T.S. STORIES #4: Say Don't Go (Completed)

Chapter 14

Day one. Preliminary stages of the project have started. Those walls we have surveyed days ago are now cleaned and prepared for us. All the materials have just arrived, as I waited along with my colleagues, in my loose denim jumpsuit and a bucket hat. Gallons of paint and some step ladders were unloaded from the mini trucks. Wouldn't deny it, I have this excitement and anxiety taking over in me. It's been a while after all the preparations we did together, and now, we're finally holding actual brushes.

I was about to grab a roller when someone tried to grab it too. When I recognized him, my brows quickly raised. "Ba't andito ka?" I asked.

"Tutulong ako," he smiled.

I sighed in dismay. I thought I would finally find my peace here, but here's his presence, already annoying me so early in the morning.

First couple of hours of work were just initial paint strokes on the walls. We have done it the way we draw sketches on papers, so that it will guide us where to place the subjects on the mural. It's a bit of a lengthy wall and we also have others to paint as well. For sure, this will take us a long time to wrap up everything, although there are plenty of us in our team.

Excluding this Gelo who did nothing but mess up with us.

"Venice," I called her.

She quickly approached me, with her high-spirited aura overwhelming me. "Yes, sir Ike! How can I help you?"

I turned my head to Raiver, who clearly had no idea how to help us. "Baka naman pwede mo siyang ilayo rito. Mukhang ginugulo niya lang 'yong trabaho namin," I said.

She tittered, as she took a glance at him. "May point ka nga, sir Ike," she replied sheepishly, before heading to him.

She talked to him, seemingly convincing him to leave. His sight suddenly went to me, which got my attention back to the wall and acted like nothing happened. When he strided away from us, that's when I finally sighed in relief. What was he trying to prove at this point?

By afternoon, some of us had already started painting over the sketches. Most in the team already have dots of paint splattered all over our clothes, which we totally don't mind at all. I've already gotten used to it back in school. It's just sort of an indication that we are working, not just doing nothing other than sitting here in the cottage like he does right now.

I mean, I don't want him to help us either. And probably, he's entertaining another group of sponsors. He's been on his laptop since this morning, and he hasn't taken a break yet. Maybe, having a long call with his girlfriend?

I watched him from a distance while munching a sandwich on a vacant beach table. Thinking I was just alone, when I turned to my side, Venice's sudden presence jolted me almost out of my seat. "Pwede ba, stop popping out of nowhere," I said, while holding my chest in surprise.

"Sorry, sir Ike. Kita ko kasing mag-isa ka lang dito. Baka you want some company—"

"Salamat sa concern, but I highly prefer killing time being alone," I added.

She sighed. "Okay, call me if may kailangan po kayo," she said, about to leave.

Since there was this question in my head that I couldn't get out of, I'm thinking this would be a perfect opportunity to clear things out. So, I let my curiosity take over, which made me grab her arm all of a sudden. "Wait, may itatanong sana ako."

She took her seat back and clasped her hands on the table. "Anything, sir Ike."

I took a glance at him once more, which her sight followed. "Do you know anything about his girlfriend?" I asked.

"Hmmm, lemme check," she paused and grabbed her tablet. She scrolled on the screen until she finally turned to me, but with a frown. "Sorry, sir Ike. Nasa agreement namin na I can't say anything about his personal life, or else, he will fire me."

Mouth opened in disbelief. "Seriously? May NDA kayo? Aside from that, are you even of legal age to be his personal assistant? Kids like you shouldn't be hanging around with him. That's quite dangerous," I said.

"Sir Ike, I'm twenty-two years old—no, I'm actually turning twenty-three next month. In fact, almost the same age na kami ni Sir Gelo. Kaya, wala ka pong ikabahala sa akin," she revealed.

I crossed my brows in confusion. "Wait, I thought you're still in high school. Are you classmates?"

She giggled, with her light slap landed on my arm. "Grabe ka naman, sir Ike. Hindi lang talaga ako biniyayaan ng height, kaya mag-aakala talaga kayo. Anyway, I'd take that as a compliment, kasi everytime I hear it from people, I feel so young. Napaka-refreshing, you know?" she said.

"Tsaka, 'di po kami classmates ni sir Gelo. IT po ako, tapos siya naman, from Envi-Sci. Same school, different program, ganern. Tapos, na-hire lang po ako as assistant for this project lang naman. If everything ends on time, mag-eend rin 'yong contract namin. So, maybe after this project, I can let you know what I know, sir Ike," she babbled with overwhelming details.

I nodded as I processed everything on my end. "If you say so," I responded. "But why are you calling me 'sir' other than him? You're calling everyone here by their names, tapos nags-sir ka sa akin."

"Sir Ike, 'yan po ang instruction sa akin ni Sir Gelo. Kaya, 'wag ka nang umangal pa," she said, before standing from her seat. "Sige, sir, may aasikasuhin pa ako. Enjoy your snacks, sir Ike! Tawagan mo lang ako if you want more snacks!"

She finally left my table and headed to his cottage. At least, it's already clear to me that Venice isn't a kid following this guy. But, how should I know about his girlfriend—

I scratched out my thoughts. I should never be thinking about it in the first place. Ano naman kung may girlfriend siya? Pake ko.