Walking down the road with his clothes still soaked in the urine of someone else, Trent tried gathering all his thoughts about what happened a while ago. Why did two of his classmates suddenly treated him like that? They were never hostile to him during the first half of the semester. Also, why urine? Upon arriving home, Trent made a beeline to the bathroom, slammed the door shut and wept as he began taking a shower to get rid of the urine mess in his body.
"Anak, ano nangyari sayo? (Son, what happened to you?)" Says a tall man who appears to be in his mid 50's. He gently knocked on the bathroom door, only to receive a harsh "Leave me alone!" from Trent who's currently scrubbing his body with soap.
"Mahal, kamusta na si Trent? (Love, how is Trent doing?)" A woman said while descending down the stairs carrying a basket of clothes that need to be laundered. She appears to be in her late 40's.
"Parang hindi yata maganda ung loob nya. (I think he's in a bad mood.)" Replied the man while withdrawing from the bathroom door. These two are none other than Teodoro Justiniano Jr. and Luz Diaz y Justiniano, Trent's loving parents.
The Justinianos are the wealthiest and most prominent family in Sto. Cristo. Their house was quite spacious, made of wood and stone and was built in 1924. Teodoro is the current patriarch after his father, Teodoro Justiniano Sr. passed away 15 years ago. Their only son, Trent, is their only hope in keeping the family's legacy alive. Hence Teodoro along with his loving wife Luz did everything they can to raise Trent to become a kind, God-fearing person as well as a beacon of hope and mercy to others.
After several minutes, Trent came out of the bathroom. His hair is still damp and a towel which ran from the navel down to his knees currently served as his only garment. As he got himself dressed in a plain, clean black shirt and red basketball shorts, Trent went out of his room and greeted his parents.
"Mano po, nay, tay. (Your hand please, mom and dad.)" Trent warmly said as he grabbed each of his parent's hand and pressed them against his forehead one at a time. This is a traditional Filipino gesture of respect.
"Pasensya na po sa biglaang pagsagot ko sayo. Medyo badtrip lang ako kanina. (I'm sorry for suddenly raising my voice against you. I was just in a bad mood a while ago.)" He apologized, referring to what had transpired moments ago.
"Anak, ano ba nangyari sayo kanina? (Son, what happened to you a while ago?)" Teodoro sat on an antique cushioned chair, beckoning Trent to sit down on the sofa as well, wanting to hear his side of the story.
"Kasi po kanina sa school bigla ako pinaupo ng kaklase ko sa upuan na hindi ko alam basa pala ng ihi. (Because a while ago in school my classmate suddenly asked me to sit on a chair which I didn't know was already wet with urine.)" Both Teodoro and Luz's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that story from Trent.
"S-Sino gumawa sayo nito?! (Who, who had done this to you?!)" Teodoro, perplexed and angry at the same time, questioned him.
"Sila Bryce at Leo po."
"Hmph. Sisiguraduhin ko na makakarating ito sa principal bukas! (Hmph. I'll ensure that this will reach the principal tomorrow!)" Teodoro got up and walked towards the kitchen. Trent tried getting back his attention by putting his hand on his father's shoulder from behind.
"Tatay, wag! Ayoko magkaroon ng gulo sa school dahil lang sa akin! (Father, no! I don't want a commotion to happen at school just because of me!)" Teodoro turned his face towards Trent. This time he is angrier than ever.
"Ano? Hahayaan ko na lang na gaganunin ka ng mga kaklase mo? Hindi pwede to! (What? Am I just gonna let your classmates bully you? This cannot be!)"
"Tay, wag po please! (Dad, just don't, please!)" Trent begged as tears began to form in his eyes and roll down his cheeks once more.
"Teodoro, mahal. Alam ko mali ung ginawa ng mga kaklase ni Trent at dapat makarating ito sa principal pero sa tingin ko hindi dapat agad-agad. (Teodoro, love. I know what Trent's classmates did was wrong and it should reach the principal but I guess it shouldn't happen immediately.)" Luz tried to calm down both Teodoro and Trent.
"Isa ka pa e! Ano hahayaan mo lang din na aapihin si Trent ng mga kaklase nya?! Mag-isip ka naman! (Even you, you will allow Trent to be abused and bullied by his classmates?! Please, think!)"
Teodoro had enough, to the point that he even yelled at his spouse. He went to his own quarters and slammed the door real hard enough to cause a picture frame hanging near the door to fall and shatter.
As Luz comforts his son, a knock was heard at their front door. Upon opening, she finds out that the person who knocked the door is none other than Sarah, one of Trent's classmates.
"Good afternoon po. Nandito po ba si Trent? (Good afternoon. Is Trent home?)" Sarah said as she stepped inside the humble abode of the Justinianos. She's still wearing her school uniform and is carrying a pile of books.
"Nasa sala sya. (He's in the living room.)" Luz replied while grabbing a few pieces of ensaymada for Sarah and Trent to eat.
"Gusto mo ng ensaymada? (Do you want some ensaymada?)" Sarah nodded and took one as Luz offered her. Trent however, refused. He then huffed out a big sigh, a sign that he's truly not feeling emotionally well.
"Trent, okay ka lang? (Trent, are you alright?)" Sarah looked into Trent's eyes, feeling compassion for the young man. He was the very same guy who had helped her understand today's math lesson in the cafeteria a while ago.
