A Hard Habit To Break

Chapter 2

OLIVIA

It's Sunday morning. I woke up from my bed and looked at the wall clock. It's already 6:00 in the morning. I'm still sleepy but my body doesn't want to go back to sleep anymore. Alam mo 'yong feeling na lagi kang maagang nagigising kaya pati body clock mo gano'n na rin ang routine? Well, that's me. Because of my lifestyle, I usually get up at 6:00 am and sometimes earlier than that, it depends. Indeed, I'm a morning person.

I went to the bathroom and did my morning routine. Afterward, I went straight to the kitchen to cook for my breakfast. Ganito ako palagi araw-araw. Mag-isa lang ako sa condo kaya okay lang sa akin. Sanay na rin naman ako. I've been like this since I started putting up my business. But when I was a student back then, I lived with my family since my school was just near our house. The transportation was just easy. It was accessible, and convenient, though.

Pagkatapos ko kumain, hinugasan ko na rin kinainan ko at pati na rin mga ginamit ko sa pagluluto. Masyado pang maaga, mamaya na ko maliligo tutal 9:00 am pa naman ang bukas ng mall. I need to buy some groceries and toiletries too. Malapit na maubos stocks ko.

Naalala ko pala na buksan ang itinerary na ni-send sa akin ni Emma kagabi. I'd rather do it now just to kill some time. I took out my laptop and turned it on. I logged in to my email account and opened my inbox. I was shocked to see that my departure date will be this coming Tuesday. That soon? Di halata na excited masyado si Emma.

I checked it again to see my return flight, and that even stupefied me more. Balik ko after 2 weeks? Anong gagawin ko do'n? Siguro sa iba nakakabitin ang 2 weeks pero para sa akin ang boring. Mas gugustuhin kong umuwi kaagad at magbantay sa café dahil magiging productive pa araw ko kapag gano'n. You can say I'm a killjoy, introvert, or whatever you call it. For me, time is so precious to be wasted, I don't want to be carefree and easy-going. I've been there, done that.

It means tomorrow I have to inform my staff that I'll be on leave for two weeks and Emma will be their boss for that time being. Kilala naman nila si Emma. Dahil sinong di makakakilala sa kanya? Halos araw-arawin ba naman pagdalaw sa café tapos ang gusto pa libre pagkain at inumin na ino-order niya. Kapal ng fes. Ikr.

Maya ko na lang siguro ipi-print boarding pass ko. At maya ko na lang rin aayusin ang iba pang gamit na dadalhin ko para sa araw na iyon. It's already 8:00 am when I checked the clock again. I think I have to take a bath now. Tamang-tama, it takes me 40 mins to prepare, put on my clothes and such. Yes, I know. Masyado akong mabagal kumilos.

Pagkaraan ng ilang minuto, sumakay ako ng elevator papunta sa parking lot at naglakad papunta sa kotse ko. I went to the driver's seat and turned on the engine, then drove off going to the mall. Maluwag ang daan at mabilis lang ang naging biyahe ko. May mangilan-ngilan pa rin naman akong nadaanan na mga sasakyan pero hindi gaano, hindi tulad kapag weekdays - matrapik. Lumiko kaagad ako sa kanan nang matanaw ko sa hindi kalayuan ang daan papuntang parking lot ng mall.

Pagkapasok ng sasakyan sa parking lot ay naghanap kaagad ako ng pwesto para sa kotse ko. Hindi naman nagtagal ay nakakita ako sa bandang kaliwa ko ng bakante. I turned my car and went straight to where I saw the available slot. After I pulled over, I turned off the engine and took out my keys from the ignition. I was about to get off when my phone rang. I saw Emma's name flashing on the screen. Ano naman ba kailangan ng babaeng 'to ngayon?

Bumaba muna ko ng kotse at saka sinagot ang tawag niya. "Yes?"

"Wow lang ha? Taray!" Nang-aasar niyang sabi na nagpairap sa'kin.

I walked to my right and leaned my back against the hood of the car. "Bakit ka napatawag, mahal kong bestfriend?" Nang-aasar na tanong ko rin sa kanya.