Gleaming City Lights

02: Mistake

gleaming city lights chapter 2— Mistake

"This will be your room. Originally ay guest room ito. We'll renovate it to the design you like."

"Okay na po ako rito, Dad." This room is bigger than our house back in the island. The walls are painted white and the furnitures are wooden brown. There's a king sized bed on the left corner and a study table. There's also a bathroom inside.

Sapat na ito sa'kin. Sobra pa nga eh.

I fixed all my things in the cabinet. Kakaunti lamang ang damit ko kaya madali lang ako natapos sa pag-aayos. Pagkatapos ay lumabas ako at nagtanong sa mga kasambahay.

"Saan po yung kwarto ni Levi po?"

"Sa second floor po, Ma'am."

"Wag na po kayo mag Ma'am. Firstia nalang po." I gave her a sweet smile. Umakyat naman ako sa hagdan at kumatok sa unang pinto.

"What?" Ang masungit na mukha ni Levi ang sumalubong sa'kin pagbukas ng pinto. He's now wearing eyeglasses and his hair's a bit messy. Mukhang nag-aaral siya dahil may hawak siyang highlighter.

"Uhm... p-pwede ba hiramin ang phone mo po?" I asked shyly.

"Why would you borrow my phone eh meroon ka naman," he scoffed. Ang sungit niya makatingin.

"W-Wala po akong phone," pag-amin ko. Mas lalo namang kumunot ang mga noo ni Levi.

My adopted parents cannot afford a phone. Nakikihiram lang ako noon sa kaibigan ko, kay Leyna, ng computer pag may assignments at tasks sa school. Leyna always lends me her phone whenever I needed it. My adopted parents wants to buy me one but I insisted not to. May mas importante pang mga bagay ang kailangang unahin.

"Wait here." Bumalik siya sa loob ng kanyang kwarto. When he returned, he handed me a box.

"This is brand new po. I can't accept this. 'Yung luma nalang po sana."

"Just take it. I don't need that."

"Pero—"

"Take it or throw it. Bahala ka." he then shut the door in my face. Tulala naman ako habang hawak ang box ng phone. Tatanggapin ko ba? Pero brand new ito. Ngunit kailangan ko nang gagamitin para magreview huhu.

Sa huli ay tinanggap ko nalang. I went to my room and unboxed the phone Levi gave me. It's the latest iPhone. Regalo ata ito sa kanya eh. Kung hindi ko lang kailangan ng phone para magreview ay hindi ko ito tatanggapin. Sayang din kasi kung itatapon ko nalang.

Muli akong umakyat sa ikalawang palapag at kumatok sa pinto ni Levi. Masungit na naman niya akong sinalubong.

"What? Bakit na naman?"

"P-Pwede po ma-connect sa WiFi po?" I bit my lower lip. I feel like I'm asking too much. But I need Internet connection to browse and download applications.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "If you're going to play games then I won't connect you."

"Hindi po! Mag-aaral sana ako..."

"For what? Eh hindi pa naman pasukan,"

Napabuntong-hininga ako. I'm not sure if he's playing around or he's just clueless. "For tomorrow's entrance exam po. I have to review,"

Tumaas ang kilay niya. "I thought you're– nevermind," Mas gusto sana siyang sabihin pero hindi niya tinuloy. "Wait here," Pumasok siya sa loob at pagbalik ay mga printed materials siyang dala. "Reviewers iyan galing sa review center. You can use these since I already scanned it."

Scanned it? Sa simpleng pag-scan lang ay natatandaan niya na ang kanyang inaaral. Hala ang talino niya.

"Thank you po." I gave him a bright smile and he just scoffed. He also took my phone and connected it to the Wifi.