Chapter 2

She ❤️ Her

Chapter 2

Arf! Arf! Arf!

"Hey... Meiji, stop..."

Arf! Arf!

"Meiji...."

Arf! Arf! Arf!

Tahol nito while pushing her head on my back. Meiji's a jack russell terrier and been with me for more than a year now.

"Meiji!" Sabay lingon dito and smiled as I petted her.

Then I looked at the clock, it was 4:30 am in the morning then looked at her. "Gusto mo ba mag walking sandali sa labas?" Di kasi kami nakapag walking nung weekend kasi pumunta akong Bataan, di ko naman sya pwedeng dalhin dun kasi ma s stress lang sya at di ko sya mababantayan ng maayos, kaya chi neck in ko nalang sya sa isang dog hotel malapit sa condo. "Ok? So let's go?"

And after 15 minutes ay lumabas na kami ng condo and took a small walk not far from the condo, I also decided to eat breakfast before going back. And around 6:30 am ay nakabalik na kami.

"Time check, 7:40 am." Then nilagay ko na ang dog food ni Meiji sa bowl nito. "Be a good girl, baby ha. Mommy's be back before you knew it." Sabi ko then kissed her forehead before leaving the pad.

Around 8:20 am ay nasa basement parking na ako ng building. And as expected marami pang vacant sa lane na malapit sa door, I was preparing to reverse for a perpendicular parking when suddenly a silver Honda H RV blocked me and stole my spot. And guess what, dun sya dumaan sa opposite side kaya naka una syang pumwesto.

"WHAT THE—-?" Then I saw Adriana smirked at me as she locked her car and nag lakad na papasok ng building. Of course, that was Her car.

I looked at her, she really loves to annoy me all the time.

I closed my eyes trying to calm my nerves.

"You woke up early, maganda gising mo, nakapag bonding ka kay Meiji, nakapag almusal kana din, and most of all, hindi ka late, so smile." And let out a deep sigh Saka tumingin sa rear view mirror and forced myself to smile. "Look, ang ganda mo oh." Saka nag ayos na at lumabas ng kotse.

Napahinto pa ako when I saw her standing in front of the elevator.

Come on, not again.

"It's good to see you're not late today, Miss Montemayor." Sabi ni Adriana.

Pareho kami ngayung nag aantay sa elevator.

"That was just one time."

"Yeah right." Saka pareho na kaming pumasok ng elevator.

"Teka lang." Sabi ni Ellen Sabay harang ng pinto ng elevator. "Zakki..." then napatingin ito kay Adriana. "Good morning, Miss Adriana." Saka tumingin ito sakin.

Adriana smiled at her.

"Pst." Ellen Sabay bulong sakin. "Okay na kayo?" By the way, Ellen knew, actually, lahat sa office alam na hindi kami okay ni Adriana, they actually kept on asking what happened, pero hindi ko masabi kasi hindi naman nila alam na something more than friends but less than lovers happened to us, they are just curious why isang araw di na kami nag papansinan, we were like best of friends kasi dati, even before we both crossed the line, kaya di rin nakahalata ang mga kasama namin na nagkaka something na pala kami.

I looked at her Saka umiling.

Whenever they asked I also answered we're okay, we just became matured kaya civil nalang kami sa isa't isa. But meron paring iba na di kumbinsido, like Ellen.

——

—-

-

"No, I can't take that." Then Mrs. Aldeguer looked at me.

"Miss Montemayor, Ikaw, kung ikaw ang tatanungin ko, tatanggapin mo ba yan?" Direktang Tanong niya sakin.

I looked at Gemma, she's really about to cry.

"A-actually, ma'am." Then looked at the paper, and then to Mrs Aldeguer. "It's quite entertaining."

Napakunot noo naman ito. "What? It's so childish and impossible."

Umiling ako. "No, ma'am, what I mean is-"

"And this?—— would be a joke, di tayo maKukuha kung yan ang presentation ng ad natin... same to the packaging of the beverage. Goodness!"

"For me, it's catchy. You know..." then looked at Gemma, zombie apocalypse kasi ang naisip nitong theme sa advertisement and packaging ng product ng client namin. "...though imposible sya. Pero maka ka agaw sya ng atensyon ng tao, ng mga manunuod, ng mga consumers...eh diba yan naman po ang goal natin?"

"How would a zombie apocalypse catch your attention, aber?"

"Well, I noticed People are fascinated about these things, creatures? eh Bakit ba pumatok ang The Walking Dead, Z Nation, Kingdom, World War Z, All of Us Are Dead, Alive, Train to Busan, Happiness kung hindi naman pala mabenta at interesting ito...Hindi lang naman po kasi ito entertaining sa mga manunuod." Then I looked at Gemma. "Probably, there were scenes here about how to survive, dba?" Referring to Gemma's proposal.

