Five months into my clinical rotation, and I am already very tired. My life has become a cycle of wake up-hospital duty-go home-sleep, and stolen moments of eating. Nevertheless, I am happy about the clinical skills that I have learned and the opportunity to learn more about the healthcare system. As of now, I have my weekends free since I'm currently a community rotator. But I really need to deal with my backlogs in my readings. My free time will be dedicated to reviewing for our compehensive exams which is just two months from now. This is the most important exam of my med school life as it will be one of the bases for me to graduate. The difficulty of these exams are like board exams level already.
I'm at my usual study place at a fastfood chain near my condo unit. Yes, the background noise works for me. My usual breakfast at this place includes hotcakes and hot coffee (the large one so I can ask for a refill later). First, I open the cover of the coffee and mix 3 sachets each of sugar and cream. Then I stir it and close the cover again. I proceed to prepping my hotcakes. I spread the butter over the first one, then pour half of the syrup. I put the 2nd hotcake over the first then I spread the remaining butter and syrup on it. I slice the hotcakes one on top of the other into 4 big sizes, then divide each part into half as I eat them. Sorry, that's how particular I am with my hotcakes.
"Is this seat taken?" A man with a deep voice asked. I was kind of startled because although I secured two tables and four chairs for my friends who are coming a little later, there are still lots of other chairs and tables available.
I looked at him and said, "No, but-". Damn, I know I've met this guy before.
He smiled at me and raised his eyebrows, waiting for my response.
"Heey.." I smiled back at him. This is so embarrassing, I can really remember that handsome face and those cute dimples but I cannot recall his name.
He sat on the chair across me. "I was ordering my food and I noticed you here. What's up?" He asked a little too excited.
"I'm.. good," I can't answer straight because I'm trying to remember his name really hard.
"Did you lose weight?" He inquired with a bit of concern on his face.
"Yeah, you're like the 10th person who told me that. I lost weight and all the freshness in my life. Junior internship did this to me," I answered. I took a bite of my hotcake with my eyes still on his face.
"Nope, you just lost weight but still looked the same person I met around five months ago," he said as he took a spoon of his breakfast - chicken with egg rice meal.
I took another bite of my food and mentally reminded myself not to drink the coffee yet to avoid coffee-breath.
"Why do I have this feeling that you know that you know me but can't remember who I am or how we met?" he said while putting his spoon and fork down and resting his face on his hand.
"Shit. I'm sorry," I dropped my utensils as well and covered my face with my hands. We both laughed and I said, "For the record, I know we met in Mt. Daraitan but I'm really bad with names."
"Ouch," he acted like he was hurt and put his hand on his heart. "Okay.. I'm Kurt." He said while flashing me that smile. He continued eating.
"There! Kurt.." I repeated his name and this time I'm pretty sure it won't be forgotten.
"It's okay. You took the 'leave no trace principle' wholeheartedly, huh?"
"I guess I was just swallowed whole by the hospital duties. Ugh," I said with frustration. "You? I mean, how are you now?"
"Are you trying to ask if I'm still heartbroken?" He asked after chewing his food.
I reached out for my coffee but I remembered not to drink it just yet. "Yes," I teased him.
"I talked to her after our hike, and we ended it for real.. you know, just for closure," he straightforwardly shared.
"So have you... moved on?" not gonna drop this joke on him yet.
"I told you I've moved on that same day," he answered.
"Shut up," I laughed at him. We both enjoyed our food for a moment. And yes, I'm still not touching that coffee. It can wait.
I'm hoping my friends don't come just yet. Aside from I don't want them to see me with a guy because they will tease me, I'd like this moment to last longer. It's a pretty weird feeling.
"Hey, are you busy?" He broke the silence. "I mean, do you want to transfer somewhere more private so we can talk more?" Just then, I heard a shutter of a camera. I followed the sound to a table 2 o'clock from our position. Did they just took a photo of us? That's a silly thought. Maybe they're just taking a selfie. Anyway, the weird thing is, I'm more than willing to postpone my review for now and just go with him.. somewhere private. My friends are not here yet anyway, I can explain to them later.
My contemplation was disturbed when a woman came to our table, "Hi Kurt! Can I take a selfie with you?"
Kurt turned his gaze from me to the woman on his right, "Sure."
Okay, what the hell is happening here? Why are people asking him for a photo? He seemed so comfortable smiling to the camera and taking a selfie with a stranger. The woman passed the cellphone to another woman and she took a selfie with Kurt as well. Kurt just confidently smiled to the camera.
