The skies cleared just in time to welcome the morning sun. Outside the convenience store, bleary-eyed kids passed by lugging their bulging knapsacks, world-weary adults in their perfectly pressed uniforms walked briskly to their everyday destinations, and the noise of a city waking up from a fitful slumber started to fill the air.
Ian toyed with Paolo's hand. He pinched and he pulled at every finger but the owner of the hand simply yawned, his eyes stayed closed, and his head remained cradled on the crook of his other arm.
Paolo mumbled something incoherent so Ian had to lean closer to understand him.
"Anó 'yun, Paopao?"
Paolo's eyes opened immediately and glared at the man whose face was hovering too close to his.
"Stop. Calling. Me. Paopao," he yanked his hand from Ian's grasp and used it to push the other's face away.
"Hindî na akó baby boy" Paolo stretched his arms and groaned in satisfaction when he heard how his joints popped.
Ian laughed and started to clean up the mess they've made on the table. They had been staying at the store for close to eight hours already and it was finally time to leave.
"O, what did you say ngâ?" Ian prodded as he wiped a particularly stubborn stain of hot chocolate on Paolo's side of the table.
"Ang sabi ko, 'talagáng hinintáy natin matapos ang shift ni Eddie'"
Ian looked behind at the counter where Eddie was talking to the person in charge of the next shift.
"Of course. I need as many allies as I could get if I want to be successful in wooing you lalò na at hindî na sinásagót ni Ana ang mga tawag ko" Ian sighed and smiled knowingly at Paolo. The other averted his eyes quickly and distracted himself with his mobile phone.
"Hay nakú bakit ba kasí sinamahan pa kitá dito na maghintáy kay Eddie e"
"It was raining hard so you couldn't go home," Ian offered
"Ang tangá ng excuse anó?" Paolo's laugh sounded tensed.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm still confused, but..." Paolo gave out a sigh that sounded like a pandora's box of possibilities to Ian's ear.
"But what?"
"Hindî pa akó sigurado kung anó ang kasunód ng 'but'" Paolo sounded frustrated. He looked at Ian apologetically.
I can't ask you to wait for me but I hope that you'll wait for me.
"I'll wait," Ian smiled indulgently.
Ay pota pyschic na rin siya, Paolo could not hold himself from snorting at the randomness of his thoughts. He should be feeling sad and guilty but why was their also a feeling of relief, he thought with another sigh.
Ian held Paolo's cheeks with both hands and pressed them repeatedly, "Paopao, ayós ka lang ba? Natatakot na akó sa mood swings mo. Say, 'Gwapo si Ian' if you're still feeling fine'"
"Ga.Go.Si.Ian" Paolo mouthed the syllables back and Ian simply smiled and took his hands away.
The thing about smiles is that it can mean a lot of things but it almost always means that the person giving it wants the other to feel happy despite everything.
"But seriously Ian, promise me that once you get tired of waiting you'll stop"
"Of course," Ian said gently, his eyes wandered to the people outside.
"Mga kuya, tapós na akó. Alís na tayo at ililibre ko kayó ng almusál" Eddie interrupted at a perfect moment.
"Pass muna akó. I have to work at nine"
"May trabaho pa pala siyá ng alás-nuwebe pero hinintáy ka talagá niyá Eddie. Halá!, what could this mean?" Paolo joked as he put Eddie in a headlock.
"Kuya Pao, parang-awà mo na 'wág kang masyadong maglálapít sa akin kapág nandiyán si kuya Ian. Alám mo ba ang sabi niyá sa akin kahapon, 'you don't know what I'm capable of'" Eddie cried out in panic.
"Capable siyá, Kuya Pao! Capable!"
"Alám mo Eddie, Paolo was right. You are a traydór" Ian glared menacingly at Eddie.
"Ayán kasí. Balimbíng pa" Paolo tried to grab Eddie again after he successfully untangled himself from that dangerous headlock.
Dangerous na ang mga tingín ni kuya Ian. Eddie, stay strength, the chismoso-akó-pero-hindî-akó-hudas-nagmamalasakit-lang-boy thought desperately.
YOU ARE READING
Konbini Part 2: For the second chances that we couldn't give
FanfictionWill you give someone a second chance?
