UNCOVER JANE DOE

Chapter 4: How fake do you want it?

"All I wanna do right now is to get close to any of them. But this Regina Maxine Vanguardia is unreachable through social media. Looks like Narda Jane Custodio is my much willing prey."

I watch her as she passes through my unit. Wondering what goes into her mind as she mindlessly walk towards her room with a troubled look on her face.

I wanna say hi and intercept her but I get a hold of myself and opened my laptop instead. I have a much better idea than ask her and meddle with her thoughts.

I logged out of my own personal account and logged in to the dummy account that i've made for Regina Vanguardia.

I typed in Narda Custodio's name on the search bar and sent her a message.

"Hi."

I sat staring at my computer, wishing she'd open her messenger after she went inside her own unit.

I've waited impatiently that every passing second pisses me off.

A message from Narda popped up as I was about to stand up and decide go to her place and talk to her instead of waiting here for unsure replies.

"Hey! Good that i've caught you online. I'm exhausted." She replied.

My smile widened with her message.

"Mapagtiwala ka pala, Narda? Guess hindi ako mahihirapang paaminin ka on what you have in mind earlier."

I typed in. "Why? What happened, Jae?"

Instead of answering my question, she typed. "Jae? Hmmm... sounds nice to me. No one calls me by that nickname."

"Glad to be the first. Unique isn't it?" I say out loud every word I reply.

"It is. Is it okay if I call you, Max or Maxine? Neways, back to your question. It's so personal that I wanted to talk to you about it over the phone."

I slightly panicked with that reply. So many things went into my mind like:

How will I answer personal questions about Regina Maxine Vanguardia?

Is my research about her and her work as a painter enough already?

What if Narda discovers that i'm a fake by the way I speak or caught me by how I lack knowledge about things the original Regina Maxine does?

What if Narda caught me lying? What will she do? Will she tell the police? Or will she let it pass? Or maybe she won't caught me at all.

"That is if it's okay with you. I really need to talk to someone right now." She followed up.

"It's fine and Maxine or Max is okay with me too." I replied without thinking. I panicked more after that.

"Gaga ka talaga, Luna! Bakit ka pumayag?" Saway ko sa sarili. I made a few deep breaths before my nerve relaxes.

"Great! VC?" She replied.

"Fuck no!" I jumped out of my seat as I read her reply.

I end up walking back and forth, staring at my computer. Thinking of ways trying to escape this video call request from Narda.

I finally sat back and typed. "Hmmm... phone calls are fine. Yet I don't know about VC's. Still shy. Getting to know you better pa. Though I idolize you so much, I wanted to see you face to face in flesh and not on any social media platforms. Hope you understand." I closed my eyes as I pushed the reply button.

"Pumayag ka please! Don't play hard on me." Wish ko habang hinihintay ang reply n'ya.

"Okay. Phone number please."

Halos tumalon ako sa tuwa sa reply n'ya. "Mauuto ko pala talaga 'tong si Narda. Good job, self. Good job!"

I typed in my number but remembered something.

"Patay! Nagkasalubong na nga pala kami once. Paano kung marecognize n'ya ang voice ko? Fuck! Lunaaaa! Hindi ka talaga nag-iisip! Nyeta ka!"

My phone rang. Halos maibato ko ito sa gulat.

Ang bilis naman n'yang tumawag.

I had no choice but to wish na hindi n'ya ako mabosesan pagkatapos kong pindutin ang answer button.

"He-hello..."

"Narda here. I hope hindi kita naiistorbo."

Pinuno ko ng hangin ang baga ko. I inhaled that much needed oxygen coz I feel like throwing up with worries, fear and nervousness.

"Hi-hindi naman."

Tumawa s'ya sa kabilang linya.

Lumaki yata ang ulo ko sa narinig. Namula ang mukha ko.

"Why is she laughing? Does she recognize my voice? Does she know i'm lying by the sound of my voice? Fuck! Fuck! I'm fucked up." Naisa-isip ko.

I almost hang up on her.

"Hey! Why are you so nervous? Ako lang 'to. Hindi kita kakagatin. Relax."

"Does it mean hindi n'ya narecognize ang voice ko? Na hindi n'ya ako pinag-iisipan na nagsisinungaling?" Tanong ko sa sarili.

"Maxine! Hey! Are you still there? Is this phone call too much for you? You want me to hang up?" Tanong n'ya sa kabilang linya ng hindi ako sumagot.

"No! No! No! It's fine. I got starstrucked, i'm speechless." Sabi ko nalang ng makabawi.

"Relax, self! You're Regina Maxine! You're not Luna. Panindigan mo 'yan! You're slaying it!" Pagpupush ko pa sa sarili.

"Hmmm... is that so? Am I that popular?"

"Not that I know of, not until we bumped into each other." I nearly burst but restrained myself from doing so.

"Of course! I'm fond of your writings. Got sleepless nights until I finish a book you wrote. I must say you're really good with your craft. I'm your number 1 fan, Jae." Pambobola ko pa.

"Hmmm... Nakakahiya naman. I don't deserve such compliment."

"You do. Trust me, you're good. Anyways, balik tayo sa reason kung bakit ka napatawag? May problema ka?" Mas gusto ko pang malaman ang iniisip n'ya kanina kaysa bolahin s'ya.

"Now that i've heard your voice? Everything seems okay. Maybe you're an angel sent for me from above."

Napangiti ako. "Ganoon nga yata kaganda ang boses ko."

"Trust me. You have the most beautiful voice i've ever heard. Let's forget about my problem. I've realized it's useless for me to grieve over it. I wanna know you better than talk about it."

"Fuck! I gotta escape! I'm not yet ready for it. Think, Luna! Think! Escape."

"Ahm... Jae? As much as I wanted to talk to you longer, sorry but i'm about to do something important. I've got a painting to finish. Kadarating lang kasi ng model ko. Is it okay if I call you again some other time?"

"No! No! It's okay. Ako ang dapat magsorry at naistorbo pala kita. Sorry for taking so much of your time. Go back to work na ha? Message me nalang if hindi ka na busy. Neways, thanks for answering my call. It helped a lot. Bye, Max."

"Bye, Jae. Next time okay?"

"Sure. Looking forward to it."

Nakahinga ako ng maluwag ng pinatay na n'ya ang tawag.

"Now i'm in the game."

I wanna tap my own back for a job well done. Mukha namang napaniwala ko agad si Narda na ako si Regina Maxine.

"I never thought it could be this exciting."

Today's convo with Narda Jane is quite surreal. I thought it will take me weeks or even a month to get her attention but I was wrong.

"Iba talaga kapag talented na, maganda pa. Hindi mahirap na makakuha ng atensyon mula sa iba. Thanks for being you, Regina Maxine Vanguardia. Now I have a new toy named Narda Jane Custodio. Hahaha!"