"We're avid fans of yours. Can you please sign our notebook?" They opened a blank page on a notebook and put it on the table in front of us and gave Kurt a ballpen. He took it and signed on the notebook with a short message for them. While these are happening, I'm pretty sure I heard another shutter.. and another one. I don't know from which direction they are coming from anymore. "Thank you so much!" The ladies exclaimed.
"Thank you," Kurt replied.
He turned his attention back to me. Another shutter sound came. "You have no choice anymore, please come with me because I can't leave you here," he said with a slightly lower volume now. He finished his food with urgency and I reflexively finished mine as well. I took my last bite and collected my plate and utensils in a tray. I thought about it for a moment then decided to leave my coffee as well since I can't drink it in one go anyway.
I turned to Kurt, "Let's go."
He smiled at me and stood. I wore my back bag and followed him out of the restaurant. He went towards the parking lot and clicked his key. A black Strada lighted up. He opened the passenger door and waited for me. I stopped in front of him and thought it over. I don't know anything about this person other than his name and now I'm going with him in his car. I looked at him and he was convincing me with his sweet smile that so effortlessly reveals his dimples on either side of his cheeks. I rolled my eyes at him and got inside his car with a sigh. I put my bag on my lap as I watch him cross the other side to the driver's seat.
"So when you say private, you mean your car?" I joked on him.
He turned the engine, looked at me and said, "Yes." He drove the car and headed to the main road along the bay.
"Where are we going?" I asked while opening my bag to get my phone. I checked if I have new messages and as usual, no new text and just some random chats from my groupmates.
"Uhh.. I'm not really sure," he replied while tapping his right index finger on the wheel. "How about coffee.. in the car?"
So he's serious we're staying in his car. "Sounds good."
"Don't worry we won't go somewhere far and I'll drop you off at your place after," he assured me as he glanced to my side.
Just a few minutes later, he pulled over at a coffeeshop. He parked with the car facing Manila bay. The waters in front of us are twinkling under the bright sunlight.
Kurt put the car in parked mode. "I'm just gonna buy us coffee. Do you have some preference?"
I instantly reached for my wallet in my bag and answered, "Cold caramel macchiato, large, please." I searched for a bill in my wallet and settled for the 500-peso bill which I offered to Kurt.
"No, it's fine," he refused the money.
"Dude, you already payed for my iced candy last time," I answered while still handing the money over to him. I'm not really comfortable with people paying for my stuff unless we're that close and I teased them to treat me. I raised my eyebrow at him.
He rolled his eyes at me and got the bill. He went out of the car and headed inside the coffeeshop.
I opened my phone and sent a chat to my friends:
Hey! I'll be late. Just start without me and I'll catch up with you guys.
My friend Karla, who is also my roommate, replied:
I thought you went ahead at the place so you can have your breakfast there?
I did. Something came up.
Our other friend, Christine, replied:
I think I know what came up. Haha.
Did Christine saw us in the restaurant? I'm pretty sure she has not come yet when we were there though.
Karla: Heeeey what's that??
Jane: Dude, am I missing on something??!
Christine: Haha! Let's ask Raya..
I started typing.
Just catching up with an acquaintance. :)
Christine: You are friends with Kurt de Guzman??
Kurt de Guzman, so that's his full name. Wait a minute, why does Christine know him? Also, she did see us in the restaurant then. Why didn't she come up to us?
Karla: Kurt de Guzman the actor??
Now he's an actor?! Have I been living under a rock? What am I doing in the car of a celebrity then? Well, this could explain what happened in the restaurant earlier.
I switched from my messenger app to facebook and searched for Kurt de Guzman. A number of random accounts were shown but the profile pictures are different people. There are some accounts with the same name and his photo on it. I opened the profiles but they don't seem to be legitimate accounts. A fanpage with the name 'Kurt de Guzman' also came up. A photo of him is on display - that kind of photo celebrities have. There's a disclaimer on the page that says 'this is the official fanpage of Kurt de Guzman' and the page has a little over a million likes.
I was browsing through the page when the door on the driver's side opened. I jerked a little from shock. I immediately closed the app and locked my phone.
"Here's your coffee," he said handing me a large coffee as he settles on his seat. "And here's your change."
I threw the money in my bag since my other hand is holding the coffee already. I instantly sipped coffee and looked on the window on my side.
"So-" we said in chorus.
"You first," he laughed.
