Chapter 3: Being a Señorita

10 years ago:

It was another summer vacation and she was anticipating the coming home of her two siblings again. Just like last year, she was so excited and couldn't wait for them to finally arrived in the hacienda. She was hoping they will stay longer this time because she missed them so much. The hacienda was their home, it is where they were supposed to spend their summer.

Last year, it was only Patty who spent the summer vacation in the hacienda for a long time. Alec came home too but it's only a week and he left and fly to New Zealand after. Alec chose to spend his vacation in New Zealand with his best friend Joachin and enrolled in Summer Camp. She was wondering if Alec will come home this coming summer too. She could still remember the accident he had and how he blamed her for what happened two years ago. That became a gap in their relationship as siblings because they never talk again. For that whole week he spent in the hacienda last year, he was often cold and always annoyed in her presence. He keeps on shouting at her whenever she tried to play with him and ignores her most of the time even she shows him kindness. Alec hates the people in the hacienda she knew it, plus the fact that he dislikes her. She had a feeling that he intended to leave and fly to New Zealand last year because she was the main reason. Her presence simply annoys him just like what he usually told her before he left.

Disappointed for what happened last year, she made up her mind that this time she will make things better. She will make up with her brother and patch things up between them. She'll try her best not to annoy him and will do things that will please him. Mr. De Guzman said that they will arrive tonight at the hacienda and as usual, the whole mansion prepared a big feast for their upcoming. Mr. De Guzman made sure Patty and Alec's room are perfectly cleaned and newly painted. Nana Marcela also made sure that the head cook prepared all their favorite dishes and desserts. And the lawn was magnificently designed and adorned for the night's party. Her being so excited for the event, she gladly helped through the decorations of the lawn for tonight's party.

"Hey little Señorita, you should stop helping us here. You were supposed to prepare yourself now for the party later." Mrs. Rilley stated, one of the maids in the mansion who was assigned to help the hired party decorator on the lawn's area.

"But --

"Don't worry little Señorita, we're almost done in here. I promise this lawn will be looking so magnificent for the night's party and Señorita Patty, as well as Señorito Alec, will surely love it." Cynthia, the hired party decorator promised.

Cynthia was the best party designer in town. She was generous, beautiful, and very good at her work. Mr. De Guzman always hires her services whenever the mansion is having a big party. Cynthia was a sweet and generous lady. As a child and having an enthusiastic and sweet attitude, she used to love befriending everyone and Cynthia was one of her favorite people in the town. 

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Oh my goodness, little Señorita! What are you still doing there? You should be preparing now for the party!" Nana Marcela worriedly came to her in haste when she saw her at the lawn's area.  

"I was helping for --

"How many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't be doing those stuff anymore! You have to act like a real Señorita! " Nana Marcela scolded.

"But I want to, Nana Marcela. I enjoyed what I do."

"You know your Dad will be upset if he found out you're meddling up with the maids and servants in the mansion. You know he wants you to act like a Senorita and not like one of us." Nana Marcela reminded her.

A wince automatically drew her face when she heard what Nana Marcela had said. Her Dad indeed forbade her to meddle up with the maids and servants. He forbade her to befriend Sheila or any servant's child, to go to the lake and play in the farmland and gets dirty, to climb trees and play in the forested area of the hacienda just what the typical children in town does. He forbade her to show gratitude and goodness to the workers of the hacienda including the servants in the mansion too. According to her Dad, they are doing their job well because he pays them enough so no need to thank them. He said she should act prim and proper with a manner and conduct of how a lady in the upper-class society should be. He said she was carrying his name so she has to carry herself with class and elegance but with authority just like a De Hizon should be. According to her father, she was born to be a Señorita so she has to act like one.

