Pero late lahat. Very late, actually. And still no answer from T.
“Hindi pa rin sumasagot eh. Baka tulog pa as usual or maybe naliligo,” I said, a little irritated. “What about Leen and Loi? Ni-text na ba sila?”
“They’re on their way na daw,” reply ni Ish. “In the meantime, I’ll try to call T’s mom. Baka she knows where she is.”
I looked at my watch and it read 6:32PM. “Great, we’re late na jud! Nakakahiya naman kung late tayo, my man.”
Napatawa na lang si Ish, “At this hour, sabaw na lang sa monggos ato ma-abtan ani!”
I snickered back, “Or maybe ketchup na lang ang nahabilin!”
No sense sulking about the situation, nagtawanan na lang kami while making our way to Watson’s, when I noticed a woman (let's name her Lady Manager) by the stair railings talking to a guy (let’s call him Mr. South Boy).
“Di ba si Lady Manager na?” ngumuso ako sa isang direksyon. Lady Manager is a common close friend of ours who is a manager at a local call center.
Ish glanced at the girl at napataas na lang ang isang kilay niya. I also ended up looking at Lady Manager and then at the guy. Tumingin si Ish saken at ngumiti ng nakakaloko. Napatingin na rin siya kay Mr. South Boy tapos balik-tingin na naman saken. Apparently, uso ang tinginan ng gabing yun.
“Do you know the guy?” I asked surprised.
“No!” bulong niya saken. “She told me she was seeing someone daw. Pero she said they’re not an item. Told me it’s complicated.”
“You mean…both of them?” tanong ko ulit. “Ito naman si Lady Manager o! Mao diay ang FB status niya kay ‘I’m going to be okay.’ Hindi man lang nagsabi na nakapag-move on na pala si manang!”
“Hmm, it looks like they’re having an intimate conversation,“ Ish observed. “They don’t seem to notice us staring at them.”
“Like they have a world of their own,” I nodded. And then a naughty idea popped in mind, “Let’s take their pictures, paparazzi-style!”
Ish giggled in response, “Sige, sige!”
We ended up bringing out our phone-cams and started taking shots.
“Drats, masyadong pixilated at hindi klaro! Malayo kase,” sabi ko. Then I remembered and got excited, “I have with me my digital camera pala. Let’s use this!”
Flash!
“Punyeta! Ngano gigamitan man nimo ug flash?!” napatawang bulong ni Ish. “Makit-an nya ta! Hihihi!”
“Ay sorry, I forgot,” I realized. I’m never gonna be a paparazzo, I thought to myself.
Just then, Mr. South Boy suddenly shifted beside Lady Manager, na para gustong makipag hold hands.
Ish got excited, “Look, look! Makipag hold hands na o!”
I began taking the picture but my shot already caught Mr. South Boy in another position. A more kilig one actually.
Click!
Click!
I checked the photos and reacted, “Ayus ah! Ito ba ang ‘we’re not an item’? Eh, parang mag-dyowa na ‘tong dalawang ‘to! Minus lang kay nagdala jud ug plastic bag na may dako na Tupperware!”
Ish agreed na parang kinikilig, “Lady Manager has a lot of explaining to do!”
At that point, umalis na rin yung dalawa sa area. And shortly, dumating na rin sina Loi, Leen, at Chu after so many years. They caught us snickering about the incident.
“Why? What’s up?” tanong nila, nagtataka.
Napatawang tingin na lang kami ni Ish sa mga kaibigan namin, “We have news to tell about sa friend natin!”
Update: My sources tell me Mr. South Boy lives, well, in the south area. He’s a call center agent. And from what I’ve heard, marinero previous work niya and he’s a generally nice guy naman daw. Ok naman yun; as long as happy yung friend namin, happy na rin kami. Pero Lady Manager still has a lot to talk about pa rin!
Gusto niyo ng clue? His name rhymes with ‘happy’!
Silent Adventurer out!
