"Good morning, Calli. Breakfast?"
I stopped mid-way of zooming in on the screenshot of my daily Gantt Chart when I heard someone call my name.
When I hoisted my head to see who, I realized that it was Olive. And she's sitting at the table with some of our colleagues, including my neighbor. They're having breakfast at the pantry.
The sight of them flocking here made me blink twice. Since I arrived in the office early this morning, my mind has been inundated by the pile of work I need to finish and the meetings I need to attend today. And it seems that because my mind is all over the place, it didn't register to me that I'm walking in the middle of the pantry while there are many people here.
I was utterly abstracted, that's for sure.
To be fair with me, I really intended to go here to get some coffee. However, had I been aware of my surroundings, I surely would have immediately walked out of the door as soon as I saw the sea of people constellating in this area.
While I was in the middle of reckoning on how I can discreetly egress from here, unfortunately, Dan met my eyes. He automatically showed me a small smile—to be polite, I guess. But a stingy curt nod was all I could give back to him.
"Do you want to join us for breakfast?" he asked. He slightly raised his left hand and tilted his wrist so he can take a glance at his watch. "Maaga pa naman," he added.
That's true. We still have thirty minutes left before the clock declares the beginning of our work. However, that's still not enough reason for me to join them. For one, I have so many things on my plate right now and I can't afford to waste a single minute. Second and most important of all, I don't want to.
"May dalang tupig si Guian," Olive said while smiling at me and holding the plate brimming with the food that is not a stranger to my eyes. "Have some," she urged amiably.
Mabilis kong iniling ang aking ulo bilang pagtanggi sa kaniyang imbitasyon. "I'm good. But thanks."
"Coffee?" I saw my neighbor mouth from behind them. Hawak pa niya ang kaniyang baso habang nakatingin sa akin. Ngumuso siya patungo kung nasaan ang coffee maker. "Gusto mo?" he mouthed again.
My forehead immediately crimped.
It's so weird that I understand him better when he doesn't speak loudly.
"I'll get going," was all I said in front of them. That's good enough for my neighbor to know that I'm declining his offer and for our other officemates to be apprised of my departure.
"Hindi ka na kukuha ng kape?" tanong ni Olive. "Sayang, ubos na 'yung tinimpla kanina ni Guian. Hindi mo naabutan." She pointed at the coffee maker.
"Ah. Later," iyon na lamang ang aking sinagot sa kaniya. Mamaya na lamang siguro ako babalik kapag wala ng masyadong tao rito.
The idea of being around many people while waiting for the coffee to be brewed doesn't tickle my fancy. I would rather deprive myself now than be forced to have small talk with them.
"Okay," she said, smiling at me good-naturedly. I just nodded my head and readied my feet to take a step back. However, that plan was halted when she looked over my shoulder and spoke again. "Morning, Matt."
When I turned my head, there he really is. He's standing behind us with his forehead slightly creasing—like he's reading the situation or something. That weirded me out. I've been with him long enough to know that he's not the type of person who hovers around people. Heck, he's not even interested in them most of the time. But right now, he's looking at us as if he's curious about what's going on.
