Everything had been planned for their trip. All the details were carefully ironed out by RJ, Dei and Paolo. They were to go on a connecting flight from Manila to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Paro, Bhutan. The deal was, so RJ didn't have to worry about missing work and how this would impact his pay, Dei was to cover for his flight while the magazine covered the rest. A trip to Bhutan, after all, did not come cheap as it was right smack in the middle of the Himalayas. RJ was to go as her assistant/transcriber/photographer and he is to be paid four months worth of his salary to play the part. All courtesy of Mary Anne Mendoza herself. They had planned for it to be a five day trip, one of which was to be spent in Bangkok, Thailand.
It hadn't been as hard as RJ thought it would be for him to ask for a vacation leave. After his accident, he expected he'd have to make up for his lost hours. Luckily his Team Leader was understanding enough to let him go and process all the necessary documents needed to make the trip possible. He was sure it was all out of genuine concern and the fact that he never went on vacation anyway, but to be quite honest, it was more because his Team Leader Paige always had a huge crush on him. Dei never knew what it was he did for work, quite frankly she never really asked. She only found out he was working as a chat support representative for Google when they started laying out their plans. That explained why he had so much time to spare during the day as he only worked nights.
RJ was ecstatic. It was his first time going out of the country, or the region for that matter, and dear god, how blessed was he that he got to do it for free. He'll be going to Bhutan, a place people merely put on their bucket lists and to top that, he was getting paid to do it. But what he was most happy about was that he gets to with her. What a lucky bastard indeed.
All his bags were packed, all he had to do was to wake up tomorrow at 5:00 AM to get ready for the flight. His mother surely had outdone herself by preparing everything he needed. Not that he could have done a better job himself, he was after all a huge ass neat freak. But he wanted his mom to do it, there was a certain pride she felt in the simple fact that her son was finally given the chance to get a glimpse of the world. It was the fulfillment of his life long dream, and one she had always hoped for. He looked at his mother and he saw it in her eyes. She was happy for him, so was his father and all of the people who knew him, including Dei. After all the good he had done in his life, he deserved much, much more.
Leya and Paolo on the other hand had a different thing in mind.
"Oh Mars" said Paolo, who was highly pleased with the turn of events.
"Chance mo na to Mars. Gapangin mo na yan."
"Oo nga Dei. You go get it girl." said Leya who was equally excited.
"Mga loka loka. Wag nga kayong ano diyan."
"Aba bakit? Choosy ka pa ba teh? Eh ang pogi pogi nung makakasama mo dun. Mabait pa, at mahal na mahal ka pa."
"Ang dudumi ng mga utak nyo." Dei rebutted, pretending it didn't give her tingling sensations.
"Hoooooo! Wag ako Nicomaine Dei. If I know, baka napanaghinipan mo na."
This indeed was true, but there was no way in hell she was going to admit it to Leya and especially not to Paolo.
"Isa pa, may right ka naman kapain sya diba? Since you can't see and all that. Totally would justify all the groping."
"EWAN KO SA INYONG DALAWA. Ikaw Leya ha? Gatongera ka."
"Girl, trust me. You don't want to let this opportunity pass."
"Bahala na nga kayo diyan. Uuwi na ko kasi maaga pa kami bukas."
"Hoy hoy hoy babae, mag paalam ka kay Moshu. Nagtatampo sa'yo yon." said Leya, who was still grinning from ear to ear.
