There was a song number to be performed by all the contestants to open the event.
Adam wasn't too crazy about it. "Isn't it enough that I'm already singing one song? I have to sing another one as well?" he asked Kathleen who was sitting beside him during the practice session.
"Okey lang 'yan, just go with the flow. Mas-madali nga 'pag ganito 'eh kasi parang choir, magble-blend lang 'yung voices, kung magkamali ka, 'di masyado halata. Unlike kung solo na wala kang excuse," she told him.
"Still," he said. "Nahihirapan pa rin ako. Hindi ko naman talaga ginagawa 'to 'eh."
She laughed. "Well, lahat naman yata tayo newbie dito 'eh, so wala kang dapat ipag-alala."
He smiled. "Thanks," he told her. "Alam mo, mabuti pala na nag-leave si... Clarissa? Tama ba? Kasi kung hindi, 'di hindi kita nakilala."
"OA ka naman!" Kathleen raised an eyebrow at him. "Isang office lang naman tayo 'no! Isang department pa. Malamang makikilala mo rin ako eventually."
"Hmm..." Adam paused to think. "Oo, pero hindi tayo magiging close."
"Aba, at sinong nagsabing close tayo?" Kathleen joked as she smiled at him.
"Oy kayong dalawa diyan, anong balak niyo?" Lester's voice was loud and clear and it made everyone in the room look at the two of them sitting beside each other. "Formation na ano ba!"
Kathleen and Adam, both blushed a little and then stood up abruptly. They went to their assigned positions at the front of the room.
The two girls in the middle sang the first two lines of their opening number. The two girls beside them were the ones who sang the next two lines. Kathleen and Adam were at the opposite ends of the room, waiting for their turn. They would be the ones to sing the last two lines before everyone joined in again for the chorus. When their lines were about to come up, their eyes met, and they both laughed silently. They were both still smiling when they sang their lines, looking at each other, sharing a private joke.
When he wasn't too serious, Adam was actually really nice to be around, Kathleen observed. He was friendly, and he was pretty honest. And it didn't hurt at all that he was one of the cutest guys to have been employed in their office. It had been a running joke for as long as she'd been there (which is around 2 years) that there were no cute guys in their company. But Adam might just give whoever said that a run for their money. He smiled at her again and raised his eyebrows. She suddenly felt self-conscious and turned away, looked at the other contestants, and concentrated on the song. She wished then that she wasn't so aware of how cute he was. Maybe she would stop blushing then.
The song ended and Kathleen and the other contestants went back to their seats. Lester was reminding them how the program would go and that they had another meeting tomorrow for the interview.
"Wait," Kathleen spoke up. "Anong interview?"
"Interview," Lester said. "'Yung ipapakita bago 'yung performance n'yo. Kasi syempre bago kayo pumasok sa room kailangan kayo iintroduce, so may interview. So, magdamit kayo nang maganda bukas 'ah!"
They all laughed and nodded. Lester said a few more reminders and then adjourned the meeting. Everyone had already stood up when he said, "Oo nga pala 'yung mga gustong mag-practice sabi ni Jeff e-mail n'yo lang daw siya kung anong oras n'yo gusto. Tignan daw niya kung available siya."
There was a chorus of acknowledgment and then they all went back to their respective work stations. Adam caught up with Kathleen just as she was about to turn the corner that led to her station. "Hey, what time ka uwi?" he asked.
"Ha? Hindi ko alam 'eh," she replied. "Depende sa dami ng work na datnan ko."
"Ah, ganon?" he said. "Kasi tapos na shift ko 'eh. Actually kanina pa, pero naisip ko, baka pwedeng sabay uli tayo umuwi?"
"Ha?" she said. "Um... Baka kasi marami pa'kong work 'eh, mauna ka na lang."
"Ah, ganon..." he repeated. "Pero kung wala kang work, hanggang anong oras ka?"
Kathleen looked at her watch. "Malapit na, mga 1 hour."
"Ah sige," Adam's face lit up. "Hintayin na lang kita, 1 hour na lang pala 'eh."
"Ah hinde, okey lang," she shook her head. But Adam waved his hand to dismiss her protest. "Text mo na lang ako 'pag tapos ka na," he said, and went the other way to go to his work station.
Kathleen was glued to the floor for a moment. Was this how easy it was for some people? Did they just meet someone who happened to live near their house, and they just instantly clicked? Although "clicked" wasn't exactly the term she would use for her and Adam. Sure, they had a lot of things to talk about, but it was all just general conversation topics. They'd never talked about things they're both really interested in or are passionate about. Then again, maybe it was too early for that, and maybe this was really how things worked. You would first talk with someone about general things, and then later on, you move on to specifics. "Or maybe," she said to herself softly. "You're overthinking it."
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and then went on her way back to her work station.
The e-mail contained only two words:
Practice tayo.
Kathleen knew what it meant of course, it was a simple sentence. But she didn't know what it meant, really. She received the e-mail from Jeff, just five minutes ago. But after another minute, she still didn't know what to reply.
Hindi ba dapat kami 'yung nag-e-email sa'yo kung kailangan namin mag-practice?
