Titas of Philippine Politics: In Snapshots [Multiple Pairs]

Station Blues [Grace/Risa/Leni]

Grace sighed in relief upon squeezing herself into what's little left of a breathing gap in the can of human sardines known as the MRT. As luck may have it, she ended up in one of the trains without any working air-conditioning on top of that.

She gave out an exasperated sigh. This is gonna be a long ride.

As soon as she got in, the signal for the door closing sounded and the train chugged its way out of the Santolan station.

Since her train stop wouldn't be until the other end of the line, Grace drifted off to sleep when a soft, light voice peeped from her right side. "Grace?"

The senator looked on her right to find Risa and Leni standing beside her. "Nandito rin pala kayo?"

"Hay nako, sobrang traffic sa Commonwealth Ave at malalate na ko kung nagdala pa ako ng sasakyan. Si Leni naman may meeting sa Shangri-La kaya sumama na rin."

Five minutes later, the train came to a screeching halt in the middle of Santolan and Ortigas station. Irate chattering began and a passenger even blurted out a string of cuss words to the entire coach.

The fact that there's no airconditioning in the middle of an April afternoon made it even worse.

In the midst of the chaos, the PA system activated. "Paunmanhin lang po sa pansamantalang pagtigil ng tren. Nagkaroon lang po ng problemang teknikal."

"Diyos ko, kung kalian pang apat ang committee hearings today." Risa said, making the sign of the cross.

Grace handed Risa both of them the fans they usually give out to passengers in the train. "Tiis-tiis na lang tayo at daanin sa dasal at pamaypay."

Leni was one of the lucky ones to have one hand on the railing. "Sa dalas ko sa MRT, mas madalas ko pang madatnan ito ng sira kaysa sa hindi. Useless din mag-bus at sobrang traffic sa baba."

The train had already been stuck between stations for the past 20 minutes. Grace had been reading the pocketbook she brought with her Risa by this time had fallen asleep on Leni's shoulder and her arms wrapped around her waist.

"2 hours pa lang natutulog 'to." Leni explained, pointing her finger at Risa.

Leni and Grace chatted while passing the time. They managed to jump through topics like the state of traffic to organizing tips and even action films.

Grace's stomach started rumbling, regretting not even stopping over one of the food booths for a quick snack. "Partner may pagkain ka ba? Kahit pandesal lang."

Leni took out a sandwich from her bag and gave it to Grace. "Eto, may extra akong corned beef sandwich."

"Thank you." Grace said, wolfing down the sandwich in record time.

Just as soon as she finished, Leni handed some wet wipes.

"Wow, thanks, ha! Girl scout."

Leni giggled at her. "Syempre, dapat laging prepared."

The warning buzzer blared and the engine came back to life. Just in time, Risa woke up from their slumber. "Huh? Ano nangyari?"

"Shh, tulog ka pa. Paalis na ulit ung train. Dito pa naman si Grace pagbaba ko ng Shaw."

Risa smiled and nuzzled under her chin.

"Naku, nilalanggam na talaga kayong dalawa." Grace quipped before returning to the book that she's reading.