Dalumat

III. Not a Plunge -- A Dip

Risa rushed to the direction of the elevators, hoping that she wouldn't have to endure her discomfort for long by having to wait for an elevator car to arrive. Luckily for her, one of the two elevator cars was currently on this floor, but unluckily for her, there was one other person entering it before her. When the person turned around and revealed his face, Risa inwardly groaned — not for the first time this morning.

Lord, bakit?

The man with the long hair, upon spotting her, greeted her cheerily with a wave, "Good morning!"

Having no other choice, Risa greeted her colleague back as normally as she could as she followed him into the elevator car, "Good morning..."

She was more than aware that, in her haste to get out of Leni's room, she still hadn't washed her face or combed her hair. Even though she slept in a comfortably cool room, she became more and more conscious of the way her clothes stuck to her skin.

They both knew that this wasn't her floor.

She couldn't see him directly, but she could feel his eyes on her, probably judging the way her shirt and pants creased visibly in places as if she slept in them... which she did.

Please, Teddy, Risa begged in her mind, 'wag ka nang mag-comment.

The elevator doors closed with a ding, and the two lone people in the elevator car stood there awkwardly.

Teddy pressed the button for the ground floor. She pressed the button for the third floor. They were currently on the fourth floor.

Risa mentally facepalmed. Maybe she should have taken the stairs...

Teddy cleared his throat deliberately. "Walk of shame?"

Risa turned to give him a deadly glare. The cheeky grin on his face immediately dropped.

"Joke lang po..."

-

The events of the day distracted her enough. The shower she had that morning — in her room, to be clear — felt like it washed away all the weird and uncomfortable feelings she carried with her from the moment she woke up. Now, she felt much better, her head clearer. Now, she could look back and say that there was nothing to feel awkward about. Leni was a close friend, and sometimes, these things happen. She didn't need to be all weird about it.

No need to make a mountain out of a molehill.

So, she went about her day as usual. If Teddy gave her any funny looks, she just ignored him.

This day was just like any other busy day, but with different faces, in a different place, and with a slightly different seating arrangement. As was always the case, Leni was the last to step on the stage. Sometimes, when she arrived early, they had time to see each other in the assigned tent at the back, but not today.

So her first glimpse of Leni for the day was the top of Leni's head by the stairs to the stage to her right. Leni had her head bowed, careful not to be seen by the audience as the performers danced in front of them. It was a beautiful performance with colorful costumes and cultural flourish — that's definitely what Risa would have said if she were paying attention. She couldn't; Leni hadn't seen her yet.

Then the unexpected sound of the dancers stomping their feet on the floor surprised her, pulling her attention away from the woman and directing it to the performance. The dancers were in some kind of formation now; that was the cue that Leni was about to enter. When she turned her head to look again, Leni was already staring at her. Leni waved, and Risa could tell there was a smile behind that mask that she wished she could see.