"Im so nervous" Tinignan ako ni Cha.
"You don't look nervous" taking a sipped on my strawberry milktea.
Nasa Grand Central kami ngayon at naghihintay ng buyer ni Cha sa kanyang portrait painting. The other girls are busy sa kani-kanilang buhay. Kanina pa kami 5PM dito at 5:30PM ang usapan nila.
"Hey. Wag ka kabahan. Your drawing is great dae" Pag iincourage ko sa kanya.
As an architecture student, may iba talaga sa amin na nagbebenta ng paintings, charcoal drawings, etc. Hindi naman ito first time ni Cha magbenta ng portrait ganito lang talaga siya because she really wants to satisfy her clients. Kaya nga proud ako sa kanya.
"Omg dae" sabi niya habang nilalapit ang mukha niya sakin. Magkaharap kasi kami ngayon.
I raised my eyebrow.
"Wag kang lilingon. Nasa likod natin sina Bright" she whispered.
Bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko at nagpapawis ang mga kamay ko. Of all places! Diko pa siya kayang makita ngayon after what happened. I just continued sipping on my tea while ngiting-ngiti naman ang bruha sa harap ko.
Papansinin na sana ni Cha sina Bright nang may lumapit sa aming lalaki. Napatingin ako sa kanya habang na shock naman si Cha. Nakalimutan na yata niya ang purpose bakit kami nandito. I giggled.
"Sir. Hi po, kayo po ba si Evan?" tanong ni Cha
"Yes ako nga." at nag shake hands sila.
Cha handed the 20x30 portrait of a woman which I guess girlfriend niya. Nakikinig lang ako sa conversation nila totally forgetting about Bright. I can see Cha is nervous talaga.
"Eto po yung portrait" abot ni Cha sa guy habang tinignan naman niya ang work ni Cha.
"Ah. Magkano po uli yon?" he asked.
"1,500 po" Cha answered with a smile.
"Ah. Pwede po bang 500 nalang?"
I raised my eyebrow while sipping my tea holding back myself to swear at this guy. Cha gave out a little laughed.
"Nako po. Eh ang pinagusapan po kasi natin 1500 po. 2,000 nga po dapat pero humingi po kayo ng discount kaya po 1500 nalang" putting both her hands on the table.
"Oo nga. Pero ang dali lang naman ng pina drawing ko sayo at hindi naman siya ganun ka ganda" he said placing the portrait on the table.
I was about to say something when Cha looked at me and held my left hand signaling me that she can handle the situation.
"Sorry sir if di ka po satisfied sa gawa ko but pinaghirapan at nagpuyat po ako for 2 weeks. At sa lahat po ng clients ko ikaw lang po yung hindi satisfied." Cha was still being professional while that bakulaw is being an ass.
The guy stood up "Naku basta ayoko ng gawa mo. Kung di mo tatanggapin ng 500 edi ibabalik ko nalang"
Akma na siyang aalis when I pulled his hand while Cha is trying to stop me. Nakatayo na kaming tatlo. I can feel the intensity of the situation.
"Hoy! Wag kang bastos! Ang kapal din ng mukha mo no pagkatapos paghirapan ng kaibigan ko toh yan ang sasabihin mo? Sana sinabi mo nalang ang totoo na wala kang pambayad sa portrait" I eyed him
I can feel everyone staring at our table pero wala akong pakialam.
"Bitawan mo nga ako " he shrugged my hand away "At may pambayad ako di ko lang talaga gusto ang drawing ng kaibigan mo" sabay turo kay Cha and I can see Cha holding back a tear.
"Wala kang karapatan laitin ang kaibigan ko. Kala mo kung sinong magaling mag drawing e sticks lang naman ang alam!" sigaw ko
He was about to hit me when a hand stopped the guy's hand while holding my waist with his other hand.
"You shouldn't hit a girl. Bakla kaba?" Brights eyes was full of anger.
"Br..Bright?" I said looking at him
Hindi na napigilan ni Cha ang maiyak at sinapak ang lalaki gamit ang portrait dahilan para mapunit ang drawing.
"GAGO KA! OH AYAN NA YANG PORTRAIT MO! MAGANDA AT MAGALING AKO MAG SKETCH, PANGIT LANG TALAGA ANG MODEL KO!" sabay walk-out at sinundan naman siya ni Noah signaling us na siya na daw bahala kay Cha.
"Lets go" still holding my waist umalis kami sa GC na parang nanalo sa olympics pero galit pa rin ako sa nangyari.
Nasa sasakyan kami ni Bright at nagsimula nang magdrive. I gave out a sighed.
"Are you okay? Nasaktan kaba?" he asked
"Ok lang ako," I closed my eyes for a moment "Argh! Bwesit na lalaking yun! Ang sarap niyang i'salvage sa Taguanao" clenching my hands.
"Calm down, woman" Bright gave out a laughed.
Ba't an sexy nun pakinggan? I shaked my head.
Naalala ko tuloy si Cha. Okay lang kaya yun? I texted her to text me to know if she's okay.
Nasa SM Downtown Premier kami ngayon inaya ko kasi si Bright mag bowling. Ayaw niya pa nung una pero bumigay rin naman.
"Daya nito. Akala ko ba di ka marunong mag bowling eh sunod2 na yung strike mo!" reklamo ko then pouted.
"Stop that" he said while getting another bowling ball
"Stop what?" furrowing my brows
He just started playing bowling again leaving me hanging. I gulo ng lalaking toh. After bowling, pumuta kami sa burger king at kumain. I gave him my payment but he refused it, AGAIN. Siya narin nanlibre sa akin sa bowling alley kanina.
"Naku ha rami ko nang utang sayo" I said the bit my burger.
He got a tissue and wipe the ketchup at the side of my mouth "Dungis" then drank his coke.
I laughed "Thanks" and gave him a peace sign. I excused myself at nag cr muna. Pagbalik ko ay nasa labas siya sa BK, infairness model na model ang tayo niya at yummy pa. I stopped and hit myself. Ano bayan Gwen ang landi!
Palapit na ako sa kanya ng may mga Senior High, at sa school pa talaga nami, ang lumapit ky Bright.
"Kuya, pwede po bang pa picture?" sabi nung isa naka ponytail.
"Isa lang kuya" sabi nung bakla nilang kasama
Bright put his hands on his pocket and looked at them.
"Sorry magagalit girlfriend ko" sabay tingin sa akin.
Tumingin naman sila sa akin at parang na dismaya. Di naman sila nangulit pa at umalis na. Nasa parking lot na kami at saka pa ako nagsalita.
"Ang arte mo ha. Nagpapa picture lang yung mga bata kanina. Artista ka ghOurL?" I said and laughed
"I don't like taking pictures" casual lang niyang sabi
"Sus! At tsaka anong girlfriend moko? Loko ka talaga" sabay sapak sa kanya.
He stopped. Hala nagalit yata at sinapak ko siya. He turned around and looked at me for a very long time making us awkward.
"I like you."
I blinked "Ah, Thank you?"
-
**Stop trying to haggle with artists. Stop expecting free drafts and sketches. Understand the hours of unseen work that goes into a final piece. Understand that they are probably already undercharging you. If you can't pay a worker a proper wage, don't hire them.**
BINABASA MO ANG
Dear, Bright
RomanceWith lives so different, it wasn't surprising that Bright Craig, a Civil Engineering student from Ateneo and Gwen Pascal, an Architecture student from USTP, never met. But fate decreed they would.