Gemma nodded.

"So yeah,makakatulong din po ito sa pag hubog ng survival instinct ng mga audience and consumers... as well as their consciousness about these kinds of things....oh wait, malapit na po pala ang November, Halloween party, I heard merong event po sa MOA grounds, zombie apocalypse ang theme, May papremyo pa nga po run."

"So...? Anong kinalaman ng event sa MOA dito?"

"Ahm... we could say na, if ever ma push ito for the packaging and ads, makakatulong po yung event sa moa para lalong mapromote yung product since mag kapareho ang tema and vice versa. Actually po it's not only about zombie apocalypse lang naman, energy drink po ang binebenta ng client natin, so meaning, through that kind of theme, mas lalo nating Maparating sa mga consumer kung Ganu ka effective ang product na ito pag dagdag ng energy at pampalakas ng katawan sa pang araw araw, kasi po if ang usual lang yung gagawin natin palagi, Napa ka exaggerated po ng dating, kelan ba naging Hercules yung consumer ng client natin kapag umiinom sila ng Sparkling Ice Energy Drink? So, i think mas maka kapaniwala yung theme na zombie apocalypse kesa sa dating theme."

And she's just looking at me.

Kaya bahagya akong Napa yuko.

"Ahm. Sorry. I think I said too much."

"No." Then she looked at Gemma. "Tawagin mo si Miss Alvarez. Papuntahin mo sya rito, mag memeeting tayo."

"O-Opo." Then lumabas na ito.

Akmang lalabas na rin Sana ako pero pinigilan niya ako.

"May potential ka, Miss Montemayor. If you want, bago ako mag retire, I will make another team for you to lead. Mas masaya yung tatlo kayo ang nag cocompete mas lalong tataas ang rating ng company."

I looked at her. "Ahmm... ma'am, I think it's kinda early for that." Mag ti 3 years palang kasi ako sa A Los Filipinos Advertising Agency. Saka Ano ba naman laban ko dun sa dalawang TL eh limang taon na ang dalawang yun sa field na tu.

Knock knock.

"Ma'am?"

Pareho kaming napatingin nun sa pinto.

"Pinapatawag niyo po raw ako?" - Adriana.

"Yes." Then Mrs. Aldeguer looked at me. "Anyways, tawagin nalang kita later regarding dito." Sabi nito sakin Sabay kuha ng folder na nilagay ko sa table niya at itinabi yun sa laptop niya.

"Okay po." Saka nag lakad na palabas.

"I believe you reviewed Gemma's work?" I heard from outside.

Tumango si Adriana. "Yes, Ma'am." Adriana's one of the best employees of our company, and she usually represents the ALF.

"Well, I like it." And she looked at Gemma.

Biglang umaliwalas naman na ang mukha ni Gemma nun.

Nangiti nalang din ako. Kinabahan din kasi ako para Kay Gemma.

Agad na dumiretso na rin ako sa table ko and started to work.

—-

—

-

RJ Calling...

"Hey?"

RJ: hey, babe, naka dinner kana?

"Why?" Tanong ko sensing na May inner intention ito sa pag tawag.

RJ: well, gusto Sana kitang yayain eh, ramen, gusto mo?

"Come on, sabihin mo na kung Ano ang kailangan mo." RJ and I became buddies before we became boyfriends/girlfriends and still buddies after we broke up kaya talagang kilala ko na sya.

Tumawa ito.

RJ: Sige na, libre kita, sunduin mo ako dito sa work ha

Napataas kilay ko naman nun.

"Bakit, nasaan ba sasakyan mo?"

RJ: naiwan ko sa bahay, coding eh.

"Niloloko mo ako."

RJ: hindi kaya... Anyways, Sige na, antayin kita ha, sunduin mo ako, libre kita ramen.

End.

"Tsk." Saka pinag patuloy na ang trabaho ko.

"Uy, alam mo ba kanina, muntik nang mag sabunutan si sir Enzo and ma'am Adriana."

Napatingin naman ako dun sa dalawang admin staff sa labas na nag ka kape.

"Bakit daw?"

"Eh, kasi supposedly kay Sir Enzo na Sana yung isang Project eh nakuha pa ni Ma'am Adriana, Ayon, galit na galit si Sir Enzo, napaka competitive pa naman nun."

I sighed then looked at Adriana. Busy ito sa pag ta trabaho. She really is very good in her field. And that's one of the reason why I look up on her.

I actually known Adriana before I got accepted to this company, we actually went to the same college, and yes, RJ knew her too.

I've always admired her even before, 1st yr ako, graduating sya, and yes, isa sya sa mga pinag kakaguluhan sa Business Ad department dati, beauty and brains.

