be exhausted.” I mumbled dreamily under my breath.

Taking a breather, a small growl escaped my lips as I punched the key into the door, pushing it open. And just in time, Skye arrived, his arms full of bags.

As I stared at my brother, I could swear another white wisp swept past the back of Skye’s head. Seeing me staring at him, Skye sighed heavily, giving me a good glare.

“Ah, sis, a little help is deeply appreciated y’know.” Skye growled. I blinked and shook my head, quickly heading to help Skye.

“Sorry.” I apologized. “I thought I saw something again.”

Skye stared at me then blinked. Just by his expression, I already knew he was feeling nervous. When he was about to ask, I heavily patted his shoulder with a smile.

“It must’ve been a bug though. Don’t worry about it.” I said and half-ran to the door.

“Oh, can you open the fuse box?” I called as I entered the house even with the lights off.

“Dad said it’s already on.” Skye called back from behind me. At that, I switched the light on and the lights blinded me for a bit. But soon everything was visible to me again.

 

The inside of our house was nothing special. We had the essentials-furniture, some pointless paintings of flowers, other decorations, a fridge and a small table attached to the wall.

You must’ve thought we had some kind of uber-mansion in this place.

Well, no. even before dad started the business and brought in some money for us, we still wanted to live the normal life a little.

 Our place had 3 rooms-the master’s bedroom which already had its own bathroom and small balcony, another room and a small bathroom.

The second floor also had another room which was originally smaller but dad had it expanded since it could’ve been used by our grandparents or other family friends. Apart from that, a small bridge also led to a small loft high over the door. (Skye calls it his modern tree house…haha…it’s my modern tree house.)

Dad says there are tons of rooms for us but, it just wasn’t the same to lie in the same room just to hang out.

Usually I like throwing myself all over the place since Skye always tried to own our room during the day. So, dad had a small bed put under the stairs.

And after a few months, I made a few of my own adjustments to the place and claimed that as my territory since the speakers I bought with my allowance were already there.

After taking a deep and all too cold breath, I headed out to help Skye and dad with the other things.

 

After we got settled in, we were in the middle of our pizza meal when the audible sound of another car arriving echoed through the night.

Quickly, Skye got off his seat, rushing to the door to see the other people that could possibly stay in our building too.

We don’t know why, but our village doesn’t usually have large numbers of families coming. That wasn’t a problem for me since the last time we had some neighbors renting, it ended with me and the family’s kid having a grudge which was to be settled with a turtle sprinting competition.

 

In the middle of his all too big bites, Skye mumbled something that resembled alien speak.

“What?” I called, getting up my seat to join him on the couch near the window or the ‘curiosity seat’ as we call it.

I then looked outside to see a tall guy emerge from inside a black SUV. My dad said it was a Hummer but, whatever. Cars aren’t my forte.

 

The guy that came out from the giant car had some kind of a rocker feel to him-exactly the kind of person Skye would idolize. And this person was also one you wouldn’t normally see in the Philippines. He had a pretty tall, lithe form and even from this distance, you could see how pale his skin is.

He had long, very messy black hair that was until his upper back and he wore black pants and a very fashionable white, knee-length trench coat paired with a red shirt inside. 

But even that wasn’t enough to show he was a rocker of some sort. He was even pulling out a guitar case from the backseat of his car before he locked it and made his way to the building opposite of us.

As I stared at his form disappearing up the stairs, I could’ve sworn he looked like someone I knew. From next to me, Skye swallowed his pizza and nodded as if he just confirmed something.

“So foreigners are here too huh?” he muttered as he stared at the guy with the same awe-struck eyes I had.

I pursed my lips. “Seems so…”

Right then, dad’s phone rang, making me and Skye blink and pull away from the window and turn to dad.

For a moment dad squinted at his phone’s screen and nodded once.

“It’s Fred.” He said to himself and pulled the phone to his ear before walking to the bedroom.

I knit my brows in wonder. “Fred?”

Skye nodded at me as he finished his pizza.

“Uncle Fred is dad’s office and childhood friend.” Skye explained, heading back to the table to take the last slice of pizza.

“Childhood friend?” I asked. “Then, why haven’t we been introduced? Well, you know him though.”

Skye shrugged his shoulders, staring at me.  “Well, dad only mentioned him not too long ago. I heard them talking on the phone before about some kind of business deal and this trip. Guess dad’s just gonna introduce us once they get here.”

