I wanted to help Kel sa tuition fee niya. Nag-check ako sa school website kung magkano na ang magiging matriculation fee namin, and I calculated all of my units na sure ding ite-take ni Kel, and the total fees including the rest of the school fees, umabot ng 97 thousand plus ang dapat bayaran.

I checked my debit card. May laman pero one hundred thousand lang kasi ang limit ng card ko. Hindi 'yon nasosobrahan mula pa noon. Kukulang pero never na sosobra. Kaya nga minsan lang din akong gumastos kasi may mga project kaming sobrang mag-cover ng expenses.

Tingin ko, enough naman ang one hundred thousand para utangin kay Daddy Coco.

Tita Ram is rich. Pero ayokong manghiram kay Tita Ram kasi sure na ipo-forward niya lang ako kay Ahia Zhi kaya auto pass.

I could persuade Papa Rico, but I was certain that he'd ask me about Kelley, so pass din.

Si Daddy Coco ang best option ko for now para utangan.

I visited his workshop sa Imus, and I guess his day was busy kahit nine in the morning pa lang.

Ang workshop ni Daddy Coco, isang buong townhouse na ang ibabang part ay puro lang gallery ng mga furniture and fixture. Highly influenced si Kuya Chan-Chan kay Daddy Coco kaya nga napunta sa pottery ang kuya ko.

Ang daming kalat na scraps ng kahoy sa sahig. Ang daming alikabok. The tables were full of different cuts of wood and cans of paint and varnish.

I was covering the lower half of my face para hindi ko ma-enhale ang mga particle sa hangin. The whole place smelled of wood and lacquer. I could hear the wood cutter machine kaya sure akong may work nga si Daddy Coco ngayon dito.

Sumilip ako sa cutting area niya, and I saw him cutting a huge chunk of log. His whole face was covered with a transparent face shield, and he was wearing a filter mask. Naka-black sando lang siya and denim jeans. His gold D pendant on his necklace was hanging in the air, and it reminded me of Kel's similar style of necklace but with a different letter.

Daddy Coco is a muscled guy, and I could still remember bringing him sa school ko dati just to tell everyone that I have a good looking daddy. I even had a memory of Daddy Coco wearing a Superman shirt, and all of my classmates in elementary school assumed him to be the real Superman. Biggest flex ko 'yon during my elementary days. Naging friend ako ng lahat because of that.

"Daddy Coco!"

He stopped cutting and turned his head around to see me. Pinatay niya agad ang machine kaya biglang tumahimik sa cutting area.

"Aw, good morning, baby!" Daddy Coco greeted me in his manly voice. Inalis niya ang mga cover sa mukha niya at nagpunas ng mga braso gamit ang towel niya sa balikat.

"I miss you!" I welcomed him with a bear hug. Cody said I'm getting bigger, but Daddy Coco's huge, hunky body made me feel like I weighed like a ten-year-old kid.

"How's my princess?" He gave me a hard kiss on my temple and cupped my cheeks. "I'm happy that you're not pregnant."

"WHAT?!"

Daddy released a masculine laugh. "Hindi pa ako ready magkaroon ng baby ang baby ko."

"Eighteen pa lang ako, Daddy! Wala naman akong boyfriend!"

"You should be." Inakbayan ako ni Daddy Coco saka kami lumabas muna sa garden niya sa backyard na nagbabago ang landscape every time na bumibisita ako, like ngayon.

"Bakit ako dinalaw ng baby ko?"

I grinned and gave him puppy eyes. "Daddy . . ."

"Um-hmm?" He was judging me with his eyes now.

"Pautang po ako."

Then we stopped walking.

"Pautang? Bakit po uutang?"

"Kasi yung friend ko, wala pa siyang pang-enroll. Sabay sana kami. Kaso wala pa siyang pambayad. So I thought I'd lend him kahit one hundred thousand lang muna para sabay na kaming makakuha ng schedule."

"Him." Daddy Coco gave me a side-eye. "Is this the Moreno guy na kasama mo sa laboratory?"

Oh my god! I winced. "Did Cody tell you about Kelley?"

"Kelley. All right. Now I got the name, at last."

"Daddy, we're just friends. Saka kilala siya ni Naynay!"

"Ano sabi ni Naynay sa kanya?"

"Wala. Pero bati naman sila."

