Slaving For Love

CHAPTER 5: New Looks

"Leeeeiii! Buti naman dumating ka rin. Pambihira ka kanina ka pa namin hinihintay, ano bang nangyari sayo?" Salubong ni Kate.

Hindi ko nasagot ang mga tawag nila dahil pagkaalis nung jejemon na imported na gangster or Cholo for short, e nagmadali na din akong mag ayos para sa gig. Awa ng Diyos 30 minutes late lang..

"Kaya nga.. kanina ka pa namin tinatawagan, hindi mo sinasagot. May nangyari ba?" Tanong ni Jez.

"Naku! Marame. Ikukwento ko sa inyo later." Mukhang mahaba habang kwentuhan ang mangyayari. "Oh, where's Chaze? Parang hindi ko sya nakita.." tanong ko.

"Hmm.. after she received a phone call from kuya Ches, she immediately run out." Ani Kate.

"I heard dumating ang pinsan nila from States. Yung cousin nila sa mother side.. yung datirating pumupunta sa bahay nila every death anniversary ni tita Chona.." Jez said.

"Are you referring to those we crossed paths in the cemetery way back grade school? The cold, grumpy, feeling gwapo guy with thick eye glasses and with a cute fashionista little girl in the cemetery?" Kate asked.

"Yeah.. i heard from kuya Chander that they came here for Chadley's debut. And they're also planning to have a vacation here since its their semestral break in New Jersey." Jez Stated.

"You mean makakasama natin sa party ni Chad yung ugly grumpy guy na yon? Eeerrrr! Ke malas naman.." Kate reacted.

Umorder kame ng drinks. Nasa bar counter pa din kami kung saan ko sila naabutan kanina. Naikwento ko sa kanila ang nangyari sa parking ng unit pati na rin ang tungkol sa misteryosong katauhan ni Cholo dahil sa pangungulit ni Kate at dahil na rin wala kaming mapag usapan.

"So sya yung tinutukoy mo kagabi na Nagsasalitang unggoy na may mahabang blonde na buhok?" Tanong ni Jez

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Ay talaga?.. Shocks, akala ko talaga totoong may nakita kang jejemon na unggoy.. you look so serious naman kase all the time and looks no time for jokes ang personality" Kate finally realized.

"Sus! Ang sabihin mo, nagpaka bright ka nanaman." May halong sarkastikong komento ni Jez. "Ang bilis mo talaga maniwala. Pano kung isang araw may lumapit sayo at sinabing napag utusan sya ng isa sa amin na sunduin ka kunwari pero kikidnapin ka pala.. maniniwala ka lang? Ganon?"

"Ano ka ba J, ofcourse i will not do that. Ibang usapan naman yun 'no. Mabilis man ako makumbinsi.. hindi naman ako mabilis magtiwala. Trust is a different story, J." Kate said between a shot of Jack Daniels and a bit of lemon. "And kung ipapatawag nyo man ako sa mga hindi ko kilala. Magpadala kayo ng I.D nyo para convincing. We vastly know the land of our living is a bunch of hypocrites, goons and desperate evil." She said a matter of factly.

Kate's actually referring to a situation that's happened seventeen years ago. Chaze' mom.. Tita Chona was a victim of kidnap for ransom. The kidnapper asked for fifty million pesos and Tito Bronson gave up all their money to rescue Tita Chona from the kidnappers. Chaos has started when the cops began to arrive.. The goons became hysterically mad and started showering them with shots of bullet. Tito was about to be shoot but Tita Chona covered him and got shot instead. She was declaired dead on the spot for three bullets have found that killed her. We were just 2 to 3 that time. Stories are just told by the elders. May mga usap usapan pa daw na kalaban ng Guevarra sa negosyo ang gumawa non dahil desperado na ang napapabalita sa baong pag kakautang ng kompanya nito dahil sa sugal. Hindi na namin binukas ang topic lalo na pag kaharap si Chaze. She'll just get lonely and we don't want that to happen. Chaze is a patient and soft-spoken optimistic type. She's good on lifting peoples moods through her positivities. She's good inside and out. She may not raised by a mother but clearly she has been raised by her father and four older brother in the best process of manner. And im glad she stayed beside us regardless of our craziness and oddness.