Asexual

Chapter 1: Sophia Peyton Claveria

I'm at my grandma's house now because I miss them so much. "Grandchild, when will your dad visit here?"

I suddenly felt sad because mom isn't here this week; she's in Canada because of business matters.

"Next week, grandma," I forced cheerfulness into my voice.

"Aren't they coming this week?" grandma asked.

"They're on a business trip now, but they'll come next week, trust me," I joked.

I saw both grandma and grandpa smile. I love them so much!

"Alright, finish your food, we'll go for a stroll," grandma said.

Suddenly, I felt excitement. It reminded me of when I was a kid. They always used to take me to the park and the malls, buying me whatever I wanted. They took care of me because Dad became a parent at a young age, which was me. He also started managing the companies passed down to him by grandpa, as he was the only child of grandma and grandpa.

Mom helped Dad, and because she also came from a wealthy family, they collaborated, making Claveria Company and Santos Company even more renowned due to the union of the two families.

"Grandchild, do you have a boyfriend?" grandma suddenly asked. Why did she ask that?

"No, grandma," I replied, continuing to eat.

"Do you have any plans? Are you attracted to girls or boys?" grandma asked again. Of course, they know I'm intersex.

How do I answer that without revealing I'm asexual? "U-uh... I haven't found anyone yet," I answered and quickly took a sip of water.

"But do you have a crush?" grandpa asked. I nodded so they wouldn't ask further.

"Is she pretty?" I almost choked on my food at grandpa's question. What kind of question is that?

Grandma quickly handed me some water. "I actually don't know..."

Should I admit that I'm not interested in relationships?

"I mean... she's beautiful," darn it, I chickened out. Wait, take two.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm asexual," I suddenly fell silent.

"It's okay, grandchild, things can still change. You still have time," grandpa said, with a reassuring look. That's my grandpa!

"But it's a shame because I want to have grandchildren," she said, sadness evident in her voice.

"Grandma, do you not want me anymore?" I dramatically exclaimed.

"Of course, we want to have grandchildren before we get old, right?" grandma said. I chuckled at her use of 'get old' because it's the first time I heard her say that.

"How many grandchildren do you want?" I arrogantly asked. Well, I'm just joking.

"Twin and one boy," grandma said. Wow, grandma is serious. And she wants three, it's difficult to give birth.

"Grandma, don't take it seriously. I'm just kidding," I said, sulking.

"Grandchild, we're old, and when you're old, you're not as strong to survive illnesses, and death is looming over us," grandpa said.

He has a point.

I fell silent because what grandpa said struck me. He's right because I'm their only child and I'm the heir to the Santos and Claveria legacy.

As we discussed, we eventually went for a stroll in the park, and they accompanied me. The park has changed a lot. There are more children and playgrounds now compared to before when it was quiet and I was the only one enjoying the place. I mean, there were children, but not as many. I'm also not friendly, but I have a friend.

"There are more children here now," I said, watching the kids play.

"This park has become livelier because more children come and play," grandma said. She's right.

Before, the park used to be quiet, and I was the only one truly enjoying the place.

"Are you comfortable?" grandma asked.

Maybe grandma thinks I'm annoyed by the kids. She knows I'm stingy with things that make me happy. Not literally stingy like not giving away food; of course, I'm not like that.

We sat down on the bench and watched the kids run around and laugh happily. "It's relaxing."

I noticed the smiles on my grandparents' faces. They really want a grandchild.

How am I going to give that to them?

Should I try?

But how will someone accept me in a relationship with my condition?

There's probably nothing wrong if I try, especially since I'm of the right age.

"Grandma, I'll just go to the restroom," I said and left.

I looked for the restroom, and fortunately, I quickly found the female restroom. Of course, I use the female comfort room because first of all, I feel like a girl and I look like a girl. If I enter the boys' restroom, they might assault me. And they'll be surprised to see Father Junjun and Sister Puring. Wouldn't they be scared?

Wild thoughts.

I just shook my head at the nonsense I was thinking. After finishing my business, I exited.

As I stepped out, I saw a group of kids ganging up on another child, a girl, it seemed. So, I quickly approached them.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Run!" and with that, they all ran off.

I approached the girl. "Are you okay?" I asked her. I felt so at ease with this child.

"I'm okay," she replied, nodding cutely.

There was no sign of tears or fear in her. "Did they hurt you?"

Of course, I had to ask to make sure.

She shook her head. "They can't do that because if that happened, I will tell my mommy, and my mommy will find their parents to talk about it."

How smart of her to answer like that?

"Why were they bullying you?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want to play with them. I told them I'm not interested in the game they were playing. That's why they called me grumpy, snobbish, and unfriendly. They don't have the right to force me."

She's really smart in her responses.

She has a point.

You can't force someone to do what you want. "You're right."

I saw a bit of myself in her when I was a kid. I like this kid. She's smart and beautiful.

It was only then that I noticed we looked alike.

After a while, an ice cream vendor passed by.

"Do you want ice cream?" I asked. She hesitated before answering.

"My mommy told me not to eat just anything, but I would love to eat ice cream right now," she said, smiling. She's cute.

I called the vendor and bought two ice creams. I gave her one, and I kept the other. We even chose the same flavor. We have the same taste.

