Ex Boyfriend

I heard a thunderous applause from the combined students, parents and teachers of the school when my name was called from the microphone. I wholeheartedly stood up and walked towards the stage where I would receive my diploma and medal. Mama was waiting for me at the bottom of the stage, crying because of the great joy she felt. I hugged Mama without saying a word. It quickly responded and hugged me. We climbed the stage together to accept the honor and diploma I got. I had a medal, because of someone who taught me the times when I didn't understand anything in the teachings of my teachers.

Today I have become an inspiration so that everything we share together is not wasted. The time will come when we will meet that person again, and I will dedicate the medal I received to him.

"I'm so happy to see you like that, son!" Mama tearfully put my medal on me. I also cried accepting that. I shook hands with my principal before facing the entire student body at the bottom of the stage. Everyone applauded because of the honor I received. Out of our four friends, I was the only one who received a medal, so my friends Niña, Elaine and Bianca were very jealous of me. Even so, they were very surprised by what they saw. So when I sat in the chair, they asked me.

"Why are you with your nanny? Your parents don't attend?" they asked me in surprise.

I felt ashamed of myself. I hid everything from my friends for a long time. Now, is it time for me to tell them everything? It hurts me to keep a secret from them, but it hurts me even more that they will hate and distance themselves from me if they find out the truth.

"Yes, my parents can't come because there's a lot of finishing work. I understand that everything they are doing is for my future, so it's okay." It smiled and nodded at me, as if I had convinced them of what I had done. I'm not ready to admit everything to them yet. Maybe instead of us being happy to be apart this year, this will be a reason for them to hate me.

After I said that, I looked again at Mama who was sitting on the other row of chairs. His somewhat wrinkled face disappears when he smiles at me. I'm just sorry because I can't brag about him to others. Because I'm afraid they might laugh at me.

"Not now, but one day I can be proud of you to my friends..." I only uttered to myself.

After the graduation day, we each said goodbye to each other. We'll just talk from time to time. I don't know if I will be able to enroll in college but maybe I will work first and save.

"Son, we have to go home. Sir has a lot of visitors today so I need to be there so I can help with the jobs. You son, you can not work first. Madam knows that you are a graduate too. I saw them a while ago, I was just shy to ride in their car so I said that you are still getting something from your teacher." Mama explained to me.

What Mama said was right. I don't want to go with Mama and my boss's car because Niña will definitely be surprised.

Yes, Mama is a maid. And her being a maid is what makes me study here in this beautiful and wealthy school. Mama doesn't pay the entire tuition fee, it's just my pocket that she uses to make ends meet every day. Mama's employer paid my tuition fees so I was able to graduate from a good school, even though Mama was only a maid.

Papa has been dead for a long time. He died of an illness that could not be treated. I'm an only child, that's why Mama takes care of me on a daily basis. Everything I want is stored by him. Be it nice clothes, shoes and other things I need, he makes a way to make me happy. Because Mama's boss is kind, he understands people like us who are poor, so Mama is very grateful to her bosses.

We went home so that Mama could go back to work. Mama said, we can celebrate but after her work. That's why I said no because it's a waste of money. I also don't have a guest like Mama's boss's son so there's no need to celebrate. I also thought that there was nothing to do either, so I would just help in the kitchen to wash the dishes that the guests had eaten.

The house of the maids is also close to our master's house. It is also just inside their big yard. I went to the kitchen to help the other maids there who were busy with their work.

"Oh, Aira! Why are you here? Didn't you just graduate too? You should be joining them outside," said Eva. There is twenty years older than me and it is also a maid there.

"Ha-ha-ha. Sister Eva, I'm not rich enough to join them. Maybe later our boss's guests from school will recognize me there and they will know the truth.

The other maids knew that I pretended to be rich. I was also put in danger several times, Elaine suddenly called the landline and they were the ones who answered. As my friends, even though they are several decades older than me, our attitudes do not differ and I am good at getting along with everyone, so they let me do such work even though I hate my mother.

"You're really crazy too, come on, let it go, we'll celebrate later. There is still a lot of food left over so we will be full of food later!" He spoke happily to me so I just laughed. It's really nice to be with real people. There is no hidden secret and everything you go through in life they can support me.

After the party, we celebrated. My guests are also the fellow maids. These are Sister Claire, Sister Eva, Mother Julita, Mama and me. The two family drivers, Kuya Jun and Dad Rodolfo, were also present. There are many more who will share the case with us, and the other staff of Gov. are still on duty.

"Congratulations, son!" Mama said to me.

"Thank you, Mom."

"This is a gift from Ate Lita to you, youngest!" Ate Claire handed me a paper bag. I was surprised because I didn't think they had a gift for me.