I nodded once, pouting my lips a bit as I thought about dad’s friend. Usually he mentions them quickly. But then again, dad’s been acting strange since we told him about our dreams. Which reminded me-

“Hey, Skye.” I called, getting up my seat and walking to Skye who was now on the couch. “Have you noticed that dad’s been acting weird since we told him about those…things.”

Skye stared at me for a moment, looking like he didn’t know what I was talking about. But he remembered anyway.

“Ah, yeah. Now that you mention it. When you were sleeping during the trip, dad was mumbling to himself.” Skye said.

Now that’s something to worry about. “What was he saying?”

Skye knit his brows, trying to remember. “I think he was saying something about nursery books.”

Nursery books??

 I blinked at Skye, frozen with shock and confusion as the blood slowly drained from my face. Skye on the other hand stared at me with bored eyes, looking way too calm.

“Nursery books?” I asked, waiting for Skye to give some kind of reaction. He simply nodded at me.

I stared at my brother again, feeling worried now. “You think we spooked him a bit?”

Skye scoffed at me and finished his pizza, lying down the couch. “Wouldn’t be surprised if we did. Probably anyone would be creeped out by our stories.”

With a sigh, I sat back down when dad came out of his room with a smile on his face, looking giddy and bright all of a sudden.

“Well, Fred and his family are coming tomorrow.” dad announced sitting back on his chair and staring blankly at the now empty box of pizza.

“Why tomorrow?” Skye asked, sounding like he had nothing to do with all the food disappearing. Dad sighed, letting the mystery of the pizza slip off and just simply took a sip from his cup of OJ.

“Well, they had a little car trouble so they had to get it fixed and it’ll only be finished by tomorrow.” dad sighed, getting up with the pizza box and heading to the door to throw it out.

“By the way,” I called, “Why haven’t you told us about this Fred person sooner? Skye said he’s an old friend of yours.” I asked, propping my chin on the couch. Dad pursed his lips and smiled apologetically.

“Well, him and his wife only arrive from the states a few weeks ago and, since I’m so busy, we never got a chance to talk and also, I didn’t think you’d want to know about my friends.” Dad said.

“Hey, you ask about our friends all the time.” Skye fought. “It’s only fair we know about yours.”

“I agree.” I said and high fived my brother before we both stared at dad accusingly. He blinked at us, looking surprised at our words.

He chuckled at us. “Touché.” He simply said before going out the door and throwing out the trash.

Feeling bloated and sleepy, I let loose a yawn and headed straight to me and Skye’s room.

“You’re last. You clean.” I said, remembering our family rule of the slow eater.

From behind me, I heard Skye groan and mutter something about how stupid his appetite is before I went to the bathroom and took a bath, changing into my favorite white pajamas with blue clouds on them.

I went into the fairly sized room and climbed up the double deck bed, quickly snuggling into the thick blankets and letting it warm me up. in a few minutes, Skye entered the room wearing his sleep clothes as well.

“Are you gonna sleep?” he suddenly asked while prepping his bed.

With that question, I knew he was asking whether or not I’m prepared for the nightmares if there are new ones to come. I hesitated to answer my brother, staying quiet in bed. One part of me wants to say sleeping is the last thing I’d want to do. And another side of me says screw the nightmares, I’m gonna sleep.

But I simply chose the obvious choice. I blinked, staring at the white ceiling then gave a simple “Mhm.”

“Okay then. Night.” Skye simply said as I heard him pull into the covers after switching the lights off and pulling us into a deep darkness.

With a small sigh, I turned to the wall, a position I find extremely good for pulling drowsiness and hesitantly closed my eyes.

 

My eyes suddenly pulled open and from outside the thin curtains, I saw the early dawn colors of the sky and light fog settled above the wet road. For a moment, I thought I was in another country since it’s rare for me to see this kind of peaceful scenery.

Carefully and groggily, I sat up, groaning as I stretched on the bed like a cat, pushing out my arms and flexing my fingers and letting out a sigh of relief once I was done stretching.

This is one of the reasons why I love vacations. The feeling of peace and quiet adding to that, there was no hurry or thought of running around because of school.

And for some reason, I just love waking up early in the morning. Yeah, I know I said waking up early in the morning was a big pain. But that’s just during school days. Waking up like this during the holidays is really the best feeling.

I sighed, staring out the window.

“It looks good to take a jog.” I thought.

Soon, I pulled out of bed and headed down the ladder, careful not to wake Skye since he’s an absolute demon when you wake him up this early in the morning. The last time I accidentally woke him up, I got a taste of his ultra scary glare before getting scolded by him.

Usually I’m the one doing the scolding, but during the morning, I’ll admit Skye’s got the dominance.

