The Broken Soundtrack

Track 1: Yellow

Kung wala pang papasok na customer, baka mabaliw na ako dito.

Malapit na talaga akong mabingi sa katahimikan. Miss ko na 'yong tunog ng bell galing sa may pintuan.

Rinig ko ang mahinang pagbuga ng hangin galing sa airconditioner, but other than that, silence engulfed the walls of the store.

Napabuntong-hininga ako sabay ayos ng name tag na naka-pin sa may kaliwang side ng aking tshirt.

Dahil sa dilaw na kulay ng uniform ko, na-emphasize tuloy ang morena kong balat. I normally didn't mind wearing a collared shirt, but yellow was not really my color.

In my nineteen years of existence, ngayon lang ako nakapag-suot ng ganitong klase ng uniform.

Ayaw ni mama na nagtatrabaho ako habang nag-aaral. Sabi niya pwede naman niya akong bigyan ng allowance, pero gusto ko ring maging independent.

Kaya nang makarating ako dito sa Laguna, I asked my Tita Claire to help me find a job. Hence, I got the privilege to stand in front of the cash register all day in this not-so-busy convenience store.

Napatalon ako sa kinatatayuan ko nang biglang tumunog 'yong bell sa may entrance. Mukhang may pumasok na customer.

Lifting my head, I caught sight of a guy with dirty blonde locks hiding from his black cap. Mukhang foreigner ang isang ito.

Yung likod niya lang ang kita ko ngayon, but I could tell from his fitted black shirt that he was one of those guys who spent a lot of time in the gym.

Pinanood ko siya habang naghahanap ng kung ano sa may mga aisles. Nakanguso siya na parang lahat ng problema sa mundo ay nasalo niya.

When he suddenly looked my way, I gulped, grains of sand slipping down my throat.

Gusto kong magtago pero huli na, nang makita kong papalapit na siya sa akin. So, instead of letting the cold sweat get the better of me, I decided to stay put and prayed I wouldn't stutter.

"G-Good morning, sir..." utal kong bati.

I craned my neck to meet his eyes, its icy hue sending a shiver up my spine.

He took off the cap over his head and ran a hand through his messy locks.

I willed myself to look away, but I couldn't.

My eyes kept on going back to his blue orbs. His eyes were beautiful. Sobrang tangos rin ng ilong niya. Pati ang panga niya, napaka-perfect.

"Don't you have an electric razor here?" His frustrated voice brought me back to my senses as I noticed the growing stubble running through his jaw-line.

Napakurap ako. "S-Sorry. Check ko lang po..." Dropping my gaze from him, I fidgeted on the screen in front of me to check for the inventory. Sa kasamaang palad, nabenta na yung last stock a few days ago. "Wala na pong electric. Gillette na disposable nalang ang meron."

Kumunot ang noo niya. "What? Nandito ba si Clyde?" His question caught me off guard. Kilala niya ang boss ko? At nag-ta-Tagalog pala siya?

"Uh, wala po si Boss Clyde..." I hesitated, contemplating on whether I should answer him.

"Where is he?" he asked in a rather pissed tone, his brows still furrowed.

"Sorry, sir, pero hindi ko alam..." Napatingin nalang ako sa baba, not wanting to speak another word to him.

"Fuck! Pabili nalang ng L&M," he finished, fishing out his phone from his pocket.

"L&M?" Tulalang tanong ko.