Pagtingin ko she was looking at me with a concerned look. Ang linis naman tingnan nito.
"Anong nangyari?" tanong niya.
"I actually don't know. Bigla na lang ayaw mag-start eh." sabi ko sa kanya.
"Have you checked your batteries?" sabi niya sa 'kin.
"Well, I did and it was working. Kaya hindi ko na rin alam talaga anong sira niya."
Napasapo na lang ako sa noo ko. Paano na bang gagawin ko dito sa sasakyan ko? Talaga naman kasing of all days, ngayon pa niya naisipang masira.
"Do you need a mechanic? I know someone who can help." sabi niya.
"Well, yes please." sabi ko sa kanya. Wala na akong choice. I didn't want to bother Jho kasi sobrang importante ng shoot niya today and they're probably starting already. The girl then took out her phone and walked a few meters away from me.
"Okay, good news is, he is available. Bad news is, he's available tonight."
I frowned. I can't stay here all day and wait for him.
"Well, the least I can offer now, is at least give you a ride. If you're heading somewhere North, I can drop you there." sabi niya sa 'kin. I hesitated kasi nakakahiya rin naman sa kanya. But I also can't stay here since wala naman ibang way to get out of the expressway.
"Saan ka ba pupunta?" sabi niya sa 'kin. "Don't worry, I'm harmless."
Should I tell her? She looked harmless, so I don't know if I should. But she's still a stranger though.
"Papunta sana ako sa Alabang eh." sabi ko sa kanya.
"O sakto. I'm heading there as well. So paano? Tara?" sabi niya.
"Uy wag na. Nakakahiya."sabi ko sa kanya.
"Ano ka ba, I insist. And you look like you're in a hurry too." sabi niya. Totoo rin naman yun.
"Wait, okay, let me at least buy you coffee." sabi ko sa kanya. She just smiled and she agreed kaya pumasok muna ulit kami sa coffee shop to buy one.
"So, saan ka sa Alabang pupunta?" sabi niya sa 'kin once nasa loob na kami ng sasakyan niya.
"Uhm. You can just drop me sa Festi. Okay naman ako dun." sabi ko sa kanya.
"Is that where you're really heading?"
"I can just ask one of my friends to pick me up from there." dagdag ko. Okay Aiah, stop oversharing.
"Ano ka ba, dun din naman ako sa Alabang. Saan dun?" sabi niya.
"Well, sa may Madrigal ako."
She looked at me with a surprised look.
"Dun din ako eh." sabi niya. "Do you work in that area?"
"Uh, actually hindi. May event lang kasi yung friend ko and she asked me to come and help her kaya ayun. Ikaw? Do you work there?"
"Hindi rin." sabi niya then she chuckled. "Just meeting up with friends."
"Cool."
"Sorry nga pala medyo makalat yung kotse ha. I needed to bring lots of clothes eh." sabi niya. Mukhang napansin niya na I was looking around her car.
"Wait, model ka ba or something?"
"Hindi. I... paano ba, parang performer ba. Today is our photoshoot for our EP launch kaya ayun." sabi niya. "Pero we are also in a band. I mean, dun naman talaga kami nadiscover."
"Nice, artista ka pala eh. Pa-autograph ah." I teased.
"Boang." mabilis namang sagot niya.
I chuckled.
"So what instrument do you play?"
"Drums, before." sabi niya. "Ikaw? Do you know how to play?"
"Well, I play the piano. But I don't play in a band." sabi ko sa kanya. Kumunot yung noo niya.
"But you do still play right?"
"Yes. Kapag may time. And for work." sabi ko sa kanya. Napangiti siya.
"Cool! What's your line of work?"
"Film scoring and digital arts. So, parang ad agency ganyan, like we do commercials, prints, mga ganon. Nothing interesting."
"Nice." sabi niya. "I mean, nice naman ng work mo. Not the nothing interesting."
We kept quiet and we were both just listening to the radio habang busy siya magdrive. She was a bit smaller than me and she was drumming her fingers sa steering wheel while she was driving. She looked so fragile and yet she plays the drums. How ironic.
"Uy. Thank you talaga for helping me out." sabi ko sa kanya.
"Ano ka ba, it's cool. Girls should always lookout after other girls." sabi niya. I smiled. "And you look frazzled kanina eh." sabi niya.
She does look harmless and if anything, she's actually somehow cute. But not the "I-want-to-date-you" cute kind. She's like kid cute. Puppy-level cute.
Nung nasa Madrigal na kami, tinuro ko lang din sa kanya yung building kung saan ako pupunta and she looked at me again as she looked very surprised.
"Why?"
"Dito rin ako eh." sabi niya.
Then it finally dawned on me na baka siya yung isa sa ishoo-shoot ni Jho. Napangiti na lang ako.
"Wait, so..." sabi niya. "Kayo ba yung magshoot sa 'min? Cause I noticed you have a camera bag." sabi niya.
"I'm actually thinking the same." sabi ko sa kanya.
"Well, tadhana nga naman." sabi niya as she chuckled. "Oh sorry. Alam mo, if my friend hears me say that, pagagalitan na naman niya ako. She doesn't believe in fate kasi." dagdag niya. I just smiled at her.
Who doesn't believe in fate?
