Wakened by instinct, Catrina stirred and slowly sat up from her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning before getting up and thought about getting ready for school.

She doesn't even remember last night's events. . .except for new people arriving and her, apparently being sad.

As always, she didn't dilly-dally her mornings with useless quirks, she actually tried to make it productive. And in no time, she was all dressed in uniform, carrying her school bag on one shoulder, and mentally prepared to face her day.

Today was no different than yesterday, or the day before that. In fact, she planned nothing special. Despite it being her birthday, Catrina sees it as nothing but the countdown of her getting old yet still not in the care of her own real parents. For her, birthdays are just as bad as funerals.

Bumaba na siya galing sa kwarto na walang kaalam-alam sa kung anong mangaari n'yang makita. Her nose got a whiff of fresh, hot breakfast, making her tummy growl but she shrugged it away as she quickened her pace towards the front door.

"Catrina?" That voice, gentle in tone, stopped her from her tracks. She didn't plan for anyone other than the helpers, to be awake, so this was truly a small surprise.

She turned around, seeing Irene by the entrance of the kitchen; the woman was smiling widely.

"Goodmorning tita!" Catrina greeted, sheepishly standing right beside the front door, itching to leave so she won't catch traffic. She kept pulling the straps of her bag, biting her lip and exchanging glances with the clock on her phone. It is still too early to worry about being late, but that's besides the point for Catrina.

"Goodmorning. . ." Bati ni Irene,
"—wait, are you leaving na ba? You're not eating breakfast?"

"Uh, hindi na po tita. Busog pa naman po ako—"

"Hay nako, Catrina. If you think you've convinced me with that, you're wrong. Halika na dito, sumabay ka na sa amin mag-breakfast."

Napaisip tuloy si Catrina kung sino-sino ba ang tinutukoy ni Irene na 'sila'. With great hesitation, Catrina could only send her a forced smile before following her to the dining room. Many faces ran through her mind, but she had an inkling as to who Irene mentioned.

And she was right.

Who else would Irene accompany for breakfast than her very own daughter?

Suddenly, Catrina felt her blood run cold. It got even worse when Irene motioned for her to sit beside the woman and her child.

She could feel the bitter stare against her skin from someone she's afraid of bumping into, alone.

"Come on. Sit, sit. . .let's not keep the food waiting." Irene's whole new jovial mood certainly frazzled Catrina. I mean, she was almost always like this, but not to the point that she was grinning at everything her eyes landed on.

Catrina mentally shook it off and began placing food on her plate, intentionally grabbing small amounts so she could leave quickly.

"Cat, that's too little. Kumain ka pa nang marami, look! You're close to becoming relatives with the twigs!"

Sting. That's what she felt hearing that. She gets it though, people are so comfortable at commenting about anything that it has truly been normalized. Napayuko ng konti si Catrina at hindi umiimik ng kung ano-ano. She ate with drained interests, always staring into oblivion while Irene and her daughter shared loving gestures with one another. 

Eating wasn't exactly a slow process but it was a sluggish morning and everything just screams unfit. Not to mention her place in the table, her place here overall.

"Oh my," At the sound of Irene's voice, Catrina lifted her head and glanced at the woman. "Hindi pa pala kayo nagkakilala ng maayos."

With a smile on her face, she proudly gestured to either one and spoke in pride undertones. "Catrina, meet Amaris. My daughter." Then she turned, still with a grin. ". . .Amaris meet Catrina."

The two pulled it off with a simple shake and wave of their hands before shying their gazes away. It might haven't been felt by the mother, but the tension was visible between both girls.

"Uh, nice to meet you. . .Amaris."

"Likewise, Catrina." Fake. It was all fake. The smiles, their plausible affection, the way they hold their conversations; not a single thing was genuine.

Catrina shrugged it off, thinking all will be fine in the long run. First impressions are always wrong. . .but is it really an impression, or is it deemed an intuition? Let the beings handle that, for she was far up her head to stoop low and assume.

