CHAPTER 2: Turning It Upside Down

[Feigh]

 "Who was that guy? Why does he felt so familiar? Have I really met him before?"

I kept asking myself these questions as I walked towards the gate where my brother was waiting. 

When I was only a few meters away from where he was standing, I immediately removed my earphones and slowly walked towards him. 

He probably heard my footsteps that's why he turned around and faced me. "Finally! You realized you had to come here." 

"Of course. Even if it's against my will." I answered monotonously before letting out a sigh. 

He scoffed before sitting on the nearby bench. "You find it weird, right?" He asked while removing his jacket. 

"Huh?" I raised a brow before deciding to sit beside him. 

"Don't act like you're clueless." He looked upset so I decided to surrender. 

I chuckled and said, "Okay. Okay. It's really weird that Dad chooses to commission some random driver instead of just driving us home."

"Argh. It really sucked. He should have bought me a car so that I can drive us home without waiting here for some random chauffeur to--" He didn't finish what he was going to say when I suddenly pulled him up, making him stand forcibly. 

"Resume your rantings when we're already inside," I said as I pushed him towards the blue truck which stopped in front. 

He darted to me his deadly glare, but I only ignored it. I continued pushing him even if he tried to fight back. 

I sat next to him when he finally took his seat. I'm on the right side while he was on my left. He became quiet so I chose not to bother him anymore. 

I would have been glad for the silence when he suddenly spoke up. "I can't keep myself from being quiet..." he stated out of the blue and paused. His mood, then, shifted from being cozy to intriguing. "... and from being curious about your hidden agenda earlier," he continued, causing my furrowed brow. 

"So you're playing the detective card again?" I faced him and I witnessed his smirk. 

"It looks like my younger sister already memorized the actions of her older brother." He proudly remarked. 

"Should I consider that as a compliment?" When he heard it, his smirk was replaced by a beautiful curve on his lips. Wait, did I just praise him? I shook my head for what I thought. 

"Do you have any plans to leave this truck?" I only snapped back into reality when the person next to me spoke. The way he said those words was a bit sarcastic, so I couldn't help myself from rolling my eyes while forcibly standing up from my seat.

He got off the truck first, as expected from someone who was not born to be a gentleman.

When I got off, the truck also immediately left. I followed it with my eye but when it was about a meter away from me, I was surprised to see the person whom I'd bumped into was sitting next to the driver.

"Feigh! You seemed spaced out. Any problem with the truck?" I looked at the person who spoke.

"N-nothing. Let's just go inside. Mom must have been waiting for us," I said while clinging to his arm.

"Oh, what took you so long?" Mom's face was frowning when she asked us.

I kissed her cheek before answering, "I just finished something."

"Just admit that you're secretly meeting someone so you can let me wait in boredom," my brother mockingly answered, so I glared at him.

"Look! She's giving me glares for telling you the truth," he added while pointing at my face.

"Aish!" I mumbled as I rushed towards my room. I can no longer bear his teasing.

When I got inside, I immediately placed my bag on my study table. I took a shower and then dressed in pajamas before doing my homework. 

While I was answering, I suddenly remembered the journal which Zy gave. If you're wondering how I brought it home, well... I initially placed it in my locker, but because of what Jiana said, I felt sorry for what I did. So when she finally walked out, I secretly took the journal and quickly placed it in my backpack. After that, I entered the classroom. But up to now, I kept on asking myself why he chose to give me this journal. I pondered the possible answer until mom called me to help her set the table for dinner. Because of that, I rushed to the kitchen to make it up for her.

After helping mom, I called my older brother and Dad to eat. I'm already sitting at the dining table, and my brother was the one sitting in front of me. His face shows that he wants to continue annoying me, but I chose to ignore him. 

"How's school?" Dad suddenly asked. Maybe he couldn't stand the silence between us. 

"It's as usual, Dad." I volunteered to answer because the one facing me is not willing to join the conversation-he even pretended to enjoy the food just to make it look like he couldn't answer Dad's question. And when he heard me answer, he even smiled. Goodness! If only my stare could kill him, he might have been long dead.

"Did you hear that, hon? Our children are already doing well here, so you have no other reasons to transfer them." Dad's eyes turned to mom, but she was not affected by his statement. 

But wait, what did Dad mean? Are we really moving again?

Dad continued to gaze at Mom-- a gaze that demands an answer from whoever it was pointed to. Mom probably could not stand it anymore so she decided to speak up, "Whether you like it or not, I will transfer one of them somewhere closer to my new workplace."

"And you'll really follow that naive idea of yours? Even without my permission?" Dad's tone suddenly changed, causing me and my brother to stop eating.

After hearing it, Mom suddenly stood up. "Have you ever forgotten that you don't have any rights in this family ever since you brought that illegitimate child of yours here?" Mom said furiously while pointing at my older brother. The latter lowered his head to the floor, probably out of shame.

Now, I can finally understand why Mom was being indifferent to him. Every time she looked at him, there was a glimpse of disgust. That would also explain why we don't share similar facial features. It's because we're only half siblings. He looked like he had a foreign blood, while I did not. 