I sat in my favorite spot. I'm glad it's still here because it offers a beautiful view that others may not appreciate. It's just a natural tree, but if you look closely, it's like seeing Venus, the goddess of love, desire, pleasure, and the mother of the famous Cupid. Well, I don't know why my imagination is so vast.

I asked grandma and grandpa what they imagined about that tree, and they said nothing. They just saw it as an ordinary tree with nothing special.

"This has been my favorite spot since my mommy brought me here," she said, continuing to eat.

We even have the same favorite spot.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I can see the beauty of this tree. It's Aphrodite!" she exclaimed happily.

Guys, can someone slap me?

Maybe I'm just dreaming right now.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Venus and Aphrodite are the same. The only difference is Aphrodite is Greek, and Venus is Roman.

"By the way, what's your name?" I asked.

"My name is Natalia, but you can call me Piper."

Piper?

"Hi, Piper, I'm Peyton."

Actually, everyone who knows me calls me Sophia because only my family and close relatives call me by my second name. Since I like this kid and I want her to be my friend, I told her my second name.

"What's your full name?" she asked.

"Sophia Peyton Claveria. What's yours?" I asked back.

"Natalia. Your mommy is looking for you," an older woman said, out of breath.

"Where's my mommy?"

"She's looking for you near the playground. She's worried because you said you were going to stay here, but when we came here earlier, you were gone, so your mom got worried and looked for you. I came back here to see if you returned."

Suddenly, I felt guilty because I felt like I made her mom worry by taking her out and buying her ice cream.

"Bye, Aunt Peyton!" she said, smiling and waving.

"Bye!" I replied, waving back. I could see her nanny was worried. It's obvious from what the girl was wearing.

Will I still see that child again?

I'm going back to Manila tomorrow to start training because Dad plans to hand over one of our companies to me.

I'm supposed to rest for three to four months because I just finished college. Of course, I finished a business course because I wanted to and it's favorable for my family, especially for Dad.

Dad said it's for me to be polished when it comes to the business world. Sometimes, Dad calls me his son because I wore long sleeves and shorts, and my hair was short at that time.

He said it's his way of engaging in partnerships.

I returned to where grandpa and grandma were, and I saw grandma resting her head on grandpa's shoulder. They looked so sweet.

I went up to them and noticed they had their eyes closed. They looked so peaceful, so I decided to take a picture of them.

I managed to capture a good shot. Then, I went closer and sat beside grandma, giving her a hug.

"Grandma..."

"Uhmm...?"

"Let's go home," I said.

"Pit, your grandchild said it's time to go home," she told grandpa. They looked adorable. Grandma just playfully pinched grandpa's nose. Pfft.

___

"Oh dear, take care on your way home," grandma said as she handed me my things.

"Yes, grandma. Grandpa, I'm leaving now," I said.

"Do you want Jade to accompany you?" grandpa asked.

Jade is someone grandpa trusts, and take note, he's not a girl but a boy.

"No, thank you. I can manage on my own," I replied.

"Aww... my grandchild, all grown up. Can I have a hug?" he said. I hugged grandma with all my heart. It's a pity dad isn't here; it would have made things even happier.

I left and just commuted back since that's how I got here in the first place. I have a car, but I can't use it yet. Dad said I can only drive alone for work once I have a driver because he insists on it. Dad knows I can drive already.

Hours passed, and I finally made it home. As soon as I entered the house, I dropped my things on the chair and went straight to my room because I was so tired from the journey; I felt like I might faint.

As I entered my room, I collapsed on the bed. I was about to close my eyes and prepare for a good dream when my phone rang.

That just worsened my headache. I grabbed my phone and saw it was Mom calling.

"Hello, Mom?" I said sleepily.

"Did I disturb your sleep?" Mom asked.

"No, not at all. What's up?" I replied.

"Dad said you shouldn't start anything right now. Just rest for about three to four months, and do the things you want to do. Go to bars, go on dates, visit Baler, just enjoy yourself, but be careful. We know you're smart, so we trust you," she said.

Aww... that touched me. I'm so lucky to have them as my parents because even though they're busy, they never neglect me like some parents do to kids my age.

I understand Dad's point; that's why he takes us with him when he goes golfing, to the shooting range, or when he watches live baseball games. It's his way of bonding with us, and we're never far from each other. Our connection remains strong.

Because I'm their only child, they sometimes can't help but be overprotective of me. I can't blame them because that's how parents are, no matter how many children they have.

"Aren't you going to thank your beautiful mommy? I'm the one who asked your daddy for that," Mom said.

"Thank you, ma, I love you," I said. Did I sound cold?

I'm sweet to my parents, especially when I truly appreciate the things they do for me. I mean, I appreciate everything, but there are some things that stand out more, you know?

"I love you too, my baby girl, even though you're all grown up, you're still my baby girl," Mom said.

It's really touching; I could cry. Just kidding!

After our conversation, I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. I just couldn't sleep anymore.

I guess I'll just tidy up my things downstairs. I went down and grabbed the bag I brought earlier.

Actually, everything's already clean, so all I need to do is put them in my cabinet.

After finishing that, I decided to do some cleaning. I cleaned my book collection and my toy collection. Well, I'm into human figures like muscles and body parts. Sometimes, I don't even understand myself because I do have muscles, even abs, but I still like seeing toy human figures when I'm bored. I even clean them even though they're already clean.

What else can I do?

I finished cleaning, and I'm not hungry. So, shower time!

Right, I'll take a shower!

To be continued...