"I can't wait for the both of you to get along!" Her face contorted rapaciously; Irene clasped both her hands as she gazed at both girls with a certain twinkle in her eye. If Catrina was asked, this whole ordeal felt like a television show with crappy sets and hidden cameras, a typical sitcom of spurious intent.

But as Catrina peered through Irene's eyes, she could see a sense of peace creeping amongst those familiar chocolate irises of hers. And in a way, everything felt stable. One thing the young girl missed, however; were those faithful wrinkles, and how tired Irene looked. 

A soft ping carried her away from oblivion as she quickly looked away and stared down on her phone. Catrina slowly read through Harper's message before sighing and quickly fixed her plate, promptly carrying it to the kitchen. She was now in a hurry.

"Tita mauna na po ako, kailangan pa ho ako sa school eh. . ." 

"Wait, we can drop you off na lang. We're going to the mall kaya saktong dadaanan natin yung school mo."

Catrina was about to refuse but seeing as Irene rushed her daughter and swiftly took her bag along with the car keys, she had no choice but to obliged. The three quietly entered the car, with both girls riding at the back, more than an inch's distance from one another and didn't bother to acknowledge each other's presence.

Irene started the car, glancing at the two girls once in a while before fixing her gaze upfront as they slowly drove off and hit the road.

. . .

A perplexing problem it was to get to be in the same vehicle as them. Catrina relieved a sigh before getting out of the car, waving goodbye to the woman and her child. It was a good day and yet, she had trouble of finding where the good part starts.

"Bye Kit-Cat! Have fun in school, 'wag magpagod!" Irene's hands gracefully waved, and it earned her a stiff grin from Catrina in return.

They parted ways. But before anything else, Irene made sure that Catrina actually entered the gates of her school before driving off to their own destination.

Upon arriving, Catrina was faced with a puckered up Harper. Her arms were crossed, typically raising a brow and looked as if she ate something bitter. . .again.

She always looked at everything with a jaundiced eye. But being Catrina, she ignored it with comical sense.

"Finally! Akala ko hindi kana talaga papasok." Harper grabbed Catrina's arm and dragged her to the library. Their usual hangout spot. The walk from there was completely in silence; Harper paced whilst Catrina could only follow with much haste.

"Sandali, ang bilis mo—" Catrina stumbled, trying to make her friend slow down but she just ignored her and continued to walk until finally, they've reached the library.

It wasn't long before Harper took a seat, with Catrina following suit as they faced each other. And no matter how many times Catrina goes over Harper's face; she couldn't pinpoint what exactly was the other girl thinking.

Not until Harper unexpectedly bursted into a wide, beatific smile. That completely caught Catrina off-guard before sending Harper multiple mousy glances.

"So," Harper started, keeping her composure. "It's official. I got approved!"

Catrina felt Harper's nails dig into her skin, quite excitingly shaking her shoulders as well all while she could only look in confusion. It took her a few seconds before lighting up with joy.

"Hoy? Hindi nga! Totoo?!"

"Yes! It means itutuloy yung debate!" The two suppressed their squeals and squeezed each other's hands instead. "Soon enough, you'll have the president as your bestfriend."

Catrina blinked, "Wait. . .bestfriend? Bestfriend mo na ako?"

"Ayaw mo? Edi 'wag, madali akong kausapin." Harper turned, rolling her eyes at her own jesting commentary.

"Oy! 'Eto naman, tinatanong lang eh. . ." Catrina murmured, scratching the back of her neck before softly frowning.

Harper pursed her lips, "I can't believe I'm actually saying this. . ." She muttered under her breath before looking into Catrina's eyes. "Yes, bestfriend na kita. For the first time! I, Harper Belmonte, can't believe na may kaibigan na ako."

"Baka binibiro mo lang ako dito. . ."

"Shut up Catrina. I'm not joking, you're genuinely the first one to be my actual friend. . .like bestfriend."

The young girl could only stare, Catrina was stupefied. She felt her insides burst, filling her entire gut with nothing but nectars of delight.

"Ikaw din." That came in a whisper, loud enough to reach Harper's ears, however. Warm emotions surged through, breaking a barrier that hid between the two.

"Ikaw din yung una na naging kaibigan ko. . ."