She asked. And he replied just a few seconds later:
Diba kailangan mo mag-practice?
She debated with herself on whether or not to take him up on his offer. She certainly needed the practice. And she'd already finished her work. The only thing stopping her really, was what she'd said earlier to Adam, that they were going to go home together. Then again, it's not like she promised him she'd go with him or anything...
She sighed. And then wrote 2 e-mails: One to Adam, telling him that she was sorry and that he should go on without her. And another to Jeff, saying she'd just finish up her work and then meet him at the meeting room after 10 minutes.
Their replies came at the same time:
"Okay. I'll go downstairs and try to wait for you, but if you go down later and don't see me, that means I've gone ahead, okay?" was what Adam said.
Jeff's reply was a lot shorter: "Oks."
The first thing Kathleen saw inside the meeting room were two guitars. She recognized one of them as Jeff's-- he usually had it with him, even on the days when there weren't any practices or anything. But the other guitar was new. Maybe someone else in the singing contest played the guitar?
"Uy!"
Kathleen jumped. She whirled around and saw Jeff standing behind her. "Uy," she greeted.
He smiled. "Tara," he said, and went inside the room. He took one of the guitars (the one Kathleen recognized as his), and sat on one of the chairs. The other guitar was leaning on a chair in front of him, and he gestured towards it.
Kathleen blinked. "Ano?"
"Anong 'ano'?" he said. "Upo," he pointed towards the seat again.
She raised her eyebrows. "Teka, hindi ko gets," she said, eyeing him warily.
He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Upo sabi," he said. "Tuturuan kita mag-gitara."
Kathleen's eyes widened. "Ha?!"
"Anong 'ha?!'" he said. "Alam mo ikaw, wala ka talagang bilib sa sarili mo."
"Ano?" she was still confused.
"Marunong ka mag-gitara, diba?" he said.
"Medyo," she shrugged.
"O 'yon! 'Yun na 'yung niche mo," he told her. "Wala namang ibang contestant na mag-gigitara 'eh. Lahat sila minus one o kaya ako 'yung accompaniment. So kung tumugtog ka 'di extra points ka na agad!"
"Hindi kaya, si Leah kaya magpia-piano," she pointed out.
He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Ano ba sabi ko? Diba sabi ko walang ibang mag-gigitara?"
Kathleen opened her mouth to say something but Jeff figured out what it was and spoke first, "na contestant. Walang ibang mag-gigitara na contestant," he said. "Sasabihin mo nanamang ako mag-gigitara?!"
"'Eh totoo naman 'eh," she insisted.
"Okey, 'eh 'di kung ganon, tayong dalawa lang mag-gigitara. And since hindi ako contestant, unique ka pa rin."
She kept quiet for a moment, and then furrowed her eyebrows. "'Eh hindi nga ako marunong mag-gitara 'eh."
He laughed. "Alam mo ikaw, nakikinig ka ba? Sabi ko tuturuan kita, diba?"
"Ha?!" she said. She already understood him, but she still couldn't believe he was serious. "Bakit pa?"
"'Eh para nga may laban ka, ano ba, paulit-ulit na'ko dito 'eh," he said. "Basta upo ka na lang para maturuan na kita. Madali na lang i-perfect 'yung song mo lalo't alam mo na 'yung basics."
Reluctantly, Kathleen sat down on the chair in front of him and picked up the guitar that was leaning on it. "Sigurado ka 'ah," she said.
"Oo naman," he smiled cockily. "Ako pa!"
The watch on her wrist told Kathleen it was 9:00PM. She and Jeff had practiced for an hour and a half--well beyond the end of her shift, and well beyond how long his dinner break was supposed to be. But for some weird reason, she didn't mind at all that she would be coming home late. And from what Jeff had said earlier, it seemed that he didn't mind anything either.
"Sorry, ang tagal ko matuto," she said, grinning at him sheepishly after the nth time she asked him to tell her again how to play the E-chord.
"Okey lang, ganyan naman lahat sa simula," he said smiling back at her.
"Hindi ka ba pagagalitan ng team leader mo, ang tagal tagal natin?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Ganito na lang," he said as he smiled mischievously. "Sasabihin ko na lang sa team leader ko na ikaw ang pagalitan," he said.
She laughed until they'd said goodbye.
She was still smiling as she got off the elevator at the ground floor of their office building. Jeff was so much fun to be around. He was so funny, half the time they were practicing, she couldn't understand his instructions because she kept laughing at his jokes. She wondered what it would be like to be close friends with him. She probably would just be laughing all day.
"Bukas ulit?" he said to her before she left.
"May time pa ba bukas?" she asked.
"Oo. Pwede naman ako after office 'eh, ikaw ba?"
"Hindi mo ba kailangan mag-practice with 'yung ibang contestants?"
"Kailangan din, pero... 'Wag mo sasabihin 'ah," he said, smiling. "Ikaw gusto ko manalo."
"Ha! Hindi pwede 'yon 'no! Saka bakit naman ako?"
"'Eh syempre, ikaw ang aking protege."
"Ha, kaya ka pala biased!" she said.
