when the road that lies ahead
seems right
Francheska remembered the first time she felt Sophia’s kick in her belly. She was fifteen then, such a blossoming flower in the green meadows, with bees and butterflies all around. She had the world at her feet, with her face and voice of a country singer wanna-be. She had the biggest dreams of all. And the wildest dreams, even.
There’d been so much anger raging inside her that she doubted she could ever accept her own daughter.
But, right now, what wiped out the anger was an aching guilt. As Francheska emptied her glass of Mojito that midnight, it was so clear to her now she’d been wrong in leaving Sophia. She was the worst of all mothers, she thought, and she was now desperate to make up for Sophia—her dearest, forsaken daughter.
*****
When Tuesday morning emerged in Sophia’s gray flashes of previous happenings, she hurried early for school to avoid additional family conversations involving Jericho. She knew they’d been planning things for him. Fortunately for her, yesterday—Monday—was a holiday, and this gave her more time to mull things over.
Enzo had not been calling her nor sending her messages. The house had been too absorbed by the entry of a new family member, and now, Jericho had treated her as if she were debris in his newly-erected empire of vengeance.
Sophia couldn’t handle her own emotions and she drove her own car without asking her parents. She had always been like this, as though leaving was always the best way out of every dilemma.
The school grounds were empty as she parked her red mini Cooper. She turned the radio on and switched from one station into another until she found comfort in the company of mellow rock tracks. And as she closed her eyes and pacified herself, there suddenly played Jason Mraz’s I Won’t Give Up. Its stream and message moved her to cry even more. She was back there again, to that exact moment when she had her first kiss with Jericho, after the accident. And that last moment—last night—when she wasn’t sure Jericho had completely given up on her.
It was all raw, and stinging. She was falling into this dungeon with no known depths and limits.
Then a knock on her window swept her floating thoughts away. There was Enzo, waiting outside her car with a sign of relief in his eyes. He must have been searching for her.
Sophia opened her window with doubts and wondered if she was already forgiven. She knew she was rude to him, the last time.
“Hey,” Enzo greeted, his appearance alight with glee. At this, Sophia didn’t know if she ought to feel embarrassed or privileged. She knew Enzo deserved so much more than what she was giving him. “I’m sorry I was a jerk last time.” To her surprise, he was the one apologizing, and she worked hard to meet his eyes.
“No, I should be the one apologizing.” Sophia stretched all her nerves in saying it, but Enzo asked her to step out for breakfast.
“It’s too early for our first class. Let’s grab some pancakes, shall we?” Enzo invited her and closed the car for her. Sophia couldn’t help but feel shy and agree.
Enzo took her to The Metro Vent, just across their school, as the hutch for well-off students. Sophia was astonished when the receptionists greeted Enzo as if they knew him for a long time. And as she watched him exchange words with the waiters, she realized the restaurant could be Enzo’s.
“Is this place yours?” She asked him as a waiter pulled a chair for both of them.
“Yes.” He was meek.
“Have I been here before?”
“Aha, in fact this used to be your favorite classroom.” Enzo was starting to give her some clues. “Back in freshman year.”
“Oh.” She didn’t need any effort to order because Enzo had already settled everything for her.
“I wished to surprise you,” he smiled at her, and she could only utter an oh. She looked around and watched customers come to the balcony. Beside them there was a line of men in black suits, browsing today’s newspaper. Sophia tried to snoop and read the headline: US President Obama’s first visit to the country. She guessed the heavy traffic in the city would be much worse tonight, and their school was near the government offices and The Domian Fortress. (The country’s presidential mansion was named after Domya, now spelled as Domia, the native chief who killed the earliest set of Spanish invaders in the country, and it was also the name by which Philipdomia was named, after combining his name with King Philip II’s of Spain).
“I guess, I should really start calling you peaches.” Enzo then uttered, and looked at Sophia’s blushing cheeks.