"And you're bringing that again? I thought you already accepted him as your son?" Mom got even more upset after hearing his statement.

My brother couldn't bear to witness their raging argument, so he stood up from his seat. I followed him with my eyes before I decided to do the same. 

But the moment that I took a step away, Mom suddenly yelled at me. "And you!" She pointed at me. "Hurry up and pack your things. We'll be leaving this house, right now!"

After hearing it, I rushed to my room and immediately followed her order. I was out of breath when I got inside. I immediately locked the door and sat on my bed to grasp some air. It took me a minute or two to finally calm myself. 

I started packing and while doing so, I could not help myself from letting out a deep sigh. Just the thought of leaving this house actually made me feel sad. It's because we're like throwing away the good memories we had as a complete family. Other than that, my brother and father will only be left here. 

Who would really think that my family would be this messed up? I used to think that it was perfect, but I was wrong. I guess, there's no such thing as a perfect family. I sighed at that mere realization. 

I grabbed my old suitcase which was hidden underneath my bed. It was covered with spiderwebs and dust so I removed all of those. Then, I slowly opened it, just to make sure that no cockroach was living inside. Luckily, there was not even a single one. Finally! I can use it again.

After that, I decided to get my clothes. I did not waste any more time selecting which clothes to bring because I'm not really interested in dressing up. The only important thing for me is that I have clothes to wear.

And speaking of my uniforms, I chose not to bring it along-- it was actually a cute uniform: a white blouse with a black ribbon matched with a chickered gray mini-skirt. That's why I was hesitant not to bring it, at first. But I guess, I should leave it here.

When I realized that I had already gotten all the clothes that I would be bringing, I started folding and stacking them inside my suitcase.

I was nearly finished with my packing when I looked at my study table. I saw the journal which Zy gave me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling when I remembered how I got it. So, I decided to include it in the things that I will be bringing with us when we leave. 

I was already closing my suitcase when someone suddenly knocked. "Just a minute," I said before rushing to open the door. 

When I turned the knob, I was a bit surprised to see my older brother. I did not expect him to pay me a visit, especially right now when I was busy packing my things. So I became hesitant at first, whether I should let him in or not. It took me a few seconds before I finally decided to just let him in. 

When he entered my room, his shoulders immediately slumped. It's probably because he saw my luggage on the bed. "Are you sure you're really going to leave like that?" He frustratedly asked. His face told me that he did not expect the scene earlier. He was still standing when he said those words, so I motioned him to take a seat but he refused.

I nodded at him in response, which further made him frustrated. I was disappointed at myself when I saw his reaction. I wish I could say that I won't be leaving with mom. But I guess, I don't have the courage to do that. I just hope he would realize that we are still a family, despite the revelations earlier.

Wait! Since he's here, I should take this opportunity to ask him about what he had mentioned earlier. I mean, I deserve an explanation from him. "By the way, how did you know about earlier?" I questioned him before I sat on the bed. 

"What about earlier?" He said while leaning on my study table. I guess he wanted to act clueless but his expression tells me that he already had the hint of what I'm saying. Tsk. Does he really want me to specify?

"You know what I mean," I said while crossing my arms and rolling my eyes.

"Ahh! That one," He said as if he had successfully recalled something. 

He massaged his chin and continued, "Hmm. Just a guess?" That wasn't the answer I was hoping to hear. Also, he sounded like he was so full of himself. 

"Oh, really?" I asked him just to clarify. He only nodded to me which made me more suspicious of him. "Are you sure you did not follow me?" He nodded his head again, which annoyed me even more.

"Wait! Don't tell me that my hunch is right?" He sounded as if finally he made a right guess. "You actually met with someone!" He chuckled which made me think that he was already mocking me. 

"No! I mean, kinda. But it's only Wandough. Besides, you know he's gay!" I rebutted. 

"You sure?" His eyes turned to slits as if starting to question my credibility.

"Of course!" I cut him short.

"Then, why did you sound a little bit defensive?" There he goes again with his baseless accusations, so I rolled my eyes in response to his nonsense question.

When he saw my reaction, he finally surrendered. "Okay. Okay," He said while raising both of his hands. "But I still doubt that Wandough guy-or gay-as you've said," he explained while motioning his hands in the air.

"And why so?" I asked, demanding him an explanation 

"I dunno. Maybe just a gut feeling," he said while shrugging his shoulders. "So now, tell me. You two were just friends, right? And nothing more?" he further clarified.

"Of course. Besides, he's attracted to men!" I retorted. 

"Really?" His gaze became more questioning as he crossed his arms and took a few steps towards my spot. 

"Hmm..." I nodded. 

"For real?" I became even more conscious when he brought his face closer to me. So I was left with no option but to push him.

"Ouch!" He remarked while still holding his back. Maybe I had pushed him so hard, that I almost broke his backbone. "I didn't expect you were this strong," he muttered as he tried to smoothen his pajamas.

"I guess, I should leave. I hope you'll be safe on your trip," He said as he turned his back from me. "By the way, I deserve some visit from you soon so I can return the favor," he added before leaving my room. 

••W••

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, songs, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.