Unearthing her face from the pillow, Kat turned around to face her best friend.
"You're not saying that to make me feel better, are you?"
Sam was a terrible liar. Even a shred of guilt made her cut off eye contact with whomever she was trying to lie to.
"Why would I lie about something that could potentially make us money? It's also why I got off the pool early, you know. I wanted to break the good news," said Sam as she wiped a tear off her best friend's eye.
Kat gathered herself up and sat with her legs crossed. Hope started to show on her face, forming two perfect pink spheres on her cheeks.
"What role is it?" asked Kat with the curiosity of a child.
"I don't have the specifics yet, but they're looking for a fresh and marketable face. Someone who doesn't appear on TV a lot."
"Am I qualified? I've made plenty of TV commercials in the past," interjected Kat.
"I don't think a lot of people can remember that. They'll probably think you looked familiar, and give up once they can't recall where they saw you."
"Don't I look remarkable?"
Sam sighed in disbelief. She'd always thought Kat had two moods: overflowing with confidence and constantly in need of validation. Today, apparently, the dial was turned to the latter.
"Sweetie", said Sam sweetly, "You're the most beautiful person I know. It's not your fault if people have poor memory."
Kat, looking unconvinced, shrugged her friend's comment off and decided to focus on the opportunity.
"When's the audition? I need to prepare and bring my A-game."
Shifting from best friend to manager duties has always been a breeze for Sam. Schedule-related questions seem to trigger something in her brain, making it come up with possible scenarios that don't ruin their work calendar. By the time an appointment has been squeezed into the day, it had already weighed their options that didn't affect Kat's image and career.
"It's three days from now. We may have to give up or reschedule the meeting for that lipstick ad I mentioned to you last time. I'll try to ask for a copy of the script, so just sit there and relax."
"I trust your decisions, manager!" exclaimed Kat.
Three days flew by quickly. The two ended up extending their stay at the hotel so Kat can internalize and practice in isolation. Thanks to the success of Kat's sponsored post on Instagram, they managed to get a 20% discount for their stay. Neither of them anticipated their conversion rate to reach that level, so they took it as a win.
Not wanting to disturb her friend, Sam did all the cleaning and packing while Kat sat inside the car in silence. She took a peek at the frustrated actress from the back of the vehicle as she threw the last piece of luggage to the compartment.
She tried to close the door as gentle as possible but it had other plans, as it slipped from her hands and made a loud thud. Worried the noise would break Kat's concentration, Sam took a peek at her friend again and was relieved to see Kat looked unbothered.
Sam slithered into the driver's sear, fastening her seatbelt. The clock on the dashboard showed 11:52AM. Plenty of time to drive from The Fort to QC, she thought. She did a quick sign of the cross by tracing one in the air, said a short prayer for their safety, and pulled out the parking lot.
The Fort was a bustling city that's unapologetically modern. Unlike other business districts in the Metro that seem to be nothing but a place to work and eat, it boasted of wide avenues with connected walkways and a handful of greenery brought by public parks. There's also a generous amount of open spaces despite being cloaked by a chain of huge and small buildings, so everyone in the city can always enjoy the sunlight without any structure blocking it.
If there was any flaw to The Fort, it's the standstill traffic that takes a third of people's lives — which Sam and Kat are experiencing first hand. Cars were bumper to bumper, moving only an inch per minute. The city probably had at least ten thousand of them, bathing under the sun, beelining to roads that lead who knows where.
Sam was growing impatient by the second, her face reddening in frustration. Her hands gripped the steering wheel firmly, showing no intentions of letting it go, while her feet pressed the brake pedal stiffly.
"What in the world is up with this traffic? As much as I want to live in this city, I didn't mean live inside the car!" she bellowed.
It took them 52 minutes to reach the outskirts of the city, twice longer than it usually would. The disaster, however, didn't stop there. EDSA traffic was way, way worse. Tapping the screen of her car's head unit, Sam checked their ETA on the Waze app. The screen glimmered in red, showing heavy traffic. The audition was at 2:30PM and their ETA showed way beyond that time.
"Are we going to make it?" asked Kat, concern evident on her face.
"We're going to be fine. I'll get you there in time, even if it kills me or this guy in front of us", replied Sam, half smiling.
Luck was somehow on their side as traffic began to eased bit by bit. Sam was able to run for at least 60km/ph, stopping only at intersections. It took them 20 minutes to reach Cubao, which is a miracle in today's standards.
Sam took a quick look at Kat, who seemed concentrating, to check on her. Kat sat still, eyes closed, completely focused. She appeared to be lost in thought, possibly thinking of ways how she can draw out her raw emotions when needed.
Halfway through Cubao, Sam noticed traffic was starting to build up in front. She drove faster than usual, fearing they'll miss out on Kat's audition. They were about to go past the stoplight at Kamias Road when the light suddenly turned red. Thanks to her cat-like reflexes, she managed to step on the brakes on time, avoiding a collision with the vehicle in front.
"That was close," she sighed in relief.
Seconds later, Sam and Kat heard the sound of metal hitting metal, followed by a slight nudge that shook the car, jerking their heads off the head restraints.