Alejandro's Hombre

Ch. 7: King of the racetrack

"salamat sa tiwala, boss. good to go na po itong kotse at motorbike nyo." ani Rigz sa suki nila ng dumating ito kinahapunan para kunin ang pinakumponing sasakyan at motor. "routine check-up lang po twice a month boss and constant check lang po sa pressure gauge at makina para hindi po tumirik ulit. mas makakabuti rin if i-check nyo rin for change oil every now and then."

"salamat din dito, hijo. maaasahan ka talaga sa ganitong bagay, laging pulido ang trabaho mo." pagpuri ng customer nila kay Rigor saka nakipagkamay dito. "hayaan mo, ire-refer ko itong shop nyo sa mga kumpadre ko. may kaibigan akong nagmamay-ari ng isang taxi liner. dito ko papupuntahin ang mga driver nya kapag may aberya sa dala nilang unit."

"naku boss, thank you po kung ganun." ani Rigor na hindi mapuknat ang ngiti. "asahan nyo po na iingatan namin ang tiwala ninyo."

"o sya, aalis na 'ko." anito na umalis kasama ang mga tauhan nito. they celebrated as their valued customer gave them a large tip, aside from the service and tool fees for the repairs.

"ayun! tiba-tiba tayo ngayon, bro." ani Luke saka isinara ang kaha. they gathered near the counter as they closed the shop early. "sa Leon Sangria tayo tonight?"

"sure thing. I feel like getting drunk tonight, anyways. ano Rigz, sama ka?"
tanong ni Jiro sa kaibigan na tutok sa screen ng cellphone nito. nagkatinginan silang tatlo dahil tila sobrang busy nito sa kung sinumang inaatupag nito sa naturang gadget, plus the fact that their friend's signature scowl is clearly shown on his face.

"Rigor!"

"goddamn---shiia, Jiro Benedict! saraleo!" Rigor burst out loudly, smacking Jiro's biceps. the latter just chortled loudly, joined by Luke. Gabriel just smiled. "what the fuck is wrong with you?! shiia..."

Jiro wiped the tears on his eyes due to laughing so hard and tap Rigor's shoulder. Luke shook his head, still laughing. Rigor's face is really hilarious if he's startled like that. he'd scream in a high-pitched voice, like a cat hissing.

" we should be the one asking you that, boy. We've been calling your name but you didn't responded, your face is glued to that screen!" Jiro said, pointing to Rigz's cellphone. "seriously, Paulo Rigor. are you dating someone now?"

umilap ang mga mata ng pinsan nya at agad ibinulsa ang cellphone nito. hindi nakaligtas sa mga mata ni Gabriel ang pamumula ng mukha nito.

"nothing. i-it's nothing." Rigor said, avoiding their eyes. "haist, let's just do the inventory now. baka nakakalimutan nyo, may karera si Gabriel mamaya. kaya, halina kayo. let's start para madali tayong matapos."

the three of them exchanged knowing glances as Rigor arranged his tools and stated cleaning up the repair area of the shop. they know that Rigor is hiding something from them--- that he's really dating someone, but just refuses to say it. Gabriel just shrug and face his desktop computer and started the inventory.
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"they're here again." Jiro said to them as they dismounted Gabriel's bike from the pick-up truck. they followed his line of vision and saw an eyesore.

"don't pay attention to them. as long as they keep on their side of this racetrack, I'm fine with that." Gabriel said, tightening his leather gloves, strapping it in place. He's also eyeing the group of people not far from their tent. specially the two people who now saw them. Rigor patted his shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"he saw you. seems like the rich brat still has a beef with you until now. His defeat to you is still bitter to his tongue, i guess."

"it's not my fault if he's such a sore loser and not man enough to accept defeat. this is a race." he said, doing his warm-up. "either he loses or I win. that's all that matters."