FRELE
"...sing!"
5 minutes pa.
" Oi! ...sing!"
Bahala ka diyan.
"For the love of..."
Ano ba? Ang ingay!
Mmmm... Anong oras na ba? I shifted and extended a hand, reaching towards sa nightstand ko. My phone... Where is it? Mmmm... Alarm... Bakit hindi siya tumunog? Hmmm... Something soft pero may pagka-firm. And a little bit rough? I squeezed it.
"Oi!"
Huh?
I opened my eyes to see another person in the room. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed. I moved backwards until nahulog ako sa kama. "Aray!"
"For goodness sake, Frele! Shut your trap!"
"Who...? What are you doing here?!" I shouted while pointing a finger at him.
"You are a real pain in the ass, woman," he sighed exasperatingly. "Find that out yourself." He stood up, took his book with him, and left.
Clothes!
I looked down and am very thankful that I still have my clothes on. Ang sakit parin ng likod at puwet ko. But that's not important. My head feels a little fuzzy. Maybe a shower might help.
Surprisingly, mayroon akong bag na puno ng mga damit at necessities. Is this deliberate? I'll think about it later. Right now, maliligo muna ako.
I walked towards the bathroom, it's inside the room so I'm guessing na nasa hotel ako. Where exactly though?
After stripping all my clothes, I turned the shower's knob and let the water flow. As well as ang memories ng mga nangyari. I facepalmed. For sure, humorously idiotic yung mukha ko kanina. It's been a while since I've slept for long and so well. Without a doubt, pagod na pagod yata ako kagabi. I sighed. This is the start. The official start. Mula dito ay engaged na kami ni mayabang. The only problem now is Nicky. He has the tendency to be overprotective. And sigurado ako na if things go south, he'll stop this immediately. But, what could be the possibilities?
Pagkatapos kong maligo, I got dressed in a sky blue jumpsuit and strapped sandals bago ako lumabas. My mission now is hanapin si mayabang.
LAUNCE
Well, that reaction is to be expected. No matter how you look at it, Frele is still normal. The least na magagawa ko is to keep it that way.
As much as I don't like to waste time, this doesn't seem so bad. I mean, here I am-eating breakfast sa hotel's restaurant. Laguidly, if I may add. A part of me wants to deny na ginagawa ko ito upang hintayin si slowpoke na mag-join sa akin. As if I'll admit that out loud.
My phone's ringing again. I ignored it. Nasabihan ko na sila na day-off ko ngayon, I'd like to keep it that way. Binilin ko na rin ky Nathan ang lahat na kailangan tapusin.
FRELE
I'm walking towards the hotel's restaurant. Assumption ko lang na nandoon si mayabang ngayon. It's past 8 AM so most probably, either kumakain siya ng breakfast o pumunta siya sa kung saan na hindi ko alam. No harm in checking the former first. Plus, kakain nalang din ako para may energy.
Unang impression ko pagpasok ko ay... Ang bango! Or maybe it's just me dahil nagugutom na ako? Naka-buffet style yung restaurant kung kaya't maamoy mo paminsan-minsan ang aroma ng pagkain.
Merong nag-tap sa shoulder ko, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Wipe that drool from your face. You look disgusting," he scoffed.
I look back with shock. Who else pa ba? I've been accustomed sa tone at personality niya-not all but quite. Dali-dali kong pinunasan ang bibig ko gamit ng kamay ko. No drool. I didn't even realize that I was staring sa pagkain. Don't want to admit this but... I think my mouth was open the entire time. I glared at him. "Drool mo ang mukha mo," sabi ko sabay pahid ng kamay ko sa mukha niya.
"The heck?!"
"That's payback, love," I winked.
Launce: 1
Frele: 1
Leaving him behind, lumapit ako sa buffet table. Time to get food.
LAUNCE
The nerve of that woman! And to think that I took my time para hintayin lang siya! Pour l'amour de Dieu! I'm holding on to the best of my ability on that composure that's slipping away to not to pull my hair out of irritation.
Putain femme!
FRELE
Pagkatapos kong punuin ng pagkain ang plate ko ay hinanap ko kaagad kung saan si mayabang nakaupo. What's more? He's staring at me. Correction: glaring.
I smirked. It's not everyday na napapa-init ko yung ulo niya so I'm gonna to enjoy this. It's usually the other way around. It's nice to have our situations reversed.
