Chapter Text
"Phil"
The child nervously cleared his throat hearing his name being called out by his teacher and stepped forward to her table which was perched on by a glass bowl containing tiny rolled pieces of paper.
He stood in front of the mahogany table and made sure to show a friendly smile at his teacher before his hand descended down the porcelain ornament to get one of the papers as instructed by the woman . His heart pounded at the slightest touch of his pick and went back to his seat feeling his hand drenched by sweat.
He might just ruin the flimsy material but he can't help it.
" what did you get?" his seat mate whispered. The tan skinned boy took a deep breath and unrolled the flimsy material.
" Tragedy-Comedy" he read.
Then the school bell rang signalling the end of the last period for the day.
Emma wiped off the sweat forming on her forehead. She's been preparing for this trip since early morning starting from securing all the important materials relevant to school down to the fundamental belongings like clothes which kept her busy at the moment. She normally packs light which became a challenging task now that she'd had to choose from her favorite sets of clothing laid out on her bed.
She gets through this difficult decision and she's good to go before her mother could even say
"Emma... Are you ready?"
The ginger's eyes dilated when she heard Dina ask. The woman was already standing by her door with a sleeping Carol in her arms.
"U-uh!!! I'm almost done Mama!!!"
Dina sweat dropped staring at Emma with urgency.
" please hurry dear... We'll still be picking up Phil from school. And we have less than an hour and 30 minutes to get to the airport without the plane leaving you behind."
After the reminder, the woman in her mid thirties steadfastly went down the staircase to the porch. She combed her child's mandarin hair on her way to the car to keep her asleep for her afternoon nap.
Emma gasped.
She gaped at the wall clock.
She's so behind her normal schedule.
Forget about looking presentable. As long as her rubber shoes, volleyball uniform, some decent looking casual outfits and undies are tucked she'll be fine.
She grabbed her top candidates resting on the mattress ( the bed she'd miss oh so much) and stuffed them unceremoniously in her trolley, zipped it, slinged her back pack that sprawled on the floor and sprinted downstairs skipping three steps at the stairs. Her quick movements enabling her to stash both of her bags at the back of the family car in no time. Bless the heavens for gracing an athletic built.
She slid inside the vehicle soon and grinned at her sibling, Anna, sitting at the passenger's seat bounded to be her seatmate. Their father, Yugo, was already at the driver's area with Dina and a slumbering Carol beside him. It's a miracle he's not into his classic scolding feat at the time. Probably holding back so he could concentrate on the road.
Seeing that she's off the hook, she turned to the blonde beside her. Emma was about to tell her little sister how awesome N.U. festivals are when her phone sounded.
A call from Ray arrived. Turns out she's not gonna get away with tardiness after all. She braced herself as she tapped the green button. Receiving an earful was a plausible outcome and it made her shudder.
"Hey Ray!" Was her cheery greeting before swallowing the lump in her throat. Pretending to stay sprightly might save her soul.
"Dont 'Hey' me idiot... I'm waiting...Where are you?"
She could feel his temper seeping out of her device. It would have rendered normal people speechless but years of getting used to and one would be able to stutter out a reply like she did.
" a-about to go to the airport in a sec!...oh and did you call me because I'm already accepted?! "
"Don't push your luck"
Ray responded flatly before the other line hang up. Emma lets out a big pout.
Phil waited at the school shed. Once he saw a familiar car, park, he smiled and excitedly broke into a sprint headed its way. He opened one of the passenger doors greeted by his big sisters Anna and Emma when he hopped in. He noted that both of them were dressed for their trip overseas. In a single glance his initial smile dissipated to a crestfallen expression immediately.
" you...you are already leaving? But.. But... You said that's next week" was his sad reaction.
His sisters began to mimic the vibe.
" sorry, something came up Phil. Our midterms and school festival got rescheduled. But don't worry! We'll be back before you know it!" Emma tried to cheer him up like she normally do and reaching out to rub his black hair as fondly as he could remember.
"yes... And we'll buy you a new train set!" Anna hoped it would alleviate his blues.
" Yeah! We'll bring in the latest designs from your favorite toy company!!! How's that sound!?" Emma added.
Phil didn't want a new train set. Yugo bought him enough of those plastic mobile toys ever since he was a toddler. Young Phil wants his sisters.
But he can't just anchor them in their home forever.