"Wow! Thank you Sister Claire and Mother Julita. You really even bothered to give me a present."

"Of course, we still think of you as our youngest brother."

I'm glad I opened the gift. And I received a very beautiful dress from both of them.

"Oh, that's all I have for you, Aira. I have a lot of bills so there is nothing left from my salary." Sister Eva explained to me.

"Oh, Sister Eva. Don't think about it, I'm not after a gift. What is important to me is that you are always there for me and Mama."

I hugged Mama and she was crying with joy.

"That's going to make you and your mother cry again, come on and let's eat. There is also a lot of leftovers in the ready, we might not be able to use it up." Kuya Jun laughed heartily.

"Yes, I'm hungry too..." Father Rodolfo agreed as he took a plate and scooped up some food.

"Come on, let's eat and they might need us outside later," said Mama, so we started spooning food to each other. We were still laughing while eating, talking happily when Gov's son suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

"Wow! It looks like there is fun here..." he said.

Mama stood up when she saw this. He put down the plate he was holding for a moment.

"Oh Sir Sean, I'm sorry. We're just going to celebrate because Aira has graduated from high school. Do you need anything, sir?"

"Yes, by the way, Aira graduated at the same time as me. Congratulations, Aira."

I stopped eating noodles. I quickly shoved the food in my mouth and faced Sean who was looking at me.

"Thank you sir," I said after eating the food.

"Don't eat too much after eating. I'm not the type of girl who does nothing but eat." After saying that, he turned and left in front of us.

We were all stunned by what he said. Ate Eva and Ate Claire looked at me.

"What? He doesn't want to be chubby? Why does Sir Sean like you?" Sister Claire asked.

"Yes? Nothing! Then what does he care if I eat until I get fat?"

"Shhhss... don't make any noise and you and Sir Sean might hear us talking about him. Oh, that's going to upset us again just in case," said Mother Julita to us.

"Come on, let's continue eating when we're done," said Mama.

I lost the desire to spoon again because of what Sean said. Why did he tell me that? Does that mean he always sees me eating?

I was quiet and thought carefully.

At school where I always met the arrogant Sean. It always has a serious face. It's a bit arrogant because it thinks highly of itself. Many women fall for it. I'm the only one who doesn't care. I know him because I don't just know him because he is the son of my boss and Mama. That's why I know its good behavior. I am not attracted to him because of his bad attitude. Unlike his father, I always hear them arguing because Sean is always doing something bad. It's a shame for the family that their son is always involved in trouble-especially since his father is still a governor. Sean just had to adjust his behavior so that his father's name would not be ruined by many people. I didn't tell my friends that I knew Sean because they would know that we were just maids in his house. Sean doesn't pay much attention to me because who am I to pay attention to him? I'm just a shimay's son in their house. Only then did I realize that even though Sean was not paying attention to me, he could see that I had always eaten. Every time I see and meet it, I always dig up some food. If so-

"Does he notice me at school?"

Mama was surprised when I said that because I suddenly spoke.

"What is that, son? Who notices?"

"Huh? Ah, nothing..." I said grimacing as I took another bite of food in my mouth.

BECAUSE of the desire to save more tuition fees in collage. I was no longer ashamed to tell Madam to let me into our city hall as an employee. I also have knowledge of using a computer and I am also diligent in tasks. I was not disappointed and he immediately helped me get a job. Madam brought me in as her son Sean's professional assistant. I was a bit hesitant because it might be difficult for me if Sean becomes my boss, but I thought that I can definitely handle everything. I was also ashamed to refuse the job because I got the position without any difficulty. Madam hired me so that I could also watch Sean's movements.

"Can you do what I ask you to do, Aira? Your job will be easy. If you can't do it, just say so. I can get you into another job," Madam promised me.

How can I refuse if I owe them. They sent me to school, so I should just give it back.

"It's fine with me, Madam. I will accept the job."

Madam smiled at my decision.

"Very good, Aira. That's what I really liked about your attitude. You don't like to shop for work. I know that you are doing this for your future, and I am glad that you have a dream in life. Just fix your work, I'll take care of your college studies. Just keep working hard and I will support you until you reach your dream in life."

Madam said I almost cried. I am glad that he said that he will also support my collage studies. If so, I can enroll in the next entrance. That was good news for Mama.

"Thank you very much, Madam. Thank you so much..." I couldn't help but hug her because I was so happy.

I immediately reported that to Mama. It rejoices in the good news.

"Can you work son? Can you handle Sir Sean's attitude? Son, I'm just reminding you, you can fall in love with others but never fall in love with our boss. I don't want to hurt you child, I don't want to see you cry."

