Peas in a Pod

"Two blessings sent from above. Twice the smiles, twice the love." 

— Annonymous

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It's a good day outside. The sun was warm and the clouds gave enough shade for those who didn't want the company of the heat. I walked under the bask of the sun, carrying with me three cups of coffee and doughnuts; one al capone, two matcha, and one filled with Oreo cream.

The streets were filled with students who had just been released from their school. I greeted some of them whom I knew and proceeded to walk towards the park. The place was quiet, with only a few people casually walking with their pets and a group of friends chatting by the meadow. The small number of tents scattered in the area was already occupied. One of the tents has one of the most important people in my life.

I walked towards the tent closest to the fountain with a huge smile on my face. "P'Vine, you're early."

"Wit!" she called out to me before clearing out the chair next to her. She removed her bag and placed it on the other stool so I could sit. "Come. I need to show you something."

I obeyed without hesitation after placing the coffee and doughnut on the table. The number of books and notes already scattered in it tells me she's been here for quite some time already.

"Don't you have practice? I was planning on fetching you after dropping by here."

"It got canceled. Which is good. We have new students in class today. I need to be there early."

"Kids?"

"Yes. Kids. What do you expect?"

"I'm afraid you'd say, teenagers. They are harder to handle than kids."

She laughed at what I said as though it was a very laughable joke on my part. "It's the opposite. Teenagers already know fear. Kids don't. I need to be extra careful teaching them else the parents chew me for being harsh."

"But teenagers might hit on you," I replied while handing her the Al Capone doughnut.

Vine accepted it with a huge smile, her dimples showing, blinding some passersby. As a Taekwondo trainer, Vine has more pronounced muscles on her thigh and arms. She was tall and fit, with stomach abs she never hesitated to show off when wearing casual clothes.

What attracts people the most is her eyes which seem to twinkle in amber under the sun. Her eyes are very expressive which is why I could tell right away that something was wrong as she looked slightly anxious despite the peaceful ambiance of the area.

I then looked around, my eyes scanning the area carefully and soon found myself dumbfounded when someone wasn't in my vision.

"Where's Thorn?"

"He was asked to play soccer. One of the players got sick and today is a very important practice for them. They're playing with the enemy school."

Vine started eating her doughnut while casually browsing through her laptop, looking for something. Taking momentary glimpses at the gates before viewing her folders once more. When she finally found it, she clicked the video and pulled me closer so I could see her screen.

"What's this?"

"I asked Thorn to edit the promotional video for the Taekwondo class. He sent two and I can't seem to figure out what's best."

Without delay, I checked both videos and all I could say was...

"Wow. Thorn did this?"

The cinematography was superb and the transition was smooth. I could even mistake it as one made by a professional. Vine nodded her head with a huge smile on her face.

A proud sister, that's what she is right now.

"He never fails to amaze, doesn't he?"

"Didn't he start learning to edit just recently? I saw him browsing through youtube for tutorials."

"I asked him two weeks ago and we started shooting videos soon after. He just finished it yesterday night."

What she said made me recheck the videos. Did he edit such a video in just two weeks of learning? Just how versatile is he?

"He never runs out of talent."

"He just learns too quickly." Vine corrected and I nodded soon after in agreement.

I'd say that's still considered a talent. A very useful talent he can equip in his life.

The whole family is glad Thorn is using this talent well. But at the same time, we worry for him. He is always asked to play different sports when they're missing one member because of how flexible he is. Once, he was asked to play basketball after a soccer match, and that almost drained the energy out of him. If Vine hadn't intervened and scolded him for deciding to take on such a taxing role, he would have played badminton next.

That's why we're always on the lookout. He's too vigorous when left alone. He doesn't know how to look after his health. So long as he can still do it, he will push himself to the limits and that scares us the most.

"He's just playing soccer, right?"

"I checked on him before coming here. They were already nearly done so I gave him a time limit. He needs to be here in---"

Vine then checked on her watch before looking at the gate. "3 minutes. Or I will fetch him myself and drag him by his ear."

