Alden entered the room, whistling happily, and sat at the couch at the center of the room. He took out his cell phone and typed out a message before turning to Sam.
"Uy, Paps! Kamusta ka? Parang wala kang tulog ah?"
"Papi Alden," Sam said, his head snapping up. His eyes were bloodshot, and Alden knew that he had little to no sleep for the past several days.
"Oh?"
"Nananginip ba ako?" Sam asked before meeting his eyes. "Panaginip lang ito no? Hindi pa talaga kayo ---"
"Hoy!"
Sam immediately jolted, glancing nervously around the room. "Oops. Wala namang nakarinig no?"
Alden rolled his eyes and took out his phone again; typing a quick reply. "Siguraduhin mo lang. Ang dami mo ng atraso sa akin. Pasalamat ka na hindi si Meng ang umaaway sa iyo. Kung hindi..."
He shuddered at the thought and looked pleadingly at Alden. "Paps, alam naman niya na nagsisisi ako no? Hindi naman niya ako bibigwasan kapag nagkita na kami para sa dress ---"
"Ang kulit!" Alden cut him off again. "Malapit ka na talagang mawala sa listahan."
Sam's eyes widened and he began to panick. "Huy, wala namang ganyanan! Wala pa akong tulog dahil tumawag ako sa lahat ng pinadalhan ko ng invitation! Ang hirap nun, Papi! 500 katao iyung kinausap ko."
"Kasalanan mo naman eh."
"Oo, pero joke lang kasi dapat iyun! Hindi ko naman alam na ---"
"Malapit ka na talaga sa akin."
"Nako, 'wag ngayon. Pangit ang labas ko sa pictures kapag may tama ang mukha ko! After na lang..." he trailed off when he saw Alden's glare. "Sabi ko nga, tatahimik na lang ako."
Alden turned to his phone again and cursed. "Argh. Nawalan ako ng signal. May kailangan pa naman akong i-text."
Sam looked at him curiously. "Wala ba iyung isang phone mo? 'Di ba, dalawa lagi ang dala mo?"
"Wala sa akin," he sighed. "May gumagagamit na iba..."
He grinned before addressing Alden. "So, na kay Madam ba?"
"Susmaryosep. Madam talaga?"
"Oo, kasi ikaw si Gov! Hindi ba nakikita mo naman iyung tawag nila sa inyo sa twitter?"
Alden rubbed his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Paps, baka naman pwedeng pahiram lang ng phone? May importante lang talaga akong ite-text kay Meng."
"Sure, ito oh," Sam said, handing his phone. "Wala namang password iyan. 'Wag mo lang kalkalin iyung mga photos ko diyan! O iyung iba kong mga text. O iyung ----"
"Sus, kailangan ko lang ay i-text si Meng. Wala akong pakialam sa mga files mo. Mayroon din akong ganun!"
"Patingin nga ng ---" He started but stopped when one of Eat Bulaga's floor directors came inside their dressing room.
"Sam, start na natin iyung filming ng eksena mo," he said before turning to Alden. "Ikaw naman, in 10-15 minutes, so labas ka na rin in a bit ah?"
Alden nodded. "Tapusin ko lang itong text ko tapos lalabas na rin ako."
Sam nodded and followed the floor director who was rushing him. Wala naman siguro silang ise-send na harot texts no? Kung oo, mare-retrieve ko pa kaya iyun kahit i-delete ni Papi Alden? Madali lang siguro...He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
'Wag mo ng isipin iyan, Sam. Repeat after me: I am not Alden. I am not Maine. I am not Alden and Maine.
"Sam, bakit nandiyan ka pa sa gilid?" the floor director hissed loudly. "Pwesto na para makapag-pack up din tayo ng maaga."
He took a deep breath and gave him a charming smile. "Ito na. Sorry, may iniisip lang."
Ugh. I can't wait to finish this. Marami pa akong kailangang gawin para sa you-know-what. Hehe.
***
After one hour...
Alden was on the couch again, texting on his phone. He was so engrossed that Sam couldn't help but tease him.
"Papi Alden, ano bang ginagawa mo diyan? Nakatitig ka sa picture niya no?"
"Oo na," Alden said, glancing at his wrist to see what time it was. "Sige, kailangan ko na palang umalis. Ito pala iyung phone mo. Salamat."
Sam nodded wordlessly before taking the phone from Alden's hand. He watched Alden move towards the door.
"Ay, oo nga pala! Maraming nag-text sa iyo. Check mo na lang ah? Baka importante iyan," he said before rushing out of the room.
Anong problema nun? Siguro, may lakad o baka haharot lang sila! Hehe. #StayStrongJaguar #StayStrongEBVan Ang dami kong natutunan sa twitter noong mga nakaraang araw! Haha
He then looked down at his phone.
You have 6 missed calls.
"Sino ito?" He asked himself as he opened his phone.
"Uy! Tumawag si Pat?"
He then checked his messages app which showed that he had 21 unread messages.
"Ay, wow lang. Ito na ba iyung mga tinawagan ko para sa flower arrangement or souvenirs?"
He glanced at door and clicked on a random message. His eyes widened when saw the sender and some of the messages that she sent.
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
He scrolled up and saw that the entire album of his half-naked photos was sent to Pat almost an hour ago.
RICHARD FAULKERSON JR.! NGAYON KA LANG NAKAGANTI SA AKIN. MAGHINTAY KA LANG, BABALIKAN RIN KITA.
He almost dropped his phone when it suddenly vibrated.
Shet, Pat is calling me again. Lagot ka talaga sa akin, Papi Alden!
*** Author's Note:
As they say, payback is a bitch. 😂
Oh, I'm switching back and forth between two formats so don't be confused. :)