With that thought, I quietly took my jogging pants and workout top and jacket, heading out the room and into the bathroom to freshen up. After that, I pulled open the curtains to let some light in and unlocked the door since dad was still sleeping.

Once my mp3 was on and the music was playing, I went out the house, ready for a morning stroll.

While walking, I couldn’t help but feel proud of our current village. Surrounding our building was a circular road that winded down then back up, leading to the village’s exit and entrance.

So, with the very few and rare passing of cars on the road, it was a good place to jog without worrying about getting run over. Apart from that, there was also a small playground at the center of the village. And since kids aren’t usually running around, I really like it there too.

So to sum up, this could very well be a haven for old people.

As I jogged my 3^rd lap, I took in my surroundings, relishing the cool fog while I exercised for the rest of the morning.

I got back home at lunch time, sweaty and exhausted as I wobbled to the bathroom with dad and Skye staring at me with surprised looks.

“Sis.” Skye called as he turned to me. “I know you’re a masochist but, really?”

I glared at him, ignoring dad’s chuckles and taking new clothes from the closet.

After a good shower and drying my hair, I headed back out again.

“Why are you so active?” dad suddenly asked, looking a little annoyed at my sudden want to stay out of the house.

I rolled my eyes at dad. “I love this atmosphere. When it’s this cold and the weather’s nice all at the same time, it’s better to stay out than in.” I said and left to house again.

But once I step a foot outside, I froze in my tracks, feeling my heart jump out of my chest at the surprise.

Standing face to face with me was someone I’d never thought of seeing in this place.

A tall guy stood in front of me, staring. He had brown, messy hair that had long bangs, some of the strands sticking to his forehead thanks to his sweat.

Pale skin and familiarly brilliant brown eyes that stared at me with absolute shock and disbelief, he was also wearing workout shorts and a white sleeveless tee that showed his muscular arms very well. And honestly, it’s amazingly hard to keep my focus. Not all guys look this good. (No offense guys)

He pulled the earphones from his ears and took a shaky breath.

“Cyreen?” he asked, looking like he was trying to actually see me.

“Hey, Christian.” I greeted, still not believing who I’m talking to. How the heck is it possible for him to be here?!

Usually kids in our school would go to places like Japan or even Russia for God’s sake. But why in the world would this guy choose to be in Baguio of all places?!

Right then, I could swear I heard Zazu from the Lion King singing ‘It’s a small world a~fter all’

Christian Salazar stared at me and laughed a bit, looking as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“W-what a surprise.” He stuttered, wiping his sweat and doing a very good job of looking embarrassed.

“Thank god I took a bath.” I suddenly thought, happy that I’m not as sweaty as he is. But then again, this look works for him. Actually, thinking about it now, anything works for him.

But I was just surprised. He’s not even giving the slightest sign of wanting to run away from me.

Usually guys (or anyone else for that matter) don’t like being around me since I’m…hmm, what did Charlie call it? Anti-social. Well, would you like it if people kept calling you “Siren! Siren!” and making weird high pitched sounds while you’re reading a great book? I don’t think so.

“Um, what’re you doing here?” I asked with a small smile.

“Oh, it’s just our usual vacation spot.” He said. “And besides, my parents are meeting someone here.”

“Oh.” I simply said and glanced out the railings, urgently thinking of a new topic. The weather’s good. Oh lord no. That’s a topic waiting to turn into a disaster. Wait, meeting someone?

“Your parents are meeting someone?” I asked.

“Yeah. My dad’s business partner or something.” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, where you going?”

I blinked at him and quickly shook my head, waking myself from my trance of staring at his hypnotic eyes. Seriously, it’s like seeing a TV star!

“Oh, just gonna take a walk.” I simply said.

Christian flashed a smile at me, showing his perfect white teeth. My heart skipped a beat. No wonder I had a crush on him.

Thinking about it now, usually this guy isn’t one to talk to girls much. He was a heartthrob but he kept away from the girls and as far as I know, he had few girlfriends since he jut focused on his studies more.

“I thought you hated going out?” he asked, tilting his head a bit as he crossed his arms. I knit my brows at him.

“I said that?” I asked.

I told him that? When? Actually….have we ever talked?!

Christian chuckled at me then took a seat on the vacant wooden chair next to him.

“I think almost everyone in school knows.” He said. “You’re pretty popular actually.”

Me popular? Yeah right. If I was popular, I guess it was thanks to my awesome skills of failing almost every math test given to me.

“I think you’re mixing me up with someone else.” I simply said, leaning on the wall and crossing my arms as well.

