Eighteen

Chapter 11

It was already three am, but my eyes were gaping at the city lights in harmony over the balcony. London's air felt different as if it had a certain language that told me I wasn't back home. I'd been growing impatient as I watched the hour in white font from the bottom right corner of my laptop. Hindi ko na maatim na maghintay pa ng ilang oras kaya pakiramdam ko ang bagal ng takbo no'n.

My tummy was still empty. I didn't feel any hunger, but I was worried that this would hurt later if I didn't eat now, so I went inside and prepared a pan and oil to fry the eggs and hotdogs I'd had delivered along with an already cooked rice from this hotel's pantry. I'd never tried hotdogs in egg before, so I cracked two shells and chopped two hotdogs in nearly thin slices and proceeded to mix them together in a bowl.

I turned the heat to low to cook the insides better lest burn the scrambled egg around the hotdog. Habang naluluto ang mga iyon, nanood ako sa YouTube kung paano gumawa ng omelet. It was muscle-straining, but worth the shot. That gulaman had already made me well-equipped for this one.

Since I didn't have any chopsticks, I had to rely on a fork. I beat another egg in a glass bowl then sprinkled it with some flavor using both salt and pepper shakers. Luto na ang nauna kong isinalang sa apoy kaya tinanggal ko muna iyon at nilipat sa isang plato bago ako naglagay ng butter sa kaldero para sa panibagong lulutuin kong omelet. Using a new fork, I snatched a piece of the lacerated hotdog covered with the egg from the plate and cooled it down a steady blow before shoving it into my mouth. Well, it tasted decent. Honestly, I didn't expect much – lasang hotdog na may itlog.

I was in the middle of stirring the hot pan with the beaten egg when my phone vibrated with Cath's name on display. Pinatay ko muna ang apoy, takot na baka masira ko ang pagkakaluto sa Omelet, at sinagot ang tawag. I propped my phone somewhere I would be seen doing some kitchen business. When her face registered on the screen, it was not her that I saw.

"Shit. Nagla-labor ka ba?" bungad ni Hide.

"I'm cooking." Did I look that haggard?

"Is that Cams?" narinig kong tanong ni Catherine sa background.

"Switch daw ulit siya ng profession. From doctor to businesswoman tapos magche-chef daw siya this time," daldal ni Hide.

"Really? What are you making luto, Camille?" tanong ni Catherine na bigla na lang dinamba ang bakanteng pwesto sa tabi ni Hide para makisiksik.

"Egg omelet," sagot ko na ikina-'ah' nila.

"Ah, I see. Goodluck!" Cath said sweetly.

"Ta's naging plain tiniktik na itlog," ani Hide at nang-aasar na tumawa. I didn't even know where she had gotten that word from. Probably her original onomatopoeia.

Wala na akong sinabi pagkatapos noon. I had to focus on the egg in front of me though I had already predicted that this would fail. Though it seemed easy from a viewer's point of view, it wasn't when you were the one doing it. And Hide had probably cursed me with her 'tiniktik.' Some time later, I thought they had already ended the call; there was no longer any noise coming from my phone. Hindi ko na muna tiningnan dahil naabala ako sa paglilipat ng 'omelet' sa isang plato. I wiped my pulse across my forehead, like I'd done too much work, and placed the greasy cookware in the sink.

I walked over to a clear space on the counter, placing the two plates of egg dishes on the surface then reached for the compostable takeout container, which housed the rice, by the sink. I pulled the lid open and scooped out every bit of grain rice from there to the plate with the hotdog-mixed egg. Afterward, I hoisted the plate that held the omelet then carefully turned the omelet over to the rice. I'd tried to shape the omelet according to how it should be done, and I could say it did look like the real deal. There was a quiet excitement that started to whisper in my ear as I began to puncture one end of the omelet with a bread knife. That very excitement abruptly ruptured when I heard a voice coming from my phone that had been silent for a while.