Felix Culpa (Valmont's Consigliere/CamRen)

Military Dozen

CHAPTER SIX

R e e s e

🎶 Flight Facilities feat. Giselle, Crave You

Lunchtime. Jamie did a good job with the food, but I haven't been able to focus on eating, 'cause I kept on staring at Mackenzie after settling myself on the round table with my friends, Teegan and Justine. The boys, Griffith, Scott, and Chiro are next to us. Griffith and Scott were fighting for the biggest piece of the barbecue, made especially for us. Everyone was in the visitation lounge. It is a welcoming lunch.

Teegan had the barbecue sauce all over the place. Justine handed her tissue but she refused to wipe her face. I had the feeling that the brown-skinned woman wanted to do it for Teegan so bad, "Ano 'yon, Reese?" but I shrugged it off.

Staring at Mackenzie, I remembered my bloodstained uniform. My embroidered nameplate turned from green to dark chocolate. Justine noticed it when I tried to remove the stain with tissue and water. "So, that's the reason why she's eating with her left hand. I see." We all turned to the girls chattering, two tables away from us. "Ah, Mackenzie, Jamie, would you like to join us? May space pa naman."

"Sure." Both of them stood up, walking over to us. "Uh, is this the part where you people tell us that we'll be wearing pink on Tuesdays?" Mackenzie threw in a Mean Girls joke, which I find funny, by the way. Old but Gold books and Mean Girls, hmm, I wonder what else we have in common. "Hi, ma'am."

"De Leon, don't be rude, baby," Juju says to me. I caught Teegan looking at Justine. My eyes widened, causing her to look away. What is up with her?

"That's okay." Now, I'm forced to eat. She continued to call me by name. Still no answer, she switched places with Teegan. Great, now she's sitting next to me. "Reese, are you mad at me?" I asked Justine to pour water into my glass, which she did. "De Leon, don't ignore your wife. That's rude. Right, Juju? It's against the family code, babe."

"No nicknames, Mackenzie. They're not your friends, they're mine," Pasungit kong sinabi which she finds amusing. "Naiintindihan mo ba 'yon? Hindi nila ako iiwan for you."

"Possessive, I like it. Do you ladies mind me calling you by your nicknames?" Both of my friends shook their heads. "She'll fall for me eventually, by the way. Your girl just doesn't know it yet." I nearly choked when she said that. "So, wifey, you're gonna take care of me today, right?" Of course, Teegan and Justine did the annoying ooohs and aaahs. They even let Jamie say the same thing. Not you too, Jamie, no. Ikaw na nga lang ang matino sa aming lahat.

"You're not my wife, okay?" She threw her arms around my neck. "Hey, no touching." She quickly retreated her arm when we realized that a group of female detainees and some convicts are staring. "Are you trying to get me in trouble again, Montefalco? I said, don't touch me. Ang kulit."

"Okay, sweety. But I'm allowed to stare, alright?" She rested her chin on her palm. May dumaang mga opisyal. The wound's visible. I quickly grabbed Mackenzie's arm, hiding it under the table. "Oh, kinky. Do you want me to touch you in all the right places underneath, darling? Grabe ka talaga."

"Don't make assumptions, Mackenzie. I'm just trying to save myself."

"Okay, then, let go of my hand."

Oh, shit. I freed her arm. I turned my attention back to my food. The other girls were quiet but I can see them signaling something with their eyes. Teegan is too obvious. Traitor.

"It's rude to stare," I told her, not looking at her directly. I was keeping an eye on the group of inmates that is surely talking about us. One even pointed her finger at me. "And can I please eat in peace? I would really appreciate that." Mackenzie raised both of her hands in surrender. "Hay, salamat naman."