"Hey, are you okay?" Niko asked when Riki came into the bedroom. She had just finished with her meeting for work.
Riki walked straight to the bathroom, ignoring Niko. Niko found this slightly odd because it was the first time Riki acted this way. She looked distressed so Niko decided not to annoy her further and just continued with his own work.
After a while, Niko thought he heard a very heavy sigh or a sob which he couldn't really determine because he was listening to music and choosing songs for his lessons. He didn't notice Riki step out of the bathroom and bedroom until he heard the door close.
---
"How was your meeting?" Niko asked while they ate dinner.
"Ok lang..." Riki responded softly. Niko noticed that she wasn't really eating. She was just pushing her food around with her fork.
"Punch?"
"Hmm?"
"Punch..."
"Hmm..."
"The kids miss you. They were looking for you again this morning"
"...ang cute naman..."
"Do you think you can join us again soon?"
"Hmm..."
"...bulol pa talaga si Menggay...nahirapan ako kanina...biglang sinabi, 'wer chichurpans?' akala ko nagtatanong sya about dun sa pants nung character sa story so paulit-ulit ko ine-explain yung isang page dun sa libro...yun pala, hinahanap nya si Teacher Punch..." Niko shared, shaking his head and chuckling.
"Chichurpans..." Riki snickered softly.
"Hey, are you okay?" Niko asked again when Riki leaned back into her chair after pushing her plate forward.
"...mags-shift na sa GCQ next week..." Riki finally said after a long pause.
"Akala ko sabi ni Rodriguez tuloy ang WFH nyo?"
"...pero may mga araw na kailangan namin mag-report pa rin.." Riki said after a long pause.
"Ah..."
"...nakaka-praning na nga yung idea na may virus sa paligid natin and we don't even know kung yung next person sa same area natin eh asymptomatic pala...tapos..."
"Tapos?"
"...limited pa ang transportation ng mga babalik sa mga offices..."
