Over a decade has passed since the resolution of the M case. What happens to the members of the QED Club after? Is their bond as strong as when they were still in high school? Or did they start to grow apart?
FUTURE OF THE QED CLUB is a special volu...
A/N: This is probably the penultimate chapter of this novella. I hope you'll enjoy it until the end!
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LORELEI
KUNG GUSTO mong maging journalist o pumasok sa media industry, kailangan ready kang magsakripisyo. Walang holi-holiday sa amin. Kahit Pasko o Bagong Taon, kailangan naming pumasok. Kahit pa nga bumabagyo na, nasusunog ang office o niyayanig ng lindol ang building, kailangang on-duty pa rin kami. I didn't like it at first, but I got used to it eventually. Well, this wasn't your usual day job. Parang nasanay na akong naka-duty habang nagre-relax ang karamihan tuwing holiday.
Isa rin sa mga bagay na dapat ready kami ay ang pag-o-overtime. Hindi kami gaya ng karamihan na kapag pumatak na ang alas-singko, uwian na at pwede nang mag-clock out. Tulad ngayong Huwebes, dapat alas-kuwatro ay out ko na, kaso pinag-stay pa ako sa office para i-monitor ang press briefing ng Department of Health. Four o'clock ang schedule, kaso late na nag-start kaya sobra pa sa isang oras na overtime ang kailangan. I had my wireless earbuds on while listening to the late Health secretary give an update about a potential zombie virus outbreak in the country.
Okay, the virus thingy was just a joke! Ganyan ang nagagawa kapag sobrang bored na ako. I've been up since five in the morning and clocked in for work at seven. I went from one press briefing to another in the city. Kahit na may sarili akong sasakyan, nakapapagod pa ring mag-drive at bumiyahe. Hindi pa kasama riyan ang pakikipagsiksikan at pakikipag-unahan kapag ina-ambush interview ang isang source.
I looked at the time on my laptop's taskbar. It's twenty minutes past five o'clock. Katatapos pa lang ng press briefing. Kung gusto kong makaalis bago mag-ala-sais, may mahigit kalahating oras pa ako para magsulat. It's a good thing that my years of experience as a writer for the Clark Converge has trained me for this moment. It only took me twenty-seven minutes to finish the draft of my article and ten minutes to edit it.
Click. Click.
"Sent," I muttered as I clicked the button on my email. Agad kong tinanggal ang earbuds ko, ini-slide paurong ang swivel chair at pumunta sa cubicle ng afternoon news editor, si Ma'am Karina Caringal. She was wearing headphones, her eyes glued to the monitor while her fingers flew over the keyboard. Pumasok ako nang kaunti at kumaway sa kanya para maaninag niya ako sa kanyang peripheral vision. Agad siyang humarap sa akin at inalis ang kanyang headphones.
"Ma'am, na-send ko na po 'yong DOH article."
Bumalik sa monitor ang tingin niya at ilang beses na nag-click sa mouse. "Received, Lori. Thank you and sorry for asking you to stay longer. Um-absent kasi si Felicia kaya wala akong ibang mautusan kundi ikaw."
"No problem po," I replied with a smile. "May ipagagawa pa po ba kayo, ma'am?"
Sana wala na. Sana wala na.
"Wala na. This is enough already. Thank you again, Lori!"
"I'll go ahead na po." I mentally screamed 'yes!' dahil makaaalis na rin ako. Asking her kung may ipagagawa pa ba siya sa akin was just a courtesy at pangongonsensya na rin. Mabuti't talagang wala nang kasunod.