She agreed to practice with him the next day anyway, as the contest was only two more days away. And considering that she was just a substitute, she figured she could use all the help she could get. But speaking of substitutes...
Kathleen's jaw dropped when she saw what was in front of her, or rather, who. "Adam!" she exclaimed.
Adam turned and saw Kathleen. "Uy," he greeted and smiled.
"Akala ko umuwi ka na?"
"Ha? Hinde, diba sabi ko hihintayin kita?" he said.
"Talaga?" she tried to recall exactly what he said. "Akala ko..." her voice trailed off. "Well, nevermind. Kanina ka pa nandito," she said. It was more a statement than a question.
He just nodded. "Okey lang, may mga nakausap naman ako 'eh," he said. "Pano, tara na?"
"Ah... Okey," she said, figuring there was nothing else she could do. She felt guilty as hell. But then, she didn't ask him to wait for her. He just did. Vaguely, she suddenly remembered something her friend Grace said in one of their lunch sessions:
You'll know a guy likes you when he does things for you that he doesn't need to do.
She even gave that specific example: Walking you home, even when he perfectly knows that you already know the way.
Adam suddenly took her bag from her. "Ako na magdala nito," he said, and this time didn't give it back when she tried to take it back. "Ako na," he insisted. And Kathleen didn't say anything more.
"Things that he doesn't need to do, huh?" she said softly to herself as she looked at her bag hanging on Adam's shoulder.
***
The first person Kathleen ran into the next day was Lester. And he was asking about her song. "Ano na? Nag-decide na kayo ni Jeff?" he asked. "Sinong nasunod?"
"Ah, actually, hindi pa kami nag-uusap 'eh," she told him.
"Ano ka ba girl!" he said, slapping the air in front of her face. "Sa Friday na 'yung contest 'ah! This week! Baka nakakalimutan mo. Kailangan n'yo na 'yung song by today, ilalagay pa namin 'yun sa programme."
Kathleen furrowed her eyebrows. "Oo," she nodded. "Kakausapin ko na si Jeff today, promise."
"Mamayang hapon 'ah," he said as he pointed a finger at her, and then went on his way.
Kathleen groaned and went straight to the work station Jeff was at. Or at least she tried to. On the way towards it, she ran into Adam.
"Good morning," he said, and flashed her a smile. "Kumusta ka?"
She smiled politely. "Okey naman," she said. "Ikaw?"
He nodded. "Okey rin, especially ngayon, kasi nandito ka na."
Kathleen hadn't meant to, but she blushed. She just wasn't used to compliments like that. What was up with him anyway? "Thanks," she said, although she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. Was what he said considered a compliment anyway? "Um, may kailangan pala ko gawin. Sige," she stepped aside so she could walk past him. And she walked faster, so she'd get to Jeff's work station right away. She did reach it quickly, but it was empty. He probably hadn't arrived yet. She sighed heavily, and turned around to go back to her own work station.
"Uy!"
"Ouch!" Kathleen jumped backwards. She had just bumped into something and her forehead told her it wasn't the padded wall of the cubicles. The low exclamation of surprise told her that it was Jeff.
"Ba't nandito ka?" he asked. "Wala kang mananakaw sa'kin, mahirap lang ako," he said.
Kathleen tried to roll her eyes, but managed to laugh instead. Her hand was still on the spot on her forehead where she'd hit him. She drew her hand back quickly, thinking she must look like a crazy person. "'Yung song ko," she said, "sabi kasi ni Lester, kailangan na daw talagang i-finalize by today."
"Ah, oo nga pala," he said suddenly as if he remembered something, and produced a piece of paper from his pocket. "Ito, nag-lista ako ng mga songs na babagay rin sa boses mo," he handed it to her.
"Ha?" she asked, taking the piece of paper from him. "Paano mo naman nalaman ano bagay sa boses ko?" she said as she read the titles he'd written. There were about 10 songs listed, and most of them were well-known songs. Impressively, he'd listed down songs that she also liked. "Wait," she squinted at one title. "Paraiso?!" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Bakit?" he asked. "Maganda naman 'yun 'ah, saka bagay na bagay 'yun sa image mo."
"Image ka diyan," she rolled her eyes. "At paano mo naman nasabi kung ano ang image ko? Paano mo nalaman kung anong kaya ng boses ko?"
"Pinakinggan kita sa praktis kahapon, diba? Di alam ko na," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Kathleen looked at the list again, and then shook her head. Although they were very good songs, which she would be able to sing well, she still didn't want to change her original decision. She'd already practiced it and everything. "Thanks for the advice, but I think I'm the one who can tell what song goes with my voice best," she said, handing him back the piece of paper.
"Hindi kaya ganun 'yon," he told her. "Hindi naman ikaw ang nakakarinig sa boses mo, kami 'eh," he pointed out. "Ganito na lang, praktis tayo mamaya. Praktisin natin 'yung mga songs diyan, pati 'yung Say It Again kung gusto mo. Tapos saka tayo mamili, okey?"
She shook her head again. "Hindi na talaga, 'yung Say It Again na. May copy ako ng chords kung gusto mo."
"May copy na rin ako," he said, shaking his head.
