Quickies

claim

FICTION

***

"ugh! still two hundred thousand short! what else do i need to do?! nasan na ba yang mga hayok sa fashion na gustong magwaldas ng pera?!"

"nakaka-magkano na ba yung nagpledge sa crowdfund mo?"

"five hundred..."

"o? may 500k ka na pala naman! pwede mo na down sa manufacturing yun!"

"five hundred pesos! waaaahhh!!!"

"ay gaga. itigil mo na lang nga iyan, kung bakit ba naman kasi sa lahat ng pwede mong i-crowdfund eh iyang boots pa? kakalabanin mo ang doc martens, ganon?!"

"kat, maganda naman talaga yung design ko di ba? and yung material is really innovative, wala pa talaga sa market niyang waterproof suede boots!"

"dei hindi madaling makapasok sa fashion industry, tapos ang gusto mong unang hirit diyan sa pinili mong field eh waterproof boots! eh di bibili na lang sila nung mga bota diyan sa palengke, mas sigurado pang hindi ka mababasa!"

"napaka-supportive mo talagang kaibigan, ano?"

"tough love bes."

"uhm, excuse me, i'm looking for ms. dei mendoza?"

"punyeta ang gwapoooo..."

"kat, huminahon ka. yes sir, i'm dei. shet, ang gwapo nga... ay sorry po, anything i can do for you sir?"

"bigyan mo ng lapdance, bes."

"katrina tumahimik ka. pumasok ka na lang nga! ah sir, what can i help you with?"

"so you're the developer of the wish-wash boots, and you're the model also..."

"ah, yes sir. para tipid. are you here to also respond to our crowdfunding sir? pwede naman po yun online sir..."

"uhm, no. i'm not here for that. i'm here to tell you na i have patent claims diyan sa footware na ginagawa mo, so better take down your crowdfunding account kung ayaw mong mademanda."

"ha?! what patent?! pinapatigil mo ako sa crowdfunding ko?! hoy mister...mister...."

"faulkerson. jay faulkerson."

"mister polkason, i don't care for your patent-patent. ako ang nagdevelop nitong boots ko no! i spent four years of design school and 2 years on fabric technology to come up with this innovative design!"

"how can you claim it to be innovative if i already have a patent for that? miss mendoza, did you even conduct your research before you went on publicly sa crowdfunding for this cute little project of yours?

"don't you dare question ang ability ko! of course i did my research! kat! di ba you did that research thing, nag-websearch ka di ba?"

"oo naman! kani-kanina lang!"

"punyeta kat, huwag mo naman ako pahiyain..."

"eh kanina ko nga lang naalala, and yun nga... may prehas na design na with your material ang Faulkerson Enterprise."

"what!? argh!"

"so miss mendoza, as much as i am admiring how your lips pucker when you're ranting, and how passionate your eyes look in anger, i suggest you take down your crowdfunding account and go out to dinner with me."

"asus, ang breezy ni pogi..."

"katrina, tatadtarin kita ng pinung-pino, sinasabi ko sa iyo!"

"before you do that, ms. mendoza, though i strongly discourage you from murdering your friend here, i suggest you agree to a dinner with me. tonight. maybe you'd be interested to join my company. i need you."

"what?!?"

"i mean, i need someone of your passion. your fire. i need you to inspire my design team."

"..."

"bes, gorabels na. i'll let you kurot and sabunot me na lang mamya, huwag na lang yung tatadtarin. sabi ni pokerson huwag mo daw ako i-murder eh."

"no. i won't go to dinner with you, i'm sorry. i'll fight for my boots. kahit umabot tayo sa korte."

"i'm a lawyer myself, ms. mendoza, and patent claim cases can go from five to ten million pesos."

"bes, five hundred pesos lang yung meron ka. makipag-dinner ka na lang."

"..."

"i take your silence means yes."

"hrngh. fine. dinner. but working for you, i'll have to think about it."

"of course ms. mendoza. besides, i'm pretty sure my enterprise will soon be yours, since you will bear my surname anyway."

"wow, confident, aren't we?"

"of course. i'm laying my claim on you, too. you'll see."