She returned to work that week. Alden was so excited to see her on TV again. He was giddy again, even though he still had to act sad because another wedding was scheduled that weekend between her and Frankie.
It didn't come to fruition though. Because, as it turned out, the minister they hired was a fraud. So even though the wedding was completed, it was deemed invalid.
He was happy because Maine seemed to be fine, on the other side of the screen. He felt lighter, and it wasn't only him that could notice.
Back in the dressing room, he excitedly narrated to Tricia the antics that Maine was doing on-screen.
"She was so funny! I swear, I don't know how she thinks of doing those things! And her facial expressions are just to die for," he was so ecstatic.
From the other side of the vanity, Tricia was seated smiling and laughing at Alden's reactions.
He deftly typed in some search words in Youtube and brought up past videos of the kalyeserye that were uploaded online.
"See, look at her here!" He was pointing at Maine in the video.
"You know what I want to look at?" Tricia chided. "Look at you! Do you see the look on your face?"
"What? What is it?"
"It's the look of someone who has seen the person who makes him happiest." Tricia stared him down.
"Really?" Alden started to blush. "She's really just funny!"
"Yeah, she is. And you look smitten in this shot," Tricia pointed at his expression on the video.
"Well, what am I supposed to look like?"
In the van, Maine, Jose, Wally, and Paolo were having a discussion. They were on their way home from the location shoot.
"What are you so afraid of?" Wally was asking Maine.
"That he might not like me that way!" She defended.
"What if he does?" Paolo asked. "I've been speaking to his make-up artist and she was telling me that he's different now. Do you know he can't stop talking about you?"
"Are you serious?" Maine questioned.
"He hasn't talked so much about anyone!" Paolo exclaimed. "Whenever he's in the dressing room, he's normally just there. But now, everyone's just so surprised."
"What should I do? There's still no assurance that he likes me."
"I think our segment writers have you covered on that," Jose shared. "The next few segments should be interesting for him. He's got a lot of surprises in store for him. If he likes you, it seems they'll make him work for it. If he doesn't like you yet, well, with the things he's about to do, he'll want you in the end."
Maine looked puzzled but chose not to pursue the matter.
"Alden!" Lola Nidora shouted on air. "If you like Maine, then you're going to have to prove it! I don't approve of how easy it is to get into relationships nowadays! Back in the old days, if you liked someone, you had to do things for their family to show that you were indeed worthy to be with their daughter!"
This was the greeting Alden got the following day. He looked at Wally's image on the screen, and he had a genuine quizzical look on his face. Genuine because this was a surprise for him, and quizzical, because he absolutely had no idea what they were going to make him do.
Maine was standing behind Wally with a concerned look on her face. Are they really going to make him do this? She was wondering. The sun is at its highest in the sky, and its so hot, and the pollution, and people... she trailed off as she started to worry about Alden.
Men in barongs, the Rogelios, approached Alden in the studio. They had a bunch of twigs tied together with rope. They handed it to him.
"I want you to run from Broadway Centrum to EDSA and to give this to a Rogelio waiting at the overpass." Lola explained.
Alden's eyes widened with shock. Seriously, he thought!
"I want you to finish this task in 20 minutes, if you want to prove to me that you are sincere with your intentions for Yaya. If you finish this challenge, you're one step closer to being able to see Yaya in person." Lola continued.
Alden looked at the twigs he was holding. He was to run 3 kilometers in noon-time heat! Just the thought made him sweat already. There must be a car waiting outside for me, I don't think they really expect me to do this, he said to himself.
"Time starts now!"
He saw the stopwatch on the TV. Oh, shoot, they are serious, he thought.
He rushed out of the corridor towards the exit of Broadway Centrum and out into Aurora Boulevard. He looked for a marked van but saw none. There goes hoping they'd offer me a ride. He saw instead a cameraman in running shoes, and a production assistant with bottles of water.
"Alden," the production assistant called to him. "Run this way, we'll be following you."
Shit, shit, shit, shit, was all his brain could think of. He started jogging along Aurora Boulevard heading towards EDSA.
The people on the sidewalk noticed him with the cameraman in tow, and started screaming. He deftly tucked the twigs under his left arm, so he could reach out to the people who were going crazy at what was happening.
He was running. Towards EDSA. In 33 degree heat.
Cars whizzed by, and jeeps honked at him. It was so noisy. He looked at the side, and saw some television sets that were televising him. People were rushing out of the buildings just to see him run past them.
I don't think I'm going to make it in 20 minutes. He was barely a kilometer past into his course and he was already starting to sweat profusely.
Damn, he thought to himself, they are really making me work for this. Well guess what, he encouraged himself, I am going to finish this and show them that I am determined!
He ran. He just didn't care if he looked so horrid on camera anymore. He knew he was probably wet. His shirt was sticking to his body already.
Maine was watching footages of Alden running along Aurora Boulevard.
Ohmigod, she was screaming in her head, he's really doing this! He's really running to EDSA for me.
Wally tapped her shoulder and whispered to her ear, "You are now Helen of Troy, but instead of your beauty launching a thousand ships, you launched Alden into a run to EDSA just for a chance to be with you."
She looked at him flushed, and whispered back, "Stop it!"
He poked her.
Paolo and Jose were also looking at her all with big grins.
The camera focused on her, so she held up closed fists into the air, urging Alden, cheering Alden on.
He had no idea what was going on in the studio. He had no idea what was going on in the location shoot. He didn't care. All he could think of was to get to the pedestrian overpass. I'm doing this for you, Maine, he said to himself.
Out of the horizon, he could already see the overpass. He pushed himself more. His legs were straining already. His jeans were starting to get heavier and heavier with each step. Had they told me I was to do this today, I would have dressed appropriately, he thought.
He was nearing the overpass. He didn't know if he was still within the 20 minute deadline, or whether it had passed already. He was too exhausted to figure out what time he left Broadway Centrum.
He bolted up the stairs of the overpass, and saw a man in a blue barong and sunglasses. He saw Tricia standing right next to him. When the people realized what was going on, they started milling around the two. Tricia was all smiles, she had a fresh shirt of his with her, and tissue, loads and loads of tissue.
"Alden, quick." She grabbed him, pulled his shirt off, had him wear the fresh shirt. She started dabbing on his face with the tissue.
"What.. time.. am.. I.. late?" He was huffing and puffing. He gave the log to the Rogelio.
"No you're not, you made it in 17 minutes. But we need to start broadcasting already, I just need to make sure you still look good. Stop fidgeting!"
He couldn't think. He just saw so many hands wiping and dabbing and prodding.
"We're on, we're on!" Shouted the cameraman.
Tricia quickly handed Alden a bottle of water, as he plopped on the ground, exhausted from his mid-day run.
He still felt hot, so he poured the bottle of water all over his head.
Tricia just put her head in hands, shocked that her efforts of ensuring he was camera-ready were all for naught.
Wally was in character. He looked at the screen and heard the jeers of Paolo and Jose.
"He made it in 17 minutes!" Paolo exclaimed.
"The boy's really serious," added Jose.
Maine was jumping up and down for joy. She was so proud. She stopped a bit and looked at the misshapen image of Alden sitting on the floor atop a pedestrian overpass. He was wearing a different shirt, but he was still wet from the bottle of water he poured all over himself.
He must have felt so hot, she thought. What did I make him do?