I woke up in a good mood. Halos magsasayaw pa ako sa loob ng kwarto ko while I'm preparing myself para sa project na gagawin namin ng mga ka-grupo ko today. I don't know but last night, gumaan ang pakiramdam ko and I was able to sleep a good night. Dati kasi ay kapag sobrang pagod ako at stressed ay mananatili akong gising kaka isip ng mga bagay-bagay.
Overthinking? Routine ko na ata iyon gabi-gabi but last night was the first time I haven't. Pag-uwi ko pa nga ay kaagad akong naghilamos and prepared myself to sleep. I didn't even check my phone na kaninang pag gising ko lang ginawa, reminding me of the meeting we would have today. I was even smiling last night, remembering what Uno told me that put me at ease, before falling into a deep slumber.
That was the first time someone gave me a heartfelt advice.
"Joe, nasaan ka na?" Jeanne called me, perhaps checking whether I got up already. The group chat last night was so active at ako lang ang wala so she's probably worried about what I feel and if I remembered that we're gonna meet to finish the project Ma'am Aileen gave to us.
"Paalis na ako ng bahay, bakit?" I asked her as I was tying my shoelaces. I just dressed myself in a casual white shirt and maong shorts and white sneakers. I also packed my gray double-breasted jacket in case na lamigin ako mamaya.
"Okay ka na ba?" worry was in her voice that made me smile as I got up and closed the gate. Wala pa rin kasi mama. Hindi ko alam kung umuwi ito kagabi o kaya ay maagang umalis.
"Ba't naman hindi?" chuckling, I replied as I wait for the jeepney. Pagkasakay ko naman ay inayos ko ang tote bag kung saan nakalagay iyong Ipad ko, putting it in front of me as I was still holding the phone.
"Wala lang. Alam mo na, yung nangyari kahapon" dahan-dahan pa nyang bigkas, takot na may masabing masama.
"Sus, wala 'yon. Para namang' di na nasanay na laging 'di crush ni crush" pag papasawalang-bahala ko, trying to be positive just like what Uno told me last night.
"Are you sure?" doubting she asked. A little smile then escaped my lips. Knowing she's worried about me and what I'm feeling put me at ease early in the morning. It's like a hot milk, magandang pambungad sa umaga which would keep me going through the day.
"Okay na talaga ako. I'll tell you something later. Something happened last night kaya medyo okay na ako" I replied to her before dropping the call, teasing her to come earlier. Knowing Jeanne, she would probably be late for the meeting. Kung ako ang magtatanong sa kanya kung nasaan na siya at sabihin niyang on the way na siya ay hindi ako maniniwala dahil kung on the way man siya ay hindi sa meeting place ng meeting kung hindi ay sa banyo para maligo.
Within ten minutes or so, I arrived at the cafe. Kaunti pa rin ang mga tao, probably because it's a Saturday and wala pang exams na paparating. I would surely bet that this cafe would be packed if exam seasons would come dahil paniguradong dito dadagsa ang mga students na hindi makapag-review nang maayos sa library, lalong-lalo na iyong mga taong gustong may kape or kinakain habang nagre-review.
"Joanna" I heard someone called my name which made me look to the direction where it came from. Krisha then appeared in my line of sight, smiling while waving her hands at me, getting my attention. Napangiti naman ako sa kanya at lumapit na. I realized then na kaming dalawa pa lamang ang nandito, probably because we're too early.
"Have you eaten your breakfast yet?" she asked me as she let me sit beside her. She chose a spot sa dulo ng cafe, in a corner so that we would not be distracted later as the meeting would progress.
"Hindi pa eh. There's nothing to eat at home" I just replied to her habang nilapag ko ang tote bag sa table. I then immediately set my laptop up, opening it so I can type a little information, some ideas and suggestions that could help us later.
"What do you like ba? I'll order for us both muna while we're waiting for them. Hindi pa rin kasi ako nakakapag-agahan" she volunteered, getting her wallet.
"I'll just have hot choco and one of those plain breads" sabi ko naman sa kanya, handing her 200 peso para pambayad. She then immediately got up and ordered habang naiwan naman ako mag-isa sa pwesto namin. My eyes roamed the cafe and saw that most of the customers here are still female. Napakunot naman ang noo ko.
'Ngayon kaya yung shift ni Uno sa cafe?' I curiously mumbled.
My eyes wandered to the counter where Krisha is making an order. The girl in the cashier wasn't the one who greeted me the last time and the barista there certainly wasn't Uno. Halos mamilog naman ang mata ko when I found him familiar.
'Saan ko nga ba sya nakita?'
