Stuck in Love

Chapter 9

“HOLY SHEEETTT!!!” shouted my mind.

Appointment: Friday meeting at 10 a.m. for the launching of a new news program in which I would be the head writer.

Task: Present the sample scripts to the program executives.

Catch: I woke up at 9:51 a.m. Great.

I almost jumped out of bed, got my towel and went straight to the bathroom to take a very, very quick bath. And I almost slipped on the bathroom floor. Then there was no shampoo. And I didn’t have breakfast, a meal that I skipped for the very first time in my life. Just—just wow.

Why on earth did my phone not alarm? When I took a quick look at my phone, it had run out of battery. I charged it while dressing up. I was out of the house at 10:30 a.m. I could almost fly to get to the MRT. Long lines of passengers greeted me.

While waiting, I called my co-writer and asked if he could print sample scripts and let the people read first. But shit! I almost forgot, the presentation is saved on my flash drive. Everybody was already waiting for me and I had received multiple texts from everybody. I read them one by one until it was my turn to ride the train.

I was able to catch the fourth train and still, it’s irritatingly crowded. I felt the sweat dripping on my back and everyone’s pushing each other. Was it still rush hour?

“Sira kasi MRT kanina, eh, kaya ang daming tao ngayon,” I heard a passenger say.

How much worse can this day get?

I arrived at around 11:20—an hour and 20 minutes late.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” was all I could say while catching my breath. Then I quickly proceeded on presenting the sample script.

There were a few parts that needed to be revised. Thank God, I was not scolded and I did a good job. Dapat lang! I stayed up all night and woke up late because of that.

I reviewed the text messages. That’s the only time I paid attention to a quote: “Distance is just a matter of miles just like age is just a number. But time is not just a matter of seconds. It’s a matter of chances you didn’t take, moments you didn’t experience, and tasks you were not able to do. So make wise use of it because time that passes is worth thousands of other things you might have missed. Good morning!”

It was sent at 6:30. It’s from an anonymous texter but thanks to whoever sent me that. Curious, however, I replied and asked for the name. My phone was reformatted two months ago so maybe it’s someone I already knew but failed to save the number on my Gmail account. Then, I remembered one kamalasan that would haunt me from time to time—the reformat.

My colleague, Greg, tapped me on the shoulder. “Good thing you were able to catch up. And nice work!”

“Oo nga, eh. Medyo malas ‘tong araw na ‘to,”  I said and then narrated the bad things that happened to me before I got to the office. “Hope nothing will follow.”

My phone went off again since I was only able to charge it for a few minutes, just enough to make some calls and reply to some text messages. So, I charged it again. I left my phone with the guard for a while and had a lunch date with my college buddies. We decided to have milk tea after lunch and stay for some chitchat.

While I was ordering at the counter, a customer next to me asked, “What does it mean with the heart beside the flavor?”

I was busy looking for my wallet from my bag so I didn’t look up. Sorry for the discourtesy, but I answered, “Means it’s a bestseller.”

“Really? Ang dami namang bestsellers dito. Seems like every flavor is a must-try. Have any suggestion?”

“You can try the new one there,” I pointed while still looking for my wallet. So this is the next kamalasan. “Neil, I forgot my wallet! Can I borrow 70-pesos please,” I asked my friend. I handed the hundred-peso bill to the cashier and got my change back. “Thank you.”

I faced the customer who asked me, “Sorry, ‘di ako masyadong naka—“ WTF! *What the fuck!* “SJ?” FTW! *For The Win!!!*

He scoffed. “Di mo ‘ko napansin...”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I was busy looking for my wallet. What are you doing here?” Are you stalking me? Keep up the good work! Feelingera-attitude on red alert.

“Buying milk tea,” his usual tipid and maangas answer.

“I mean why are you in QC?”

“See that?” he pointed to the newly-opened autoshop across the cafe. “That’s my cousin’s.”

“I see.”

He faced the cashier and said, “Paki-deliver na lang across the street. Hope that flavor is good.” Then he left.

***

It’s not a very busy day for me. I got out earlier than usual. I decided to drop by the milk tea store again and see if the automobile shop was still open. Unfortunately, it’s already close. “Bye, Sandro baby,” I whispered to myself while I was looking out for his shadow, but to no luck.

“Ang tanga ko talaga. Andun na, eh. ‘Di ko pa hiningi ‘yung number.”

“Whose number?”

I turned around and—oh my gosh, it’s him again! Pahiya na naman aketch! “Ano ka ba! Bigla-bigla ka namang sumusulpot! Oh, you liked the milk tea I suggested, no? That’s why you came back and ordered another one.”

“I hate the flavor.” Ouch men! “So I’m trying another one.”

Then I noticed—is it really? It’s the same flavor I ordered! And all the angels sang on my ears: “I saw the sign. And it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign.”

Lord, sign na po ba ito? Ang bilis Mo naman pong sumagot ng prayers. Malakas po wi-fi N’yo d’yan, no. Ikaw talaga...yieeee!

“Eh ikaw, bibili ka na naman ng milk tea? Kaya ka tumataba, eh,” he said in a blank expression.

I narrowed my eyes and ground my jaw. “Hindi, no. I just happened to pass by the store because I’m going to my friends condominium there.” I pointed the direction of the building—my palusot.

“Sige, sabi mo, eh.” He threw his empty large cup in the garbage can in front of me.

He then crossed the street to the autoshop and I saw him ride away in a motorcycle. I didn’t really go to my friend’s condominium. Instead, I headed home. I still didn’t get his number. Is there any other way? Hay...I didn’t want to be the one to ask for it first. It was so complicated.

I was checking my Twitter on my phone when a familiar number came out of my inbox. And it read: “SJ. Goodnight.” I wanted to jump up and down of my bed and scream on top of my lungs when I learned that the anonymous texter who sent me a quote that morning was actually...Sandro Joseph!

How did he get my number? Well, I didn’t really care. Even if I was itching to text back, I controlled myself not to reply, so he would think I was already sleeping.

So, after all the bad luck I had that day, that was the perfect balance to cap the night—if I could actually sleep.

“I’m surely gonna have sweet dreams tonight. Woot!” Tweet.

***