A frustrated sigh automatically heaved her chest. What can she do? She loves going and playing at the lake and throwing rocks at the water, she loves walking through the forested area and picking some wildflowers with Sheila without even caring if her sensitive skin will get burned in the sun. She loves going to the farm climbing trees and picking fruits not minding if she gets dirty all over. She loves roaming and playing around the hacienda than play barbie dolls and stay inside the mansion. She loves picking wildflowers and gets dirty than enrolling in a ballet class or learn to play musical instruments like how her classmates in the academy used to do. She hates acting prim and proper, acting stiff and showing no emotions, and talking with authority like how the so-called upper-class society should act. She doesn't like intimidating people by speaking with authority as if she was already an adult. She would rather want people to smile at her when she was talking sweet and loudly enthusiastic because that was her. She loves to show her emotions and how she really felt than act prim and with authority to be respected. She is naturally sweet and very talkative. She was, gleeful, honest and she utters words frankly without hesitation because that's the truth. She would never compliment people when she doesn't mean it because she doesn't like lying just to please anyone. She loves moving freely without following any rules of do's and don'ts and most importantly, she loves meddling with the maids and the servants. She loves being with the workers of the hacienda for they're genuinely generous and very happy to be with. Their concerns were real and they love her not because she was the daughter of the owner of the hacienda but because they love her like the way they love their own child and she could feel it through their actions and concerns. For her social class is more than just about how much money you’re making. The status or standing in society is not based on the level of income, education, occupation, or even how wealthy you might be. It's not about in terms of power, influence, and wealth. It's about being genuine and honorable. It's the kindness and pureness of the heart and how people respect you for who you are. That's the reason why she loves the people in the hacienda. They were real people unlike the rich people her Dad what her to intermingle. Her classmates with their rich families, teachers, family friends, and all the proud, sly, and pretentious people who belong in the so-called upper-class society they called, most of them are fake and mendacious. She may be young but she was not a fool. At an early age she knew what is good and bad, what would make her happy and what would she be like if she chose to be one of them. She was thankful she has her sister Patty who never failed to always call her overseas to warn her and give her such advice and her Nana Marcela to teach and remind her what's good from the bad.

"I just couldn't understand why there's a lot of rules of dos and don'ts in being a Señorita. Patty always used to tell me to be who I am but Dad has these rules of how should a De Hizon should portray." she stated sadly.

"Señorita Patty is a very stubborn and troublesome kid. She always disobeys your father's will that made your father angry. Be a good girl and follow your father's will to please him, little Señorita." Nana Marcela stated.

"Yes, Nana..." She answered with a tinge of sadness obvious in her voice.

She followed her Nanny going through her room and showed her gown that she will be wearing for the night's party. Nana Marcela prepared the tub for her and helped her to bathe. After bathing, another female servant dried her hair and fixed it in a stylish braid while another servant does her make-up. Nana Marcela helped her to wear her gown after and assisted her to put on her jewelry after her hair got fixed while another female servant knelt on her to wear her shoes.

When she faced the mirror, she was awed in her appearance. She couldn't believe what she saw and it was like a total transformation. She blinked her eyes twice to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. She looks like a young princess! She was magnificently beautiful indeed...

"You look like a princess my little Señorita. Who would have thought you're only just a ten-year-old girl? You looked like a young lady already my Señorita." Nana Marcela happily commented. She responded with her sweetest smile as a sign of her gratitude to her Nanny.

"Nana Marcela, how does my Mom look like?" She suddenly asked out of curiosity. She had seen her Mom in the pictures but she just wanted to know the opinion of her Nanny. It was the first thought that came to her mind when she saw her reflection in the mirror. With that, her Nanny thought deeply for a moment as if there's a tinge of hesitation crossed her eyes.

"She's very beautiful, elegant and has a good heart like yours. You have her eyes and her hair. Actually, you are growing exactly like her except your nose and your skin tone that you got from your father." The old woman stated having that warm smile painted on her lips.

"Are you kidding me, Nana? Dad is tanned and I'm caucasian!" She opposed. Nana Marcela's eyes widen in shock as if she had said something she wasn't supposed to say and that made her curious.

"Y-Yes S-Señorita, I'm only kidding." Nana Marcela then pulled out a forced laugh. What is odd about the old woman is when she notices she suddenly turned edgy as her forehead became sweaty. Strange, she thought but tried to take for granted it instead.

"How about you Nana Marcela, what are you gonna wear for tonight?" She somehow asked. To her curiosity, her Nanny's face turned sad.

"It's different now little Señorita, Don Alonzo will go home from Japan for tonight. He invited some of his politician friends and some of his business colleagues into this party. Tonight's party was only for the upper-class society so we servants are not allowed to join in the celebration."

"What! Daddy will come home tonight?" She excitedly asked.

