Nic and Angela spent the rest of the afternoon and evening planning on their cruise which was taking place 2 days after Nic arrived in New York. They were going to travel to Florida and the Bahamas. Angela excitedly showed Nic her bikini and the two girls enjoyed planning what they were going to do on the ship as well as at the ports and beaches they'd visit.
Nic and Angela had been friends since highschool. They also attended the same college although they pursued different courses – Nic took Culinary Arts while Angela graduated with a degree in Fashion Design.
Nic set up her restaurants in Manila while Angela went on to further her experience in the US. She had been living in New York for the past 2 years before Nic visited her.
Both girls were introverts and understood each other well. They were seatmates in third year highschool but really didn't talk or interact with each other much in the beginning. However, their teachers always paired them together for projects and soon, the girls found out that their personalitlies jived. They were hanging out outside school more regularly also.
On many occasions, when Angela went to Nic's house, she noticed the picture frames scattered in different places around the house. Most of them had Nic in group shots. There were rare solo pictures of Nic but mostly formal ones like graduation photos. Though curious, Angela never bothered to ask.
"I'm adopted...." Nic shared one afternoon while Angela was looking at a framed photo of her in her bedroom. It was a stolen shot and the picture was old and seemed to have been trimmed.
"Huh?"
"I'm adopted....my real Mom is Nanay Anna.....oo, yung kusinera....sya yung Nanay ko.....kinupkop kami nina Mommy and Daddy nung mga 6 years old ako....."
"Ahh..." Angela was a bit surprised about this news. She wanted to know more but didn't find it proper to ask.
"....nangangalakal lang kami noon....I wasn't going to school yet.....we didn't have money for school.....then Mommy and Daddy took us in.....I became their daughter.....they don't have kids kasi...."
"Ah okay...." Angela just smiled.
They never talked about this again.
That evening, as they slept, Angela awoke with Nic murmuring something in her sleep. Angela tried to listen to what Nic was saying.
"....choy....."