"Um-hmm. Sige. I'll hold that one hundred thousand. Bring that guy to me tapos mag-uusap muna kami, then check tayo ng schedule n'yo about sa enrollment. Are you okay with that?"

I happily smiled. "Okay po! Thank you, Daddy!"

"Papuntahin mo muna rito at kakausapin ko."

"Punta kami ngayon! Sunduin ko siya sa kanila?"

Biglang sumimangot si Daddy. "Anong ikaw ang magsusundo? Pumunta siya rito. Anong sundo-sundo? Ayoko niyan. Tawagan mo ngayon, pumunta siya rito, mag-uusap kami."

Daddy Coco and I had an agreement. Makakahiram ako ng pera, so I immediately called Kelley para papuntahin siya sa Imus.

"Hi, Kelley! Busy ka?"

"Nalani?"

"Um-hmm!" I nodded, even though he wouldn't see me.

"Saan mo nakuha number ko?"

"Binigay ni Naynay no'ng nag-deliver tayo."

"Ah . . . I see. Anyway, what's up?"

"May ginagawa ka?"

"Hmm . . . naglilinis ng bahay? Why?"

"Matagal ba 'yan?"

"Not really. Inaayos ko lang 'tong ilang gamit ko palipat sa storage room. Bakit nga? Pupunta ka ba rito? May gusto kang meryenda?"

"No! Um, punta ka rito."

"Sa inyo?"

"Sa Imus. I talked to my Daddy Coco. Sabi niya, tawagan ka para papuntahin dito."

"Daddy Coco . . . do I know him?"

"Kambal siya ng Popsie ko. Siya yung daddy ni Cody. Remember si Cody sa laboratory?"

"Yeah, yung cousin mong makulit."

"Yes! Siya nga. Sabi ni Daddy, punta ka rito tapos usap lang kayo."

"About ba sa laboratory result? Ang tagal na n'on, a?"

"No! About sa enrollment natin. Kasi di ba, sabay tayo. Sabi niya, para sabay tayo, usap daw muna kayo."

"Ah . . . hmm . . . puwede naman. Saan ba 'yan?"

"Dito lang sa Imus. Send ko yung exact location. Wait kita sa gate."

"Okay, sure. I'll be there. Call na lang ako kapag on the way na. Maliligo lang ako."

"Okay! Ingat sa biyahe, Kelley! Bye-bye!"

I was merrily hopping pabalik sa garden. Daddy Coco brought the white folding table out and fixed his garden for our visitor.

"You look happy," Daddy noticed. "Nililigawan ka ba nito?"

"Hala, hindi po!" depensa ko agad.

But Daddy's reaction looked like he wasn't sold on my answer. Pero totoo naman kasi. Hindi naman nanliligaw si Kel. Hindi ko rin alam kung manliligaw ba siya or what kasi nagkausap na sila ni Popsie, and he clearly said that he wouldn't court me after saying that he planned to.

"Deacon said he looked athletic," Daddy said.

"Ang daldal talaga ni Cody!"

"He's just shared what he noticed. What does this guy do? Always in the gym?"

"He's a swimmer. But not this semester kasi daw napupulitika siya. He was a scholar, Daddy. Ngayong year, hindi raw muna siya sasali sa swimming team kasi wala raw silang sponsor. Kaya rin gusto kong manghiram ng pan-tuition niya para same kami ng schedule."

My eyes were following Daddy. Inaayos na niya ang mga folding chair sa may table. I wanted to help, but for sure, papalayasin lang niya ako because he didn't want me to help kapag nasa paligid siya. He knew that I could carry more than 25 kilos, but I'm his princess.

"All right." Daddy stood straight and placed his hands on his waist. "Let's say same kayo ng maging schedule, ano'ng magiging value n'on sa 'yo? Give me reasons why you two should be together on the same schedule."

Oh my god. I didn't prepare for that question.

"Um . . ." I tried to think of an answer. Ano nga ba? "Um . . . siya lang kasi yung friend ko sa school?"

"Where are your other friends?"

Then I remembered Vicky and Nathan. Nalungkot tuloy ako.

"They're not my friends anymore," I sadly said and pouted. "Yung dati kong friends, naging mag-boyfriend and girlfriend na, and everyone was labeling me as their third wheel. Kaya humiwalay ako. Tapos si Kelley na lang yung katabi ko palagi."

"Um-hmm. Okay. Other than siya na lang ang friend mo, you can't be friends with anyone na girl?"

