untouchable

17

"Good morning, guys! Go out and vote. Ingat kayong lahat. See you all soon!"

You smiled at the sound of her voice. As usual, it's sweet and feminine and very Jillian. Other members of the group chat replied with GIFs, selfies, etc. You only responded with a heart react to everyone's messages as you scroll through. When Casey points out that you're not replying, even in the other group chats, you rolled your eyes and begrudgingly sent a "nandito ako lol morning peeps. ingats all :)". Jill reacted to your message with a laughing emoji.

And that's it.

The GC went on and everyone starts talking about various topics now, so you muted all of it for the time being. You pocketed your phone as you wait in line once more.

Since yesterday, Jill would say something on the GC and you would reply accordingly and vice versa, but that's all, never taking the convo to direct messages. She greeted everyone's mothers and mother figures a 'Happy Mother's Day', you did the same, end.

The last time you properly spoke to Jillian was after the Makati MDA, when you told the young woman you'd miss her. You thought nothing of it. It's not that you're sick of being with Jill almost 24/7 the past few weeks, you just also don't mind this distance for now. It's fine, it's not like you two ended things on a bad note or whatever. Heck, who said things has to end? Right? Real friends can go on without constant conversing. Everything's fine.

You and your brother will be one of the first few who could vote so you prepared your ID, pen, and list. You went through the process swiftly and now has a ballot to fill in. You took a deep breath to compose yourself. The nerves has now kicked in. Oks lang, 'di kelangang magmadali. 'Di baleng matagalan at least tama ang ginagawa. Minsan lang 'to, you thought while shading the circles carefully.

You're down to the last five on your senatoriables when a noise in the front of the classroom stole your and everyone else's attentions. It's the first voter to finish, fussing over something with a teacher. You stared and listened intently.

"Hala paano po ito?" The voter asked.

The teacher scratched his head and examined the machine. "Ayusin lang po namin Ma'am, ha. Pasensya na."

The voter huffed in frustration as she's holding the folder that hides her ballot. She checked her wrist watch. "Matatagalan pa po ba? May trabaho pa po kasi ako. Inagahan ko nga sana para makaboto kaso may problema pa," she said.

One teacher continues to check the seemingly defective machine and another one spoke up. "Kung nagmamadali po kayo, p'wede niyo pong iwan ang balota niyo rito. Kami na lang po magpapasok kapag naayos na po ang VCM," he offered.

You frowned at that and felt your palms getting clammy. Hindi ba bawal 'yun?

"'Di ba dapat kami ang magpapasok kasi kailangan namin makita 'yung resibo?" The woman replied, visibly confused at the offer.

"Opo, pero kung nagmamadali lang talaga kayo, Miss. Kung gusto niyo pong mag-hintay, okay lang din, diyan na lang po kayo sa gilid muna. Kaso baka matagalan pa po kasi hindi rin namin sure anong nangyari sa machine."

The woman bit her lip as she contemplates her options. She did voice out she's in a rush due to work, but you can see in her face how conflicted she is whether to guard her vote or let these 'watchers' be. A few more beats and a sigh, she answers, "Maghihintay na lang po ako." And she stands on the side of the room.

You slightly sighed in relief yourself and continued shading the circles. You scanned over your ballot to double check, triple check that you got everything correctly, stands up beside the waiting woman seeing as the machine is still malfunctioning. Ray also stood beside you when he's done, clutching his ballot delicately. Some people who were really in a rush just left their ballots and went on their way. You're worried their votes, no matter who it's for, will be tampered with. Some people were patient enough to wait with the rest of you.