"Are we in some kind of a television show where you're pranking a person? Because if we are I'm telling you to drop it already," I said in one breath.
He chuckled and answered, "No. Why would I prank you? Go check for hidden cameras in this car."
I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Okay, guys come on out now, she caught us already," he announced. I waited for some cameramen or crew to come out. "Just kidding."
This guy is playing with me, "Dude, I'm serious."
"We're not in a show, okay? I swear. It's just us," he said while raising his right arm as if to say an oath.
Still, I looked around and waited for the crew to come out. He seems to be telling the truth but he still owes me an explanation.
He turned on his music player. I saw from the corner of my eye that he opened spotify and clicked shuffle. A familiar music came from the speakers.
The verse came and I remembered the song. "You listen to 92914 too?" I asked a little too excited because I have never met someone in real life who listen to their music.
"I started listening just recently," he smiled at me.
"You're the first person I met who listens to them too. These guys are so underrated you know?" I said while appreciating the music. "This song is a little different from their previous singles though. It's kind of upbeat, you know what I mean? But I still like it."
We both looked at the sea in front of us. I adjusted my body so that I'm slightly facing his direction. "You know what I like about their music?" He looked at me. "More than the nature sounds you hear at the start or end... you get it right? It's that feeling it gives me when I listen to their music. It calms me. It's the kind of music I can listen to whatever my mood is. I can listen to them when I'm happy. I can listen to them when I'm sad. And they'll just validate my felings," I explained. I took another sip of coffee and continued talking, "It's the kind of music with not much lyrics.. some of their songs just have one line repeating over and over you know. And they still get to convey feelings to the listener. It's just amazing. What got me curious is that I don't understand some of the words. So I searched for them on google and that's how I found out they're from Korea." I shut my mouth then and adjusted my position again towards the front.
"I know, I did not expect as well that they're from Korea," he answered. "Yeah, I like the vibes of their music."
We sat in silence listening to the music while staring at the vast horizon. It's not the best time to go sight-seeing along Manila bay but it gave me a brand new feeling. It's somehow refereshing and the perfect breather for me.
The song came to an end and I remembered Kurt was going to say something earlier, "What did you want to say earlier?"
He rested his back on the seat and took a sip of his hot coffee. "Uhhh.. I'm sorry about earlier. Those people in the restaurant?"
"Oh yes. You care to explain?" I asked him.
"I think you know about me already since you were asking earlier if we're on a show?"
"Uh-huh. I just learned from a friend," I confirmed. "I mean, she saw us."
"I'm sorry. We never really got the chance to talk about what I do in life."
"And I never really asked. It's alright," I smiled at him.
"I've been acting for quite some time.. about six or seven years? I was doing indie movies while in college. I mean.. wholesome indie movies, okay?" He laughed. "Also, some commercials and modeling. I was kind of earning money for myself so I can finish my studies and my mom can focus on sending my sister to school. I finished college in five years since I was juggling work and studies. I was not popular then, you know?"
I nodded my head at him, urging him to tell me more.
"And then.. my sister expressed she wanted to study medicine," he continued.
"Wait, your sister is a medical student too?" The thought kind of made me excited.
"Yes, she is," he smiled at me. Wait, he's smiling all the time anyway. "So my mom and I realized we have to double our work so we can send her to med school. Two years ago.. I decided to go mainstream. I was given opportunities, you know, so I grabbed them. I had a movie last year."
"What's the title of the movie? Come on tell me," I asked him excitedly, took my phone out then opened my google app on my phone.
"Nah. It's not that good anyway," he tried to steal my phone from me.
"Come on!" I opted to just search for his name. And there he is with a wikipedia page. I opened his page and browsed through it. He had six movies and damn, I've seen some of them. "Dude, I've watched 'Cool Boys' and 'Sun at Night' before! How come I did not recognize you when we first met? Those were pretty good movies, huh! I go to Cine Fest every year I must have seen you on one of the gala nights." I said bewildered by the fact that I must have met this man before. I looked for his last movie which was just last year. "Best Part," I read the title. I clicked the link to his movie. "Blockbuster movie of the year. You got to be kidding me! What do you mean it's not that good anyway?"
"I still like my indie movies more," he laughed at me.
"Nah, I think you're just being humble," I said while browsing through the page.
"Come on, stop searching on google and turn your phone off. I'm already telling you my story firsthand," he acted annoyed. Well, he has a point so I put my phone in my bag and adjusted my seat so that I'm looking directly at him. "Thank you. So as I was saying, I had a movie last year-"
"A blockbuster movie," I corrected him. He narrowed his eyes at me, but his dimples still show.
