"Uhmm...are you Riki?" the voice said.
Riki turned to confirm. "Yes? Riki Mendoza"
"Ah. Akala ko lalake ka. Anyway, dun ka daw sa kitchen ulit today. You were here na..."
"...last weekend. Saturday. I was also assigned to the kitchen. Food prep"
"Okay. Dun ka nga naka-assign ulit." Cholo said. He was reading from a clipboard and had a quarantine pass with 'Cholo' written on a strip of masking tape.
"Ah okay."
"Your mask, gloves, face shield, and apron are in the box over there" Cholo pointed to a table nearby. From her previous experience at the facility, Riki immediately surmised that Cholo was new to the job. He also acted a little different so Riki guessed he was special.
Riki was already wearing a mask but the facility provided color-coded masks and other protective gear to avoid volunteers wandering about the facility. Riki got her supplies and walked to the 'kitchen'.
---
"Anong tinitingnan mo dyan?" Sam asked Niko when he saw the latter reviewing the list of volunteers posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the facility.
"Ah. Baka kasi iniba nila yung trabaho natin..." Niko reasoned.
"Hmm. Kahit saan naman tayo ilagay, okay lang diba?"
"O...oo naman..." Niko said as he continued to look at the lists.
"...Mendoza..." Niko read.
"Ano?" Sam asked. They were about a metre apart so Sam could not really understand what Niko said. Besides, they were wearing masks which made their speech muffled.
Niko ignored Sam and walked over to where Ruby and the other coordinators were.
"O bakit dilaw na to? Diba last time, blue?" Sam asked when Niko handed him their gear.
"Sa kitchen tayo..." Niko said as he walked away. Sam hurriedly followed. He was confused.
---
Niko and Sam approached the kitchen and Niko immediately scanned the area to see where Riki could possibly be.
"Dude, marunong ka ba magluto? Bakit dito tayo na-assign?" Sam said. He was quite perplexed why Niko volunteered for them to be there. Since they started volunteer work at the facility, they had always been assigned to haul and deliver materials from the main donation area to the different 'stations' within the complex. The last time they volunteered, they were assigned to deliver food and vegetables within the facility.
"Hindi rin masyado"
"So, anong ginagawa natin dito?"
"Ah, teka. Tanungin natin sila..." Niko walked toward someone who was holding a clipboard.
"Hello! I'm Karla. You are?"
"I'm Niko. This is Sam." Niko introduced themselves.
"Great! You can help in packing the food." Karla said then began explaining what the others were doing. Both Sam and Niko were assigned to pack food into the containers.
After about an hour or so, Karla reassigned Niko to bring the cooked food to the packing area. While Niko waited for the food to be transferred to his container, he noticed a petite person carrying a bowl of peeled potatoes to the area where he was waiting. She moved gracefully like a dancer even if the containers looked rather heavy. He was staring at her for a while until the cook told him that the food was ready to be transported. "Ah opo. Salamat po" Niko said, slightly flustered after being brought back to reality.