Christian shook his head at me. “Nah. You came in the school with a scholarship right? Music if I’m correct?” he asked. I blinked at him, surprised he knew that bit of information about me.

“Ah, yeah.” I simply replied.

What he said was true. I did only apply for a music scholarship. Actually, I didn’t even want to go to VA in the first place.

I thought it was filled with snooty, spoiled rich kids. (Which was true.) But they had the best music teacher.

Not only that, but the instruments were in top shape. Even the oldest organ didn’t have a speck of dust on it. Anyway, you must be wondering why I would apply for a scholarship in this school even with my dad having a good job.

Well, it’s simple. Our money wasn’t enough for them. Can you believe it? Not enough.

Mostly, people with ‘good blood’ or kids who are born in powerful families are the only ones who are most likely to easily enter the school in the easiest way.

And since my family had none of that, a music scholarship was my only way of getting in.

But it was a little hard though since there were many kids who made me think they were Gary Moore or freakin’ Beethoven since they were so good. I was probably not even in their league but, thankfully, I got in anyway.

Christian nodded at me as if hearing my thoughts then stood from his seat.

“Well, it was nice seeing you here. And a bit surprising.” He said. “Anyway, I gotta go.”

With a goodbye and last smile, he headed into the house right next to us. Well that’s another surprise and another thing to worry about.

It’s not really a problem. Most people would love being next to a good looking person. I guess it feels like a bonus in life. But it’s really nerve-wrecking to think that every time you leave the house, you might end up having eye contact with them.

And honestly, my heart can’t take that much excitement.

 

“You gotta be kidding me.”

 

A really embarrassing whimper escaped my mouth as I jumped, whipping my head back as frightened gasps left my mouth. Standing behind me was Skye who was staring ahead, probably where Christian was a few seconds ago.

“Jeez, don’t do that.” I growled, glaring at my little brother. He smirked at me then sighed, regaining his annoyed state.

“Why’s that guy here? Haa, and I here thought all annoyances stayed back in Makati.” Skye growled, crossing his arms in annoyance as a vein popped on his forehead.

I knit my brows at him. “Why do you seem to hate him so much?” I asked, feeling annoyed myself since my brother hates an innocent person.

Skye blinked at me then unexpectedly, his face went red. Quickly, his hand flew over his mouth and he kept his eyes averted from me.

I blinked at him and soon, I found myself smirking at my little brother. I think I know what this is.

“Ohh.” I grinned as I walked up to my brother. “Do you perhaps…”

Skye glowered at me, attempting his best not to blush.

I smiled a close-eyed smile. “…have a sister complex?” I asked.

Hearing the words ‘sister’ and ‘complex’ took its toll on him. His face instantly turned into a tomato and he wobbled.

Right now, I’m positive I could see the puffs of smoke jutting out from his nose and ears from embarrassment. Well, that’s my cute little brother for you.

“Wa-wa-wa-wa-whaaaaa?!!” Skye gaped, jumping in his place and turning even redder than possible as he covered his mouth.

I grinned at my brother, feeling satisfied I brought him to the brink of humiliation like this. He’s not a really good liar. Well, he’s good when it comes to others, but to me, he’s an absolute failure.

Skye glared at me, still blushing and whipped his head away, shoving his hands into his pajama pockets.

“I-I don’t have…that. SHUT UP!” Skye shouted angrily before zooming back into the house with impressive speed. I giggled to myself and headed out the building, a wide smile on my face. This just might be a great day.

 

“A great day huh?” I thought as I stared down at my ankle propped on a soft pillow while I sat on my bed.

Presently dad was bandaging my swollen ankle all the while muttering sermons under his breath while Skye was leaning on the doorway, smiling contently at my accident.

What happened exactly? Well, I was on my usual way to the playground. Just a normal relaxation mode but then…the pebble happened.

 I wasn’t looking ahead and amazingly, I fumbled over the pebble and over my own feet. And, to my luck, I was walking down a steep slope.

So, before I could roll down like a ridiculous log, I found my feet flailing all over the place and soon, my left ankle went numb and the most humiliating wail escaped my mouth.

 

Dad sighed at me, tightening the bandage and making my jaw fall at the sudden sting. I glared at dad a bit but he just countered with his better glower.

“Haa, what did I tell you about watching your feet?” dad said. “You know you lose balance easily. Despite being a dancer.” He added under his breath. I gave him another glare and sighed, leaning on my palms on the bed.

“It’s not my fault there was a pebble there. I don’t control the earth.” I muttered, pouting. Honestly, even if he was mad, he didn’t have to glare at me all the time.

