Strings in the Beginning (Abrupt Series #2)

EPISODE 10

"Nga pala," sabat ni Chef Iris, wiping a baking sheet, "kaya hindi na siya pumupunta rito nung nakaraan kasi nanghihingi na lang siya ng update kay Chef Oli. Siguro tama na rin 'yon kasi may iba rin siyang pinagkakaabalahan."

"Ohh, kaya pala. Sabagay," Eileen agreed, nodding. "Kakapagod rin mag-check ng restaurant mo araw-araw. Kahit ako, tinitingnan ko pa lang siya, napapagod na ako."

"Baka naman ibang pagod 'yan, Chef?" biro ni Riley, making the rest of us laugh.

Napailing na lang ako habang kinikilig itong baliw sa tabi ko.

"Gaga! May boyfriend ka na nasa locker room lang! Ang landi mo talaga kahit kailan!" Chef Eileen teased.

This made us laugh even harder. Parang chismosa lang talaga ang vibe namin ngayong umaga. Mas nakakaasar pa ang tawa ni Chef Riley at Chef Grace.

"Wala rin tayong chance," Riley added, wiping her eyes from laughter, "kasi narinig ko kay Novah na may anak na raw si Sir Conrad, eh."

Simple akong napahinto sa ginagawa ko. My eyes darted toward Chef Iris, who had the same stunned expression as me. Hindi ko alam kung alin ang ikagugulat ko, ang sinabi ni Riley o ang bilis ng pagkalat ng tsismis.

"Kailan niyo pa nalaman?" tanong ni Chef Iris, her voice low but firm.

"Kahapon lang. Nadulas siya," Eileen replied, shrugging casually.

"Omg kayo!" Iris exclaimed, clutching her chest like it physically hurt her to hear it. "Sabihan niyo na lang 'yung iba na magdahan-dahan kapag nandiyan si Sir Conrad, kasi baka confidential siya tapos kumakalat na pala."

Chef Grace smirked mischievously. "Wala naman daw. Chef Theo confirmed it yesterday, 'yung tiyuhin niya na mismo."

"Pero hindi tayo sigurado kasi matagal na nawala si Sir Conrad, at hindi naman sila magkasama sa iisang bahay ni Chef Theo," Iris reasoned, turning her gaze toward me with an almost conspiratorial look. "Maybe his uncle doesn't know everything about his pamangkin. Hindi ba, Chef Nate?"

At that moment, all four of them looked at me, waiting for my input. My throat felt like sandpaper. Biglang bumalik sa alaala ko ang usapan namin ni Conrad sa sasakyan niya. Wala naman talaga siyang anak and he'd told me that himself.

Pero ngayon, with all eyes on me, I could feel the weight of the rumors taking flight. Pakiramdam ko, kahit anong sabihin ko, magdadala lang ito ng mas maraming tanong. At 'yun ang iniiwasan ko.

I cleared my throat, shrugging slightly. "Uh, Chef Iris is right. Pero siguro 'wag na lang natin siya i-open. Since wala pa naman tayong alam na totoo, we shouldn't spread it. Baka tama si Tito niya—baka wala naman talaga."

It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. All of them seemed satisfied with my answer, though, as they went back to their tasks, laughing about something else. Ang natira lang sa tapat ko si Chef Iris .

"Nakakaloka 'yung mga chika nila, ah. Kararating lang natin nung sabado tapos napagusapan agad ang tungkol sa kanya."

I created a small laugh. "Daig pa ng mga lalaking kusinero natin ang mga babae. Ang gagaling kumalat ng chismis." Umiiling kong tawa at gano'n din ang babae.

I took a deep breath to calm all the parts of my nervous system because I knew it was malfunctioning. Sumisikip ang dibdib ko dahil hindi ko man lang kaya sabihin sa kanila ang totoo kahit may alam ako. But I'm sure they were going to ask some unrelated questions!

My restaurant duties run smoothly, katulad lang noon na ang mga niluluto ko lamang ang iniisip ko. Inalis ko na rin sa loob ng isip ko ang maaaring makaistorbo pa sa akin and I was smiling through my shift.