Napatitig na lang ako doon banda sa counter most certainly sa barista, trying to remember where I have possibly met him. I then almost bit my lip when I remembered where.He's one of the guys together with Uno last night! The one who snatched the little guy's snacks and most certainly the one eating ice cream as everything went nuts last night.
Napaiwas naman ako ng tingin ko nang makitang nakita niya akong nakatingin sa kanya but he just smiled. Halos manlambot naman ang puso ko sa ngiting 'yon. Ang cute kasi, parang bata. Naalala ko naman na mas bata nga siguro ito sa akin ng mga 2-3 years which made me think kung bakit siya nandon, making drinks. He's underage for Pete's sake, why would he work?
"Hoy, ginagawa mo?" kuha sa atensyon ko habang may pumitik sa noo ko. Napatingin naman ako kung sino ang salarin at isa nga ito sa mga balahura kong mga kaibigan.
"Ginagawa mue?" balik ko naman sa kanya nang maupo na ito sa tapat ko. May tangay din itong bag at laptop gaya ng napagkasunduan namin the last time we had a group meeting.
"Ano ba dapat? Pasalamat ka maaga ako pumunta kundi natutulog pa ako sa oras na ito" pataray pa nitong sabi na kinahagikhik ko. Umagang-umaga ay parang nireregla, akala mo naman hindi sya iyong kaninang nangangamusta sa akin kung okay lang ba ako.
"Sus, init naman ng ulo mo" chuckling, I teased her again while she's setting her laptop up. Napairap naman ito sa akin na mas lalo ko lang kinatawa.
"Pabitin ka kasi, bwisit" sabi pa nito sa akin na kintatigil ko ng tawa.
"So kasalanan ko pa?" sabi ko sa kanya, acting like I was being treated unfairly. Hindi naman na siya sumagot at nanahimik na inaayos iyong laptop niya. Napakagat naman ako sa labi ko, tinatantya kung nagtatampo ba ito o hindi. Nag-iinarte na naman siguro dahil hindi kami makapag-usap patungkol sa nangyari kahapon dahil sa meeting na ito. Tamad na tamad kasing gumawa itong isang ito kapag groupings pero mas tamad talaga sya pag individual projects ang usapan. Siya kasi yung taong laging last minute kung gumawa.
"Kain na" I heard Krisha told me, putting the cup of hot choco and a loaf of bread on my side as Seven assisted her and putting down the cup of coffee and rainbow cake she probably ordered. I smiled at her, also to Seven but confusion was still in my mind.
"Thank you for last night" tipid na saad nito na kinatunganga ko bago pa ito umalis at bumalik sa pwesto nito. Nakita ko naman ang pagtaas ng kilay ni Jeanne at mapanuring tingin ni Krisha habang sumisimsim sa tasa ng kape nito.
"Don't tell me, mas bata na ang... type mo?" Jeanne asked after a long silence. Halos maibuga naman ni Krisha iyong iniinom niyang kape sa tanong ni Jeanne samantalang nanlalaki ang mata ko sa kanya, feeling wronged.
I tried to regain myself by breathing deeply before trying to explain. "It's not what you think it is,"panimula ko pa kung kaya naman medyo bumaba ang kilay nitong si Jeanne at binaba muna ni Krisha iyong kape niya.
Hindi ko naman alam kung saan ako magsisimula mag-kwento like, paano? Nag-aalinlangan pa ako kasi nandyan pa si Krisha and I was just worried she would tell someone else about it dahil hindi naman kami ganoon ka-close and she wasn't one of my best friends.
Napatigil naman ako sa kakaisip ko nang marinig akong may tumikhim. It's Jeanne. Bubuka na sana iyong bibig ko para magsalita but I was immediately hindered by a loud conversation of people rushing to our table.
"Sorry, medyo late kami. Kanina pa ba kayo dito?" Pola asked us when she reached out table. Nagkakakgulo naman iyong mga lalaki sa likod niya, with Toffee and Bane beating each other's head with a book. It looks like kumpleto na kami, isa na lang ang kulang.
"Hindi nyo kasabay si Rich?" Krisha asked them but they all just shake their heads.
As they were organizing their stuffs, Pola spoke, "Hinintay din namin kanina doon sa bahay nila Bane kaso nag-message na medyo male-late daw siya. He told na umuwi daw kasi iyong tito nya from States and would like to meet him kasama iyong pinsan nya this morning. Huwag naman daw tayong mag-alala kasi tapos naman na daw nya iyong part sa presentation and he would send it later sa groupchat".
I just nodded my head in agreement while looking at my laptop. Hindi naman kasi ako makatingin ng diretso dahil ramdam ko pa iyong sama ng tingin ni Jeanne sa akin.