"Ha?" she said, surprised. "Sabi mo ayaw mo tugtugin 'eh ba't may copy ka?"
"Hinde, 'eh tetestingin nga natin diba?" he told her. "Kung alin ang pinaka-mag-work sa boses mo, 'eh 'di 'yun na 'yung final answer."
She laughed. "Parang lab expirement 'ah."
"Oo, para masabi mo namang natignan mo na talaga lahat ng angles bago ka gumawa ng disisyon," he said.
Kathleen stopped laughing. "Ano?" she asked, remembering that she had just said practically the exact same sentence to Adam last night.
"Sabi ko, mas-mabuting matignan mo muna lahat ng angulo bago ka gumawa ng disisyon," he repeated, looking at her.
She stepped back suddenly, not knowing how to react. Why did he just say that? She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to walk away. "Alam ko," she said coldly, and then hurried back to her work station.
"The thing about love is I never saw it coming..."
Jeff had already pushed the door slightly ajar when he heard the sound coming from inside the meeting room. He peered through the opening and saw Kathleen inside, practicing her song, with his guitar. He shortly debated with himself whether he should interrupt her or not. He only had to look at her again to decide. She looked so concentrated on what she was doing, he figured he should at least let her finish the song.
He cringed when she made a mistake. He was surprised when he saw she could play the guitar, but realized then that she was probably still learning. And he noticed something else: She was singing the song slowly. It was probably because she had difficulty changing from chord to chord, and she couldn't very well sing the line before she got the right chord for it, but the effect was something different. It didn't sound like an amateur playing the guitar and practicing a song (except when she made mistakes), it sounded like a different rendition of the upbeat song into a slower, more sentimental version.
Move in a little closer
Take it to a whisper...
She seemed out of breath on the second line, but maybe she did that on purpose. The delivery of the line was different, but it was just right. It was like she was playing a different song, as if it was something she wrote and sang herself. And it sounded really good. Jeff was so impressed, he just leaned against the door frame and looked at her.
"It's like the whole world stops to listen," Kathleen sang, nodding her head with the slow beat. She started to look up at the last line, "when you tell me you're--" she stopped abruptly when she saw him at the doorway.
"Ay sorry," Jeff quickly said, himself startled. He went inside the room and closed the door behind. "Mukhang seryoso ka kasi kaya 'di kita inistorbo."
Kathleen merely blushed. She didn't know what to say so she stood up instead and placed the guitar back on the chair it had been leaning on. Her back was towards Jeff when he started talking again.
"Maganda pala 'pag ganun 'yung song," he said. "'Pag mabagal 'ah, hindi 'pag ikaw kumakanta."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Well, siyempre," she said, looking at him. "Substitute lang naman ako dito 'eh."
"Hay nako ayan ka nanaman," he said, rolling his eyes. "Papaano ka mananalo niyan kung ganyan ang attitude mo?"
Kathleen laughed. "Hello? Sino ba nagsabing gusto ko manalo?"
"Ayaw mo manalo 'eh ba't sumali ka pa?"
She shrugged. "'Eh naka-leave si Clarissa 'eh, tapos wala nang ibang gusto."
"So gusto mo nga?"
"Hinde!" she said. "Napilitan lang ako. Baka sunod kay Clarissa 'eh ako na 'yung pinakamadaling pilitin kaya ayan."
"Kahit pa," he said. "Hindi ka naman nila pipilitin kung wala ka talagang talent, diba?"
"Hinde, well..." she was at a loss for words again. She normally was very talkative, but somehow around Jeff, she was always too surprised to say anything. She was still thinking of what to say when someone suddenly entered the room.
Lester made an awful lot of noise when he pushed the door to the meeting room open. "Hoy kayo, ano na? Kailangan ko na matapos 'yung programme!" he said to Jeff and Kathleen. "Anong decision n'yo?"
"Ha? 'Eh hindi pa--" Kathleen started.
"Say It Again," Jeff interrupted her. Kathleen turned her head sharply towards him, again, surprised. But Jeff just repeated what he said, "Say It Again na."
"Okey, final na 'yan 'ah, wala nang bawian!" Lester said, but disappeared before they could say anything else. When the door closed behind him, Jeff turned to Kathleen.
"O, ba't ganyan ang mukha mo? Akala ko gusto mo 'yung song na 'yun?" he teased. Kathleen still had the same shocked expression on her face since he first told Lester the song title.
"'Eh ikaw, akala ko ba ayaw mo 'yun?" she countered.
"'Eh..." he shrugged, and then smiled. "Malakas ka sa'kin 'eh."
***
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jose, Adam D.
To: Miranda, Kathleen L.
Subject: Uwian
Sa Pasig ka rin pala. Sabay na tayo. :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathleen read the e-mail she'd just received. And then she read it a second time. And then a third. Just to make sure, she read the exchange of e-mails they had before that latest one, to see if she implied anything along the lines of wanting him to go with her in going home. She didn't. So it was only right that she was surprised. She craned her neck to look at where Adam was sitting, a few work stations away from her, and saw that he'd already shut down his computer. He stood up, and walked towards her direction.
"Tara?" he asked when he got to where she was.
