You're Are Here (Under Revision)

Desmond

Gusto niyang sipain ang sarili dahil sa nagawa pero bago niya gawin 'yon ay pumunta muna siya sa National Book Store para bumili ng iilang mga librong galing Wattpad na siguradong hindi pa na-edit at na-proofread. He spent his time in a coffee shop correcting grammatical and typographical errors in the book to calm himself. The guy did a good thing to actuate him.

He took a sip of his black coffee before he breathed deeply. He nibbled his lower lip as he thought about Orvyn and his great mistake. Whoever that guy was, he had no idea what he was trying to do.

He even left Orvyn just like that. Hindi man lang niya ito hinintay na makasakay ng taxi. Paano na lang kung may masamang nangyari rito at hindi niya alam ang plate number ng kotse?

'Huwag naman sana.' Huminga siya nang malalim.

Ibinaling niya muli ang atensyon sa librong binabasa. Hindi na niya namalayang malapit na siyang matapos dito. Demon High ang title nito at low quality ang cover at ang binding. Ilang oras pa lang niya itong nabibili'y may kaonting sira na sa spine. The plot was bearable but the writing was bad. Nakakalat ang napakaraming typographical at grammatical errors dito. He corrected every bits of it. He thought that if the writer actually spent his time dealing with the plot execution, plot holes and character developments together with the publishing team, it would be better. Desmond knew it wasn't the thing that happened in the Philippine publishing industry. Unlike traditional publishing that happened internationally, he knew that a lot of stories on Wattpad were published not because they were good but because they were popular.

He got it. It was business and these publishers saw what the audience wanted. The audience, which composed of a lot of teenagers, liked the Wattpad mainstreams-bad boys, nerds, erotica, and even low quality humor. Minsan ay hindi na nila alam na niroromanticize na ng manunulat ang isang bagay na hindi dapat niroromanticize kagaya ng rape at incest.

But it wasn't his problem anymore. Ang problema niya ay kung bakit hindi na nga matama-tama ang mga plot holes, ni hindi pa itinama ang mga typographical at grammatical errors sa libro. Parang minadali lang. They were like taking advantage of the writer's popularity. Alam kasi nilang subo lang din nang subo ang kadalasan sa mga mambabasa.

Somehow, he was still thankful the low quality Wattpad books existed. Kahit na masakit sa ulo ang plot at nakaiinis ang mga characters ay ito ang tinatakbuhan niya kapag sinusumpong na naman siya.

"Why are these characters squealing so much?"

"Ow-em-ji! Hi, Kuya. Wattpader ka?" Nag-angat siya ng tingin para makita kung sino ang nagsalita at kaagad siyang sinalubong ng excited na mga mukha ng dalawang babae.

Kung makatingin ang mga ito sa kanya'y para siyang susunggaban ng mga ito. Hindi pa man siya nakapagsasalita'y nagsalita na ang isa. "Ngayon lang po kasi kami nakakita ng male Wattpader. Madalang lang kasi 'yon. Ang attractive mo po, Kuya!" Sinapak naman ito ng kasama para patahimikin bago bumaling ulit sa kanya.

"Tapos mo nang basahin?" tanong ng isang naka-face mask habang nakaturo sa librong nasa mesa. Tumango-tango siya bilang tugon. "Ang ganda diba! Favorite ko talaga 'yang Demon High. Sobrang astig lang ni Zanine at nakakakilig si Supreme. Feeling ko nga iyan ang pinakaastig at pinakamagandang libro sa Wattpad eh. Ta's bonus na 'yong ang gwapo ni Kuya Day."

"Actually nga po, medyo may hawig kayo," sabat ng isa pa.

Napakurap-kurap siya at napatitig sa dalawa nang ilang segundo. He didn't know what to say. Hindi niya alam kung sino ang tinutukoy ng mga itong Kuya Day at wala rin siyang pakialam. He knew it would be a bad thing to say he didn't enjoy the book and he just bought it to correct every error. Alam niyang mabubuang ang mga ito at baka atakehin pa siya. He knew how fangirls think. He knew one at home.