I'm so trying hard to brush it off by looking at my laptop's screen kahit wala naman akong nai-type ni isang matinong word. Halos hindi ko pa rin naiinuman iyong hot choco ko dahil baka masamid lang ako sa titig nitong babaeng ito.
"So, anuna mga pars?" I heard Toffee asked us. Napalingon naman ako sa side nila, noticing that they're all looking at me. Halos hawakan ko naman iyong kanang kamay ko kaka-type ng kung ano-ano sa keyboard ng laptop at nginitian sila nang matamis.
"Hmmm... san ba tayo magsisimula?" I asked myself, gathering all the drafts of the business plan we're gonna do from my tote bag. I quickly scanned the pages for the red markings of what we need to accomplish, discuss and revise dun sa plan. Nilapag ko naman agad iyong paper at tinignan silang lahat, including Jeanne. I was trying to communicate with her na mag-uusap naman kami mamaya kaya naman tumango na lang ito pero nakamamatay na naman iyong tingin na kapag hindi ako nag-kwento mamaya ay hindi ako makakalabas sa cafe na ito nang buhay.
"Let's start with the product itself muna. Last time kasi we submitted 3 different products to Ma'am Aileen, the two of them got rejected. She said na meron na daw products na nag-exist like the rice coffee. On the other hand, pizza with different ulams from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao would be too difficult for us to handle, and too expensive in her opinion. So, shall we proceed dun sa idea number 3 or think of another batch to submit ulit?" I asked them to start the conversation and let it flow naturally. Actually, this group is really simple. I just feel bad na I'm not enough for them to be their leader as I am not that smart to lead a group. I'm anxious that they would blame me if mababang grade ang makukuha namin dito.
Hours passed and we're still brainstorming for ideas. We're also surfing the net to find some things that would further help us and enhance the ideas that we have. Halos mag-ten o' clock na and Rich is still not around. I heard Krisha asked Pola to text him about his whereabouts, I dunno lang kung nag-reply.
"So ano? Proceed ba tayo sa veggie churros or nah?" I asked them again. Umiling naman si Pola, Bane, and Jeanne while Krisha and Toffee didn't respond.
"May naiisip pa kasi ako eh" Pola commented so our attention shifted to her.
"Yeah, nasabi na din niya sa'kin yung idea nya" Bane agreed which made all of us more curious.
"What if, we focus on veggies and make it like something that vegetarian would eat. Like nuggets?" she asked. Napatango naman ako sa idea nya and searched for vegetables that are appropriate to be made as a nugget. Mahirap mag-isip ng ingredient na maaaring ipalit sa karne, most especially chicken as the texture would really differ. Hindi pa naman ako kumakain ng gulay.
"How about fruits?" Krisha then suggested kung kaya naman we all focused on searching and thinking about fruits or vegetables as a substitute for chicken. Halos madukdok na kami sa kanya-kanya naming mga gawain. I was just glad na hindi kami mahihirapan pang humanap ng ibang place to do meetings like this na payapa lang, most importantly, air-conditioned at may wifi. Laking pasasalamat ko lang kay Seven kanina when he connected our laptops to the cafe's wifi.
"Eyow, wazzup guys!" we heard someone shouted at the door. Napatigil naman kami sa mga ginagawa namin at nakita si Rich na pasayaw-sayaw pang naglalakad papunta sa amin when he entered the cafe. Napanindigan naman niya iyong pangalan niyang Rich sa suot niyang white Gucci shirt na may tatak na mickey mousse, tucked in sa suot niyang black pants na I bet mamahalin din ang presyo. Swabeng-swabe naman sya sa pagsasayaw niya sa Balenciaga niyang sapatos.
"Oy pare!" tayo naman ni Bane at Toffee, sabay bati sa kanya ng batok kung kaya naman nagulo iyong maayos niyang buhok na tinadtad ata ng gel.
"Putragis naman mga pre, ilang oras ko to inayos" reklamo naman nito nang makaupo na ito. Inabot naman nito sa akin ang isang flashdrive na itim na kinakunot ng noo ko.
"Para saan to?" naguguluhan kong tanong.
Binaba naman nya itong shades na suot niya sabay tingin sa akin,"Project proposal. Someone helped me with the product ideas stored in there. Kaya ako na-late kasi nagpatulong ako sa kanya kanina nung binisita ko si Tito. We owe him one"
"Buti naman, mauubos na kami kakaisip dito" halos pasuko na boses ni Jeanne replied.
I just shrugged a shoulder at sinaksak na iyong flashdrive sa laptop ko. I waited for it to be ready but halos maipon naman ang lahat ng dugo ko sa ulo ko when something showed up from the screen.
'UNO (D:)'
Scan and fix problems | Proceed