Basta't Kasama Kita

4

“Kids, by tomorrow tapos na ang office ni Greg. Pwede na kayong maghiwalay,” ang sabi ni Fred nang sumilip s’ya sa opisina ni Sandra. Simula pa nung college ay nakasanayan na ni Fred na tawagin silang ‘kids’ dahil sa palagi nilang pag-aaway.

“Ang bilis naman. Nag-eenjoy pa ako dito eh,” ang biro ni Greg.

“Hay salamat!” ang sabi naman ni Sandra. “By the way Fred, tumawag si Ms. Dizon kanina. They’re gonna go with us daw. They’re going to give us 2 weeks to come up with ideas for a full campaign. They will just inform me kung kailan ang exact day of presentation.”

“That’s good news! I guess this will be the perfect time for you Greg. This will be your baptism of fire sa Pilipinas. Kayong dalawa ang maghandle nito. This is a very big account so make it work. I trust that you kids will be mature enough to set aside your differences for the success of this project.

Both nodded. Greg even made a salute.

That afternoon, they decided to make the initial preparations for the new account. They were having their brainstorming at the conference table in Sandra’s office just an arms-length away from each other. Greg was staring at one of the walls as he tried to think of something while she was absent-mindedly staring at his right ear. At hindi na rin n’ya namalayan na unti-unti nang lumalapit yung kamay n’ya sa tenga ng binata. Nagulat si Greg nang may maramdamang humawak sa kanyang earlobe. Nang gumalaw si Greg ay doon lang din natauhan si Sandra.

“What are you doing?” ang tanong ng namumulang Greg.

“So – sorry. Di ko sinasadya. Pero natuwa kasi ako sa earlobe mo eh,” she shyly replied.

Napahawak si Greg sa kanyang tenga. “Ha? Ano? Bakit? Anong meron sa earlobe ko?”

“Pahawak ulit. Pwede?” she asked.

“Ha? Why?” ang kunwaring naiirita pero kinikilig na tanong ni Greg.

“Gusto ko lang hawakan. Sige na.”

“Sige pero sandali lang ha.”

She slowly reached for his ear again and touched it. Nang maramdaman ni Greg ang daliri ni Sandra sa kanyang tenga ay napapikit s’ya at naisip sa sarili, “Baby what are you doing to me? Tanggalin mo na at baka mahalikan kita ngayon.”

“Ang cute ng tenga mo Greg. Bakit ngayon ko lang ito napansin eh magkasama tayo buong college life natin?”

Inilag ni Greg ang kanyang ulo para matanggal na ang kanyang tenga sa daliri ni Sandra. “Bakit naging cute? And how will you be able to notice it kung ako nga mismo hindi mo pinapansin noon? Ni hindi mo nga ‘ata ako tinitignan ng derecho eh.”

“Anong hindi? Palagi naman kitang pinapansin ah.”

“Ay oo nga pala, kaya pala palagi tayong nag-aaway kasi ako na lang ang palagi mong pinupuna.”

She kept quiet for a few moments because she didn’t know what to say anymore. She knew that what he said was true. Si Greg ang madalas n’yang napapansin noon – sa magaganda at masasamang bagay tungkol dito.

”Tama na nga ‘yan! Back to work na nga,” she suddenly said.

“Ikaw lang naman ang hindi nagtatrabaho eh. Pinagmamasdan mo lang pala ako. Uuuuy! Siguro may secret crush ka sa akin ‘no?” ang tukso ni Greg.

“Shit naman! Ang kapal lang ha. Hanggang ngayon talaga feeling superstar ka pa rin,” ang sabi ni Sandra sabay irap.

“O di hindi!”

“Back to work!”

“Oo na. Ako lang naman talaga ang hulog na hulog dito eh. Dammit!” he muttered under his breath.

“Ano ‘yun?!”

“Wala po. Mag-isip ka na d’yan.”

********

As Fred has mentioned, Greg’s office was ready the following day. He spent time in that office in the morning to get settled and work but in the afternoon he couldn’t stop himself anymore from going to her office.

“Sands?” ang mahinang tawag ni Greg habang nakasilip sa opisina ni Sandra.

“Yeah? Pasok.”

“Can I stay here for a while? Pwede ba ako magtrabaho dito sandali?”

“Bakit, anong problema sa opisina mo?”

“Wala naman. Kaya lang hindi ako masyadong makapag-isip doon eh. Nung nandito pa ako nung mga nakaraang araw eh ang bilis kong makakuha ng ideas. Parang mas inspired ako dito mag-isip. Ang ganda kasi ng view dito.”

Sandra looked at the window behind her to see the view outside. She turned back to him and said, “Maganda nga. Sige, okay lang. Just don’t disturb me.”

Bumalik sa pagtatrabaho si Sandra habang si Greg ay nagkunwaring nagsimula na ring magtrabaho. Pero ang totoo ay maya’t maya n’yang sinusulyapan si Sandra at parang mine-memorize ang bawat anggulo ng kanyang mukha. “Baby, I think I’m really going crazy. Sana kaya ko nang magtapat sa ‘yo. At sana tanggapin mo na kung ano ako ngayon.”

Two hours later of pretending to work, he got up and gathered his laptop. “Okay na ako. Thank you for letting me stay here.”

“Nagsawa ka na sa mukha ko?” she said without looking at him.

Nagulat si Greg dito. “What? What are you talking about?”

She raised her head and looked straight into his eyes. “Sabi ko nagsawa ka na ba sa mukha ko kaya babalik ka na sa office mo?”

Ilang sandali ring nakipagtitigan si Greg bago nakasagot. “’Yang ganda mong ‘yan? Di ko pagsasawaan ‘yan. Gusto mo titigan pa kita ng derecho the rest of the afternoon eh,” ang nagtatapang-tapangan na sabi n’ya.

She suddenly became conscious kaya umiwas s’ya ng tingin.

“Ha… ha… ha! My Sandra, you will never defeat me at this game. Kaya kong sabayan ‘yang panunukso mo. You can try but we both know how it’s gonna end up,” he said with a smirk.

“Tse! Umalis ka na nga! Kainis ka talaga!”

Tumawa muna si Greg bago tuluyang lumabas. He hurriedly walked towards his office. “Damn Greg! Nahahalata ka na pala!” he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Sandra let out a big sigh when Greg stepped out of her office. “Bakit ako kinilig nung sinabi n’yang ‘My Sandra’? Shit! Nakakainis talaga ‘yung gagong ‘yun! Panggulo talaga sa buhay ko! Bwisit!”