"May friends naman ako, Daddy. Pero hindi kasi sila nag-aaral sa NDU. Wala na 'kong ibang friend na nasa school. I can't be alone every day."

"Yung one hundred thousand, if I lend you the money for that guy, ikaw ang magbabayad o siya?"

Hindi ako makasagot agad. I was planning to pay for it kasi ako naman ang manghihiram ng pera.

"Ako na lang po ang magbabayad, Daddy."

Daddy shook his head, and I could read the negative answer written all over his face.

"I'll talk to that Kelley. Saka na tayo mag-usap tungkol sa payment."

"Okay po."

Daddy Coco went back to the cutting area. The machine whirred again. I sat in front of the waiting area, near the front door, para hintayin si Kel.

I wasn't really active on social media for the reason na ayokong asarin ako ng kung sino-sino. Mula nang maging sina Nathan and Vicky, naiinis na lang ako lagi tuwing nag-o-online. Maybe because I didn't want to see anything related to Nathan and Vicky anymore. But I didn't unfriend or block any of them, siguro para lang makita nilang hindi ako bitter. Baka sabihin nila, namba-block ako porke't naging sila na samantalang break naman na kami ni Nathan. Kaya rin nakakawalang gana nang mag-online.

But I still checked my account habang hinihintay si Kel.

My feed was full of different posts. Mga classmate kong nagse-share ng memes and hugot posts. May mga nagpo-post din ng update sa group about sa schedule ngayong paparating na academic year. I watched a few reels until I saw some of Kelley's posts pag-scroll ko.

May isang post siya na open for rent sa May 1 ang flat nila, and reservation is now open daw. I scrolled down, puro na horny posting ng mga classmate kong babae. Then I saw one of Kel's posts two days ago.

My jaw dropped. It was my butterfly clips!

His caption was: "Gift ni Mommy sa favorite daughter niya."

The comments were flooded with hearts and cute GIFs. Sobrang wholesome ng post, kung hindi ko alam na suot ko 'yon no'ng pumunta ako sa kanila, iisipin kong para talaga sa kapatid niya 'yon. Though, only child lang naman siya kasi maagang nawala si Tito Leyton. Hindi na rin nag-asawa uli si Tita Kendra.

I was scrolling down the feed when my mobile data turned off. Biglang lumabas sa notification curtain ang name ni Kel kaya sinagot ko agad ang call niya.

"Hey. May parking space ba diyan?"

"Parking?" Nilingon ko ang paligid. "I think I can ask Daddy kung puwedeng dito mo sa loob i-park yung—wait. What do you mean by parking space? Do you bring a car?"

"Yeah. Pakitanong kung may parking. Baka kasi ma-tow yung kotse ko kapag nag-park ako sa no parking zone."

"Wait! Ask ko lang si Daddy. Don't drop the call. Sorry, medyo maingay lang."

Mabilis kong tinakbo ang cutting area. "Daddy! Puwede siyang mag-park dito?"

Daddy Coco turned off the machine and looked at me with bored eyes. "Excited ka bang makita siya?"

"No!" I defended. "Pero may kotse daw siya, e. Baka daw ma-tow kapag nag-park sa bawal na lugar!"

Daddy Coco rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Nagmamadali naman akong lumabas para makita kung nakarating na ba si Kel.

Lumabas ako sa front door, naghahanap ng sedan or hatchback, wala akong makita. There were cars passing by the road in front of us, hindi ko masabi kung ano ang kotse ni Kel.

"Kelley?"

"I'm still here."

"Saan ka na?"

"Kakadaan ko lang sa pink na bahay along the road."

"Pink na bahay? Hmm . . ."

Saan ba may pink na bahay?

"Nasaan na raw siya?" tanong ni Daddy Coco paglabas ng front door.

"Daddy, may pink na bahay ba dito?"

"Ah. Baka diyan siya dumaan sa kabilang block. Traffic siguro diyan sa highway."

"Kelley, saan ka duma . . . an."

My words floated in the air as I watched a black Raptor stop in front of the iron gate of Daddy's property.

Bumaba ang bintana sa driver's seat. There, we saw Kel waving his hand at me.

"I'm here," he said over the phone, and the call ended.

Daddy Coco strolled by me. He even tilted his body sideways, judging me with his eyes for reasons I couldn't explain. "That kid and I should talk."

Oh my god. Bakit bigla akong kinabahan?

♥♥♥

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