**Two**
**RHEA'S POV -**
Almira dragged me into a park a few hours after our class. It was our clan's EB, and I had no plans to go, but here I am now, being dragged by her.
"Don't be such a joy killer, crushmate. Just come along," she insisted.
"Is there anything else I can do? You're already pulling my hand," I replied, feeling forced.
"Don't worry about it. You were just absent from Dota tonight," she said with a smile.
After a few minutes of walking, we stopped at a bamboo hut. The hut was almost filled with young men and women. They happily told each other stories, and you could almost hear everyone's laughter. They were all talking; only a few were sitting quietly. The clan I joined seemed happy, and the members were not idiots. Everyone who came in was approached by someone who shook their hand. I wondered why there were so many members. Almira and I were only an hour late. I hoped Uno, the founder of the clan, was not here yet.
"Crushmate, do you know any of them?" I whispered to Almira.
She nodded and replied, "Almost all of them are old members. I only see a few new faces."
We entered the hut. It was funny to see the members as if they had known each other for decades because they were all so close. Some were gossiping and joking, while others teased people only to speak up and join in the teasing. That is why Almira constantly convinced me to attend at least one EB because it was so much fun.
I was leaning on a bamboo pole with Almira, observing every movement of the members. From what I could see, even if you're just a newbie, you'll quickly become close to everyone because of their habit of getting along and talking. Even if you just met them, it's like you've been friends for decades.
"Is that a newbie with you?" a young man walking in our direction asked while looking at me.
"No, oldies. She just had time to do EB," Almira answered.
He was asking Almira but looking at me?
"Four," the young man extended his hand to me.
"Primera," I replied and shook his hand.
"Primera?" He thought for a moment. "Are you the Dota player in the clan?"
"That's right," I said with a smile.
"Rhea!" a voice shouted from behind Four.
Does anyone here know me well enough to call me by my real name?
Four and I both turned around, and I saw the first man to beat me at Dota. He walked toward us with a smile.
I wished his face would tear up from his huge smile.
"I did say you are Primera," he added when he arrived in front of us.
I just raised an eyebrow at him and then looked in another direction.
"Do you know each other?" Four asked me.
"Because he is my schoolmate," I weakly replied without looking at him.
"Four, the officers are supposed to have a meeting first," Almira said to Four.
Four just nodded to Almira, and they left the hut together.
"It's Princebeybe," Ceejay introduced himself when he noticed that my attention was not on him.
I turned to him, "I know you, Ceejay Gonzaga."
He replied with a smile, "You know me from school but not from the clan."
"Tsk," I answered him with a half-smile.
"It's your first time attending EB?" he continued.
"Yes, I really didn't want to go, but Almira didn't stop insisting," I explained.
"Why? It's fun," he said with a smile.
"Looks like it. They were all having fun, and it seemed they all knew each other ages ago," I stated.
After a while, Ceejay reached into his pocket to get his cellphone. I, on the other hand, was smiling, watching the happy members talking in front of me. They were really fun to watch. Even if you are not involved, you will smile when they laugh out loud.
I remembered my sister. I hadn't said goodbye to her yet. That was really worrying, and my inbox was probably flooded again with her messages.
I looked at Ceejay for a moment. He seemed busy with his cellphone, and I took my cellphone out of my pocket. My sister's missed calls popped up on my cellphone, and her messages filled my inbox. She is really good at flooding me with messages.
She was probably angry.
I didn't say goodbye to Ceejay because he was busy with his cellphone. I left the hut and hurried to the exit.
"Where are you going, Crushmate?" Almira called when she noticed I was hurrying ahead of her.
"Going home," I answered briefly without looking at her.
"You just arrived," she shouted.
I continued to walk without paying attention to her.
"Bless the youngest who follows their eldest," Four shouted jokingly.
While walking, I looked at him a little and then answered, "She's the only one I have." Then I completely focused my attention on walking and went straight to the waiting area for the jeep.
Good thing there was a jeep parked waiting for me, so I got on it right away. The jeep also left immediately, so I reached home quickly.
When I opened the door of the house, I found my sister sitting on the sofa in our living room, with coffee next to her. She was facing her laptop, and it looked like she was doing something important because her face was serious.
I was about to step inside when she suddenly turned her eyes to the door and immediately returned to her laptop. So I just took a few steps and then closed the door.
"Why did you just come home now? Did your class end at 5 p.m.?" My sister started without looking at me.
"Because Almira forced me to attend EB," I explained while looking at the laptop in front of her with curiosity.
My sister just nodded at my answer while her eyes were still focused on the laptop. I don't really like to lie to my sister, so the conversation didn't last long.
I kept wondering what she was up to.
"What are you doing? Don't you want to take your eyes off the laptop?" I asked in curiosity as my eyebrows met and my arms crossed.
"I'm having a video chat with my dad and our half-sisters," she replied, still staring at the laptop.
I didn't answer anymore. Disappointed, I walked to the kitchen and looked for something to eat. I thought it was something else.
"You won't even recognize them?" she continued without me answering.
"I'll just eat. I will be full," I answered and opened the fridge to get some food.
My sister turned to the kitchen without getting up from her seat and said, "How long will you be like that? Accept that they have their own families."
"It took me a long time to accept it, sister," I said and placed the food I took from the refrigerator, which was in the middle of the kitchen, on the small table. "The only thing my conscience can't accept is that they still have a face in front of us after everything they've done."
From the kitchen, I heard footsteps coming from the living room to where I was. My sister's face appeared in front of me with furrowed brows.
"Just say thank you and say hello to Papa. As for Mom, who has buried us in oblivion," my sister argued, almost raising her voice at me.
I looked at her disgusted face and then scolded her, "And did that correct all the mistakes he made?"
"Mama was not satisfied and replaced us with someone else, so Dad looked for someone else," my sister answered.
I stood up from my seat and stared at her, annoyed. "And with Dad looking for someone else, did that correct the mistake that Mom started?" I replied, "A mistake never corrects another mistake."
I didn't wait for my sister to answer. I took the food that was on the table and dashed to my room.
Her gaze was sharp as she watched me leave her presence.
We often argue about our parents because they are both guilty. I was 8 years old when my mother had another man and left us. A few years later, Dad also had another woman. He left and abandoned us. My sister was still in high school, and I was in elementary school. But we lived with my sister's own efforts, and she graduated. Now, she was supporting my studies.
I'm really bitter because they left us. We went through a lot of hardships, but we made it.
I sat on the bed and started eating. I was just quiet while feeling the surroundings. My room was dark because I didn't turn on the light, but it was bright because of the moonlight.
As long as there is still a moon that gives light to the dark night, there is always hope in every hardship one goes through.