Malik
"Naman!!! Baby, please start! I can't be late today!"
I turned and saw Sari kicking the tires of her Toyota. She's had this car for years, but didn't want to change it because she had dressed it up to her liking — meaning it had different colored accessories inside and she painted a rainbow at the top.
"Hindi talaga magsastart yan kung sinisipa mo. Susi ang kailangan para magstart."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Kung hindi ka makakatulong, pwede bang tumahimik ka na lang."
I grinned. "Ayun! Hindi ako tatahimik kasi makakatulong ako! Hehehe! Noks, gusto mo bang sumabay sa akin papasok sa office?"
I could see her struggle. Her eyes darted from her car, as if pleading it to start, to me, weighing how much teasing she'd have to bear if she hitched a ride.
Looking at her watch, she made her decision. Taking her bags, she walked past me to stand beside my car's passenger door. "Pasabay."
"Okay! 100pesos lang, Ma'am."
Her eyes widened. "Ang mahal naman ng pamasahe!" She pouted while I helped her in.
When I got to the driver's side, she was handing me the money. "Uy, joke lang! Ito naman."
"Halika na, Malik. I really don't want to be late. May presentation ako kay Ms. Essa."
I made a displeased face.
Ms. Essa was our company's Chief Finance Officer, who seemed to hate my entire existence for reasons that I have yet to understand. She shot down every project I presented to her, only allowing it to go through when someone else brought up the exact same thing. It has cost me some financial rewards and a promotion.
"Bakit ba ang init ng dugo sa yo ni Ms. Essa?" Sari asked.
I shrugged. "Hindi ko alam. Minsan nga iniisip ko kung may nagawa ba ako sa kanya sa past life niya."
Sari's head whipped around. "What? What did you say?"
I repeated it. "Anong problema mo?"
"Uhmmm... hindi. Wa - wala."
"Weird mo today, Noks."
She shook her head as if to clear it. "Noks naman ang tawag mo sa akin."
"Haba ng 'Sarimanok' eh."
"Yung 'Sari' maikli."
I chuckled. "Pero mas cute yung Noks. Either that or 'Ari'."
"Malik!!!"
I laughed out loud at the expression on her face.
"So, 'Noks'. Oks, Manoks?"
She rolled her eyes and stared out her window until we arrived at the office.
*
At lunch, I decided to walk to a nearby coffee shop to spend some quiet time.
I had a pretty good grasp of my emotions and had matured enough not to take work stuff personally but this thing with Ms. Essa was really getting to me.
Earlier, I presented a project to her that would need funding. I proposed to conduct trainings in some provinces in the country to increase financial awareness and get potential customers for our clients. It was a good and sound plan, I knew. But she shot it down.
My boss demanded that I find a way to get it approved and I was honestly at a loss.
As I stared out the window, trying to figure things out, a voice broke into my thoughts. "Bakit nandito ka?"
I looked up and saw Sari. In this light, the purple in her hair was more prominent and I couldn't help but smile. The dress code in our office prevents her from wearing the wilder shades she had in her youth (in sophomore year of college, she had electric blue hair) but I'm glad that she found a way around that. "Wow, ikaw ba may-ari nito?"
"Hindi but that's my spot."
"Wala namang nakasulat. Hay nako. Ewan ko sa'yo." I got up to leave, but then she put a hand on my arm to stop me.
"That's it? Hindi ka basta basta nagpapatalo. What's up?"
I ran my fingers through my hair and then hesitantly told her my work problem. "I don't get it, Noks! The project is a good one. It benefits us, the client and the public. Why won't she sign off on it just because she hates me?"
"Eh di let someone else present it to her? Yun naman ginagawa mo dati, di ba?"
"I want credit for this one," I admitted. "Pinaghirapan ko ito eh. Ang dami ko ng pinalampas. Not this one. Passion project ko ito. And this would get me the promotion I've been hoping for!"
I had aimed to be a VP for awhile now. The perks of that role and the benefits I could get, I wanted to be part of that exclusive club at work.
"I'll help."
"Sari? Sure ka?"
"Yes. Tama ka, it's a good project. I'll find a way that you get to present it to some other units. If the other bosses agree, maybe Ms. Essa would come around."
"Sigurado ka ba? Baka mapahamak ka?"
When I said that, Sari and I looked at each other. It felt like deja vu to me. Shaking my head to clear it, we discussed plans for my presentation.
"I have to admit. This is good, Malik. Hindi ka pala talaga bobo." She laughed and suddenly I had a vision of her in a cloth that didn't seem to belong from this earth, sheer but reflected the sunlight to show all its beautiful colors; she had a floral headpiece that made her look even more gorgeous.
"Huy, Malik! Anong nangyayari sayo?!"
"Ha? Ah. Wala. Uhmm ah kukuha lang ako ng tubig tapos balik na tayo sa office."
As I stood up to leave, she called out. "Malik! No!"
"Huh? Nauuhaw ako."
"I - uh -"
I would have teased her but she seemed genuinely scared that I would be getting water. "Sari, it's okay. I'm getting a glass of water. Hindi ako malulunod."
"No, it's not that. It's just... no, forget it. Nevermind. Just go. Bilisan mo."
She still seemed bothered so... I distracted her by annoying her. "Bakit ang boring na ng mga suot mo? Gusto ko yung mga suot mo dati."
"Shut up."
"The best yung pumasok ka sa school na may suot na Christmas balls sa buhok."
"Malik naman eh!"
"And yung parang 100 yung ribbon mo sa ulo the day after?! Hahahahaha!"
"Ang ganda kaya nun!"
I nodded. She actually pulled it off. I brought her to her desk. "Okay ka na?"
She nodded.
"Thank you sa help, Sarimanok."
She smiled. "You're welcome, Twerk It Like Malik."
I laughed all the way to my desk.