"And now I have a drama on network 1," he shared while seemingly checking for my reaction. I have not seen a television for three and a half years now and I really have no idea about his works.
"That's like the number 1 TV network in our country. What timeslot are you on?"
"At night after the news."
"Damn, you're big," for a moment my jaw dropped right there. The timeslot really says a lot about the quality and popularity of dramas. Those shown at night, especially after the news would be the most popular. "Am I in trouble now for going with you in your car?"
We both laughed. "Anyway, that time I went hiking, I was actually thinking about whether to accept that offer or not. The next day, I just accepted it," he said as he looked to the view in front of us.
"Funny how both of us had something big waiting for us once we go back from the mountain," I shared my realization. "I mean, going from classroom set up to to actual hospital duties was a big thing for me."
"Yes, that's what I thought too."
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked him.
He looked at me and nodded.
"Are you happy with what you are doing?" I realized the questioned seemed heavy the moment I said it.
"Hhmmm.. I'm enjoying, you know? It's fun. It's tiring and frustrating, but it's fun. They say I'm a natural when in front of the camera and that it runs in the genes," he shared.
"Are you a family of actors?" I asked a little shocked.
"No, just my dad," he looked away when he said it. "Keno Pascual," he answered without me voicing out the question in my head.
"The Keno Pascual?!" He was like the heartthrob of our parent's generation. "Did he like train you? I mean, helped you with acting skills?"
"My mom and dad divorced when I was just seven and my sister was five years old. So about your question, no, he had no contribution on what I am today," he said with a bit of bitterness in his voice.
I felt him. I know exactly where he is coming from because, I too, was from a divorced family. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."
He looked at me again, "It's okay-"
"I mean, I feel for you because I'm from a divorced family too."
He was shocked by my revelation.
"They broke up when I was 15 years old, and he took our little brother with him. He was only seven years old then," I shared, tears building up in my eyes. "Ugh. I hate the fact that the memory is still fresh in my heart."
We sat in silence as I tried to fight back my tears. Once I was ready, I continued. "My mom's a doctor too and she worked here in Manila. My older sister was already in college and studied in Manila, so they stayed here together. I was basically left alone to deal with my feelings in the province with my grandparents."
After a few seconds, I broke our silence, "But hey, I'm okay now. I mean I don't really think about it too much anymore," I reassured him as our talk has somehow become heavy now.
"Same here," he reassured me as well. "Thank you for sharing."
I smiled at him, "Wow. I did not expect to share that part of me to someone I only met for the second time." I think him opening up to me and basically telling me his story was a factor. "Thank you for opening up as well."
Just a second after I said that, a phone rang. He reached for his phone in his pocket and answered the call. I shifted again so I'm facing the sea.
"Hello... yes... yes..." his mood changed. "I haven't checked... hmm-mmm... yes... yes please," he hung up and turned his attention back to me. "Sorry about that."
"No problem," I told him. "Hey, if you have work today, you got to prepare already," I looked at my watch. We've been here for a little over an hour.
"Actually, I have to get going. Where do I drop you off?"
"Just bring me back to where we had breakfast," he looked at me as if to ask me if I was sure. "I have to study with my friends."
He started driving. We just talked about random stuff as he drove along the busy streets of Manila. In just a few minutes, we were back. He parked the car again. He got his phone and opened it then handed to me. The messenger app was opened.
"Uhm, what am I going to do with this?" I asked confused.
"Type your name and add me on messenger. We can't part just like that after talking all morning, you know," he told me.
I searched for my name and basically sent myself a message using his messenger:
Hey!
I gave him his phone back and said, "Thank you. Bye for now," I smiled at him, reached for my coffee from the coffee container and opened the door. I got out of his car and shut the door. I headed for the entrance of the fastfood chain without looking back. I instantly spotted my friends at our usual spot and waved hi to them.
"Sorry, I'm late," I said as I sat and put my bag on the empty chair beside me. I looked back at the parking lot and Kurt was driving back to the streets.
"Dude where have you been?" Karla asked me as soon as I settled down.
"Have you seen twitter?" Christine asked suddenly.
"Uhmmm, I don't have twitter?" I reminded them.
"You're trending."
I don't have a twitter account but I'm well aware what it means. Wait. I'm trending?!
- end of Ch 1 -