As If I Remembered

Chapter 1

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Another busy afternoon at Oasis Cafe.

Panay bukas at sara ng glass door ng Cafe dahil sa dami ng customers. At dahil oras na ng uwian, karamihan sa mga ito ay University students.

"One Iced Espresso. Two slices of cheese cake. And... Uhhm... 2 chocolate donuts." Wika ng babaeng nasa unahan ng pila.

Halos lahat ng nakapila para mag-order ay panay tingin sa likod ni Drey. Gusto nilang makita ang lalaking gumagawa ng kape sa may coffee maker machine. That guy who looks like a foreigner and is really good looking is one of the reasons why there are so many girls and gay customers here.

"Take out po, Miss?", Drey asked as he jotted down her order.

"Yes, please." The girl replied while trying to look behind Drey.

"Please wait for a couple of minutes as we prepare your order, Miss." Agad na nagtungo si Drey sa coffee maker machine para ilagay ang order.

"Zach. Eto pa isang set ng order" Zach did not bother to look because he was too busy making coffee for other customers. Instead, he gestured his lips to wards the table top, tila sinasabi nitong ilagay nalang roon ang papel at siya na ang bahala rito.

Ganito ka-busy ang Cafe lalo na tuwing uwian ng mga estudyante. The cafe is just two blocks away from El Riego University which makes it popular and convenient for most students.

Ito rin and pinakamalapit na Coffee shop sa mga company office sa syudad kaya halos di ito nawawalan ng customers.

Zach finished making two cups of Americano and four cups espressos. As Drey served these to the customers, Zach immediately looked at the table tops to see the new sets of orders.

"Bakit ba kasi ngayon pa nagkasakit si Alice? Kung kailan maraming customers. On leave pa naman si Miss D." Warren, another employee of the Cafe said when he got back from cleaning the tables.

"Palagi naman tayong inuulan ng customers." Zach commented without even looking. Halata ang kakaibang accent sa pananalita niya sa Tagalog dahil sanay Ito sa English. Everyone can see how busy and focused he is in his work.

"Tama si Zach. Di naman 'to bago para sa'tin. Let's just work double time." Drey added.

Pagpatak ng alas singko ay mas lalong dumami ang customers nila.

"Warren. Can you get me some coffee beans from the storage room? We're almost out." Zach said.

Warren immediately went to the storage room at the back of the building to get a box of newly delivered coffee beans. He was already sweating hard but still, he managed to look presentable to their customers.

Warren is quite buffed kumpara kay Zach at Drey kaya siya palagi ang tagabuhat ng mga supply mula sa delivery truck or sa storage room.

They were all busy when a loud and familiar voice caught their attention.

"Dreeeeeyyy!" Tili nito habang nagmamadaling pumasok sa cafe. She was wearing her school uniform paired with high heels which made her look like she was going out of balance. Agad itong dumiretso sa counter upang makausap si Drey.

"Stella! Ang ingay mo! Ano na naman ba?" Agad na saway nito.

Imbes na tumahimik ay tumili ito ulit. Agad nitong tinakpan ang bibig ni Stella. Drey looked around and saw several customers looking at them. He did a slight bow gesture to apologize.

"Hi, Ella." Mabilis na bati ni Zach mula sa Coffee maker machine, which is about six meters away from the counter.

Stella gestured as a reply saka ulit tinuon nito ang atensyon kay Drey.