I laughed at what Mom said. In love? It was so impossible for me to fall in love with Sean.

"As for Mama, that's what you're telling me right away when I was still young."

"You're not young anymore, you're on your period, I'm just taking care of you."

"Don't worry, Mama. Because that thing will not happen."

Mama nodded at what I said. I know that it believes in me. I'm ready to be with Sean, as long as it's work. I'm not like Niña who is dead to Sean.

The next day Madam called me to her room. I wondered because we could talk in the living room, why in his room? I can only enter this room now.

Going up to the third floor of their house, I nervously knocked on the door of Madam's room. I heard a loud scream from inside.

"Come in," he said.

I opened the door and there was a beautiful couple's room. Expensive displays sparkled and the room was fragrant. Its room is so big that it almost looks like a house. There is a big tv, there are sofas, there is a machine for exercise in the morning. Sean's family is very luxurious.

"Aira, come here..." Madam called me. He was sitting on his bed. Their bed is king size, there are clothes and various shoes on Madam's bed. "See if they fit you. I will give you all that."

I was surprised by what Madam said. So my eyes widened when I looked at the fancy clothes on the bed. Everything is almost new because Madam has not worn the others much. I shyly picked up a beautiful pink dress. I think these clothes look just right on me. Madam and I are not far apart, because I am also a big girl. Even the shoes and sandals it provides, I think everything will suit me. I feel like I can see myself when I wear these clothes. I feel like a princess who came down to earth.

"Are you sure, Madam? These clothes you are giving me are beautiful. It's embarrassing for me to wear this because I'm not rich."

Madam laughed at what I said. This is comforting because of my ignorance of imported goods.

"They are not rich yet. I thought that Sean was a bit picky about the people he was with. That's why I gave you clothes to wear so you don't look like a servant. I don't want you to think that I hired you to be Sean's nanny. That's a different job, Aira. I want you to feel comfortable with each other so that you can both work well together. I want Sean to be trained well in politics, while he is still at the stage of a teenager, people can already see that he has a lot of talent. You know that he often gets into trouble, right? So you must be alert so that we can catch everything early. Sean needs to learn to be responsible for everything, Aira. I don't want to spoil people's view of us, just because of Sean's mistakes."

I am sure that I can do my job well. The only thing I can't guarantee is to stop Sean from his usual jobs. Sean is no longer a child who won't do it when you forbid him. It might just laugh at me if I stop it from the gimmicks it's going for. But even though I know the consequences of this, I cannot be discouraged. My education depends on it.

It wasn't long before I started as Sean's assistant. I go with the seminars it goes to. We go to orphanages and deliver help to children. Even in the activities that he needs to show that what he is doing is useful, he is also with me. I document all of that and make sure people know what Sean is doing. It also has a fun page and website where I am the admin. I work a lot just to make its name smell good. But it's not all easy because I'm still going through a lot of hardships before we finish Sean's work.

Sean and I spend almost every day together. And sometimes I am included in his pictures and interviews that are reported and posted everywhere. My friends heard about that quickly so they made a way for us to meet again. I thought it was just a simple outing so Niña invited me. That's when the three of them talked about how I would introduce them to Sean.

"You can't, Aira? What's the use of our friendship if you become selfish? You want to single Sean out so you don't want to introduce us to him!" Elaine said angrily to me.

"Hi-that's not true, I don't like Sean. It's not easy what you're doing so-"

"Now you are struggling with our challenges? What we ask of you is very simple. If we are really your friends, you will not reject us!" Niña promised me.

"We are not in high school yet to do those challenges. We are different now, many things have changed and-"

"You're one of the changed ones, right Aira?" said Bianca to me.

I just sighed at what the three of them said. To this day they are still like that. How can I do what they want? It was hard to tell Sean that he wanted them to date at the same time. If I have a hard time getting him to agree to his jobs, then he can date my friends.

"Are you going to do it or not? Tell us, Aira if you can. So that we already know your answer," Elaine asked me.

"I'll try," I only said to the three of them.

My answer was uncertain, because I wasn't really sure Sean would agree.

In the evening, Mama noticed that I was sad. I was outside the house staring at the stars in the sky. He approached me and spoke to me.

"What happened, son? You seem to be deep in thought, are you having a hard time with your work?"

"It's not, Mom. I'm just thinking about something else. I'm thinking about what I'll buy first when I reach my dreams." I lied to Mom. I don't want to tell him what I'm having trouble with because I'm sure he won't agree with what my friends want either.

"Is that what you're thinking? Think about your future son, when you reach your dream, don't forget to thank the Lord."