"Good afternoon, I'm here for a meeting with the third year Guidance Counselor," Gerald told the first person he saw when he entered the Guidance Office.
"Her office is the second door on the right," ang sagot naman nito.
"Thank you." Naglakad na siya papunta sa itinurong opisina sa kanya. The door of the enclosure had a small window kung saan pwede mong makita ang taong nasa loob nito. He was about to knock on the door when he recognized the lady sitting behind the desk. He felt his heart skip a bit. Panic suddenly came over him. "She's the one I'm supposed to meet with?" ang sabi n'ya sa sarili. He decided to take a step back to compose himself. Pero bago pa man s'ya makalayo ay nagtaas ng ulo ang babaeng nasa loob. Nagtama ang kanilang mga mata. Ngumiti si Sarah sa kanya and motioned for him to come inside. Wala na s'yang magawa kundi ang pumasok. He took a deep breath before turning the knob.
"Good afternoon sir. Are you Mr. Anderson?" Sarah asked as she offered her hand for a shake.
Kinamayan n'ya ang dalaga at nauutal na sinabing, "Ah... yeah. Gerald Anderson."
"Have a seat Mr. Anderson."
"Please, just call me Gerald."
"I'm sorry but I can't do that. You are a parent. And the informalities is inappropriate. Shall we go down to business?"
Habang nagsasalita ang kaharap ay nakatitig lamang si Gerald sa kanya - on her lips to be exact. Hindi n'ya narinig o naintindihan kung ano man ang sinabi nito.
“Sir? Mr. Anderson? Sir!”
“A-a-ano ‘yun?” ang natatangang sagot ni Gerald.
“Pwede na po ba natin pag-usapan si Gaile?”
“Si-sige po ma’am.”
“There are actually two reasons why you are called in.” She saw him nod. “Gaile is your niece, right?” He nodded again. “Sir, I’ve only known her for a few days but I can tell that she’s a good girl. She told me that her mother died a few years ago and that her father left them. Is this correct?”
“Yes,” he softly said.
“And you are left to care for her?”
“That’s correct,” he said a little louder this time.
“Sir, how close are you and Gaile?”
“Pretty close, I believe.”
“Do you have any idea if Gaile has a boyfriend?”
Hearing the words Gaile and boyfriend in the same sentence snapped him out of it. “What?” he asked.
“Sir, may problema po ba kayo sa pandinig? Nakakaintindi po ba kayo ng English o gusto n’yo Tagalog na lang po tayo mag-usap? Bakit parang wala po kayong naiintindihan sa mga sinasabi ko sa inyo?”
“Nadidistract kasi ako sa lips mo,” he unconsciously replied.
“Ano po?”
“Ah… distracted lang ako. May iba pa kasi akong iniisip eh.”
“Well, I suggest you clear your mind so we can discuss a very important matter.”
“I’m sorry Miss…” he said pretending to not remember her name.
