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Thursday, 29 April 2021

I could only see the back of Papa's head as he sat on the couch. I just stood still as if my feet were cuffed in shackles, confining me in that corner to avoid his sermon. While I was stuck by the door, my mind traveled to that time when I was sixteen. This girl named Camila slipped a note in my white polo uniform's pocket during physics class, and I was taken aback by her boldness. She did that while Professor Ranola was writing something on the blackboard. Then, she went out without asking permission. When I checked the note, it said, 'Meet me at the gymnasium,' so I snuck out of class because I was curious. The minute she saw me at the gym's entrance, she took my hand and dragged me all the way to the backstage and into the props area without saying a word. She unbuttoned her uniform and that was the only time I understood what she wanted. Her eyes and gestures were enough to let me know she wanted me.

We weren't friends, we weren't close at all, so I had no idea why she was doing that, but when I saw her in brassiere and she pulled down her panties, it awakened my valuable member. The next thing I know, she pulled me and aggressively started to kiss me. It was my first time to experience such hunger from a girl who barely knew me, so I couldn't resist. I groaned when she moved her hand from my neck and down to my crotch, while her other hand put my hand under her skirt. I almost broke the kiss because I got flustered, but she managed to keep her lips attached to mine.

I was about to let my fingers work their magic, but then a janitress appeared out of nowhere and screamed. Camila immediately put on her panties and buttoned her uniform. We both went back to class like nothing happened. The next day, we had no school because it was Saturday, but the principal called Papa and he tagged me along. It turned out that the janitress reported what happened, and that got me in trouble. Papa didn't talk to me for a long time after that. I don't remember if it took three weeks or more than a month, but that was the first time he totally shut me out.

Now, hearing him say, 'SIT DOWN' reminded me of that incident because that was also the first thing he said when we went to the principal's office.

"I SAID, SIT DOWN."

My eyes grew wider. There was a discomfort in my chest that kept me from breathing normally. Despite feeling lightheaded, I needed to abide by his words, so I prudently sat down on his 3'oclock. The couch felt as uncomfortable as the one I sat on during that time I had a talk with the principal. Papa was not on my side during that time. He never even listened to my explanation, not that I had a good one.

"Where have you been?" His eyes were fixed on the TV even though it was turned off. He looked upset, and I think he was trying to avoid not getting more upset by averting eye contact with me.

"I was with a friend." I was nervous and angry at the same time when I said this. I couldn't accept the fact that I didn't do anything wrong, but then it felt like I did. It was so unfair. I had no control of my sudden absence, and there was no one to blame. But I couldn't tell him the truth, not just because I shouldn't, but because I didn't want to. I didn't want to involve my family in the situation I was in. I just needed to wait for Princess Nicolette to find a solution to get back her crown and power, so that I'd be normal again.

"Who? Justin is your only friend."

"I was with another friend and lost track of time. I'm sorry."

He looked upset, but the expression on his face suddenly changed. He gently turned to look at me with a tranquil demeanor that I was not quite expecting. "Uriel, you're 26. You don't have to ask permission for anything. You're supposed to have your own life, but then you've been shouldering responsibilities that should've been mine, like taking care of your siblings. I want to thank you for that."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought I was about to hear a long sermon about responsibilities, but instead, he was thanking me. My heart rate started to beat normally.

"It was the first time that you didn't come home and I was worried, but I'm not mad. You're old enough to do what you want. But at least, if you're not going to let me know your whereabouts, let Justin know. I know he had no idea about your whereabouts and just blurted the first thing that he had in mind when I bumped into him by chance and asked him. He was obviously covering for you, and I get that. He's your best friend. He's bound to cover for you."

I simply nodded. I couldn't smile even if I wanted to because there was still that feeling of guilt for letting him worry about me.

"Now, since you're old enough, and I'm sure you have your own personal life to deal with, maybe it's time for you to have your own place."

There was an automatic reaction on my face that I couldn't control; my jaw dropped. I most certainly did not see that coming. "Are you…kicking me out of the house?"

"No, of course not, you silly. I just want you to have your own privacy. Just think about it. I'm not telling you to go now. I'm just saying that I'm open to you being on your own. I can't have you take care of your siblings forever. Marie is 15 and very helpful. She can look after Hailey and Jared when I'm at work. You can also visit us whenever you want. Or we can see each other at the bookstore during the handover. Instead of doing a 9 to 5 shift, why don't you do the afternoon shift, and I'll do the morning shift? I'll work at the bookstore from 9am to 1pm, and you can take over from 1pm to 5pm. How does that sound?"

It was totally unexpected for him to say these things. Did my absence give him time to ponder too much? Did he think I didn't come home because I wanted to get away from my life here? "Uhm…" I cleared my throat. "I'm honestly quite surprised about everything you said right now. Why are you suddenly…"

"Because I want you to be happy."

"What do you mean? I'm not sad to be with my family."

"You're not sad, but that doesn't mean you're happy. You're 26, son. There are things that you wouldn't be able to tell your siblings. Or me. Even if I want you to open up to me, don't you think that it's way too late? We're not exactly the closest father and son there could be. There might be things in your life that you're not confident to let me know and I don't want to hold you back from pursuing anything."

"I still don't understand it, Papa. I mean, you've never mentioned about my age before. And I'm not sure how all of a sudden you're thinking about me wanting to be happy. Did something happen while I wasn't here? Is there anything that made you decide that I need to have my own place and live on my own so I can be happy? You gotta be specific, Papa because this is all just quite blurry to me."

He looked me in the eye and sighed heavily. "Well, if you insist." He stood up. "Wait here, I'm giving you something."

As he went upstairs, I felt so confused. What would he give me? Money? Is he really going to kick me out? Is he going to give me money to find my own place?

I stood up and paced around while I waited for him to come back. The sound of footsteps prompted me to sit down again. He sat back on the couch as well, but this time, he was holding a shoe box. Does that shoe box contain money?

"Here you go." He handed it to me and I just stared at it. "Open it."

"What's in here? This is too suspenseful. Is there some kind of treasure in here?"

"Well, you can call it treasure if you want, but I wouldn't want anyone else to find that treasure."

I tilted my head as a sign of uncertainty. "Why am I suddenly feeling scared to open this? This isn't money, is it?"

"Money? Did you want me to give you money?"

"No, Papa. I just thought that…never mind. Anyway, what is this?"

"You keep on asking me. Why don't you see it for yourself?"

I let out a heavy breath and opened the shoe box. There was nothing in it except a USB flash drive. I took it and looked at it as if it were some kind of disease. "A flash drive?" I laughed sarcastically. "What would I do with this? And what is this little thing doing inside a shoe box?"

"I didn't know where to put it. It was the surest place I know that nobody would dare open. It's up to you whether to throw it, or keep it. Just make sure no one sees it."

"I'm not getting it. What's in this thing? And what does that have to do with me getting my own place?"

He let out a big sigh. "So that you can do your private matters in the comfort of your own place, instead of doing it at the bookstore's stockroom."

It took me a few seconds to solve the puzzle while I stared blankly at the TV. Then, it finally hit me. "Oh my God! You saw me and Serena doing something in the stockroom!"

"Well, not all of it. Just enough to realize that my son was caught in the CCTV camera having sex at the stockroom."

"Oh my God!"

"Uriel, you knew there were four CCTV camera's in there. The mayor had them installed on every business establishment in this town last week for security purposes. And for whatever reason, they also installed it in the stockroom."

"Oh my God!"