His sisters were leaving for their college responsibilities.
Anna is in her freshman year as a medical student and Emma in her third year of Law. Plus they are active club participants.
He's suppose to understand and he doesn't want to start acting like a baby despite how difficult letting go can be
They barely spent time together after all.
But he's a big boy now. He tells himself that all the time. And a big boy entails knowing what comes first.
So he faked a mirthful smile and said
"okay!"
Ray checked his wristwatch a vein popping on his forehead. He got stuck in the airport for 2 freaking hours waiting for Emma and Anna to arrive. He suspects the ginger was responsible for it ( based on his past experiences flying with her) so as usual he sends her voice mails exhibiting his displeasure. Just when he was about to rant
"RAY!!!!" screeched Emma.
Their flight leaves in 15 minutes and the hasty ginger ran full speed towards his direction.
Finally!
Anna followed suit with the rest of their family.
"The traffic... Huff... The traffic ...puff" Emma could barely catch her breath. Her hands grabbing his shoulder to support her spent body.
"Emma... Anna... Are you sure you didn't leave anything important?" Dina couldn't possibly forget her usual last minute reminder which she's done for the umpteenth time in the car.
The sisters nodded. And while Dina was double checking, Yugo, who was carrying the bags, placed them down and borrowed Ray from Emma's hold. The men walked a few paces out of earshot for a quick man to man talk.
"Listen... You remember the rules right Cyclops?"
"yeah yeah... Watch over my girls and don't let any strangers creep around them since they are not allowed to date. And don't worry, I'll jog Norman's memory of that too."
Ray grunted and rolled his eyes like a sass.
"Good." Yugo patted his shoulders hard. It made Ray tumble once, twice, in his younger years but no longer bothered him in the slightest at the current hour. His body was more robust with years of working out and hitting his growth spurt. The older male was inwardly glad Ray's manning up.
They returned to the women and children a second later running into the normal child's play from Carol.
" DON'T LEAVE!!!" cried the little girl who had awaken during the dash across the airport in Dina's arms. She hugged both Emma and Anna's legs preventing the two from moving a step.
"not now... Baby... Your sisters are leaving so they could continue school..." Dina crouched and tried to pry the child off from the hold gently.
"Bu-but! There are many other universities here... Why... Why do they have to go to another country every year!?"
Carol was red-faced. Anytime she'll explode and throw a tantrum on the tiled floor. Phil had to intervene impressing the adults around.
" Emma and Anna will be back Carol... And look at the bright side... We get all of their desserts for the half of the school year! "
Carol gasped at what she heard. It did just the trick. She calmed down and her mouth, with a few missing teeth, drooled at the thought. She quickly let go but it didnt mean she'd allow them on board without a piece of her mind. She crossed her arms looking like a scolding adult. Cute, was the majority's opinion.
" you both know the rules RIGHT? Listen well and remember NUMBER 1: DO NOT DATE NOT UNLESS PAPA TURNS 60 which means no Twitter, no Facebook , no Skype, no Tinder no--"
" yes ma'am" Emma and Anna said in chorus humoring her.
" Number 2: Do not talk to strangers... A.k.a all the boys in school... " Anna did the second for her. The blonde pressed her lips on Carol's forehead before they landed on Phil's as well.
" and Number 3: something you kids don't have to know" Emma ended the enumeration with a peck on the cheeks for both of the children.
The family gave each other embraces and kisses afterwards. Dina grabbed Ray in as well for the family hug. The dark-head retained his poker face while being crushed on the death grips only a miniscule change of demeanor was evident. Something that if one would look closely, one would wonder. It wasn't discomfort but it was guilt written on his face.
Last call for passengers of Flight 32256 please proceed to Gate 5. Thank you.
"Make sure to call us when the three of you get to England safely! say Hi to the whole brotherhood and sisterhood for us also! "
Dina had said as she bid them goodbye along with the rest of her children and her husband.
Emma, Ray and Anna nodded. The sisters made sure to wave as much as they can before disappearing out of sight inside a huge crowd the airport hosted. And as the college students hurried to board the plane, Carol meanwhile, innocently eyed her parents.
"say Mama, Papa, rule Number 3 stipulates that 'Do not have sex'.... What's sex? Is that how people get Human Immunosufficiency Vaccine (HIV)? Immunosufficiency Vaccine is good so why deprive my sisters of it?"