“What?” Sophia reacted, disagreeing. “It sounds—old—like we’re in the 90’s or something.”
“Oh, you don’t like it! I’ll call you Kat then, because you really have a long name. Sophia Alessandra Katarina Vabueritti.” Enzo was giggling, as he said her exceptionally lengthy name. His face looked too self-indulgent and suddenly, she felt edgy.
Sophia looked at him, dumbfounded, and was distracted by a burst of laughs from fellow costumers, who were seated at the table behind her.
“Who named you that long, by the way? You must be exhausted just by writing your name.” Enzo was grinning from ear to ear.
Again, Sophia was speechless, disregarding the thought that Enzo could be this exasperating. She’d barely touched the Egg Benedict that they were served, although it was complemented by other dishes …dish-names she couldn’t remember. But there was no doubt there was the whiff of mushroom soup and pepper salsa.
Enzo was looking fondly at her as he flapped his spoon and fork over his own plate, and each time, she didn’t know how to react. There was still that feeling she wasn’t at ease yet with him. Her mind raced, thinking if her letting Enzo into her life was even sensible.
The second they’d finished, Sophia excused herself to go to the lady’s room and calmed herself. If she’d let this go on, she had to pay the price. She worried so much for school, knowing her friends and her brother didn’t like Enzo.
She washed her face and fixed her hair in a high twist, then headed back to him. Enzo was already waiting, with this grin that turned sunnier. He grabbed her waist as they crossed the street, and Sophia had to put his hand away every single time.
“What?” Enzo retaliated. “Come on, you’re the prettiest girl in school. Let me feel the moment of winning the trophy!” he added, way too serious, which finally upset her.
“You mean, I’m just a trophy to you that you can flaunt to everyone?” Sophia frowned and had the thought of leaving him.
“No, Kat! It’s not like—” Enzo tried to stop her.
“You know what? I don’t—” She squeezed her eyes with disappointment. “I should hurry. It’s almost time for our first class.”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean what I said,” Enzo persisted. “Look, it’s not what you think.”
“I have to go.” Sophia finally hurried to leave him, and the other students seeing them, poked fun at Enzo. But Enzo didn’t mind, for his focus was only on Sophia.
“If you truly care for me, please leave me alone. Just for today. You hurt me,” Sophia told Enzo, when he kept on delaying her.
Sophia was half an hour late for her Social Science class, after spending some time in the lady’s room. She knew Mrs. Matthews was really strict with punctuality but it could not be helped.
“I’m sorry, I’m late,” she apologized as she entered the class, but to her surprise, Mrs. Matthews called her for a recitation.
“Ms. Vabueretti, what is your point of view regarding teenage pregnancy? It became such a huge social issue in the country today and it needs to be addressed…” Mrs. Matthews was trying to smile, and Sophia knew she was just playing it nice. Mrs. Matthews was always known for her sarcastic facial expressions.
And as she remained standing, adjacent to her chair, Sophia straightened to her full height, manifesting her sensual figure, and answered the question without further ado. “Teenage pregnancy destroys people’s lives, not only the teenagers themselves but also everyone around them, especially their family. It creates stigma…” As she turned her head, she noticed everyone’s interest, “… this stigma that leads some teenage moms to a traumatized phase of their lives, so they don’t go to school anymore. The shame and judgments of an unforgiving society… of course, who would not be destroyed at such a loss of dignity?” Then she sat down immediately, quite uncomfortable with the burst of her words, but her answer connected with Daniella. After running through her diaries again last night, Sophia got to know her old friend better.
A march of applauses and whistles filled the air for a moment.
“I wanna “teenage pregnancy” you, Sophia.” A male voice came from the back. “I swear you’ll be the hottest mama!” Someone added. It was Roderick, their too-self-possessed-classmate who thought that sunrise on earth was impossible without him.
“Eww! In your dreams, Roderick!” Zarah defended Sophia, who was now flushing hot and cold in her seat. As much as possible, she didn’t want any attention centered upon her, especially from the guys. Some girls might turn against her, again.
