(INTERIOR: NICO AND JEB'S APARTMENT, MORNING)
(Nico is having breakfast on a table right beside Jeb, who is standing in front of a mirror, buttoning his dress shirt for work. From this view we see how cramped and poorly lit the apartment really is: unwashed dishes piled up in the sink, a sole flickering lightbulb left to light up the adjacent dining and living rooms, a laptop on top of the fridge and posters of obscene rap artists and rock bands adorning almost every inch of the wall with room only for a solitary cross. Typical struggle apartment.)
(Nico is eating a bowl of cereal, watching Jeb as he struggles to fit into a dress shirt one size too small.)
NICO: Uy, King Latifah.
JEB: Ano ngayon, Palito?
NICO: Mag-diet ka na kasi, hindi talagang magandang tignan yung tiyan mo- -siguro yun yung dahilan kung bakit hindi mo na nakuha yung promotion, noh?
JEB: Sige, hirit ka lang. Kainin kita nga diyan eh- -subalit puro buto ka naman.
NICO: Paano ka ba sumisiksik sa MRT? Siguro meron kang sariling section- -men, women and children at si Jeb.
JEB: I’ve worn belts thicker than you.
NICO: Mukha kang bloated version ni Charice Pempengco.
JEB: You should get a job modeling for one of those anti-anorexia commercials.
NICO: Isang jumping jack mo lang lumilindol na.
JEB: Ang lamok ay hindi lumalapit sayo dahil wala silang makukuha kung hindi buto.
NICO: Wala ka bang ibang shirt?
JEB: Well…..
Jeb takes the shirt off, goes offscreen and disappears into one of the bedrooms behind Nico. The dull gray dress shirt on his body has now been replaced by a glittery, white sequined one a la “Saturday Night Fever”. Upon seeing this, Nico snorts milk out his nose.
NICO (falsetto voice): Ah, ah, ah, ah, STAYING ALIVE! STAYING ALIVE!
JEB: ITO LANG YUNG MALINIS EH!
NICO (trying to hold back his laughter while singing in a falsetto voice): OH YOU CAN TELL BY THE WAY I USE MY WALK, I’M A WOMAN’S MAN, NO TIME TO TALK- -
JEB (pointing to dirty clothes on the floor): TANGINA, HINDI KA KASI NAG-LALABA EH!
Nico is now laughing too hysterically to care.
JEB (checking his watch): HUY! SHIT! 8:30 NA, MALALATE NA TALAGA AKO! SAAN NA SAPATOS KO?
Nico still couldn’t care less, as he is now literally rolling on the floor, one hand clutching his stomach and the other pointing mockingly at Jeb.
JEB: Huy, kay daddy ‘to noong araw. Noong buhay pa siya, sabi niya ito daw yung ‘get lucky’ shirt niya kapag nag-di-disco sila ng barkada niya.
NICO: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! YACK!
JEB: ANO BA, MALALATE NA TALAGA AKO! SAAN NA BA SAPATOS KO?!
Jeb dives onto the floor, brushing aside Nico and heaps of dirty laundry in a desperate attempt to find his shoes. Meanwhile, thunder is heard outside.
NICO (getting up from the floor): Haha…huy..uulan na. Wear your rain boots.
JEB: ANO?
NICO: It’s gonna rain hard, dumbass. Weather forecast last night said a huge storm is coming in today.
JEB: Eh di diba dapat walang pasok?!
NICO: Wala nga- -for schools.
JEB: SHET!
NICO: Nasa labas ng pinto yung mga rain boots natin. Go na.
JEB (getting up from the floor, hesitantly): Eh..eh…eh yung rain boots ko bright red eh. Mukha naman akong tanga.
NICO (looking at Jeb’s white sequined shirt): Sure….yun yung dahilan bakit magmumukha kang tanga.
JEB (rolling his eyes and then looking at his watch): Sige na nga….go na ako. Mag-laba ka naman kasi eh. Wala ka ngang pasok diba?
NICO: No promises.
JEB: Eh- -
Jeb is quickly and unceremoniously shoved out of the door by Nico. Nico quickly shuts the door, sighs and slumps to the ground where he takes a nap.
(INTERIOR: NINA'S HOUSE, THE SAME MORNING)
(Nico and Nina live surprisingly close to each other, but true to Metro Manila's tendency for unique housing segregation situations, Nina's house is bigger and kept in much better condition than Nico and Jeb's apartment. It is not exactly a mansion but rather a cozy townhouse with three floors in a gated community.)
(Nina's room is on the third floor, cleaner compared to Jeb and Nico's place but probably the messiest in the entire house. The walls are a dark olive green, bookshelves line the walls and her bed is unmade as an also olive green blanket is sprawled half on the bed and half onto the floor. Here we see Nina, lying on top of the bed, staring up at the ceiling.)
(Without knocking, a middle-aged man wearing a polo shirt enters. It is her father, OSCAR.)
OSCAR: Nina, sweetie? Okay ka lang?
NINA (without bothering to sit up or look at her dad): I'm fine, Dad.
OSCAR: Alam mo....your mom and I heard about your uh...little incident at school.
Nina, alarmed, suddenly sits up.
NINA: No, Dad, hindi yun- -
OSCAR: No, no, okay lang, ah....we understand na...ah...at your age, you'll be going through some...changes....and you will want to uhh...."experiment".
NINA (burying her hands in her face): No, dad...where's mom? I think I can explain this to her.
OSCAR (embarassed): OH! OH! Is it a woman thing? I understa- -
NINA: No, Dad, listen....
OSCAR: No, no...ah...alam mo, between you and me, your mother still likes to...eherm...nag-e-experiment parin siya.
NINA (disgusted): OH MY GOD, DAD!
OSCAR: Sorry. Aalis na ako, late pa naman ako for work.
Nina buries herself in her blanket, out of embarassment.
NINA: Yes, please.
Oscar slowly tip-toes out of the room and gently shuts the door. Before shutting the door however, Oscar says one last thing.
OSCAR: You know, you don't have to be shy, you can always ask mom to borrow her- -
NINA: DAD, STOP!
Oscar finally shuts the door.
