Niki and Andy

Chapter 16: It Was a Million Little Things

Sa loob ng dalawang linggo ay nakapagpasa ng mahigit singkwentang resume si Niki sa iba't ibang kumpanya at nakagawa na siya ng halos labinlimang videos para sa vlog channel niya. She has gone to five different interviews, all of which have been promising but she has not heard back from them yet. She was not too worried, though. Hindi pa naman ganoon katagal mula nang ma-interview siya.

Out of all the videos she recorded, three made their way to her channel. Andy helped her with the editing and he also provided his honest feedback. Niki was not expecting to get a lot of views right away.

Ilang araw na naka one view per video ang extent ng engagement ng content niya. Then before last weekend, she gained a handful of views. For someone like her who just started vlogging, it was a big deal. Andy made cupcakes for her and they celebrated with pizzas and beer, and of course, she made a vlog about it.

"Nga pala, okay lang ba sa 'yo na isama kita sa videos ko? O i-cover ko yung mukha mo? Or as in wala ka sa frame? Or.... like you don't exist at all?" tuloy-tuloy niyang tanong dito noong nag-iinuman sila.

"Okay lang namang mapasama ako sa video," sagot ni Andy sa kanya. "I think it'll help with the views."

Niki remembered rolling her eyes so hard, her eyes hurt after.

The third video was just posted earlier this week and it was about Ponkan. She literally just followed Ponkan around and forced him to love her during the entire video. It was hilarious. She got like a hundred views and three comments. Andy was right. Cats are the best money makers.

Ang problema, palaging nakakulong si Ponkan sa kwarto ni Andy. Maghapon iyon. Lalabas lamang ito kapag nasa labas si Andy o kung pakakainin ito. Just as she didn't want to be bothered while she was filming stuff, she also didn't want to bother Andy while he was working.

"Kumuha kaya ako ng isa pang pusa?" suhestiyon niya kay Andy isang umaga.

Andy's eyebrows furrowed. "Ang dami mo nang gastos kay Ponkan. Kukuha ka pa ng isa? Wala ka pang trabaho."

Niki grunted and propped her chin on her palm. Andy was right. Magastos na ang isang pusa, paano pa kaya kapag dalawa? Mabuti nga at napamahal na yata rito si Ponkan. Ito na ang kusang nag-o-order ng pagkain ng pusa kahit hindi siya kahati sa gastos. He even bought Ponkan a new litter box na mukhang washing machine.

"Maybe you should try cooking?"

"Magastos yun e."

"Gumagastos naman talaga tayo sa groceries. And it's not like you're gonna cook everyday. Just occasionally. Di ba sabi mo magtututo ka na?"

"Mahirap sabayan yung videos e. Minsan hindi nila pinapakita kung pa'no. I want to see them be very specific," dahilan niya.

Andy sat on the dining chair with his coffee on hand. "Alam mo, tingin ko ang problema mo e masyado kang perfectionist when it comes to cooking. Gusto mo the exact same way so you can produce the exact same result. But cooking is not like that. Sometimes it's taking just the concept and then applying your own interpretation to it."

"Maybe that's why you're so good at it. Magaling ka kasi sa impromptu art spontaneous."

He sipped his coffee and smiled. "I'm good at anything."

"Except being humble."

Andy chuckled. "I'll teach you, if you want. This weekend. For now, iiwan ko sa labas si Ponkan."

Ponkan, hearing his name, walked up to Andy and rubbed his face against his leg. "Meow~"

Niki opened her phone's camera and then tried to record Ponkan just slithering in between their legs. Nang maubos ni Andy ang kape ay tumayo ito para hugasan ang tasa sa lababo. Sumunod agad si Ponkan dito. Dahil nasa baba si Ponkan, binti lang ni Andy ang kita sa frame.