Mataas ang sikat ng araw. Mainit. Napailing sya as he threw an empty water bottle to the trash bin. That was his third.
He had to admit. The site does show a lot of promise. It was located in the interior part of a town not far away from the city. Tahimik din ang lugar and it was surrounded by wild vegetation. He could already visualize the moderate-sized family houses they were going to help build.
Pumwesto na naman sya sa ilalim ng puno facing the tent and began to smoke.
There wasn't too much manual activity happening yet. Big trucks had begun to deliver construction materials and most of the loading assignments went the people who were directly involved with construction.
He squinted as the sun shifted to its high noon position. Kanina pa nya hinihintay si John but it seemed that his closest friend in the team was a bit preoccupied with a group of press people who were there to make a feature about the charity.
He was caught up with his own thoughts nang mahagip ng mata ang babaeng pinakilala sa kanya during the orientation. Sinundan nya ito ng tingin habang abala ito sa pakikipag-usap sa dalawang lalake na kasama din sa team. As he observed her gestures, he tried very hard to connect the lady that he saw now to the lady that he saw dancing and singing inside the car when he was caught in the middle of a traffic jam. Ang nakikita nya kasi ngayon ay ibang-iba. She looked very serious and eager while the lady he'd seen before was shameless and silly.
Crazy shit. May dual personality ata.
But there was something else that bothered him. He was sure that it was Julie he saw dancing during the traffic jam but aside from that, he felt that he had seen her even before that. Hindi nga lang nya maaalala kung saan at kailan.
Tsk. Why should this even bother me?
He took one last puff and headed back to the tent.
.....
She had been throwing secret glances at Elmo since she arrived.
Buti na lang naka-shades ako. Ang busog na ng mata ko. Hihi
Her impression on him hadn't changed. Para kay Julie, suplado at tahimik pa rin ito as she believed him to be. He barely mingled with the group and always kept to himself. Napapansin din nyang isang tao lang ang kinakausap nito, si John.
Hmmm. Not a team player. Huwag ganyan, sweetheart.
She had always been a team player. Mas ginaganahan syang magtrabaho pag marami syang kasama. She likes to share ideas with people, lalo na sa mga taong ibang-iba ang background sa kanya. She believes that interacting with them is the best way to learn new things.
Nakita nyang nakaubos din ng tatlong yosi si Elmo during his break. She was a bit disappointed that he smokes. Akala nya kasi noon non-smoker ito based on his fresh and clean looks.
Masama sa katawan yan. Maawa ka naman sa future kids natin. Hihi
Bigla tuloy nyang naisip kung umiinom din ba ito. She finds nothing wrong with drinking as she also drinks.
Pero sana naman hindi sya yung tipong regular sa bar. Haaaay.
Muli ay naalala nya ang bilin ng daddy nya and reminded herself to focus more on the volunteer work which she had been dying to do.
Bonus lang sya dito. I should fix my eyes on the real prize.
Naisip din nya na ang dami pa nyang hindi alam tungkol kay Elmo. She'd always liked the feeling everytime she saw him. Hindi nya pagsasawaang tingnan ito kahit buong magdamag. Outside, he's a very beautiful person.
I wonder what's inside. Sana maganda din.
.....
It was time to go. Ang bilis natapos ng araw. Abala kasi ang lahat sa kanya-kanyang gawain.
Pumunta sya sa may bandang gilid ng tent to gather his things. May makeshift locker kasi doon kung saan nakalagay ang mga gamit ng mga volunteers.
He quickly took his knapsack but just when he was about to leave, nahagip ng mata nya ang isang malaking knapsack. An orange colored one. Bigla syang napakunot-noo.
Wait. I've seen this before.
Nag-isip. He tried to recall the places he had been recently kasi segurado syang kamakailan lang nya nakita ito and then it struck him.
Kuya Ben's coffeeshop.
At biglang naalala ang malutong na tawa ng babaeng nagmamay-ari nito. The lady chatting up with Kuya Ben.
Napakunot-noo ulit. At naalala si Julie and the knapsack he saw at the backseat of her car during the traffic jam. It was the same one. And then it struck him again. He heard that familiar hearty laugh during his first day at the area and began to connect the dots.
Napangiti.
Haha. This is going to be really interesting.
