The Meralco people are hunting us. My parents are in Bicol and won't be back before the 28th and they didn't leave us any money for the electric bill. Now it's unspoken rule in the house to keep the front door closed and keep the gates double-locked, especially between 9am-12nn--about the time those people come to disconnect the electricity lines for unpaid customers, to give an effect that no one's home..

Today is the first close encounter. Just as I woke up this morning, I heard a loud banging on the gates--unmistakably the Meralco people. I know for a fact that Lael and Hansel had already gone to school and that my sister is already up because she was the one who woke me up. I layed still for about 30 minutes while my sister was probably in the living room playing dead on the sofa or snake crawling on the floor to avoid being seen.

I finally got up when my sister entered the room and gladly announced "Wala na sila!!". Her deliberate preparations for the Meralco people's arrival worked perfectly and even Mama's dogs who seemed to have rehearsed came in good use as they were barking extraordinarily wild when those people were there. They might have scared them off for they could have crossed over the gates if they wanted to.

Im not sure until when I could stand this. I just hope we wouldn't be in jail when my parents come home.