My cellphone chimes once again.
It is probably another photo from the professor.
He has been sending me numerous photos all day, all of which showed his favorite niece, Bebe Meme. There's even a picture of the two of them, faces pressed against each other, looking so much alike, that one would think they are father and child.
I ignored it and went on with my bath. I have just arrived from a tiring day at work. The event we had sponsored this day is finally over, with only 8 parents backing out from the first batch of volunteers.
It was quite tedious, though, particularly since some of the parents brought their children with them, when we explicitly informed them not to. Thus, we had to entertain 34 children, while their parents attended the orientation. I had to keep on my feet all day, ordering additional food for the children, and moving from one room to another, just to make sure that everything went on as planned. Now, all I want to do is to soak in the bath all night until the fatigue seeps out of my pores.
I close my eyes and let myself slip into the warm water, folding my long legs to fit into the deep tub.
It feels so good underneath.
Calm.
Comforting.
Quiet.
I can let everything go and just let it flow over me...
"Uy!"
I was surprised when someone tapped my face repeatedly.
"Why the hell are you sleeping in the tub you idiot?!? Don't you know how dangerous that is?!"
I glance up and see the professor looking angrily at me.
"I was merely resting my eyes." I stifled a yawn.
"What do you mean, 'resting my eyes'? I've been calling your name for a while now! You were slipping deeper in the tub, you would have drowned if I didn't notice you in here!" he blurted out. "The hell... are you planning to add to the body count on my birthday?!"
The professor looked unusually flustered.
"What body count?" I frowned at him. "Who else died?"
"No one did!" he snapped at me.
Prof. Antonio tried to pull me out of the tub and failed. I raised myself up, stepped out of the tub on my own, and stood in front of the professor who was still frowning at me.
At least he doesn't seem to be afraid of me anymore. He even touched my skin and rubbed my back.
"How long were you in that tub? Look how cold you are! Your skin looks like a wrinkled prune!" He took my towel and started wiping me off.
"Just a little past nine..." I said with a sneeze.
"A little past nine?! It's already past 11! No wonder the water's gone all cold! See? You're probably coming up with the cold."
"I am fine, I just lost track of time."
"Fine my ass!"
I watched him fuss over me and felt something warm in my chest. This was the first time I have seen the professor like this. It felt as if he actually cared about me. I wanted to reach out to him and hold him close, but doing so would probably freak him out again...
"What are you staring?" he said after tying a towel around my waist. "See? Your face has gone all red!" he touched my forehead, making me quiver. "Now, you're starting to have a temperature! Hurry back to your room and get dressed!"
He pulled me out of the bathroom, holding my hand. He smelled of cake and of berries and of two different alphas I did not know, and suddenly, I felt so sad that I couldn't stop my tears from falling.
"Hurry up and – now, what?!" he said after looking back at me. "Are you crying?! Why are you crying?! What the hell happened to you?!"
"I don't know," I told him honestly, "I just suddenly feel so sad." I sneeze once more.
"The hell... this is what you get for being stupid!" he snapped at me before checking my temperature once again. I close my eyes and lean my head on his cold hand. "Go get some clothes on. I'll get you some medicine from the kitchen."
"Don't go." I grabbed hold of his hand.
"I'll just get some paracetamol from downstairs!" he insisted.
"No, you won't come back anymore..."
"And why would I not come back to my own home?" he sounded irritated. "Besides, your men would skin me alive if anything happens to you!"
"Promise you'll come back?"
"Okay, I promise. Go get dressed first, got it?"
I let go of his hand. I watched as he went out of my room, leaving the door open. I then went to my wardrobe and took out a shirt and a pair of underwear. My body felt so hot and heavy, that I had to sit on the bed to slip my underwear on. I was still pulling it up when the professor came back.
"Why aren't you dressed yet?"
I simply stared back at him.
"Haah, why are you suddenly acting like a brat? Come here and raise your arms up."
He helped me with my shirt, putting it over my head and pulling my hair out. He then took a towel to dry me better, then wound it up on top of my head to dry my hair.
"Drink this and go take some rest." He handed me a tablet.
"What for?" I asked.
"For your fever, what else?"
"But I'm not sleepy yet..."
"Wow, why do I feel like we've switched places?" he said with a laugh. "Don't be stubborn and just drink it. I think you're getting delirious already!"
I took the medicine and drank it.
"There, good boy," he patted my head, removing the damp towel. "Now, go to sleep."
He stood up, but I held his hand and placed it on my head again.
"Don't go. Pat me more."
"Ha?"
"I'm a good boy, right? Praise me more."
"Hey, Habibi, I had no idea you could be this cute when you're sick!"
He praised me!
"More."
He grinned and sat by my side again.
"Okay, then, for my Habibi whose cooking is the best in Universal Labs! You're always so diligent at work and at home, though the stuff you bought practically does everything at the push of a button. You can find solutions for almost everything except for your stubbornness and your inability to speak fluent Filipino."
He continued rubbing my head, then he pushed me back to lie on the bed and pulled the blanket over me.
"Just what did you do to get sick like this?" he asked. "Didn't Pedro and Pilar help you out at work?"
"They helped... but you told me to take care of everything..."
"Hey, I never said anything about actually taking on everything on your own!"
"But some of the parents brought their children along, Pedro and I had to play with 34 kids to keep them entertained."
"You actually played with 34 kids the whole day?!"
"Pedro said we could have parlor games."
"Then, who took care of the orientation?"
"Pilar and the 12 remaining interns."
"And did they understood the topics discussed?!"
"Yes."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I checked all their feedback personally. Only 8 parents backed out of the 200 attendees."
"Good. Did Pedro prepare for back-up volunteers?"
"I have already chosen 8 more and sent them an invitation for tomorrow's orientation."
"Ah, all's good, then." He placed his cool hand on my forehead once more.
"Did I do good professor?"
"Yeah, you did great. No wonder you ended up like this. And staying in the bath too long didn't help either!"
"Then pat me more."
He did just that. I slowly closed my eyes and took a deep sigh.
"now, go to slee–"
"Don't stop," I told him, grabbing hold of his other arm and pulling him closer to me. "Stay here."
He gave a sigh and laid beside me on the bed, then started patting my head again.
"So, this is how you act when you're sick," he chuckled. "You're just like a spoiled little child! I'll let it slide for now, but just for tonight, okay?"
I smiled as he rubbed my head, and slowly drifted to sleep.