Niko turned and reached over to Riki's side of the bed. Although it was slightly warm to touch, Niko soon felt that the general temperature around him was slightly cooler. He partially opened his eye and saw Riki walking back to bed.
"Ig...bangon na..." Riki said sleepily, pulling the blanket.
"What time is it?" Niko mumbled.
"Mag-s-seven..."
"...may oras pa..." Niko said as he reached for and grabbed Riki's wrist.
"Iggy..." Riki protested, her voice groggy with sleep. "...kailangan na natin bumangon..."
"...may time pa...come here..." Niko tugged on Riki's wrist. She snuggled under the covers and laid her head on Niko's chest. True enough, the rhythmic beat of Niko's heartbeat and the gentle rise and fall of his chest lulled Riki back to sleep in no time. They woke up more than an hour later, when the NDRRMC alarm sounded on both their phones at the same time. It was a warning about an earthquake that happened in a province not far from Manila. Slight tremors were felt in the city but the two were in deep sleep to notice.
---
They both bolted up from bed and reached for their phones when the alarm sounded. Since they were now both awake, they checked their schedules and realized that they had about an hour more to prepare for Niko's online class and that Riki was supposed to have a tele-conference at about the same time as Niko's classes but this was suddenly cancelled. They looked at each other but instead of getting annoyed, Niko shrugged his shoulders and Riki started giggling. She was just happy that her work load wasn't heavy for the day.
Their work for the facility had been directed toward working from home by cooking meals. They were assigned a certain number of people to make meals for and the ingredients were distributed among those who volunteered. Once the meals were packed, it was picked up from their place and distributed to different hospitals and shelters. Riki's cooking skills were put to the test but soon she was whipping up simple but delicious dishes which amazed Niko as well.
The day before was one of their cooking days so they were both exhausted after having to prepare meals for at least 120 people. It was just as simple as longganisa with rice and a boiled egg plus slices of tomatoes but they also needed to make sure that their apartment was clean before they went to bed. It was a good thing that they usually did this on weekends or else their real schedules would be very full and exhausting.
---
"Cheeechurrr Neeeks! Baket kaw may black sa eyes?" Menggay asked when she noticed Niko's dark circles around his eyes.
"You're a panda again, teacher?" Rj asked.
"A little. Teacher's very tired and sleepy." Niko said as he covered his yawn and wiped his eyes with tissue.