I just laughed at her threat.

Right.

As if she could do that.

She loves her twin. She would never do that.

True, she's often harsh with her threats. But Thorn always gets away as long as he follows what she demands or brings her a cup of coffee as compensation. She's too soft-hearted when it comes to us, she'd never do such harm and humiliation.

After reviewing both videos a couple more times, I finally chose the second one.

"It had a heavier impact. The effect was better and the transition was way smoother than the first one."

Vine then rechecked both videos before giving me a thumbs-up for such a good review.

"I'll send it to P'Bank so he can post it on our page today. Hopefully, it will attract more students."

"Don't you have enough students already?"

"There's nothing wrong with adding more. The area is bigger now so we can accommodate more."

I nodded my head after remembering what she said during the family dinner last time. Their school was renovated and they hired more instructors to facilitate the training. With this, they are gaining more recognition especially since they hired Vine who is a national champion.

After sending the video to her senior, she began to focus on her notes and her coffee. Viewing this as my cue, I began taking out my notes as well and indulged myself in the comfort of sweets.

My focus was now on my written notes. I needed to study because we have a long quiz tomorrow and soon after, we will have a return demonstration for the next subject. I can't fail on anything or my scholarship will get revoked. I can't bear to be a burden to our parents.

"Studying already?"

We quickly turned our attention to the source of the voice and found ourselves facing a sweaty man who looked like he joined a triathlon. Vine was the one who immediately reacted to his appearance.

"Are you out of your mind, Thorn?! Why didn't you change your clothes?" Vine shrieked before getting up and throwing him a towel. "You're sweating like crazy. Did you run to get here?"

"I had to. You said I needed to be here by 4," he explained as he got squished in between the towels that Vine grabbed hold of.

"I didn't ask you to run! You're crazy!"

She began wiping away his sweat and began drying his hair. Meanwhile, I rummaged through the duffel bag he just placed on the stool and took out one of his extra shirts. I immediately handed it to him.

"You know you'd never get punished so you didn't have to run here. Now you look like a child getting pampered by Phi."

"What can I say? I like getting pampered," he replied to me before taking off his shirt.

Vine then hurriedly wiped the sweat on his back like a mother taking care of his naughty child who played relentlessly in the afternoon.

He indulged himself under her care and took his sweet time wearing his clothes. Aside from liking all the pampering, he seemed to like all the attention as well. The girls who were within our view were already drooling at his actions. What he did cause plenty of girls to focus their attention on him.

I could see hearts forming in their eyes as Thorn continued his little show. I merely shook my head at this before returning to my seat and grabbing hold of my notes once more.

"I brought your favorites."

"Thanks, Wit," he muttered before shoving a doughnut in his mouth.

The matcha doughnut was almost gone in an instant. It took him only one bite to make half of it disappear. Knowing just how big of an appetite he has, I brought two just for him.

While he enjoyed the food that I prepared, Vine and I began focusing once more on our respective studies. Thorn joined in after he finished his snacks and the tent was filled with nothing but silence and a couple of mumbling here and there.

As soon as I finished reviewing for the long quiz, I took a short break and allowed my eyes to linger around. The green scenery and the peaceful ambiance of the park were the solitude I needed to focus on. And nothing could beat studying with my siblings. Both twins were now busy scribbling additional notes and listening to some recorded materials sent to them.

People would think both of them only focus on their sports and hobbies because of how good they are at them. Vine was a taekwondo national champion and was even considered to play for the Olympics. That's her dream and it's within her grasp.

A lot of people advised her to focus on her training but Vine didn't listen and continued pursuing engineering in automotive design. She's good at her studies and very attentive to her time management. Like an idol, she handles studying, training, and instructing taekwondo classes at the same time.

Thorn is no better. His life is very busy because of how versatile he is. While he studies culinary arts, he also plays plenty of sports and works as a barista in one of our favorite coffee shops. People make jokes about him being a 'Jack of all trades, Master to none'.