She got surprised and happy when she found her father was coming home too. He rarely sees her father in a year and now he's also coming home this summer. Excitement suddenly filled her lungs. Her family will be completed for tonight's party and this is very seldom to happen.

"Yes, my little Señorita." Her Nanny replied.

"But why you can't join the party?" She asked worriedly again. She has a feeling about it but she still wanted to know the truth from the old woman.

"We servants are ordered to serve for the night's party by Mr. De Guzman and that was according to Don Alonzo's will. As I told you before, we servants cannot intermingle with the upper-class class people in the society." Her Nanny's voice was enthusiastic but she could feel the sadness and bitterness in her tone deep inside her.

With that, she suddenly felt the urge to not attend the party anymore. The party is all about for rich people, which means the workers are not allowed to celebrate with them. This is the reason why she doesn't like coming and attending formal rich parties. In this town, there is discrimination between the rich and the poor. Upper-class people in society think they were righteous and honorable while they treat servants and poor people as an unfortunate and pathetic human beings. The truth is they were the less fortunate indeed because they were blind by the wealth and power they have. For sure the party is all about pretensions and bragging of one self's praises and she doesn't wanna act like one of them.

At the party:

When Don Alonzo entered the lawn's area, guests of the party gave him loud applause when the emcee started to announce his presence. He was followed by Patty as the applause became more louder. With that, her eyes automatically search for a particular person which she most anticipated to see. Unfortunately, she failed to see him on the stage. Not losing her hope, she searches her eyes expecting to see him. She had missed him somehow. Her eyes suddenly turned sad and teary when there's no sign of Alec's presence at the party. 

She came closer to her Dad and Patty to embrace them. Patty hugged her tight and kissed her on the cheek telling her she had missed her. They talked for a while and had some chit-chats. A minute later, Don Alonzo took the attention of everyone and introduce Patty to the crowd. She was waiting for her Dad to introduce her too as his youngest child but to her surprise, that never happened. When her Dad went down to the center stage and personally introduced Patty to his business colleagues, that's when she decided to walked away. She knew it is inappropriate but she couldn't help to get jealous. Why did Don Alonzo never bother to introduce her? She doesn't know the reason why.  Did he just forget or maybe he just got busy and too engrossed to impress his business colleagues? Whatever his reasons are, all she knew is she was hurt and upset. Having that disappointing feeling, she decided to get inside the mansion and leave the party. She went straight through her room in a haste and just rest. What's the use anyway? She wasn't even enjoying the party and it seems no one will notice that she was gone anyway. Her Dad busy with his business colleagues and Patty being busy with her invited friends. The only reason she wants to attend the party is to welcome her family but unfortunately, they seem very busy with their guests. And Alec, he never showed and came home for summer and that made her sad and very Disappointed. Alec hates the hacienda, that's the reason why he never came home for summer. She might be the main reason why doesn't want to spend his summer in the hacienda. Having that frustration and disappointment in mind, she slept crying in bed.

***

Clinging a stick she was playfully swaying in the air, she went to the paddock to visit the horses that morning. Belle was pregnant and she always manages to check out the conditions of the mare. She was anticipating for the baby of the horse and wanted to witness the actual delivery of the mare. When she was about to come closer to the destination, she suddenly saw a familiar figure of a boy who was standing in front of the paddock. To her surprise, the person standing behind was actually staring right at Black Tornado.

There's only one person she knew who was definitely fascinated about Black Tornado and that person was supposed to be not here in the hacienda so it's impossible. She decided to walk fast to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. When she came closer and finally distinguished the person, her heart suddenly jerked in unreasonable excitement and happiness when she saw who it was. 

Alec...

She immediately came near him and hugged him tight in the back. She felt his body jump in surprise and attempted to get off on her but she never let him. 

"Alec!!!" She excitedly called his name as she squeezed him like she doesn't wanna lose him.

For a moment she was sure she'd seen him got surprised when she met his eyes and for a moment she'd seen that tenderness in his face when he recognized her. That glint of his eyes and how his expression softened a bit, she felt he had missed her by the emotion that shows in his gray pools.

"Glad you came home! I missed you, you know that?..." As a response, he removed her hands wrapping on his body and gently pulled her away from him.

"Get. Off. Me..." He stated solemnly. She doesn't understand but his face then turned dark and furious all of a sudden...