When Boxes Rattle

Chapter 11

By the time he and Terence arrived at the University, only a quarter of the attendees in tax review remained. The lecturer eyed them suspiciously but continued discussing the differences in the application of Estate Tax between the Conjugal and Communal states of marriage.

"I forgot to tell you I have to leave in a while," Kevin whispered. Terence ignored him.

After more than a few barbaric pronouncements, Kevin texted his sister. He's going to the psychiatrist.

For a moment he deliberated whether to ride a jeepney or hail a cab. As he checked his watch and found he still had half an hour, Kevin Tan decided to take the jeepney ride.

He settled on a seat and quickly realized it was a bad idea. The jeepney was crammed like sardines--9 persons per side--and the driver was still prattling on to other bystanders that there was still room for two. Kevin squished himself between an elderly woman carrying a large paper bag that smelled vaguely of onion and a well-dressed professor who kept muttering curses and complaints about the whole, wide world. The choices being those two, Kevin decided to lean towards the elderly woman.

His bout started when the rain began. Since the jeepney was packed, there was little room to breathe. Kevin soon felt dizzy. He tried to crane his neck towards the exit, gasping for any whiff of air. Soap and sweat and onions slowly choked him. He coughed.

After seemingly a century, he arrived at Doctor Sua's residence.

"Thank God for these daredevils," Kevin exclaimed as he gulped in cold air, the jeepney he had gone down from swerving on the highway like a race car. The 5-kilometer distance had been, surprisingly, covered in only ten minutes. And there were traffic lights and sidewalk congestions to bypass. "These jeepney drivers should be racing Formula 4's."

He checked his phone for any reply from Kalia. He found none, so he texted his sister a second time.

The rain suddenly picked up momentum and Kevin found himself jogging towards the psychiatrist's office door. He knocked twice and pushed open, greeting the secretary that sat glumly at the reception.

"Hi," Kevin smiled, rubbing his hands together. "I'm Kevin Tan, and I think I have an appointment with Doctor Sua."

"You think so, huh," the secretary clicked and clicked on the desktop PC and nodded. "She's expecting you in fifteen minutes. You may make yourself comfortable in the waiting room." She gestured towards a hall lazily, her dyed hair covering half her face.

"Can I not come directly?" Kevin inquired, feeling his phone for a reply from Kalia. "Or is another..."

"Yes sir another patient's inside. There are comics on the waiting room. You won't be bored."

Kevin almost rolled his eyes as he went towards the hall. True enough, there were comic books stacked at the far end. Most of them were by Marvel however: Guardians of the Galaxy, Ironman, Doctor Strange, so on. Kevin slumped on a chair and took out his phone and earphones. He disliked Marvel.

He turned the music on to Panic! At the Disco's The Ballad of Mona Lisa, then looked around the room. Aside from the comics, rows of pocketbooks lined the corner. Classics such as Stallion Riding Club by Noelle Arroyo, Foolish charade by Leah Silverio, and Task Force: I love you by Laurice del Rio. He smiled as he remembered how Terence once surprised Jessica with a box full of pocketbooks, in the hope of changing her mind about joining the nunnery.

After an entire album, the door to the Doctor's room opened and a distraught lady in an oversized jacket and heart-shaped sunglasses exited. The lady shot her an obscure look before heading to the receptionist.