Ang Masungit Kong Master! (JhoLet AU)

Chapter 4

"Akala ko ba pre trabaho lang, bakit may 'let me take you on a date' moves tayo?" Mikayla said to Claudette teasing her about taking her boss on a date to the mall. None of her friends have moved-on eversince na kinuwento n'ya. Well, it was only a minute after she announced it but some of her stories die after telling it. Claudette doesn't even think this kwento will die in a week.

"Friendly nga! Piskit naman." Claudette said, raising her voice. "Mukha din s'yang stress that day, gusto ko lang naman tumulong. Pero okay! Sorry, bawal na pala maging mabait."

"OA mo!" Mikayla exclaimed, OA naman talaga masyado. "I am just shock, ever since a tinanggap mo yung trabaho bigla-bigla ka nalang dumadamoves."

"OA mo din! Ginagawa ko lang naman trabaho ko."

"Sus... Trabaho raw, maniwala sa'yo."

Naiinis na si Claudette kay Mikayla, konti nalang baka tulakin na ni Claud sa inuupuan n'ya. Kanina pa kasi nangaasar si Mikayla pagdating na pagdating palang nila sa park. Wala munang trabaho si Claudette kasi napagbigayan s'ya ni Mrs. Robles bigayan s'ya ng pahinga. Claud used this opportunity to spend time with Epep and her friends. Matagal naman din nung nagkita-kita sila. Right now she's sitting on a bench with Mikayla just catching up with her. From a distance they are observing Gwenevere, May, and Epep playing taya-tayaan with each other.

"Hindi talaga ako sure kung trabaho lang 'yan... Baka bumabawi ka lang kasi hindi ka nakaporma sakanya yung Junior high school ka." Patawa nanaman si Mikayla.

"Ang kulit naman, Mikayla. Trabaho nga. Tsaka matagal na 'yon, hindi ko na s'ya gusto." Are you lying Claudette? Well, she is sure she is telling the truth. There is no use in lying anyway.

"Haha mukhang seryoso ka nga. Pero kung ako sa'yo, pinopormahan ko na s'ya, pero you do you." This is more than just a hypothetical situation but an advice to Claudette. "Maya na kita kausapin, init agad ng ulo mo." Mikayla said while rushing towards the three to join their game.

Claudette is now alone watching them from a distance. Seeing the four of them spend time together is heartwarming. Her friend has been the one to help her through her ups and downs, especially raising Epep when his parents assigned her to take care of him. Claudette, right now, is having a hard time, she doesn't have time for this romantic stuff Mikayla is pushing. It never sounded fun for Claudette anyway. But if she did have a chance to make porma properly without them being boss and employee, she would, it's because it wouldn't risk losing her job—She only wants the chance and not the risk that comes with it—Moments later Epep came running towards Claudette to inform her na gutom na s'ya. Claudette nodded and grabbed his hands gently to escort him, they went sa siomai-yan ng malapit.

Sa siomia-yan ay binitawan ni Claudette ni Epep para kunin yung wallet pang bayad. Claudette's attention is focused on nagtitinda and the noises around her. When she got her order and looked back towards Epep, she realized he was missing from where he was. She looked around to search for him just in case he was pulling a prank on her and playing hide-n-seek without Claudette's knowledge but after minutes of searching, he was nowhere to be found. Adrenaline rushed through Claudette's blood and quickly panic was felt all over her body. She dropped the food she was holding and ran towards her friends to inform them what had happened. Everyone is in hysteria after hearing Claudette's news. The three of them also felt a rush of panic through their body.

Without any hesitation, they split up to search for the little boy. They asked everyone in the park and beyond the park if they ever saw him while showing them a picture of the kid. It's been 45 minutes of searching and there are no signs of him. May had also reported a missing child to the policemen. The mark is huge, kids get lost there often because of how big it is, Claudette knows this and blames herself for leaving Epep unsupervised for even a second. It's at this point she wants to cry but she can't yet. She has to find Epep first.

Janine is currently sitting outside, cooling her head after another fight with her mother. It's always like this when both of them are alone inside the house. Janine's phone is ringing and full of messages from her mom, one of them being contacting Claudette. She doesn't want to right now but maybe later she will, for now, she wants to be alone with her thoughts again. She reached for something from her pocket, it was a blue bracelet she used to wear as a child. This bracelet is important to her, it's the bracelet her father gave her when she was younger. It's been a long time since she and her father have talked... Their connection was cut off after her father got married to another woman and left her to her mother.

The only prayer Janine had asked god was to change the prophecies and let her father take her in. Janine blames her mother for her mishaps. Janine's reminiscing of her father was disrupted when she heard someone crying. She looked around to see who it was and it was a random kid calling for someone's name. By the looks of it, he seems missing. She approached the distressed child to help him to find his guardian.

"Hi bebe, are you lost ba?" Janine attempts to appear friendly towards the child. No answers were heard from him, which makes sense since kids are often taught 'stranger danger.' "It's okay Bebe don't be scared. I am ate Janine, what's yours?" Dagdag ni Janine is hoping to finally get an answer. Making a conversation did indeed make him calm down which was a relief, he looked around and muttered 'Detdet.' Janine raised her eyebrows, she assumed it was his guardian. "Is that the name of your guardian ba? I'll help you find Detdet for you." Janine took his hands but he quickly pulled away and shook his head. He is taught well to not trust just some random person but Janine's intentions right now are clear, he needs to get his trust right now.

She looked through her bag if she had anything sweet to give to the child but she had nothing, she didn't want to go to a store either because it meant she had to leave the child by himself. Janine realized that she was gripping something in her hand. It's a blue bracelet. At first, Janine is hesitant to give this to the child but after a while of considering it, she thinks that it's better be used by someone else and she should move on. "Look, I have this bracelet, bata palang ako suot-suot ko na pero hindi na kasya saakin 'cause I am a big girl na. Gusto mo sa'yo nalang?" Janine is hoping deeply that this will finally make the child trust her now. He nodded trying to grab the bracelet but Janine pulled away. Janine isn't being mean, she just has a little condition. "Before I give you this, ano muna pangalan mo?" You can visibly see that the kid is a little hesitant to tell her.

"Epep po." The kid felt enough assurance to give her his name.

The name is easily recognizable. 'Detdet.' Is he referring to Claudette? Janine is connecting the dots. Before she even grabbed her phone she first gave the bracelet to Epep and persuaded him to sit on the nearest bench. Janine assured the child that she knew her guardian and while waiting for Claudette, she even treated him to ice cream to calm his nerves more. Minutes of waiting later you can hear Claudette's voice from far away calling for Epep's name. Epep quickly rushed towards Claudette. They hugged each other in relief of reuniting once again. You can hear Claudette sobbing and telling him to not stray away from her ever again.

Janine witnessing them be reunited was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, you can see how much they love each other. It looks like she is just a side character watching their beautiful story unfold. It aches her heart but also warms it. A weird feeling of hurt and comfort at the same time. This sight... Janine knows that Claudette is the bodyguard but she has the urge to protect Claudette at all costs.

Janine is stuck with Claudette, that's how the universe wants it to be. And Janine approves of that.