Mrs. Matthews fell in silence with a smattering smile. Perhaps, she was, at some point, impressed.
“Look, Mrs. Matthews just smiled.” Zarah elbowed Sophia, who was still red as blood with her face. “I guess you just impressed her.”
“Well, how about you, Mr. Lopez?” Mrs. Matthews referred to Enzo, who arrived in class in the middle of Sophia’s recitation.
“Oh! Teenage pregnancy!” Enzo let his breath in a hiss and scratched his head, thinking. “Well, I agree with Sophia. It creates this stigma but my point is more on the teenage dads,” he paused, and shared a look with Sophia. Then he continued, “Teenage dads must also be responsible for what they’ve done. I mean, it takes two to dance the tango, right? So both must be responsible and brave enough to face the consequences of their actions.” Enzo was gesturing as he spoke, to fight the tense reactions from the guys.
“Oh, yeah! Are you sure about that, Enzo? Do you even have a girlfriend?” Roderick, once again, hurled some ridicule in the air.
Enzo was about to strike back when Mrs. Matthews warned them. “Mr. Roderick Guttenberg, one more inane word and I’ll send you to the detention room.”
The class, in one fell swoop, turned quiet.
“All right, let’s proceed!” Mrs. Matthews now made sure she got all ears listening.
During the class, Enzo’s answer troubled Sophia. Responsible and brave enough to face the consequence of their actions? Wow! Sophia couldn’t help but admire his answer. Then suddenly, she felt guilty for not defending him at the attack—his having no girlfriend. He has a girlfriend now. It’s you, Sophia! How come you remained silent as he was mocked by everyone? Her sense of right and wrong struck her now.
From moment to moment, Sophia gazed at Enzo. He did the same thing. Their eyes kept locking and they couldn’t wait for the class to finally come to an end so they could apologize to each other.
In their last class, PE, Zarah felt sudden PMS as they grabbed their gym uniforms from their lockers. It was time for the indoor games.
“You want me to take you to the clinic?” Sophia saw how Zarah howled to release the pain.
“No, I can do this!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Zarah tilted her chin and straightened her back. “You’re ready?”
“Yeah, just as long as you’re ready, too.”
“All right! Let’s go and kick some ass.”
They gathered their hair in a ponytail and wore their blue volleyball uniform stitched with the image of an eagle, their school’s animal symbol. And as they crossed the floorboards of the gymnasium, Sophia kept asking her best friend to be nice to Enzo.
“All right, I’ll give him a chance.” Zarah tried to be supportive.
“Thank you.” Sophia was speaking when Enzo came near. He was in his basketball uniform.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Sophia replied, nervous, and got saved when Zarah bestowed Enzo a nice approach.
“Hello there, pal,” Zarah said and left them for a while. Somehow, this gave them a moment to be forgiving to each other until Coach Ramirez blew his whistle and called everyone’s attention.
“Listen up, people! There are changes,” he announced. “The ladies will be divided into two today and will compete with each other for volleyball. And then, there’s basketball later, for the boys.”
The crowd sounded agreeable, and the boys finger-hooted, as this gave them a chance to watch their girl-bets.
“You know what? I think I should suggest to the admin to change the school’s female gym uniform,” Enzo told Sophia, right after Coach Ramirez made the announcement.
“Why is that so?” Zarah, joining them, raised an eyebrow. Too bad for her, Alex belonged to a different class, and so, she had no partner.
“Guys can’t help but stare. Your pants reveal your legs too much,” Enzo defended himself and then proved it when Roderickacross the floorboardeyed every girl he saw.
“What are you? A pastor now?” Zarah almost laughed.
“I’m just saying…”
“You know what? I think you should join your team now.” Zarah then suggested, seeing the other boys were in a circle to cheer the girls on.
Coach Ramirez divided the ladies into two teams. It happened that Sophia and Zarah belonged to the same. But Sophia seemed in torment—she was not that good in volleyball. She knew it herself.
