19 Chapter 19: The non-existent love of a father
His brother replied to him with a cold stare telling him to just shut his mouth up. But he smiled at him like he was sincere in apologizing for his mistake and luckily, Talin returned the smile. Now they were walking as if nothing happened earlier. His brother's grin turned into a smile in a blink of an eye. He let out a snort.
"Here, Kuya." He said as he handed the lunch bag he was carrying to Talin. After a fight, he would call his brother "kuya", it was a Filipino term for showing respect to an older brother.
"Thank you for this, shall we?" He asked, smiling.
"Why does it seem like he is not my kuya? We fought a lot but neither of those arguments has he forgiven me." Gayo curiously thought at the back of his head and was certainly believing that his brother had changed his personality. Not even Mrs. Cuevas disagreed with him. She thought he was correct.
"All right," Gayo replied with a smile. His brother's smile was infectious because aside from his masculine body and his towering height, he also has a nice set of teeth. Blame him for his perfect appearance.
In case you didn't know, Gayo owns a handsome face too. However, his thin body cannot be compared with his brother's. Not even a chance for his crooked teeth. He once told his mom that he would get braces but Orinia didn't have any money to give her son a way of overcoming his insecurity. His mother's salary only pays for their rent and needs. Nor did they know anything about their father. Orinia if being asked constantly switches moods. Isn't it confusing?
When Talin and Gayo were born, their father never showed up, not even a shadow. Despite the fact that Mrs. Orinia Cuevas raised them wholeheartedly and full of love, this has not caused them to not ask about their father. Yes, when being asked she either switches moods or switches topics. That is how she handled her sons questions for more than a decade.
To keep his thoughts away, Gayo, opened up a topic about it while they were at a slight close distance to his school.
"Kuya? Do you still think about asking Mama about Papa?" He politely asked. Those words made Tal break from his walking pace.
"Ma told me it was a long time since he died." He answered based on Mrs. Cuevas answers on the night when he was curious and asked her about their father.
"Yeah, It's pretty obvious because if not why wouldn't he come looking for us."
They had already gotten inside Maguikay National High School.
"You can go with me to Mrs. Reyes if you want to" Tal said as he continued to speak softly.
"Nah, I'm good bro besides we see each other almost every day," Gayo answered.
While walking to Mrs. Reyes' office Tal encountered a bunch of high schoolers chatting before the flag ceremony started.
"Wait? Is he the bullied Talin Cuevas? The girl from the left side murmured.
"Can you give me the list of the students who bullied him? I'll kick their asses off." The girl from the middle added.
"Isn't Gayo's brother so handsome? Not even that! Take a look at his uniform and not just focus on his face"
"I know right! He was the salutatorian of his batch but the point average of him and the valedictorian were so close."
"I heard the valedictorian threatened him to post his fatty pics online if he beats him in the final exams."
"For real girls? Poor Talin but it's okay though. He's been hurt and look at him now, probably the greatest glow-up I've seen in my life."
"He served as my stress reliever for today's clubbing."
On his way closer to his high school teacher's office he met her in the stairways.
"Taliiinn my favorite student, you finally came." Mrs. Reyes said, giving her hand to Talin as he gave her a "bless or a mano". A Filipino gesture of paying respects to older
people.
"You have become much much more handsome Hijo. None of my students whom I taught after you can beat your intelligence and enthusiasm in academics."
"Ohh come on Maam! How can you fake a compliment like that?" He laughed.
"Mission failed, Is that so?" Mrs. Reyes joked.
"Ah, is that truly so?" Tal wondered, scratching his head.
The two of them laughed until they got into Mrs. Reyes' office.
"Take a seat Hijo, how have you been?" She asked.
"I'm great Maam, how about you? Do you still teach by holding a stick in your hand to scare your students? Haha" He jokingly said, it was a relief for him that Mrs. Cuevas talked to him about Mrs. Reyes.
"Yes and still, it works." She winked and laughed loudly that it echoed in all of the corners of her office.
Tal glanced at his watch and was surprised to see that it was almost past eight in the morning. His class starts at nine and he would have to wait for a bus to arrive for ten minutes.
"Maam? It was nice talking with you again but I need to go, my class starts at nine." He spoke to his favorite teacher.
"Ohh I see, It was nice seeing and being able to talk to you again like this Hijo, take care and be motivated in yourself always!" Mrs. Reyes responded as she bid farewell to her student.
He had left the office, he was now walking outside the school gate to wait for the bus to arrive. As he was sitting in the waiting shed he saw buses that offered "libreng sakay" which means the bus was up for a free ride on its certain route. He was glad he could save some two dollars. It was his first time riding a normal bus because he used to ride the Wellington U's bus. The bus seldomly has ten passengers in the day due to the fact that most students have their own cars or family cars that can take them to the university.
