The Art of Metaphorical Collisions

Chapter 3

But he looked like a blank piece of paper with gleaming blue eyes, glaring at me in a pissed manner.

"Ayusin mo nga sarili mo."

I immediately combed my hand in the strands of my hair while putting my phone inside my pocket. Haggard na haggard na ba ako tingnan?

"May pupuntahan tayo."

He pulled my hand so I could start walking but he immediately held it off.

"Ha?! May trabaho pa ako!"

"30 minutes lang. I talked to your manager."

He talked to our manager?!

Lumingon ulit ako sa counter at nakitang nakatingin rin sa akin sila Cydee at Lea. I motioned my hands aggressively because I don't know what is happening right now!

"Bilisan mo." He ordered again, that's why I bit my lower lip habang nakayukong sumunod sa kanya.

What the heck is going on?!

"Para saan ba?" I slowly muttered.

"I told you, you're owing me a lot."

"Aksidente nga lang talaga!"

"If I accidentally stepped on your iPhone and did nothing to compensate, would you want that?"

Napayuko na naman ako. Damn, he has a point.

"Pero hindi naman 'yon cellphone, it's just paint!"

"It's a different kind of paint, I told you!" He stopped walking while glaring at me. "No excuses. You're compensating for that."

Maya-maya ay mabilis kaming nakarating sa harapan ng isang Stationery Shop habang tuloy tuloy pa rin ang paglalakad niya. It was just a 5 minute walk from the coffee shop.

Oh, shit. I just realized something..

"Wait! Pababayarin mo ako?!"

Pero hindi siya sumagot. He continued walking while I'm like a tail following him from behind. Hindi ako mapakali habang kinakagat ang ibaba ng labi ko. Is that why sinama niya ako?!

He stopped in a section where all the types of paints were piled up. May mga paintbrushes at easels rin sa dulo. Lahat ng klaseng pintura ay naroon, Acrylic, Oil, Gouache, Encaustic and other more. It made me want to vomit rainbows just by seeing many colors.

Napasulyap ako kung nasaan na siya at nakitang pumipili na siya ng kaparehas sa natapon ko noong nakaraang araw.

God, I didn't even bring money. I'm so broke..

"Are you letting me pay?" I asked one more time. "I-I'll just do another kind of compensation, please. Hindi ko man lang nadala ang wallet ko tapos-"

"Hindi ka magbabayad." He rolled his eyes while surveying other different colors.

What?

"But you still need to compensate for everything."

"P-paano?"

"You'll be doing a Job."

"Ha?"

"Assistant. Artist's Assistant."

What in the world is that?

"You need an assistant?"

He glanced back while holding a pack of acrylic, "Kailangan ko ng alalay."

Grabe naman, the term Artist's Assistant sounds more formal.

"Wait wait, you're not gonna let me pay but you're gonna make me your slave?"