But they're wrong.

They're all wrong.

He may be versatile but he is a master when it comes to culinary arts. He received plenty of offers from different sports divisions but he turned them down because he knew, he was equipped for cooking. His mind is always processing new information, he observes very well, his palate is on point, his artistic mind creates visually pleasing plating, and his work experiences allow him to grasp what the customers want. Coupled with his high-end social communication, he is the best in his department.

"Wit, you done?" Thorn asked me which made me return all my attention to him. Seeing me smile made him sigh and chuckle. "Man. No one can beat you in studying and memorizing."

"You're praising me too much."

"That's because you're too humble. You need praise like mine from time to time."

Because of Thorn speaking, Vine also placed down her notes and focused her attention on me. "Should I ask Ma to cook Laab for dinner?"

"What for?"

"I heard your internship list was out," she said with a huge smile on her face.

"Ohoi! Nam snitched again, didn't she?" I said referring to my best friend.

Ma and Pa make a big deal out of everything. I didn't want them to throw a party and invite the neighbors again just because I got top grades or got listed in the internship. First off, it's expensive to always throw parties like that. Second, I want such achievements to remain special to those special to me. That's why when our grades are out, I usually keep silent about it.

But here comes Nam, always snitching me to Vine.

"Nam is my best friend too. How can she not tell me?"

"Both your competitions are coming up. With the amount of training you're both doing, I'm sure you'll win. Let's just celebrate it then." I said.

Both of them are my pride and joy. Vine will be attending a Taekwondo competition a week from now and Thorn will attend a bartending competition.

I'm confident they will win. That's how much trust I have in their talent and their perseverance. The internship that I got will be nothing compared to their victory in those competitions. So, there's no need to make a big deal out of it.

"We will celebrate yours first."

Thorn muttered and looked at me seriously before flashing an endearing smile, urging me to go with what he wanted.

"Yours is as special as ours. And since your grades are out first, we will celebrate it ahead of ours."

I shook my head at his suggestion. Just thinking of the expenses made my head throb. Our parents may have money to spare but I don't want it to be spent on me. I don't want their wealth to be wasted because I know just how costly it is to send all of us to university.

"Let's just celebrate it together. It's less costly and it would mean more." I reiterated, hoping that they would listen to my request this time around.

Vine and Thorn looked at each other, communicating through their eyes, before sighing and giving me a nod.

"If you say so~"

The table was filled with silence once more. Thorn soon took out his laptop and began writing down pastry recipe ideas they were tasked to do for the semester. I watched the video footage they have detailing the progress of his new entree. Until now, I'm still amazed at how far he went through with his pastry entry.

Anyway, enough about that. I needed to focus on my notes now. Our professor for the long quiz is particularly hard to please and the quizzes she makes are all situational. Memorizing the notes would be helpful but not enough. I need to come up with situations myself that she would probably write for the quiz.

"Hui!! Look at the time. I need to go now!" Vine blurted out all of a sudden making Thorn and I immediately glance at our watch.

It was already 5:30 in the evening. I couldn't help but sigh at this as I realized how time passes by quickly whenever we study.

The three of us hurriedly packed our stuff and made sure that our table was clean. Once done, we started walking out of the park and took the path towards the Taekwondo center where Vine works.

"Phi, what time should we fetch you?"

"You don't have to. I'll just return home with P'Bank."

Thorn and I were quick to shake our heads in refusal. Nope. No way we're letting her ride someone else's car alone. She may argue that she's a Taekwondo champion, but we would still protest. She's our dearest sister and no matter what she says, we as her brothers should be the ones to protect her.

"We will fetch you. Period." Thorn imposed which made Vine sigh.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at us, her brows now raised in question. I took a step back, gulping down my saliva. When she sighs that hard, no one would be able to argue with her aside from her twin. I rest my case.

"And how will you do that? Your motorcycle is still under repair."

