The Sweet Pretender

Two

"Fifteen thousand!??" Padabog akong lumapit kay Mommy. "Mom, anong mabibili ko sa fifteen thousand per week? Are you seriously torturing me like this?"

Kalmado siyang nag-angat ng tingin sa akin. Dad's not around and he have been so busy these days. He's the only general partner left and the factory's liabilities and losses are charged to him.

"Malaki pa nga iyan. I actually want to cut it down to ten kung hindi lang dahil sa Daddy mo."

"Ten?" Lalong nanlaki ang mata ko. Ten thousand is just my daily allowance last week! Pinanghinaan ako bigla. "For real, how much are we losing, Mom?"

"Well, we still have a house, three cars, and three branches left."

That's how I lose everything. That's when my life started to change.

Nakatitig ako sa harap ng screen ng aking computer. Balenciaga released a limited edition bagpack which is perfect for this school year. Everyone's waiting for my new bags and clothes this coming Monday and here I am... just staring at the screen, unsure of what to do.

May savings ako pero kung mananatiling fifteen thousand lang ang weekly allowance ko, I'll be poor after few weeks.

Pero kahit kaya kong bilhin ay hindi ko magawa. Noong nakaraan lang ay nagtalo kami ni Mommy sa binili kong bag at natatakot akong babaan niya pa ang allowance na binibigay.

I sighed before opening another tab to type my website address.

OOTD Ideas for Every Uni-Girl

Nakangiti akong nagta-type ng mga ideya ko at naglalagay rin ng mga sample outfits ko na siguradong inaabangan ng mga tao. This makes me happy. Yes, I'm a blogger. A lifestyle and fashion...

Wait...

Your subscription has already expired.

Damn! Padabog kong tinulak ang mouse at sinara ang laptop. Great. Just great. Nasakto pa talaga ngayon?

I stood up to ask my Mom to pay for my domain name. And because I'm so lucky today- note the sarcasm- she's already out.

I couldn't get any luckier, huh!

From: Leia

Are you going to attend this year's RPP? Guess what, international businessmen will attend with their sons and daughters.

RPP stands for Rich People Party. Yes, that exists! Last year's event is honestly great. Puro students ang um-attend last time and the party is quite a mess but fun. But now, the oldies will attend... Anyway, hindi iyon ang concern ko ngayon. Are we even invited?

No. Invited or not, there's no damn way I'm skipping RPP this year. Just no way.

"A-attend tayo, don't worry about it."

Iyon ang sinabi ni Daddy nang magtanong ako kaya kahit papaano ay nakahinga ako ng maluwag. And now, next problem is... I have no gown to wear for that event. I should buy a versace or a chanel dress, right? Or should I make an appointment and personalize my gown?

Damn it. Wala akong budget.

When Monday came, I jump out of bed and did my necessary morning rituals. Beige cami top and black leather jacket partnered by a high-waisted skinnies and Dr. Martens are my outfit for today. I took some shots before leaving my room.

"Good morning," bati ni Mommy nang makita ako. "Buti inagahan mo. Sasabay ka sa amin."

"Huh?" Umupo ako sa tabi niya at nanguha ng fried rice at luncheon meat ko. "No thanks. Magda-drive ako today."

I still feel awkward because of what happened the last time. Aminado akong may mali ako pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi nagsi-sink in sa akin lahat. We lost millions, properties, and lots of people lost a job because of... maninisi na naman ako. Hayy!

Nagtama ang tingin namin ni Mommy. Nangunot ang noo ko sa ekspresyong binibigay niya kaya napatingin din ako kay Daddy. Dad looked at me worriedly as if something's wrong.

"Uhh, bakit ganyan itsura niyo? May nasabi ba ako?" Halos magdikit na ang kilay ko sa pagtataka kung bakit ganyan sila maka-react. "Seriously, you're scaring me."

"Mula ngayon isang sasakyan nalang gagamitin natin. Para makatipid din tayo sa gasolina kahit paano."

"Ano--" Mom motioned me to shut up.

"Hindi pa ako tapos, Chloe Shea." Damn. I hate it when she pronounces my whole name. It sounds like cliche to me. So weird. Why would they name me like that? "Pare-pareho lang naman tayo ng dadaanan kaya mas okay na na isang sasakyan lang ang gamitin. We have to cut down our budget and I wouldn't take a no for that."

"Mom, I can just pay for my own gas--"

"Gawin mo at ibebenta ko ang sasakyan mo."

That's how she shut me off.

Tulad ng sinabi niya, pagkatapos naming kumain ay sabay-sabay kaming umalis ng bahay at sumakay sa iisang sasakyan.

Natatanaw ko na ang kulay green na building. University of the Cordilleras. It's a great and prestigious school, but there's this unwritten rule na kailangan mong maki-fit sa mga estudyanteng nandoon. I don't know if it's just me or everyone wants to be the king and queen of this university. Para bang may kaakibat iyon na kapangyarihan. And yeah, bullying do exists. Not in a way na sasabihan ka ng mga salita pero tingin palang ay maiinsulto ka na.

