Phoenix vs Janna

Chapter 16

Phoenix half-dosed inside the car as he waited for Janna, who was at the bus office asking about the next trip to Manila.

She came back looking like a thundercloud.

"Kanina pa daw umalis ang last trip!"

"Told ya."

"At bukas pa daw ng 5am ang first trip uli." Janna said tightly.

Phoenix started the car.

"Let's go then."

"Dito na ako sa bus station mag-aabang. Ilang oras na lang naman."

Phoenix looked at her.

"Did you see the surroundings here, Hellcat? Walang katao-tao. Hindi safe ang lugar. At mag-isa ka lang."

"Safe naman siguro dito..."

"Tinakasan ko lang si Rex kanina papunta sa rally. Kung nandito siya baka safe pa dito. As it is, the odds of this place being safe is lower than when you sleep in my place."

Janna would never tell him that she felt more unsafe with him than anywhere else.

"Gusto mo na ba ako?" kept replaying in her mind, and she tried hard to push it away.

Her concern probably showed in her eyes, or he was getting uncomfortably better at reading her mind. Because he said: "Nothing bad will come to you sa bahay, Hellcat. A couple of housekeepers are there, so you can ask for help kung i-take advantage kita."

Janna squirmed.

"Also I'm so dead tired, wala sa plano ko mang-harras tonight." She knew that it was true from the haggard look on his handsome face.

"At mapili ako sa girls na haharass-in ko. They should look nice and behave themselves nicely to me. Parang ewan ka lang, Hellcat!"

Janna was offended.

"Ang dami mong satsat. Pwede mag-drive ka na lang?"

Phoenix hid a smile and started the car.

The guest room she stayed in was fairytale-perfect. It was huge, with beautiful furnitures and decoration. Janna took one look at her charming accommodations, dived on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

She overslept and breakfasted alone the next morning, attended by the friendly housekeepers. She was told that Phoenix was at the horses' stable talking with the veterinarian, and would be back soon.

Afterwards she showered and as she waited for Phoenix to come back, she explored the house and its surroundings. Although it looked expensive and seemed to come out of the pages of a magazine, it felt homey and comfortable.

The family pictures that decorated every nook and cranny told a story of a happy family. There were also many pictures of the family with their hacienda workers. Phoenix indeed grew up with their farm hands, looking like one of them in many pictures of boyhood fun and adventures.

"Good morning, Hellcat. Slept well?"

Janna wasn't prepared for Phoenix smiling at her so early in the day. She smiled back despite herself.

Phoenix rarely saw her smile, so he was also caught of guard. A puzzled look appeared on his face.

They stared at each other for sometime, until the sound of a car engine broke the spell.

"Halika na, Hellcat. Let's head back to Manila."

As they climbed onto a Wrangler jeep, a farm hand on horseback went up to Phoenix. He told Phoenix that the harvest had started, and everyone was asking if he would want to join them.

Phoenix regretfully told the farmhand that he had to leave for Manila.

"Anong harvest ba yun?" Janna asked.

"Palay, Hellcat." He replied, his eyes still wistful.

"Hindi pa ako nakakita ng rice harvest." She said.

Phoenix' eyes lit up.

"Okay lang, Hellcat? Saka na lang tayo umalis pagkatapos ng harvest?" He looked hopeful.

"Oo. Curious ako sa harvest na yan. Gusto kong ma-experience."

The smile he directed at Janna was full-blast happy. Janna felt like a bowling pin hit by a carefully-aimed strike.

The day turned out to be a revelation. Janna's prejudices against Phoenix and his rich boy status started toppling down like a house of cards. He was truly at home among the farm workers and really cared about them. He worked among them harvesting rice, and it was obvious he had done this in countless other harvest seasons.

He was skilled in reaping and hauling the rice crop. He wasn't adverse to hard labor. Despite that he looked sweaty and dirty as the day went on, his smile never stopped flashing at everyone in the field.

His smile was even wider every time he caught sight of Janna. She was also thick in the middle of the harvest. She was with the women laborers at the other side of the field, and enthusiastically did her share of threshing and cleaning the harvested grains.

Janna marched towards him once, getting annoyed because of his frequent waving and smiling every time their eyes met across the field.

"Rich boy, kanina ka pa natatawa tuwing nakikita mo ako, ba't mo ako pinagtatawanan?" She said as he met her halfway across the vast rice field, trying hard to ignore the fact that he was rocking the strong, sun-kissed, farmer look.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm just mighty proud that you're my girlfriend right now." He said.

That surprised her.

"You aren't maarte and can harvest rice like a pro. Lahat ng tao dito natutuwa sa 'yo."

"Sinabi mo ba sa kanila na girlfriend mo ako?" Janna felt mixed emotions at that. She hated deceiving this nice people, but she also felt slightly... happy. Anong problema ko!

"Oo naman. Mas mahirap i-explain kung bakit kita isinama dito kung hindi kita girlfriend."

"Bakit?"

"I never brought anyone here before, Janna. Ikaw lang."

Janna kept her face expressionless, afraid of the sudden thudding of her heart.

"Ako lang kasi ang mukhang magsasaka sa mga naging girlfriends mo, Rich Boy."

She turned away to go back to her task, uncomfortable with the conversation. Phoenix grabbed her arm to stop her.

"That's not what I meant."

He had held her hand countless times before, since pretend skinship was necessary for their deal. But today was the first time that Janna felt very affected by his touch.

"Okay lang, Rich Boy. Proud ako na mukha akong magsasaka. Isang karangalan ang mapabilang sa kanila." She sounded breathless and hated herself for it.

His eyes searched her face, and Janna dreaded what he might see there. His hand went up and touched her face. Her heart stopped.

He smiled and wiped a smudge of soil on her left cheek. Then he tucked an errant hair behind her ear. His eyes were amused and tender. Janna was struggling to breathe.

"Mabuti kung ganun. Kasi I happen to like the magsasakas. Very much."