After making a knot, dad pulled himself up and let loose a breath.

“Well with that injury you won’t be able to move much.” dad said. “You can walk but only for short lengths. Understand?”

I nodded at doctor/dad and once he left, letting Skye enter. A growl escaped my throat before I grabbed a pillow and started punching it in frustration.

 Of all the days I could lose my ability to walk, god chooses now?! During summer vacation?!

As I hissed curses at the innocent pillow, Skye stared peculiarly at me. I looked up at him and growled. One of my many talents.

“What?”

Skye stared at me then cocked his head back. “Well…it’s nothing.” He muttered. “Just that I saw this coming.” He said pointedly.

I stared blankly at him, resisting the urge to rip that smirk off his face but sighed, plopping myself on the bed.

“Shut up.” I simply said, staring up at the ceiling.

Skye made a face then sighed, shaking his head. “Well, at least I won’t have to hear your noisy, squeaky shoes.” Skye said before climbing up his bed, the sounds of his DS turning on filling the room.

After a few hours of me lying in bed and sometimes literally crawling all over the place, dad suddenly told us to wash up change into casual clothes.

 

“Why?” Skye asked despite already heading to the bathroom.

 

Dad was already dressed up though. Right now he wore simple blue pants and a blue button down shirt. No matter how many times I tell him to try and look more fashionable, he just points to his favorite blue shirt and says: “this is fashion.”

While dad looked in the mirror, brushing his hair, he said: “Fred and his family arrived this lunchtime. But they left to go grocery shopping first.” dad explained.

“Fred called and asked if we were interested in having dinner with his family in RoseWood. So, since we are good friends who haven’t seen each other in a while and we currently have a business deal to discuss, I figured, why not?” dad said with a small smile as he headed back to the bathroom.

I stared blankly after dad and so did Skye. My brother then looked up at me then to my ankle.

“Exactly.” I sighed.

My ankle was feeling fine now but there’s still some stings now and again. But, I’d rather not go with them.

 

RoseWood was some kind of camp where people gather to eat at the new restaurants, buy clothes from the small shops, hiking gear, souvenirs and such. There were also areas to play golf. Not only that, RoseWood was famous for being a meeting place for people from the government and from other famous people.

If I’m correct, there was talk of some Olympic winners and champions having a gala at one of the camps’ hotels not too long ago.

 But to me, the best attraction in RoseWood was that you could ride horses. For free and you could ride as long as you want, but under the condition that your horse likes you, or you know how to dodge flying squirrels and other flying creatures.

But, despite those nice thoughts, I really didn’t want to go. Since first, it’s already past 4 pm and I’d rather stay home during the night. Plus, there is the state of my ankle.

“By the way dad,” Skye called, “What’s uncle Fred’s last name?”

From the bathroom, dad answered- “Salazar.”

At hearing the said name, I froze, feeling my blood go cold as I flinched, turning my head to Skye.

“Well, that’s a coincidence.” I said loudly, leaning on the doorway.

“My classmate’s last name is Salazar.” I smiled, immediately seeing Christian’s face in my head.

“Oh really?” dad called as he came out the bathroom and walked towards me.

“Then that’s probably Fred’s son. Christian Salazar.” Dad said ominously as he walked past me and to the living room.

At hearing Christian’s name, I blinked and froze. Still processing the new information I have possessed.

So, Uncle Fred-dad’s good friend/ business partner, also, Christian’s father. Uncle Fred invited us to have dinner with his family. That means Christian’s there too.

Finally, I blinked, tilting my head and raising my brows while nodding slowly. “Huh.”

While dad turned on the TV, he looked to me. “What’re you doing? Get dressed.” Dad said and turned back to watch the news.

With that, I hesitantly went into my room and pulled out some clothes then stared at them. Well, I’m not really doing anything. It’s quite boring here at night. The problem is I’m sure I’ll be looking like a boy. I don’t wear skirts, dresses, heels or even sandals. And it’s just amazing to see women running in heels. How do they do that without dying?

“Oh well.” I mumbled.

And with that, I got a bath and changed into my usual comfy clothes- black jeans, a black shirt saying: “Fall Out Boy” paired with Skye’s grey jacket that had sleeves all too long for my own arms. After putting on some bracelets and my favorite rose necklace dad gave on my 13^th birthday, I was ready to go.

With a look in the mirror, dad’s voice yelling: “Let’s go” from outside, and my inner girly-girl saying: “You look horrible”, I was finally done and headed out the room and out the front door, ready for perhaps, the worst night of my teenage life.

Author's Note

I wish to hear what you think. :3