"Chloe!" Patakbong lumapit sa akin ang isang babae na nakasuot ng pulang bestida. She's wearing a prada shoes and a gucci bag. The other hand's holding a handkerchief and the other is holding a starbucks coffee. "Saw your parents' car. Nasaan ang sasakyan mo?"

I gulped. Isa si Alexa Ramirez sa mga sikat na estudyante sa UC. She's sweet and kind, and everyone literally loves her. She's one of the friends I know I can be trusted. But I don't want anyone to know about what happened.

"Uhh, tinamad ako mag-drive," I lied. "Anyway, let's go?"

Ngumiti siya saka sinukbit ang kamay sa braso ko. She's so bubbly. Habang papasok kami ay napapatingin ang ibang estudyante sa amin. They were all in awe just by looking at our outfits. Not bragging but my circle is very popular in this school. We're like this school's celebrities.

"Miss Chloe," someone called. Huminto ako at tinignan kung sino iyon. Isang babae na batid kong mas bata sa amin ang lumapit. Masakit sa mata ang damit niyang halo-halo ang kulay. "Pwede po bang magpa-picture? Lagi ko pong inaabangan ang mga blogs niyo."

My heart warmed with her words. Magsasalita na sana ako pero inunahan niya ako.

"Ang ganda po ng mga bags niyo. Ang swerte niyo naman po, palagi kayong may mga bagong gamit. Lagi po kaming nakaabang sa mga bago niyong outfit at mga bagong bili na shoes, bags, at mga designer items."

My heart sank. Maybe they won't like me anymore if they learn that I'm no longer rich, right? Siguro wala ng papansin sa akin, wala ng magbabasa ng blogs ko, wala ng magla-like ng mga i********: pictures ko. At unti-unti nararamdaman kong papalubog na ako. I'm not ready for this.

"Ayos ka lang? Kanina ka pa tahimik, ah?" tanong ni Alexa habang naghihintay kami sa aming second subject professor para ngayong araw. Alexa and I are in the same course: BSBA major in Marketing Management, along with one of our friends: Audrey.

"Oo nga," sambit ni Audrey. "Napansin ko nga rin. Ayos ka lang ba?"

"H-huh?" Pasimple kong kinurot ang sarili saka pinilit ngumiti ng maayos sa kanila. "Medyo tinatamad lang akong pumasok. Kulang ang bakasyon."

"Ay nako! Sinabi mo pa. Dapat nasa Spain kami ngayon kung sana pinostpone ng kaunti ang pasukan," Alexa gleefully said.

"Nag-Korea ka na nga lang, eh. Ako nga sa Amanpulo lang nakapagbakasyon. How about you, Chloe? Wala ka yatang nai-post sa IG?"

"I visited Japan last month, hindi lang gaano nakapag-picture." It's true. Wala lang maayos na kuha dahil talagang nag-enjoy ako sa Japan. Medyo nawala na sa isip kong mag-photoshoot. May mga pictures naman ako pero hindi ko kayang i-post dahil hindi bagay sa IG feed ko.

"Yeah! Ang daya mo, sabi ko sasama ako, eh."

"Excuse me, ikaw kaya ang nang-iwan. I bought you tickets and sasabihin mong nasa Korea ka? How annoying!" Tatawa-tawang yumakap sa akin si Alexa.

"Sorry naman. Biglaan ang pagyayaya ni Axel sa Korea eh." Axel is her twin.

He's studying at Saint Louis University, the university for intelligent humans. Nakakapagtaka nga na hindi rito nag-aral si Axel. Halos lahat yata ng mga anak ng mga milyonaryo ay dito nag-aaral sa UC. And almost everyone's great at bragging things and things. Pretty toxic, right? Well... not at all.

It's our own freedom of expression, dressing up nice clothes, wearing boots, styling our hairs, and even wearing different bags every day. Siguro para sa iba kalokohan lang lahat pero para sa amin, dito kami masaya. And nothing's wrong with that.

"Good morning, class!"

Umayos kaming lahat ng upo nang dumating na si Mrs. Castro. She's wearing thick eyeglasses and granny outfit. Isa siya sa pinaka-istriktong teacher dito and swear, you wouldn't want to mess up with this woman that's why everyone zipped their mouth and leaned on their desk the way a good student sits.

"Malas natin. Sa dami ng teacher bakit siya pa napunta sa atin?" Bulong ni Alexa kaya hindi ko napigilang hindi mapahagikhik.

"What's funny, Miss Alexander?"

Kinakabahan akong tumingin sa kanya. "Nothing, Ma'am."

Pasimple akong tinawanan ni Alexa kaya siniko ko siya.