"Ah, sige, mag-shut down lang ako," Kathleen said, figuring she didn't have a choice. There usually wasn't anything wrong with leaving the office with an officemate. It was in fact, normal. But Adam was new, and they'd just met earlier that day. Sure, they'd been exchanging e-mails since then, but still she felt that it was all too sudden. Did people really make friends that easily?
She turned off her computer monitor and stood up as well. She was about to get her handbag from her desk, but he got to it first. "Ako na magdala nito," he said.
"Ha?" she was again, surprised. "'Wag na," she said, taking the bag from him. "Kaya ko naman 'yan 'eh. Next time ka na tumulong 'pag may mabigat akong dala."
He chuckled. "Sige sige, next time," he smiled at her again, and then they started to walk towards the exit. "So, ano nga pala 'yung team n'yo? Hindi mo na nasabi kanina."
"Ah, oo nga pala," she said. "Ikaw rin 'ah, hindi mo na nasabi kung anong song 'yung kakantahin mo."
"Ah," he said and laughed. "'Eh hindi naman kasi seryoso 'yun 'eh. Ano lang, Iris. 'Yung sa Goo Goo Dolls."
"O, maganda naman pala 'eh. Ok 'yung song na 'yun," she told him. "I'm sure si Jeff pumayag agad sa'yo na tutugtog siya nun."
"Ah, oo," he said. "Gusto nga rin daw niya 'yung song 'eh."
Kathleen nodded. "Ganon? Ang daya talaga. Unfair!"
Adam laughed. "Kung gusto mo, tulungan kita maghanap ng ibang song," he offered as they walked towards the bus station.
"Ha?" she looked at him. "Tulungan mo na lang ako i-convince si Jeff na tugtugin 'yung Say It Again, mas-gusto ko pa 'yun."
"Haha, ganon? So talagang mahirap pala baguhin isip mo once nag-decide ka na?" he asked.
She nodded. "Oo. Kasi hindi naman ako gumagawa ng decisions nang hindi ko pa talagang napag-isipan 'eh. So once nag-decide na'ko, 'yun na talaga 'yon. Naisip ko na 'yung mga iba't-ibang angles nung decision na 'yon, kaya 'di ko na babaguhin pa."
He nodded in agreement. "Sabagay, maganda ring principle 'yon. 'Yun lang, minsan hindi mo rin kasi ma-control 'yung circumstances, like 'yan, si Jeff. 'Di mo naman ma-aanticipate talaga na ayaw niya pala 'yung song mo."
"Well, pwede pa naman magbago isip niya 'eh," she told him. "Bakit kailangan ako 'yung mag-adjust?"
He laughed again, and nodded. "Buti ka pa ganyan ka, sana ako rin pwedeng maging ganyan."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
He suddenly heaved a sigh. "Wala naman, it's just that, sa family kasi namin, ako 'yung laging kailangan mag-adjust, I mean, ako lagi 'yung nagi-give way 'dun sa mga gusto nila."
"Ah..." Kathleen nodded, and then she kept quiet. Somehow, it seemed too personal a topic to talk about with a person you just met. Although she was flattered that he seemed to already trust her, she felt a bit awkward. "First job mo ba pala 'to?" she changed the subject. She figured it was the safe thing to do whenever conversations got awkward.
He shook his head. "Actually ok naman 'yung job ko before, 'yun nga lang, mas-malaki kasi 'yung sweldo sa'tin. 'Eh, medyo may financial problems kasi kami sa family 'eh."
"Ah, okay..." Kathleen's voice trailed off. She didn't know what to say. She may have brought up an even more awkward topic instead. "Saan ka pala nag-college?" she changed the subject again.
"Sa U.P. Ikaw ba?"
"Sa University of Asia & the Pacific."
"Ah talaga?" he looked at her. "May kaya pala kayo."
"Um..." she was suddenly dumbstruck. But it wasn't her fault, she thought. What exactly did one say to that anyway? She was still thinking about it when the bus they'd been waiting for arrived. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Tara na."
"O, ba't ka bumaba?" she asked him, surprised. "Diba sa may unahan ka pa?"
"Ah, okey lang, magje-jeep na lang ako. Hatid na kita," he said and smiled.
She just nodded. There wasn't anything else she could do anyway. They headed for the sidewalk, and started walking. The weather was cooperative that night. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't too warm either. It was just right for walking outside. For a moment, Kathleen wondered if what was happening really was happening.
"Ba't ang tahimik mo bigla?" Adam suddenly asked.
"Huh?" she said. "Wala lang, hindi kasi ako sanay na may kasabay pauwi 'eh," she admitted. The truth was, she'd been feeling awkward all that afternoon, ever since they met in the meeting for the singing contest. She just wasn't used to all the attention he was giving her. She'd never experienced being given that much attention before, and although she had plenty of guy friends, the way Adam talked to her was different. The way he looked at her was different. It was all so very strange.
"You mean, hindi ka hinahatid ng boyfriend mo pauwi?" he asked.
