Written in the Stars

Chapter 7

Good morning! :-)

A smile formed her lips when she read those two words, it was a text message from RJ. Julie just stared at her phone screen for a few seconds figuring out how to reply. The clock says it is only 6:36am, she couldn’t believe na maaga itong gumising. It is already sembreak so he can sleep in or stay in bed for as long as he wanted.

She recalled what happened last night. Hinatid siya ni RJ sa bahay nila pagkatapos nitong magpalit ng naflat na gulong. He even helped her carry the bags ng mga pinamili niya hanggang sa loob ng bahay nila. She offered him drinks pero tumanggi na ito dahil parang any moment ay babagsak na ang malakas na ulan. Nagpaalam na si RJ at hinatid niya ito sa pintuan. Julie took that chance to thank him for the help and the ride home. Ngunit bago ito umalis he asked for her number at ibinigay din naman niya. Afterall, they are friends now.

Pagkatapos lang ng ilang minuto RJ texted her saying he safely arrived home, she replied and thanked him once again. And that started their exchange of text messages. They talked about school and random things.

He isn’t too bad at all, that was what she realized. Ang first impression kasi niya dito ay mayabang. Like those college hearthrobs who are conceited and too sure of themselves. They brag about their good looks but they are dim witted and meathead. RJ has proven her wrong, he is actually amusingly clever and smart. He can carry a conversation really well.

Julie opted for a simple reply and texted back ‘Good morning :-)’ because she doesn’t want to seem too eager to talk to him. Ibinalik niya sa side table ang cellphone while still lying in bed, she left out a long yawn and stretched her arms saka tumayo. She walked to the window and drawned the curtain to the side. Julie looked outside, it is still raining, halos buong magdamag na’ng umuulan at malakas pa rin ang hangin. Mataas ang lugar nila kaya bihirang bumaha dito but if the rain won’t stop their streets will be flooded anytime soon. She’s pretty sure na mataas na ang baha sa ibang lugar ng Metro Manila at ilang probinsiya. She closed her eyes and whispered a short prayer that everyone is safe and okay.

She put her hoodie up when she got off the car. The rain just became a light drizzle pero malakas pa rin ang hangin. She hold Cheska’s hand at patakbo silang pumasok sa loob ng simbahan. Dahil sa malakas na bagyo, several places in Metro Manila and south Luzon areas like Rizal, Laguna and Quezon were affected. Their church is holding a relief mission to those places so she and Cheska both decided to volunteer on repacking the relief goods.

They were ushered to the Knights of Columbus hall which is just beside the church, doon gagawin ang repacking. Marami-rami na rin ang mga tao sa loob, most of them ay mga kasamahan niya sa youth at choir. She greeted them and introduced her friend.

Kasalukuyan pa lang na binubuhat papasok ng mga lalaki ang mga boxes of noodles, canned goods and bottled water mula sa delivery van. There are also sacks of rice, clothes and personal hygiene items.

She and Cheska were just waiting while sitting on a bench in a corner. They noticed the girls near them became excited and giddy over something. Isa lang ang kilala niya sa mga iyon and the two others are probably just volunteers too. She wondered what they were fussing about.

“Oh my freaking G!” Cheska exclaimed and looked at her. “I know kung bakit sila nagkakaganyan. Look, ayun ang prince charming mo oh.” pabulong na sabi nito sa kanya.

She followed her friend’s gaze. She saw RJ coming in, he is carrying a big box. From his looks right now she can tell na kanina pa ito tumutulong sa pagbubuhat. Basa na ito ng ulan dahil sa pabalik balik na paghakot ng mga boxes mula sa labas but he still managed to look good. Kaya naman kinikilig ang mga babae sa kanya. Magkatext sila kanina ni RJ, she mentioned to him na magvo-volunteer siya sa church nila pero hindi nito nabanggit sa kanya na pupunta rin siya dito.