I made my way papunta sa table niya. He immediately quirked an eyebrow.
"This one's occupied. Find another one," sabi niya.
Hindi ako sumagot, verbally. Instead, umupo ako sa harapan niya at nagsimulang kumain. "Good morning, mayabang."
He rolled his eyes and returned to reading, but not before kicking my shin. Damn! Ang sakit ha! Ganon pala ha? I reached out para i-flip patalikod yung libro niya. I hastily sat back para hindi niya ako maabot (which is very idiotic to think).
He mumbled something incoherent in French. Nginitian ko lang siya. Turns out, it was a bad move. Kinuha ni mayabang yung fork ko at sausage at kinain ito. Napanganga lang ako sa kanya. How dare he? Pagkain ko yun! "Ibalik mo yun!"
"Huh? Okay ka lang ba? I already ate it. Or you want to eat my vomit that badly?"
"Kadiri ka. No thanks."
"You were the one who said it."
"Get me a sausage."
"Why should I?"
"Because you ate mine!"
"And? Maybe there's a specific sausage that you want to eat?"
"What the fuck?!"
"Pfft!"
I rolled my eyes. "Suit yourself. I'm not interested in yours, fyi."
Hindi lang pala mayabang tong lalakeng ito, manyak pa! Oh God, please spare me! Bakit sa lahat, siya pa?
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
Huh? I looked up mula sa kinakain ko. "Hyena, yung phone mo."
"What's with the hyena? And, don't mind it," sabi niya sabay reject ng call. "Day off ko ngayon, let me have it."
"Somehow, it suits you," sagot ko. "You should answer it. Baka importante.
He scoffed. "It's none of your business, kitten."
"At bakit naman ako naging kitten?"
"Easy. You try so hard to act and look tough pero deep inside, you're soft. And, madali painitin yung ulo mo," he smiled.
"What the heck?" Tumawa ako. "Seriously, we're deciding endearments based on animals. How nice!"
"Idea mo kaya yan. Ikaw yung nanguna, sinabayan ko lang."
"Bahala ka diyan."
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
"Answer it," sabi ko.
"No," sagot ni Launce.
"Buzz... Buzz... " Call rejected.
Huminga ako ng malalim. Sige na nga lang.
"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
Hinablot ko yung phone niya at sinagot yung call. "Hello?"
"Don't you know that it's rude to-"
"Boss! This is bad! Nathan's been captured!"
"Wha-"
"Give me that!" malakas niyang sabi sabay kuha ng phone niya. Tumayo siya mula sa kina-uupuan niya at lumakad palabas.
"You've been pestering me non-stop. You better have a decent explanation or you'll face the consequence." Narinig kong sabi niya bago siya tuluyang nakalabas.
LAUNCE
What now?!
"Boss, Nathan's been captured! A spy has infiltrated our ranks. We-"
"I'll be right there," sabi ko. Damn it! Is there anything na magagawa nila na tama habang wala ako? How did this group survive for years?
"Meet me at the usual spot. I'll be there in an hour." I didn't wait for the reply. I ended the call immediately.
I sighed deeply. There goes my glorious day off.
FRELE
He's back.
"So, tungkol sa ano ba yun?" tanong ko sa kanya.
"Like I said, none of your business," he answered grumpily.
Bad mood?
Nakita ko siyang nagliligpit ng gamit niya. "Where are you going, hyena?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Somewhere. I'll be back in two hours. We'll talk about all of this by then."
I want to ask where, but I know na that's a line na hindi ko pwedeng i-cross. We're not friends. We're just strangers who became acquainted because of a deal, that's all. "Okay," sagot ko sa kanya.
He smiled and ruffled my hair. "I know na mamimiss mo ako but I believe you can wait for two hours."
"As if. Umalis ka na nga." I pushed him away.
"See you later, kitten."
"Just go, hyena."
And, he left.
-=-=-=-=-=-
A/N:
OMG! Ngayon ko lang nakita na hindi ko pala na-publish ang chapter na ito. (´･-･')
Ah... The updates are really, really slow because I kept on having a writer's block. I deeply apologize for that. I hope you like this chapter. (^～^)
Translations:
~ Pour l'amour de Dieu! - For God's sake!
~ Putain femme! - Damn woman!