Drifting with the Waves (Elyu Series #1)

Chapter 41

"Tara, nag-order na ako sa restaurant..."

"Sino nga ulit yung talo kanina? Sina Yari at Raya magbabayad, ah?" paalala naman ni Karlo. Sinamaan namin siyang dalawa ng tingin ni Yari.

Sobrang ingay namin sa lamesa at halos hindi na kami magkarinigan dahil iba't iba ang topic na sabay-sabay pinag-uusapan. Napailing nalang ako. Some are even reminiscing what happened last night. Hiyang-hiya si Avery dahil sa ginawa niya at kulang nalang magtago ito sa ilalim ng lamesa.

After eating, we went back to pack our things. Kailangan nang umuwi nina Lulu dahil may trabaho pa si Kael. Si Avery naman, day-off niya pero pupunta daw siya ng St. Agnes dahil may is-submit na report. Si Yari naman at Kei, may negosyo pang kailangang tutukan. Nadia would go back to her usual routine of painting while Karlo has to work this afternoon. Ravi is still in the middle of a tour and needs to go, as well as Celeste.

"Baka abutin na naman tayo ng taon bago magkita, ah? Sasapakin ko talaga kayo isa-isa..." si Celeste habang nasa parking lot kami at nagpapaalam sa isa't isa.

"Hindi, ah! Ngayong taon kayo magpapakasal, diba?" Yari asked with a smile and turned to Ravi.

Tumango naman ito at inakbayan si Celeste. "Invited kayo."

"Matic na yan, Ravi. Kapag hindi mo kami in-invite, susugod ako sa kasal niyo tapos sisigaw ako ng 'Itigil ang kasal!' sa harap ng maraming tao..." natatawang sagot ni Yari.

Isa-isa ko silang niyakap at nagpaalam. They know I'm going to go back to the states again in less than a month. For sure, magkikita ulit kami bago ako umalis.

I climbed inside Ivo's car and turned to him. Day-off ko rin naman ngayon at bukas pa ako babalik sa office.

Inihatid ako ni Ivo sa apartment ko sa Pangasinan bago siya lumuwas ng Manila. I immediately unpacked all my stuff and made sure to dry the clothes I wore on the beach. Nagluto na din ako ng hapunan at nanuod ng movie sa kama bago makatulog.

When I came into the office the next day, I felt relieved. The weekend really cleansed me. I didn't realize I needed a break until now.

"Ma'am, about po dun sa nangyari last week..." lumapit sa akin ang lifestyle editor namin.

I waved my hand in dismissal. "It's okay. I'm sorry I talked to you that way. We're cool."

She nodded and apologized again before going back to her desk. I feel at ease, knowing that everything's fine right now.

Habang nagc-check ako ng articles, bigla akong nakatanggap ng tawag mula sa main office namin sa Manhattan. I accepted the call and turned on my camera when I saw it was my general manager.

"Sereia! How are you doing there?"

"I'm fine, Deborah. Hope you guys are doing fine."

"Not without you." She laughed. "We saw the October issue of the magazine, and we think it's fire. We were thinking of assigning you to a new project when you come back here."

"Oh?"

"Remember the magazine feature you've talked about 6 months ago? Well, it seems our EIC finally decided to give you a shot for this feature. That means, you'll be promoted to editorial assistant of the main office when you get here."

Nanigas ako sa kinauupuan at seryosong napatingin kay Deborah. I've been pitching that magazine feature for so long but they wouldn't give me a chance because I need more experience.

"We've talked to the artist already, and he will allow you to film and document his creative process only if you do it alone. No crew, no assistant. Just you."