The First Daughter

2

Major Alden Richards gets up at exactly 5 in the morning to do his quick exercise before the day begins. Being assigned to Maine, he's been living in their family home instead of Bahay Pangarap, which houses presidents for decades. He runs around the village, and then does his conditioning in the garage.

He removes his shirt to wipe around his body, and when he was about to enter the kitchen to grab a glass of water, he bumps into an all-familiar shriek.

"ANO BA!" Maine shrieks at the top of her lungs.

"Sorry, Ma'am."

Maine's eyes deceive her as her eyes travel south from his perfect pectorals to his rockhard abs. Alden felt uncomfortable and immediately puts on his shirt. "Sorry, sorry. Saan kayo pupunta?"

"Wala ka na dun okay. Yung susi?"

"Ma'am, di po pwede. Hindi po approve ni Col. Madayag yung alis niyo."

"Ano ba, wala naman akong gagawin masama eh. Ano akala mo matotokhang ako? Babalik din ako agad." Maine explains with matching irritation and eye roll, while Alden just stands there listening to his boss babble.

"Okay, ganito nalang. I still need to ensure your safety. Sasamahan kita, wag ka nang umangal. It's a compromise." Lord, ang daming mahirap gawin bilang isang sundalo, pero ito ata di ako magtatagal. Bakit siya pa?

Alden changes his clothes to his barong and pins his PSG pin on the left side of his lapel. Puts on his in-ear, and leaves his room. He scans everywhere and finds the house to be empty. No sign of Maine. "Susmaryosep naman!"

He found the cars to be complete, meaning she didn't drive. The gate of this subdivision is a five-minute drive and fifteen-minutes by foot. All visitors are prescreened before entering the subdivision, meaning no one could've picked her up. He radios the subdivision gate to block all exits as a matter of security precaution. 

He takes a car and quickly drives along the village. He finds Maine riding a red sports car and finds two friends already in it. He just followed her, without a word, not surprising her. He wanted to know why she would leave this early in the morning anyway.

***

"4-4-2, 4-4-2. This is 1-2, do you copy?" It Col. Madayag on the radio calling out for Alden. 442 was a code name he was assigned with, while 1-2 for Col. Madayag as a sign of highest in command.

"Yes, 1-2. What's your twenty with Angel?"

Angel has always been Maine's code name, and at times like this that radio could be intercepted, code names were very crucial. 

"Sir, may pupuntahan lang. Babalik din agad. Don't worry naka-alalay ako." 

"Okay, ikaw na bahala."

Hay, grabe ka talaga! Saan ba tayo pupunta?

***

Forty minutes later, and he could sense that they were going to go somewhere far. "Nlex na 'to ah," he muttered under his breath. "Come on, where are you really going?"

Another forty and they enter SCtex, and another thirty, they reached Subic. It wasn't long until they stopped into one of the restaurants. Alden still watched her. She was lighting up a cigarette outside, while her friends were already inside ordering their food. He just observed her. He noticed how sad her eyes looked, and how beautiful she is, her expressive brown eyes, her red lips, and how her clavicle might be the sexiest part of her body. Stop, Alden. This isn't right. 

It wasn't long until she entered the restaurant, and he followed by sitting outside still watching her from afar. A couple comes in, and instantly her mood changed. She ran out of the restaurant and started lighting up her cigarette, she was breathing heavily, until her breaths become jagged. 

He approaches her and hands her an inhaler he carries as spare. She inhales it, once, then another one. He grabs her by the hand and brings her inside the car. She starts crying full sobs, until she fell asleep.

She woke up disoriented. "Where are you taking me?"

"Home."

"I don't want to go home."

"Sorry, Ma'am. This time you don't get to decide."

"I think I'm the boss, Major Richards. Follow what I fucking say." Oh she knows my name. "I will report you to Col. Madayag for disobeying lawful orders immediately."

"Go ahead. You sneaking out of the house is not a lawful order, but yes, sinundan pa rin kita dahil it's my duty to serve and protect you. But I won't serve your arrogant ego. I will put my foot down when I have to." He tells her while taking glances at the rearview mirror.

"Major Richards, why are you even here?" She asks him with her eyebrow raised.

"Because I told you, if I don't know where you are, it will be my ass on the line. I don't have time for your childish ways, Maine."

"That's Ma'am for you. I mean, I read your profile, clearly you're good, but why do you choose to babysit the First Family instead of being assigned in Mindanao again or Timbuktu or wherever the hell you go."

Her words were like bullets, but he chose to let it go. He didn't need to explain himself to anyone, most especially, to this bratty, rebellious daughter. "When I pledged my allegiance as a soldier, I pledged to serve and protect this country no matter what. I don't choose where I get assigned, I take it, because it's what I ought to do."

"Then why are you babysitting me? Clearly you're well-off. Your mom's a highly paid lawyer, your dad is a general and you chose to babysit me? You could've chosen to be something else, but you're here. Why, Major Richards? What's in it for you?"

"It's my duty, Ma'am. You don't know me that well or what's on my profile."

Nobody pushes Alden's buttons, but with Maine, she knew where to hit him. So he just drove, and Maine continued to light up a cigarette, and stared at her phone. This was going to be a difficult mission for the both of them.

***

Maine thought about what happened in Subic. It was Chris. Clearly he's moved on, and she was her biggest heartbreak. Chris was her greatest love, but due to circumstance, they had to break things off. She was leaving for college in the States, and Chris wanted to stay. Despite several attempts of trying to make things work, it would always end up in a fight.

She started tearing up again. He hands her a tissue box from the dashboard of the car. She grabs it without even glancing at him.

"Loyola Cemetery."

He obliges to her request. It was barely lunch time when they got back to Manila. Here she was again standing in a tomb, while he stayed a few meters away. 

After a few minutes, she goes back to the car. Alden opens the door for her. "Ma'am, you have an engagement after lunch."

"Okay."