“Thank God we’re on the same team. Rescue me just in case I don’t hit the ball,” Sophia expressed, giggling to Zarah.
The boys, as the audience, finally settled down, then found themselves a seat and placed their bets. Some began cheering for their girlfriends just as Enzo hooted for Sophia. After the tossing of coin, it happened that Sophia’s team was the first to serve.
“Sophia, you first!” Janna, their selected team captain, ordered.
“What? Why me?” Sophia disagreed, looking too desperate.
“You can do it! Go girl!” Janna insisted, as Zarah shouted approval for her.
Sophia’s skin evidently blushed. Her face showed she would fail the first serve, yet she hoped for the best. Her teammates seemed ready and watchful, and the moment she heard the whistle, she wished for a successful serve.
The ball crossed the net but the opponent bounced it back towards them. Janna was able to save the ball but when it came back to them again, it was coming towards Sophia. The opponent knew Sophia was the weakest link, and so the ball was dead.
“I’m so sorry!” Sophia apologized.
“It’s just a game. It’s okay, Sophia.” Sophia’s team cheered and turned vigilant again, for the ball.
Now, the opponent got themselves a big clue. Cleverly, Sophia became their target.
When the opponent’s serve was successful, Zarah ran fast to hit the ball. She was able to throw it back but the opponent captain targeted Sophia. Janna hurried to save the ball for her but so strong was the impact that Janna’s much broader body bumped into Sophia’s.
Both fell to the floor. But Sophia wasn’t moving, and that was the time when they hastened to her aid.
“Shall we bring her to the clinic?” They asked each other.
Zarah, who ran to her first, tried her best to wake her up. Enzo dashed to the scene.
Coach Ramirez, discerning that Sophia was totally unconscious, warned everyone to move away.
“Shall we call the emergency hotline?” The girls asked each other.
“Let’s bring her to the clinic. She’ll be fine there.” Coach Ramirez said and carried her carefully. Enzo and Zarah accompanied him and the game temporarily came to a halt.
Sophia, waking up and realizing she was lying on a stretcher with white curtains around her, asked Enzo what happened. He was there watching her in the wee hours of her unconsciousness.
“You fell to the floor when Janna accidentally collided into you,” he explained. “How’s your head now? Still in a haze?” He examined her.
Sophia inclined forward and began massaging her head. It felt a bit heavy but there was no ache at all.
“You know, when Dr. Romulo checked you a moment ago, he mentioned you were kind of anemic.” Enzo helped her get up.
“Anemic?”
“Yup. Have you not been eating right, lately?”
The question didn’t interest Sophia. Her head was back to the game. The last thing she remembered, she was watching the ball in the air as it rushed to her direction.
“How’s the game now?” She asked.
“The game’s over. It’s now five and our classes are over.” Enzo tried to smile, and palmed Sophia’s forehead, acting more than a physician.
In a short while, the school nurse came to them, saying Sophia wasn’t that critical and they could now go home.
“Have you called mom and dad?” Sophia talked to the school nurse.
“Yes, it’s mandatory because you’re a minor, but your dad entrusted you to Dr. Romulo. They’re close colleagues.” The nurse glared at them for a moment and then continued, “Anyway, Dr. Romulo asked me to hand over your prescription.”
“What’s that?” Enzo suddenly intervened.
“Some iron supplement. Ms. Vabueretti turned out to be anemic,” the nurse concluded and went back to her previous activity.
“Where’s Alex and Zarah?” Sophia asked Enzo as she glided away from the stretcher.
“They’ve just left but they stayed here for hours. And by the way, here’s your bag and school uniform. Zarah got all of these for you.”
“Where did they go?”
“I don’t know, but I told them that I will take you home.”
Sophia nodded quietly and went to change her PE uniform in the restroom. Before Enzo brought her home, they had stopped by a pharmacy for her prescription.