2 Welcome to Philippines

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Local time is five o'clock and seven minutes in the morning and the temperature is 37 degrees Celsius.."

Upon hearing the pilot's words before landing, Ciara opens her eyes. She can see the other passengers taking the precautions that the pilot follows to announce. She breathes, deeply. Now, she has no choice, but to stay in this place. The Philippines. She has heard a lot about this country, but she still barely knew about it.

["Your mom will fetch you there."] She remembers what her dad said. After how many years, she is meeting her mother for the second time and she doesn't know how to react around her. It is not because she has a grudge or anything negative against her. She is just not used to having a mother since a kid. She lives only with her dad and she knew the reason why they ended up living apart.

Ciara fastens her seatbelt and leans more comfortably. She closes her eyes and will be waiting for something more to come in her life here in a foreign country. Hoping, everything would be good.

After a while, Ciara finds herself following a path where most of the passengers pass. She is not familiar with this airport so, she has to go with the flow. She drags with her a black big suitcase and backpack. After a series of walks, she arrived, finally at where might be the waiting area. She sees passengers hugging those who were waiting. Good luck. She has to find her mom and she started to roam around her eyes.

"Ciara Pilar!" Someone shouts and his voice stands out because it was huge that making the people stare including her. He is a young man maybe, a bit taller than her. He is wearing a sleeveless hoodie shirt which makes his muscles visible and blue shorts with a pair of white shoes. She can tell that he is a good-looking guy. "Ciara Pilar," he shouts again, louder.

[Ciara Pilar.] She repeats it in her mind. [Pilar?]

"Cia—

"Hey!" She shouts back. She thought, it was just a different person having the same name as her. She runs to him immediately to make him stop and he did.

"There you are," he says, smiling letting his dimples say 'hi' to her. "Joseph. Still, remember?" He tells when she didn't move away her eyes were on him.

"Can barely remember."

"Ouch, Sis!" He laughs acting like a gay. Curse his muscles. "Kidding." He gets her baggage and gestures that they are going to leave. "Your mom is excited to see you," he says in a singing tone while they are walking.

Ciara knows that he is her cousin here in the Philippines, but can hardly remember his face. He is a total grown-up man, now compared to a thin crying little boy before. Only one thing didn't change. He is still bubbly and his face looks happy as always.

"Hey. Nothing has changed in you. Still the same. Still a silent bomb?"

Her forehead creased at his words. He still remembers those days when she traveled with her aunt, secretly just to see her mom.

"Noisy as always," she comments and it makes him laugh.

"We've got a lot of things to catch up and I have a lot to tell you."

She smiles. "Good to know. Just make sure, it won't make me bored."

"Aye, aye, Darling." There he goes with a pet name she doesn't know how he came up with.

When they are out, finally, she sees someone waving at them.

Joseph peeps at her face. "Don't tell me, you can barely remember her?"

She didn't answer. Just a smile forms on her lips. For how many years that she has not seen her, now, here they are. She didn't expect a tight hug from her mom, once they came near.

"God! You are really here," her mom exclaims between little sobs. She can almost tell the level of her excitement, but she didn't move and just let her mom have the moment.

"Hi," she tells her when she lets go. She sees those tears from her mom's cheeks, but she didn't bother to mind. It doesn't mean, she didn't care. She is unexpressive when it comes to feelings and her mom knows it. She gives her a little smile. "Poor woman."

Her mom pouts by that.

After an hour of sleep, she finds herself fully recovered from four hours of road travel. She has not expected that the Philippines has a lot of cars, despite its size. Just looking at unmoving cars, made her tired as someone drugged her with some sleeping pills. She sits on her bed and the cold air from the aircon meets with her face. She chooses to lean against the bed's headboard. Her eyes were skeptical about her new room. Things inside are just too girly and even the designs. She is wondering who designed all of these kinds of stuff? She mentally, slaps her face. Girly things are not her nature at all. It makes her sick the fact that being too girly makes you look like a weak creature in front of a beast. She heaves a sigh. Her mom seems not to know things about her aside from the truth that they are biologically related. How funny!

[Just wait till I gain all my energies then, I will have a rampage with these kinds of stuff.]

Someone is knocking.

"Ciara?" It is Joseph.

"Come in."

He did as she told him. He smiles at her like he always does while she throws him no reaction. She has just woken up and her blood is just starting to flow in her veins.

"How was sleep?"

"Good. Didn't expect that the Philippines has gained a lot of cars."

He laughs. Ciara was too young when she visited the Philippines and that happened only twice which the second one turned into a disaster. It was not that too crowded before and also, it was in the province not in this city.

"That is okay. There's a lot that you still have to know." He smiles again. He is not a smiling person especially, when he is at school. He doesn't like girls clinging around him. "By the way, here." He gives her a book and it is a bit thick.

Ciara accepts it noticing there is no title on it. She tries flipping on some pages then, frowns. There are a lot of pictures taken by the group and there is something written at the bottom of each. She looks at Joseph.

"What is this for?" She shows him the contents.

"Aunt Clara told me, you're going to school with me," he says, directly making her eyes narrow.

"What? I don't remember agreeing on things like that!" She becomes serious at once like she feels her blood flows fast, suddenly. There is no agreement that she will go to school. Not ever again, but what is this, now? "They planned this?" She doesn't need to ask if Joseph is just joking. He looked serious when he said it. The idea of going to school again and being with sick humans makes her go berserk. She thought, she is just going to unwind and this place was the best choice. "Where is Clara?"

"Ah." Joseph knows she is already mad and he didn't expect it this way. Clara has not told him she would be like this. "She went to school." She stared at him. "Well, the public school where she is teaching."

"I'm gonna talk to him later, but first, what is this?" She raises the book.

"It has the list of gangsters in and out of our school."

"I have nothing to do with this." Ciara stands and pushes the book to Joseph's chest, the latter holds it.

"It's just for your safety so, that you'll know who to not—

"I don't give a fuck, Joseph. You know what that means?"

He was surprised by that. It is like going to school is a big deal for her. Annoyance is visible in Ciara's eyes and this made him think that she has changed. Was she bullied back then, is what he wanted to ask, but he knows it is not the right thing to do, now.

Ciara on the other hand can feel Joseph's confusing stares. It is as if he has seen hulk transformed. She breathes, deeply.

"Never mind about what I said. Anyways, it seemed you don't know about this. Good for you." She brushes her burgundy long hair and paces to the glass windows. How she wants to be mad right now, but she has to hold great control of it.

"Sorry. I didn't know," Joseph says, genuinely.

"You don't have to. They planned this behind me," she says, coldly which made Joseph repeat her tone inside his head. He heard it right.

[Why does it feel like she can kill with a single word?] Joseph didn't remove his eyes from Ciara. Too far away from her looks.

"I'm hungry." She faces him and then, walks towards him. The next thing she does, he didn't expect. She pats him on the head then, smiles. "Don't overthink. You'll soon figure out things." Again, she surprises him. Could it be that she has read what he was thinking?

"What?" That is all that he manages to say.