The Ecdysiast

Chapter 28

"Solo flight for this week?"

Inikot ikot ni Luca ang sarili niya sa basic swivel. "Oo nga pala."

There won't be any pairings that would divide and collaborate topics for this week. That only means we will be doing a solo flight in our upcoming write-ups and assigned articles. It will take much more of our time compared to when we have partners to tackle the issue with since we have someone we can relate with.

"May nag-text," sambit ni Luca sabay sauli sa akin ng phone ko dahil may pinabasa ako sa kanyang article.

"Ah, wait," ani ko sa kanya.

Tumango siya at inilipat ang atensyon sa mga papeles na nasa lamesa niya. I looked down on my phone and it felt like all the stress I have been feeling for the past few days had been alleviated when I read the message of Andro.

From: Andro

I'll be attending a meeting in a minute. I miss you :)

The day after we opened up about our situation, it helped me throw out all the weight that has pulled me down. Nagkikita pa naman kaming dalawa pero hindi nga lang masyado dahil pareho kaming busy sa trabaho. Bumibisita siya rito at ginagawa pang rason si Miss Farizah! He would shower me with a bouquet of flowers or deliver lunch for me. His softer side is being shown again. The side he always had right from the beginning.

To: Andro

sa office ka ba mamaya?

Andro:

Yes. I'll call you later. I miss you.

Me:

imyttt

Hindi na siya nagreply. Siguro ay naging abala na ulit sa mga discussions sa meeting nila. I swiveled on my chair with a smile still etched on my face. Nahuli ako ni Luca at nginitian nang makita ang nag-aambang ngiti sa aking mukha. I raised my eyebrow at her and she shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"Enjoy na enjoy yata si Gigi roon sa Canada," she voiced out.

I nod, giggling. "Probably. Canada 'yon, e."

"Kahit maganda mag-take trips, I don't have the energy to pack my things. Magpapa Tagaytay para sa interview." She sighed.

She has a point. There are days when we would sit down for a whole day or we're either in another region or country. Kaya nakakapagod din talaga minsan. We could sit around the office all day but we aren't really required to stay. It still depends on our tasks and how adjustable our time is.

"Mauna na ako," I bid to the other journalists.

Pinagbuksan pa ako ng security kahit kaya naman ng kamay ko. Pero sa bagay, dala-dala ko ang mga papeles sa kanang kamay ko at ang baguette bag sa kaliwa.

Standing in the way of the entrance, I looked up at the somber sky as the heavy rain poured down, its drops on the ground slightly wetting my sandals. I covered the papers I'm holding with just my hand and went to the parking lot to take shelter since there's a roof preventing the rain from soaking me completely.

"Kung kailan ako lumabas, saka naman umulan ng malakas. Fuck luck," bulong ko habang sinisimulan ang sasakyan.

It took fifteen minutes for me to arrive at the AD Therapy Treatment Center. Buti na lang at may nahalungkat akong payong sa likod ng sasakyan. The cold wind hugged my whole body the moment I got out of my car. Dali-dali akong pumasok sa loob ng gusali.