Pagulong-gulong si Julie sa kama habang nagtititili. Si Maqui naman ay nagtatalon at nagtititili din.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh, anubey, eeeeeeeeeeh.
This issss iiiiiiiit pansiiiiiiiiiiit.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh. Ang sayaaaaaaaaaa. Party partyyyyyyyy.
Nang medyo mahimasmasan ay tumigil sya sa paggulong pero pinaghahampas ang kama habang si Maqui naman ay pinaghahampas sya ng unan.
Omg. Kailangan ko ata ng oxygen, Jules. Hiningal ako dun ah. Wooooo. Sambit ng best friend na ngayon ay humiga na rin sa kama, catching her breath.
Hahahaha. Ako din. Nakakapagod pala ang sobrang kilig. Kaloka. Naubos lahat ng calories ko sa katawan. Habol-hiningang sagot nya.
Ipinatong ni Maqui ang kamay sa dibdib, kunwaring inaatake sa puso.
My god, ikamamatay ko to. Ako na ang excited for you. Help, heeeeelp. Sambit nito habang lumingon sa kanya.
Hahaha. Baliw. Bumangon sya at sandaling nag-isip habang nakaupo sa may gilid ng kama. Until now, she still couldn't believe how the odds had turned to her favor.
She almost swore that her day couldn't have gotten any worse. She had been very excited to start with her new venture, a volunteer work. Ilang araw nya itong pinaghandaan ito and had been excited about it for months, but on the day of the orientation, she was dropped off to the wrong location at kinailangan nyang maghanap ulit ng masasakyan to take her to the right one. Nasa mekaniko kasi ang kotse nya. She came very late and didn't even get to introduce herself to the volunteer team formally.
It had been the defining moment of the day-her going to the makeshift toilet. Paglingon nya kasi nakita nya ang taong matagal na nyang gusto, ang 'crush' nya. Si Elmo Magalona.
'The' Elmo who is her co-habitue at Kuya Ben's coffee shop. 'The' Elmo who she had been crushing on since the day she saw him at said place. 'The' Elmo who makes her feel like a teenager again. 'The' Elmo who takes her day's stress away just with his mere presence kahit na di sila nag-uusap. The sight of him was enough.
She had vowed not to expect anything big from this fascination. There had been quite too many chances for them to be introduced that could've easily developed into a friendship pero di yun nangyari. Their being always being at the same place at the same time did not do much to forge new ties with him. With each chance lost, her belief in the possibility of 'knowing' him more had become thin.
But this, this happenstance-them volunteering for the same charitable institution somehow brought meaning and hope to what-could-be.
Pero basag naman. Napaka-lame naman ng introduction nyo. Komento ni Maqui. Naikwento kasi nya how quickly they've been introduced to each other. Pagkatapos nun, umalis pa kaagad si Elmo to check on an emergency sa business nito.
Hahaha. Ano ka ba. Mahaba-haba pa ang panahon, Maq. Anything can happen.
Nagkibit-balikat ang kaibigan.
Ok fine. Basta keep me posted huh. Baka i-edit mo yung kwento mo, kakalbuhin kita. Biro nito.
Hahaha. Ewan ko sayo.
.....
So this means less partying, huh? Tanong ni Rocco.
He shrugged.
I don't know. Di ko pa rin nman kasi alam how busy this volunteer work will make me. Sagot naman nya after taking a sip of martini.
Haha. But honestly, I think this volunteer work will be good for you.
Huh. Why?
Nagkibit-balikat ulit ang kaibigan who avoided his gaze.
I've never done it but there are some people I know na nag try na and they said that it's really fulfilling.
Tumango sya at bahagyang tumawa dahilan para mapatingin sa kanya ang kaibigan.
Para saan yung tawang yun?
Haha. Nothing. You could've said it straight, Roc.
Huh? What are you talking about? I'm...I'm confused. Ang gulo mo.
Haha. No. Sana sinabi mo na lang na baka the volunteer work will help me move on.
Moe...I...didn't mean to...
Tinapik nya ito sa balikat.
Bro, ok lang, because the truth is, I'm really hoping that it would.
