The Bobby Andrewz Show

Chapter 4 - The Announcement

Chapter 4

Miles and Chie ran quickly towards the back of the office where a dozen cubicles were sitting like  ships waiting to sail.

Bobby stood still for a second not knowing what to do but his instinct told him to run along with the two women to find out what happened.  He didn’t think he would be of much help but he thought that was the right thing to do.

When they reached the narrow entrance to the blue and white cubicles, they saw a familiar figure standing by the glass door.

Jad was holding a big yellow placard with the words “IT’S OKAY. YOU CAN GO HOME NOW” written in bold, black letters.  Underneath the words were a big smiley face and a thumbs-up sign.   Jad smiled broadly at Miles.

“Alejandro Vergel de Ramos.  What the heck is going on?” 

Miles’ voice was surprisingly husky and her tone was serious but Jad seemed unfazed.  The young man placed the placard gently on the floor and told Miles what had happened.

“I turned the radio on but I didn’t know the volume was on full blast.  That’s what the noise was about.  See?  Nobody even noticed.”

Jad pointed at the cubicles behind him.  No one was visible except for a couple of people who walked towards the printing area. Aside from the occasional humming of printers at work and the sound of someone pounding the keyboard, everything else seemed normal.

Miles' eyebrows were raised as she spoke.

“I know we’re all nuts around here but you all are driving me crazy.  Chie, I need everyone to be in the conference room in five minutes.  I want my coffee.  Dark. No sugar.  Jad, please lang, utang na loob, take that sign away.  See you guys in five minutes.  Babush!”   

In an instant, Miles was gone.  Jad started heading towards his cubicle with his yellow placard and Bobby was left with the flustered receptionist cum secretary at the deserted area.

Chie smiled tensely at Bobby.

“Pasensya ka na, iho.  Our office is crazy today.  We’re really busy.  We’re expecting some people to come over.  I have to make coffee for Miles and get the conference room ready in five minutes.  Let’s go.  I’ll show you kung saan ka mag-wo-work.  You have to fix the light in the FGD room.”

Chie was babbling while dragging Bobby by the arm.

She took Bobby to a small, dark room which she referred to as the FGD observation room.  According to Chie, FGD stood for Focus Group Discussion. 

The FGD observation room was big enough to hold four tall stools, a single flat board that resembled a shelf attached to the wall and two brand-new CD Changer Carousel players.  The floor was thickly carpeted and the walls were covered with what looked like heavy cork for sound proofing.     

Interestingly, the FGD viewing room was connected to a conference room.  The latter could be viewed through a tinted glass installed on the wall that separated both rooms.

As Bobby started working on the broken light bulb, he noticed the conference room on the other side getting filled up by the staff.  He could see them through the tinted glass on the wall.  He knew they were all waiting for the meeting to start, the one that Miles had requested earlier.

Bobby paid no mind. 

He had already accepted the fact that his day at the TV network’s office would be uneventful.  He would probably finish his job in half an hour and then go home to take a much needed nap.  There would be no celebrities to see.

Finally, Miles entered the conference room on the other side.  As she closed the door behind her, the light on one of the speakers installed on the wall of the FGD observation room strangely lit up.

Bobby was startled when he heard Miles’ voice streaming through the speakers.  The volume was low but he heard every single word that she said.

“Ready na ba kayo? The cast of the show Happy Gang at the Kanto is coming to use our conference room in thirty minutes.  They will shoot their next episode in our office.  The director, crew and some of the stars will be here so clean up your areas.  They may or may not get extras so be prepared. ”

On the other side of the wall, Bobby ‘s jaw just dropped on the floor.

 TheBobbyAndrewzShow.2014

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