Thorn nodded his head at the information she relayed. She sounded sour when she mentioned the motorcycle. She must still be upset that Thorn entrusted it to someone else when she could have fixed it at our garage.

"I can borrow Pa's car."

Vine looked at him skeptically and so did I. Borrow the car? That would mean he needs to go home and get the car, but his shift at the café is already near. Unless he's a superfast superhero, he would never return on time.

"Are you Flash?" she asked before sighing once more. "It's much better for me to ride with P'Bank. It's more convenient."

"His house is far from us, how is that convenient?"

"He's the one who offers anyway. I should just take it this once."

"No way!" Thorn immediately said as though angry at the information she just said. "He's the one who always offers? That sounds suspicious."

Vine heaved another heavy sigh while I remained a spectator of this little argument that they were having. I consider it an argument now rather than a normal conversation because their voices are getting louder and louder the more words they blurt out.

"P'Bank is a senior I respect and he considers me a valuable asset in the training center and the school club. Of course, he would ask me for a ride when he sees I'm having trouble getting home at night."

"That's the issue. Why would he always offer when I always fetch you? There's no need to repeatedly offer a ride home when someone already has a ride home...when someone already has someone who fetches her on a daily basis."

I silently nodded my head in agreement. We indeed know Bank because he was Vine's senior when she was a freshman. He was the one who always endorsed her in Taekwondo competitions. We know him, but we can't be considered close to him because our interaction is limited. Vine trusts him blindly, but we don't know the man that much to just let him take her home.

Offering her a ride home all the time would lead anyone to believe he has affection for her—which is equivalent to intentions.

"I trust P'Bank."

"Well, I don't." Thorn insisted. "You will not ride home with him. We will fetch you."

"And I asked you already, how are you going to do that?"

"I already answered, didn't I? I said I would borrow Pa's car. End of discussion."

"You can't just arbitrarily end it like that. How are you going to borrow it when your shift is already up?"

"I will manage."

"Just how narrow-minded are you? You think I can't defend myself?"

"Whether you can or cannot, we would still refuse! He has ulterior motives!"

"I told you, he doesn't! I trust him!"

"And I don't!"

Their eyes soon flared up with anger. I sighed as they stared at each other with intensity, neither side willing to give up. This stubbornness is the very reason why an argument always erupts despite how much they love each other.

Now that they voiced their opinions, they would need someone to choose who was the right one. Of course, the spectator is always given the choice.

"WIT!"

Both of them exclaimed as they turned their furious gazes at me. I would have whimpered given how intense they are staring—but I'm used to this already. I was immune to their fury. This was sort of a daily routine now—a normality.

I could even call it a habit.

Whenever they find themselves stuck in an argument, no matter the opponent, they would turn to me. Begging me using their eyes to break whatever argument was building and handing them over a victory. In this case, though, I would have to let Thorn win. Vine is strong, but a brother would do everything to make sure she doesn't have to use that strength.

As her brother, I need to make sure she's safe enough and won't have to use her skills against others—because that would mean she's in a very dangerous situation.

"Phi, I'll fetch you later," I muttered which caused Thorn to flash a victorious smile.

I didn't appreciate what he did though. He only provoked Vine and caused her brows to rise up, bombarding me with questions without her having to say anything. Her expression was enough for me to understand that her anger wasn't quenched.

"My tutoring session happens to be near our place. I can just drop by our house before going to their house. I can also arrange a quiz so I can end the tutoring early and fetch you."

I thought what I said was enough for her to calm down, but it wasn't. I needed to offer more.

"We can fetch Thorn last and spend some time at the cafe. I'll brew you some coffee if Kai allows it later."

With the mention of coffee, her ears perked up. Very slowly, she nodded her head, surrendering to my offer. Thorn gave me a thumbs up and I flashed him a smile in reply.

"Let's go?" I said as I offered my arms to her. Vine took it without hesitation. She clung to my left arm, her face still looking dejected. But her aura was good enough to place a relieved smile on my face.

>>>To Be Continued