Chapter 13: Not close enough

"Come here!" Kirt called again, but it was softer. The buzzing whispers from the surrounding folks were gone. Everyone was looking curiously between Jovanni and Kirt.

"I am working, please go back..."

"Kuya Jovanni, Kuya Kirt is here to see you." Ella said.

"Ella, please take him back." Jovanni replied. When he saw Kirt, he was nervous, but then he thought how he lost almost ten thousand and his heart bleeds. Could this guy has not done enough mess yet?

"If you are not coming here, then I will come at you instead!" Kirt said as he took off his shoes, to everyone's surprise.

Jovanni was at a loss. This man is really crazy!

"I'm coming." Jovanni finally gave up. Sweaty and muddy, he came over.

Kirt saw Jovanni's sticky and sunburned face. He stared at him for a while without uttering a word.

"What can I do for you?" Jovanni asked. Kirt was staring at his dirty and muddy face. Jovanni thought that perhaps, this guy will stop his weird thoughts on him, now that he sees him this messy, but then...

"Let's go back!" Kirt said, stressing every word.

Jovanni glanced at Ella, before responding to Kirt. Thankfully, his twelve-year-old sister is still naive.

"I will go back in two weeks."

"No. Come back with me now." Kirt insisted.

Jovanni looked at Kirt intently, reminding Ella's presence. "Please don't be unreasonable, I will go back after the semester break is over."

Kirt and Jovanni were in a stalemate for a while, but Kirt finally gave up and went back with Ella.

At dusk, the paid workers arrived at Jovanni's home for their pay. Jovanni's father served them a meal. Kirt, who was impatiently waiting for Jovanni since afternoon got mad as he didn't see him arrived with the workers.

"Ella, the workers are here, but your brother is not with them. Where is he?" Kirt asked Ella. The entire family didn't leave him in the living room and was entertaining him well.

"He is securing the cattle." Ella's mother replied as she handed Kirt a tray of food. "Here, have some snacks first. I wonder how you became friends with Jovanni, that boy isn't as adorable as my Kyle and Ella. He is too reckless. When he was in the fourth grade, he broke his grandmother's expensive vase, so he was exiled to the storage hut. " She said.

"What do you mean exiled?"

"Since then, mama ordered him to live at the storage hut at the back of the house."

Kirt's face was distorted.

The workers were done eating. Finally, Jovanni arrived but he didn't eat as Kirt thought, but fixed the table and washed the dishes instead. Then after that, he started cooking.

Kirt couldn't hold back his impatience anymore. He stood up and went to the kitchen, but then he was dragged back to the living by Jovanni's father before he could talk to him.

The family was happily interacting, leaving Jovanni in the kitchen alone.

"What the heck! May gay schoolmate has a boyfriend!" Kyle exclaimed that raised Kirt and Jovanni's ears. "Look mama, Lola..." Kyle added while showing a social media post to his mother and the others.

"This is too outrageous! If he is my grandson, I will hang him upside down!" The grandmother replied.

"If that is my son, I will kill him for bringing such shame!" The father said.

Jovanni, who was cutting vegetables in the kitchen, froze for a moment after hearing his grandmother and father's words.

Seeing Jovanni's reaction, Kirt's hatred of this family was raised to the highest level.

"Kuya Kyle, you cannot be gay because Lola and papa will kill you!" Ella teased.

"Who the heck is gay!" Kyle retaliated.

The two siblings were messing with each other until the mother interjected.

"I am preparing the guestroom for Kirt." She said

"Auntie, I want to sleep with Jovanni." Kirt said that pricked Jovanni's ears. He was nervous, though his family didn't take Kirt's words as to how he thought.

"Kuya Kirt, you cannot sleep there. Kuya Jovanni's room is too shabby!" Ella blurted. Though her words were degrading, the others seemed to hear nothing.

"I don't mind."

"No! You cannot sleep there. How can we afford to treat a guest like that!" The mother objected.

"It's really fine..." Kirt was losing his patience. This house has an extra room, but Jovanni is living in a shabby hut outside!

"Pa, my room is too small. I cannot accommodate a guest." Jovanni yelled from the kitchen.

The father told Kirt to sleep in the guestroom. Kirt's mood was sour even until the dinner was served. Jovanni disappeared after setting the table. Kirt looked for him, the grandma lazily replied that he is checking the cattle and will eat later. This added another fury.

Jovanni went to their farm's resting hut. He and his friends were going to chop firewoods for few hours. There he met Kian and Edong who hunted edible frogs at the nearby stream. They stirred fry the frog meat and added coconut milk and spices. The three happily eat their exotic dish with the rice Edong brought.

"Jovanni, where is your handsome friend?" Kian asked while they were eating.

"He is at home."

"Why didn't you bring him here?" Edong asked.

"He is not used to this kind of place..."

"I guessed so, he looked too delicate." Kian added.

"Jovanni it's good you found a close friend in school." Edong commented.

"Yes, it's good for you to have a close friend in the city. Someone will help you when you are in trouble." Kian agreed.

Jovanni's thought objected. Kirt is his trouble, so it was better if he didn't meet him. But, he cannot talk about this humiliating fact to his friends, so he just smiled and responded. "We are not that close..."

"Aren't we close enough?!" A furious voice was heard at the hut's entrance.