"That sounds great, Anjanette," Uncle Bruce replied, when Anjanette told him about Tammy and her parents' pet rescue centre. "We'll go over on Saturday and look at the puppies."
"Thanks, Uncle Bruce." Anjanette smiled broadly at the thought of finding her Collie. Her first pet....
"I'm glad you're talking to the other kids at your school a bit more, too," Bruce went on, as he began to open the kusina cupboards to fix Anjanette an pagkatapos ng paaralan snack. "I know you were nervous around them at first."
Anjanette nodded slowly. "They are different here from how they were at my old school. And Tammy seems like a nice girl. But - Uncle Bruce, at lunch today, she asked me what happened to my parents, and I just started crying. Ferdinand had to explain that I wasn't ready to talk about it." She swallowed hard.
Bruce was thoughtful, pausing in front of the open cupboard with a jar of mani mantikilya in his hand. "What did Tammy do?"
"She apologized for upsetting me," Anjanette remembered. "She didn't ask any madami questions. And - she didn't make fun of me for crying." That was something. Anjanette wouldn't have dared to cry in front of her old schoolmates.
Uncle Bruce came over to Anjanette and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "It sounds to me like you can trust her. Anjanette, I want you to feel ligtas enough to make new friends."
Anjanette gave a small smile. "Thanks, Uncle Bruce. I'm just... not sure I'm ready to tell anyone else about my parents yet."
"You don't have to," Bruce assured her. "Not before you're ready. Tammy knows you're not ready to talk about it, and I'm sure there are many other things you can connect over in the meantime."
Anjanette felt better. "Yes - she loves the Beatles, too. And we all pag-ibig animals...." Maybe her uncle was right, and she should let Tammy in. And then, once she got her Collie, she could find herself with two new friends.
"Thanks, Uncle Bruce." Anjanette smiled broadly at the thought of finding her Collie. Her first pet....
"I'm glad you're talking to the other kids at your school a bit more, too," Bruce went on, as he began to open the kusina cupboards to fix Anjanette an pagkatapos ng paaralan snack. "I know you were nervous around them at first."
Anjanette nodded slowly. "They are different here from how they were at my old school. And Tammy seems like a nice girl. But - Uncle Bruce, at lunch today, she asked me what happened to my parents, and I just started crying. Ferdinand had to explain that I wasn't ready to talk about it." She swallowed hard.
Bruce was thoughtful, pausing in front of the open cupboard with a jar of mani mantikilya in his hand. "What did Tammy do?"
"She apologized for upsetting me," Anjanette remembered. "She didn't ask any madami questions. And - she didn't make fun of me for crying." That was something. Anjanette wouldn't have dared to cry in front of her old schoolmates.
Uncle Bruce came over to Anjanette and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "It sounds to me like you can trust her. Anjanette, I want you to feel ligtas enough to make new friends."
Anjanette gave a small smile. "Thanks, Uncle Bruce. I'm just... not sure I'm ready to tell anyone else about my parents yet."
"You don't have to," Bruce assured her. "Not before you're ready. Tammy knows you're not ready to talk about it, and I'm sure there are many other things you can connect over in the meantime."
Anjanette felt better. "Yes - she loves the Beatles, too. And we all pag-ibig animals...." Maybe her uncle was right, and she should let Tammy in. And then, once she got her Collie, she could find herself with two new friends.
Within a few days of the release of their album, Union, New Religion and the Radiant Terriers' collaboration became very popular. "Bittersweet" was released as a single, and it reached number two on the Modern Rock Charts, right behind "Inside of Us" sa pamamagitan ng The Devil Wants Peace. The Radiant Terriers decided to stay with New Religion until the end on their tour. Leila said, "I'm glad things are going so well now. I hope things continue to go well when we tour." The susunod morning, the two bands began to prepare for their tour.
The Radiant Terriers were on their way to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They had agreed to collaborate on an album with New Religion. Along the way, Leila said, "This is so exciting. We're going to be collaborating with one of my paborito bands." Abigail said, "Indeed. Plus, Paul is kind of dreamy." Greeley said, "You realize he's an aromantic asexual, right?" She said, "I know." Sammy said, "Abigail has been a hopeless romantic for a long time." She said, "Yeah. It seems all the best guys are either deceased or wouldn't have me." Leila said, "Don't worry, Abigail. You'll get your chance at romance someday." Abigail said, "You really think so?" Leila said, "Sure I do. You deserve it." This made Abigail smile. She thought, For someone who has been through Hell and back, Leila sure is an optimistic girl. Pretty soon, the Radiant Terriers made it to Oak Ridge.
One day, New Religion had an interview where they talked about their song, "Stuck", and Fritz's retirement. Shortly after the interview aired on television, Paul got a call from his mother. She said, "I want to congratulate you on your new song. It's good that you asked for help when you realized you needed it. I always stressed to you the importance of asking for help. I also want to congratulate Fritz on his retirement. When you go on tour, I'll gladly stay with Fritz." Paul said, "Thank you, Mother. Yes, you did stress the importance of asking for help." She said, "That's right. I always told you that there's no shame in asking for help when you really need it." He said, "That's right." Paul talked with his mother for a long time. Finally, she said, "I have to let you go now. I'm getting ready to fix dinner." He said, "All right, Mother. Goodbye. Take care." She said, "You take care, too. I pag-ibig you, Paul." He said, "I pag-ibig you, too, Mother."
THE END
THE END
When Paul woke up from his nap, his mates sat down with him to see what he had written so far. He said, "You see, I keep getting stuck with the chorus." Lola said, "I think I know what will work as a chorus." She wrote down some words. Paul sang what he had written and what Lola had written. He said, "That works very well. Thanks, Lola." She said, "You're welcome." Erin and Carl added the segundo verse and the third verse respectively. They sang the song, and Paul said, "This is going to be a hit. Thanks for the help, my friends." Carl said, "No problem, Paul. If you ever feel stuck, tell us right away. Don't be afraid to ask for help." Paul smiled and said, "I won't." Erin then said, "To the recording studio!" The others said, "Yeah!"