Kathleen looked at him without expression. No, she didn't have a handful of ex-boyfriends to be able to call herself "experienced" in relationships. But she wasn't stupid either. That was definitely a leading question to whether she has a boyfriend or not. And it was definitely a sign that he was interested in her. He wouldn't have asked anything like it otherwise. "Kung hinahatid ako, 'di dapat hindi kita kasabay ngayon diba?" she said as-a-matter-of-factly, and instinctively started to walk faster. For some reason, she didn't like where their conversation was going, and thought of ways on how to make the time go by faster.
He chuckled. "That's true," he said. "Well, natanong ko lang naman kasi ayokong biglang may mag-aabang na lang sa'kin sa office tapos aawayin ako, kasi kasama kita ngayon."
She smiled politely and looked away. She didn't say anything.
"Mahiyain ka ba talaga?" he asked.
"Ha?" she said, still not looking at him. "Hindi naman. Depende sa situation. Minsan. Ewan ko."
He laughed again. "Okey lang, hindi mo kailangan mahiya sa'kin," he told her. "Ang totoo, sa ngayon, I'm kind of glad na pinagtripan ako ng groupmates ko at sinali nila ko 'dun sa singing contest. Kasi I got to meet new people, I got to make new friends," he paused and looked at her meaningfully. "Like you."
"Ah," Kathleen just nodded again. She really felt awkward. Somehow, it felt like things were going too fast. And she wasn't ready for them. "Well, marami pang ibang opportunities to meet people. Mayroong activity na parang ganyan 'yung department every month 'eh. Last time, nagkaroon ng Quiz Bee. Masaya rin 'yung mga ganun."
"I'll bet," he said. "Pero ok din 'tong singing contest. I'm really glad."
She smiled again, and figured that the most polite thing to reply was, "I'm glad too."
They reached the entrance to the subdivision where Kathleen lived, and she insisted that she'd be fine walking alone from that point. "Thanks sa paghatid," she told him, and walked slightly faster, so their steps would no longer be in sync, and there'd be more distance between them. "Ingat ka."
He got the hint and stopped walking after her. "Ikaw din," he said, and waved goodbye. He watched until she had passed the guard house at the entrance. When she disappeared around the corner of the street, he suddenly heard a low thunder.
Adam was soaking wet by the time he opened the door of the apartment he shared with his 2 cousins.
"O, ano nangyari sa'yo?" the older of his two cousins, Mike, asked. "Naglakad ka ba papunta dito?"
Adam nodded.
"Bakit naman?"
"Wala lang, may hinatid ako 'eh."
"Si Sandra? Akala ko taga-Quezon City 'yun? Naglakad ka mula Quezon City?" his younger cousin, Raffy, called from the kitchen.
"Ha? Hindi si Sands," he said.
"Weh?!" Mike asked, surprised. He stood up from the couch he'd been sitting on and walked to where Adam was. "Sinong hinatid mo? Ikaw chickboy ka 'ah!" he punched him lightly on the arm.
"Sino? Sino? May bago kang syota, kuya?" Raffy emerged from the kitchen, still holding a spoon.
"Wala," he told them and rushed into his room. He shut the door after him and locked it.
***
SAY IT AGAIN
(This is now the working title)
PROLOGUE
"Dalawa lang: Either 'yung happy-go-lucky funny guy na walang sineseryoso, or the emo sensitive angsty dark and brooding guy na lagi namang serious. So, alin ang pipiliin mo?" Michelle posed the question to her officemates who all looked keenly interested.
They were all having lunch together at the office pantry. Most of them had finished eating but since there was still some time left on their breaks, they made use of the time to socialize. Sometimes their conversations were about the current TV shows and celebrity gossip. Other times, it was about work-related issues and deadlines. But more often that not, probably because they were all girls who had lunch together, their conversations inevitably ended up being about guys.
"Ako mas-gusto ko 'yung serious guy, para alam mo agad kung anong meron sa inyo, kung nanliligaw ba siya, or may balak na ba siyang pakasalan ka or what. Mas-mabuti na 'yung malinaw," one of them, Jenny, immediately said.
"Ay ganun? Ako nga mas-gusto ko 'yung funny 'eh, para hindi boring. Saka para hindi predictable. Parang mas-masaya 'yung maghuhulaan kayo kung anong tingin n'yo sa isa't-isa tapos mag-aasaran pa kayo 'pag nalaman n'yo na," another one, Grace, countered.
There were two left in their table, and all three--Michelle, Jenny and Grace looked at them. "Kayo?" Michelle asked.
"Ay ayoko nga," the first one, Andrea, spoke up. "Hindi ako naniniwalang two lang. Marami namang kinds of guys sa mundo 'eh."
"Hindi hindi pwede 'yung sagot na 'yun," Grace told her. "For this conversation lang, if you had only two choices, which one would you pick?"
Andrea furrowed her eyebrows, and then shook her head. "Hindi talaga, hindi ako makakapili. Or wala, none of the above. Iba pa diyan 'yung gusto ko," she said firmly.
"Ganon? 'Eh kung pwede 'yun, 'eh 'di sa'kin pareho na lang. Ok lang naman pareho 'eh," Michelle said.
They all laughed. "Ano ba 'yan, 'yung isa none of the above, 'yung isa all of the above," Jenny pointed out.