"Hindi ko alam e... (I don't know...)"
"Ano ba nangyari kanina? Bakit hindi ka pumasok sa English at Science? (What happened a while ago? Why didn't you show up in English and Science class?)" Sarah ran her hand down Trent's back, an attempt to comfort him.
"Dahil kasi.... kasi... (It's because... because...)" Trent paused for a brief moment.
"Ano? (What?)" Luz decided to cover what really happened by telling Sarah something else.
"Ay. Bigla kasi sumama pakiramdam ni Trent kanina kaya sya umuwi agad... (Oh. Trent suddenly felt unwell a while ago that's why he went home.)" Trent, not feeling comfortable about lying in front of the person who appears to be concerned for him aside from his own parents, flew in a rage and told what "really" happened.
"NAIHI AKO SA SALAWAL KO OKAY?! ANO MASAYA KA NA?! (I PEED IN MY LOWER GARMENTS OKAY? WHAT ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!)" Sarah became afraid and tried to calm him down by helping him sit on a chair. This is not the Trent she had met a while ago.
"Trent! Kalma lang...." She continued rubbing Trent's back until he had calmed down.
"Sorry.... Sorry..... Hindi ko sinasadya. Nabigla lang ako. (Sorry, sorry... I didn't mean to. I just had the sudden urge to get angry.)" Trent's voice became calm. However he's also guilty for shouting at a young lady like Sarah. Luz excuses herself and walks off since she needs to do the laundry.
"Okay sige na, ito ang nangyari talaga... (Alright, here is what really happened...)" Trent gulped down before he continued.
"Sarah, kanina nung lunch, bigla ako sinabihan ni Leo na magkita kami sa hallway. Tapos nung pinaupo nya ako sa isang upuan, basa pala ng ihi kaya pinagmukha nya at ni Bryce na umihi ako... (Sarah, a while ago during lunch time, Leo told me all of a sudden to meet him in the hallway. Then when he asked me to sit on a chair, the chair was actually wet with urine so he and Bryce made it appear as if i peed myself...)"
From the tone of Trent's voice, Sarah knew that he was telling the truth. That this is what really happened. She just nodded and then hugged Trent out of the blue.
"Okay lang yan, Trent... Okay lang. Nabiktima na rin ako ng ganyan last year. (It's okay, Trent... It's okay. I also became a victim of that kind of bullying last year.)" Trent's eyes widened upon hearing that. Now he wants to hear Sarah's story. And the best part, she seems to understand and sympathize with his feelings.
"Ano nangyari? (What happened?)" Trent asked.
"Last year, gumagawa kami ng project sa science. Kailangan kasi namin makapag-present ng experiment kung saan ung tubig kapag nag-evaporate ay mawawala. Tapos bigla akong binuhusan ng tubig ng isang group mate ko na nainggit dahil ako kasi ung leader ng group namin kaya un... napahiya ako. (Last year we were conducting a science project. We need to present an experiment where if water evaporates, it will disappear. Then one of my group mates poured water on me because she was envious of me being the leader of the group so yeah, I got embarrassed.)"
Trent listened attentively to Sarah's own tale of embarrassment before he placed a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
"Alam mo, okay lang yan. Basta ang importante matatag ka at pinagpapatuloy mo pa rin ung pag-aaral mo. (That's okay, you know. The important thing is you're unwavering and you are still continuing in pursuing your studies.)" Sarah looked at Trent and smiled upon hearing those encouraging words coming from the same man who had taught her math a while ago in school.
The thought of having Sarah stay at his house for the night suddenly entered Trent's mind. There is something in her that made Trent happy and consider her as a unique and lovable person. It's not just her beauty that he sees, but her willingness to open up her heart to the point of him hearing one of her life's embarrassing moments. Such feat is quite rare in teenage women. Trent pondered upon these before asking her the question he's quite nervous to blurt out.
"Sarah... Um.... Gusto mo ba mag-stay dito sa bahay ko hanggang gabi? (Sarah, um... Do you want to stay at my house for the night?)" Lucky for Trent, Sarah had the same desire of wanting to be with the man whom she considers as the smartest person in the entire class. Or even the whole school.
"Of course.... Magpapaalam muna ako sa mga magulang ko okay? (Of course.... I'll just ask permission from my parents okay?)" She replied before fishing her phone out of her green plaid knee length skirt which is the standard uniform for female high school students in San Alfonso Liguori High School. After several minutes of talking to her parents, Sarah returned to Trent with a beaming grin on her face.
"Ano pumayag ba sila? (So did they agree?)" Trent asked.
"Sa tingin mo ano? Kung hindi sila pumayag e di sana hindi abot langit ang ngiti ko ngayon. (What do you think? If they did not permit me then I shouldn't be smiling wide right now.)" Sarah said, causing Trent to inadvertently hug her out of sheer excitement.
"Yes....!!!" Trent mentally cried out as he wrapped his arms around Sarah.
"OMG bigla nya ako niyakap! (OMG he suddenly hugged me!)" Sarah's thoughts cried out as well as her cheeks flashed a deep red upon feeling Trent's warm hug and smelling the slight hint of masculine body spray which he would put on himself every time he takes a bath.