Rainbow Connections [feat. RaMen]

Chapter Ten

Lui's head was pounding. Less than an hour with Vico and Lui was astounded that her skull hadn't given way and simply exploded with not only exhaustion but frustration as well. Lui looked helplessly at the stack of papers in front of her on the coffee table in the Presidential Study and did everything she could to withhold her outrage at the fact they were being so blatantly ignored. Lui and Vico had numerous policies to discuss, Lui had a transition to begin, but instead, she was left making eyes at Martee who sat nearby pretending to jot notes while Mr. Sotto jumped from topic to topic. Nothing Vico said was of any importance of any value, yet there they were, listening to him drone on and on about his day-to-day life. The one or two other significant member of his administration who sat in the meeting just completely ignored him, but that did nothing to help keep him in line so that Lui and her team could get some headway.

The things Vico said were nothing new. He expressed how he felt in media snippets on an almost daily basis. Lui knew full well how much of a bigot he was, how intolerant he was for humanity, how bored he was with the job, how careless he appeared with other diplomats and dignitaries as if he'd rather be anywhere else than where he was, fixing the world for the greater good. Lui tried her best to see Vico at his best and tried defending him to her own self first. She kept telling herself that Vico happened to be the way he is now because of his administration. But obviously, that turned out wrong. The rumors were true, Vico is the way he is because that's just him in general. Now, Lui had the esteemed privilege to sit in the same room while Vico stuffed his face with an assortment of snacks and finger sandwiches they were provided rather than being safely far away from him, analyzing what Vico had to say via a television or social media soundbyte, and wondering how she was going to rebuild all the damage he had done.

As Vico drawled on endlessly about how unfair the public was to him, how he wasn't such a bad guy, but the media demonized him and made mountains out of molehills, Lui practically prayed for some sort of relief. Not only could she have been productive elsewhere with her busy schedule, but Vico was also lying... again. However, it wasn't Lui's place to say anything, not yet anyway. Lui couldn't give Vico an ammo to use against her. She's about to take his job, and she had to settle for how gratifying that thought alone felt, and therefore, diplomatic Lui must remain.

Lui wanted to rest her head on the back of the sofa so badly and close her eyes. She wanted to daydream about Iggi and all the wonderful things she did for her the other night – the dinner, late night stroll in the park, the way the latter said 'I love you'. Lui just wanted to get on with the rest of her day and do things her own way. Lui was so tired of seeing democracy eroding away before her very eyes that she itched now more than ever to fix it and do it right by those who elected her. Her time would come, sooner rather than later, and that's why she felt so uneasy. Her predecessor should have been helping her and setting her up for success, but there they were, not getting a single thing done with time just wasting away. Lui had a fleeting thought that Vico was purposely avoiding the transition in order to make Lui look like an unprepared failure. Luckily enough, Lui had back up plans laid out with her team for just such an occasion.

Lui tried to be discreet when looking at her watch, inwardly screaming that only forty minutes had passed and picked up some of her work to at least glance over it. She could watch Vico pace around the room, making grand gestures with his crazy hands about the tackiness of the décor, his twentieth subject change in the last fifteen minutes.

Lordy!

"I wonder kung paano ka tatanggapin ng publiko kapag ikaw na ang namamahala," Vico huffed as he plopped down heavily next to Lui on the sofa, gesturing to his desk, soon to be claimed by her.

"I don't quite catch your drift. Inihalal ako ng sambayanang Pilipino knowing full well kung ano ang kaya kong ibigay sa kanila. Inilatag ko ang mga plataporma ko ng malinis at very straight forward. Alam nila kung sino ako at ano ang mga adhikain ko para sa bayan. And to me, it seems like I'm the one they chose to look to in a time of need," Lui shrugged her right shoulder and gave Vico what she knew was a questioning look before flicking her glance quickly to Martee. Lui needed to make sure Martee was paying attention and that the latter would have her back if and when she'd need her.