"Oo, tapos tayong dalawa, magkaiba rin 'yung sagot," Grace said.
"In fairness, apat kayo at nakuha n'yo lahat ng permutation ng sagot," the last one in the group, Kathleen, noticed. And they all laughed again.
"Permutation? Yuck, math term 'yun 'ah," Grace said. "Puro ka talaga numbers. Geek! Geek!"
"Oo nga," Andrea said, looking at Kathleen. "Ikaw hindi mo sinabi kung alin sa dalawa 'yung gusto mo!"
"Oo nga," Michelle and Jenny both agreed. "Alin sa'yo, Kathleen?" Michelle asked.
"Ha?" Kathleen looked confused.
"Kathleen!" somebody called from outside the pantry. They all turned. It was Lester, from the Billing team. He was standing at the doorway and gesturing for Kathleen to come with him. "Meeting na."
"Meeting?" Jenny asked, looking from Lester to Kathleen, and then to Lester again. "For what?"
Lester raised an eyebrow at her as if to say that she should've known what it was about. He walked closer to their table and forced Kathleen to stand up so she could follow him. "'Eh 'di sa singing contest, ano pa?" he said, and then shut the door behind him.
Merely three weeks after he was hired as a billing coordinator for a multinational company, Adam found himself at a briefing meeting for the contestants of a singing contest. He looked around and saw some girls at the other end of the table, talking to a curly-haired guy who was strumming a slow song on a guitar. On the other side were a guy and a girl, rehearsing opening lines for an event that would happen at the end of the week. He looked around and saw everyone paired up, or maybe in groups of three or four. He was the only one not talking to anyone in the room. He was the only one not doing anything. He sighed. It was tough being the new kid. When the door opened and the Department Manager walked in, he was actually relieved. It meant that the meeting was about to start. Everyone around him arranged their seats and turned their attention towards the front of the room.
“Thanks everyone for coming,” Department Manager Josephine Picato said. “I know this isn’t the usual type of activity we have, but there’s always time for a little fun and games. Of course we shouldn't get carried away, but anyway...” she went on to talk about the mechanics of the event, its objectives, how the program would go… official stuff. She was in the middle of telling them the contest rules when Adam felt someone sit on the empty seat beside him.
“Um, marami na ba'kong na-miss?” he heard a soft voice say. He turned and found himself looking at the sweetest face he’d ever seen. He shook his head. “Hindi naman,” he said, and saw her smile.
When the speech ended they were left to talk amongst themselves on how they would go about the program. The two emcees, who introduced themselves as Janice and Lester, took the lead. They discussed about what songs the contestants were going to sing.
“Ikaw ba?” Adam asked the girl sitting beside him.
“Kathleen,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
Adam looked confused, and then realized that she must’ve misunderstood his question. “Oh, Adam,” he said, holding out his hand and giving her a smile. “Actually, I was asking what song you were going to sing.”
“Ah sorry,” Kathleen realized her mistake and laughed. She shook his hand quickly and replied “Say It Again, 'yung kay Marie Digby.”
"Talaga?" he asked. "Gusto ko 'yung song na 'yun."
She chuckled. “Really?”
“Oo,” he nodded. “Bakit?”
“Wala naman,” she said. “You just, don’t look the type,” she smiled at him again. “Anyway,” she continued. “Ikaw ba, ano kakantahin mo?”
“Ah, hindi ko pa alam 'eh," he shrugged. “Actually, hindi ko nga alam kung bakit ako nandito 'eh,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “I think this is my team’s idea of a joke.”
She laughed. “Well, ganyan talaga 'pag bago.”
He laughed, and then nodded. “Ha, halatang-halata ba na bago ako?”
"Oo, 'eh wala ka kasing katabi kanina 'eh."
"Ganon?" he shrugged. "Wala pa'ko masyado kilala 'eh."
She nodded. “Okay lang 'yan, sa simula lang naman 'yan. Magiging at home ka rin eventually.”
He smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “Ano nga ba pala 'yung team mo?” he asked.
Before she could answer, one of the emcees, Lester, called her attention. “Kathleen,” he started. “Meron ka na bang copy ng song mo, or gusto mo tumugtog na lang si Jeff?”
“Ah... 'Yun pala,” she started, turning away from Adam. “Wala akong mahanap na instrumental version nung song 'eh.”
“'Eh ano ba 'yung song mo? Baka alam na ni Jeff,” Lester said.
“Say It Again,” Kathleen replied. “Marie Digby.”
Someone snorted.
Lester turned to the guy beside him who was holding a guitar. “Alam mo ba 'yon?” he asked.
The guy chuckled. “Oo,” he said. “Pero hindi ko tutugtugin 'yon.”
“Ha? Bakit naman?” Lester asked.
Kathleen looked at him questioningly as well.
The guy wrinkled his face in disgust. "Pambabae 'eh."
“Ano ka ba, dapat matutunan mo 'yung mga ganun,” Lester told him. “Lahat kaya ng contestant babae."
At that point, Adam cleared his throat loudly. He didn’t want them to know he was listening to their conversation, but felt he should speak up. “Hindi naman lahat,” he said.
Lester turned sharply at him with raised eyebrows. “Sino ka?” he asked loudly.
Adam felt everyone in the room look at him. “Um, ano, uh…” he stammered. “Adam. From Billing. Bago lang ako,” he said. “I’m singing, uh… I’m singing something.”
Half the people in the room laughed, the other half rolled their eyes.
“Contestant ka ba talaga?” one of the girls at the other end of the room asked. “As in?”
“Ah, ano... Ano kasi 'eh... Um..." he stuttered.
“Oo naman,” Kathleen spoke up. “Maganda nga 'yun 'eh, may variety.”
“That’s true,” Lester agreed. Everyone else seemed satisfied with his answer. Without another glance at Adam, they turned back to what they had been doing. Lester looked at Kathleen again, and then at Jeff. “So ano, hindi mo talaga kayang tugtugin 'yung song niya?”
“Hindi sa hindi kaya,” Jeff said, “okey lang kasi 'yung songs nung iba kasi medyo common na, marami nang rendition, so matutugtog ko na nang maayos. Pero 'yung Say It Again...” he turned to Kathleen. “'Di ka ba pwedeng magpalit na lang ng song? Iba na lang kantahin mo.”
“Ha? 'Eh 'yun na 'yung pinaka-bagay na song sa boses ko 'eh," she reasoned.
“Ows, imposible. Singer ka 'eh, dapat marami kang songs na alam kantahin."
“'Eh 'yun na nga 'eh," she said. "Hindi naman ako singer 'eh."
He rolled his eyes. “Oo oo gets ko na,” he said. “Nagkukunwari kang 'di marunong para ma-underestimate ka nila. Hustler ka pala 'eh.”
Kathleen rolled her eyes. "Hindi 'no. Hindi talaga ako singer, promise."
"'Eh kung hindi ka singer 'eh anong ginagawa mo dito?" Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Diba singing contest 'to? So lahat ng nandito, singers."
“Hindi kaya,” Adam suddenly said.
Lester, Jeff and Kathleen turned to him again, as if he’d interrupted their conversation which, he actually had.
“Ay, wala, sorry,” he said softly, and swiveled on his seat to look out the window.
“Hinde, alam ko na,” Lester said looking from Jeff to Kathleen. “I’ll leave it to you to decide. Either i-convince mo siya na tugtugin 'yung song mo,” he said, looking at Kathleen. “Or i-convince mo siya na palitan 'yung song niya,” he said to Jeff. “Basta give me your answer by tomorrow, okey?” he finished, and walked off to talk to another contestant.
Kathleen looked at Jeff with narrowed eyes, expressing her disdain at the situation. Jeff just grinned at her, and then went on to follow Lester to talk to the next contestant. Kathleen sighed. "'Pag minamalas ka nga naman..."
"Bakit?" Adam suddenly asked, turning his chair to face her.
"Ah, wala lang," Kathleen said. "Naisip ko lang kasi, ngayon kailangan ko pang problemahin 'yung song ko. 'Eh hindi naman talaga ako 'yung dapat na contestant namin in the first place."
"Oh?" he asked.
Kathleen nodded. "Kasi 'yung isang teammate namin, naka-leave siya for two weeks so ayun, no choice. Ako na lang 'yung sinali nila. Pero hindi talaga ako 'yung dapat. I mean, substitute lang ako."
Adam laughed. "I guess pareho tayong wala sa tamang lugar," he said.
Kathleen nodded.
"Although at least ikaw substitute, ako napag-tripan lang."
They both laughed.
"So we should stick together, right?" he asked her, and then smiled.
For a moment, Kathleen paused. She didn't know what to say. Maybe he was making friends. Or maybe he meant something else. It didn't help that he was kind of cute when he smiled, and that his smile this time was slightly different than how he smiled before. It wasn't just a friendly kind of smile this time, it seemed... expectant somehow. Thinking that too many seconds have already passed for her to give a reply, she just nodded and smiled at him as well. "Yeah." she said, her voice soft. "We should do that."
***
So I normally start my blogs with an entry like this, where I tell you what my purpose of creating this blog is. Because I have way too many blogs for my own good. But gah, the internet is this neverending black hole, and I eventually find purposes to do things here.
This blog is where I will post some of my stories. Yes, I know. I already have Fiction Press, and fanfiction.net and my main blog and my scratch blog, but well, I kind of needed a place to write this certain story, and maybe there will be others after it, and I remembered I had all this space on Vox, so I might as well use it.
So that's it. This blog is for the stories I'm currently writing. Since it's a bit of a hassle to uplaod unfinished stories in Fiction Press, and a recurring story would just make my other blogs a bit, er... disorganized. Hopefully, this will help me be more creative as well.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy the story/stories then! :)
So goes the life of blogger me. I actually had no intention of making an account here, as I already have so many accounts, but gah, I really really really wanted to comment on that one blog I saw, and darn it, to be able to comment you just had to make an acccount.
Now, I don't actually have any use for this so I really don't know what I'm going to do. Really. I really really don't know. Hopefully, something good will come to me soon.