Actually, di naman kami nag papansinan noong college Kahit na same course kami, BSBA-MA, paki ba niya naman sa mga first year students diba? And then yep, I got accepted to the company where she works and then she became part of my world, and I became part of hers.

At first, di talaga kami nag uusap, but then one time, nag kasabayan kami sa elevator (oh diba, lagi sa elevator), that was Sunday morning, bumalik ako, pina balik lang ako nun, admin staff pa ako nun, and nag pa part time lang ako tumulong kay Mrs. Santos sa Research and Analysis, nasa US na ngayun ito.

Flashback...

It was a lazy Sunday morning at Kahit na tinatamad ay bumangon ako ng maaga para maka punta sa opisina. Last night, Mrs. Santos called me to do some rush report na kailangan para sa lunes, so yeah here I am, kakababa lang ng taxi.

Ting!

And the elevator opened and I saw Adriana inside busy at her phone. I was about to greet her since she's one of my seniors in the company, but I changed my mind when I noticed that suot nito sa magkabilang tenga ang earphones nito. Mula ata ito sa basement parking ng building.

"Been thinkin bout you baby

And I dont know what to do

All I think about is you

Seems everything around me

Things I've never understood

They all make sense when I'm with you...."

I looked at her, she's singing. Then agad ding umiwas when she notices me.

Then she stopped. "Oops, sorry," then kinuha nito ang isang earphones sa tenga niya. "... nadala ako sa kanta." Sabi niya, probably yan ang current song sa playlist nito.

Napatingin naman ako dito Sabay ngiti. "Well, you got the voice, Ma'am." Compliment ko. Maganda naman kasi talaga ang boses niya.

She looked at me then smiled. This was actually the first time I saw her smile. I mean, yes, of course I've seen her smile before, pero mula nung nag trabaho ako rito, eh, di ko pa ata sya nakikitang ngumiti. Palaging seryoso at busy.

"And you actually look so beautiful when you smile. Wear it often." Wala sa sariling Sabi ko. "Sorry, I think, dumaldal ako ng konti, sorry talaga, Miss Adriana."

Then she laughed.

"No, it's okay."

Ting!

"So, ba't ka andito?" She asked.

"Well, tinawagan kasi ako ni Mrs. Santos kagabi, and instructed me to do a rush report na kelangan daw niya bukas."

"Oh! I think, yan ata ang kukunin ko sayo." Sabi nito habang sinusundan ako.

"Ha, akala ko po bukas mo need? eh gagawin ko palang, okay lang po ba, Ma'am?"

Tumango ito. Then she laughed. "Wag mo nga akong tawaging 'Ma'am'..." then she held my wrist.

Napahinto naman ako nun at napalingon dito.

"Call me Ate or Adriana nalang."

Suddenly, I felt weird upon looking at her eyes. Ewan ko. Para kasing nanunuyo. Ok, brush it off.

"Are you sure? Parang magka edad lang tayo niyan." Sabi ko nalang Saka pasimpleng inalis ang kamay ko dito at kinuha ang susi sa office ni Mrs. Santos.

"Yes, Zakkiyah. And besides, I've known you even before you got accepted here."

Napahinto naman agad ako nun.

"We went to the same college right, only that graduating ako that time, and Ikaw... first year."

I never thought that she would notice me, I mean. Supposedly di niya dapat ako kilala, di naman kasi ako sikat dati, nung nag 2nd year lng ako, dun ko na gain ang confidence ko, naging active sa clubs, yep, aside sa photography ay sumali pa ako sa iba't ibang clubs and orgs, also naging sporty din ako, I played badminton to represent our department kapag intrams, sumali sa dancing, sa art club etc etc.

"Oh. Wow." Sabi ko nalang Saka pumasok na.

"I've known you for being a paasa."

Napatingin naman agad ako rito. "H-ha?"

Tumawa ito. "Joke." Then umupo ito sa gilid ko while I am preparing to work. "Si Jonas, naalala mo pa?"

Then I stopped, I think yes, si Jonas yung binasted ko nung 2nd yr ako.

"Yung binasted mo. Pinsan ko yun."

"Ahh... Ahmm sorry."

"No. Don't. He's happy now, nasa Australia na sila and he's already taken."

"Oh... sorry."

"Lagi ka niyang kinikuwento samin nun dati kapag nag ba bonding kami kaya feeling ko kilala na kita even though naka graduate na ako."

I just smiled, parang na guilty naman ata ako, kasi amin ko naman, parang pinaasa ko nga lang si Jonas akala ko kasi hindi ako gusto ni RJ nun, but then nung 3rd year kami, unamim sakin si RJ so naging kami.

"So, are you still with that guy?"

"Si RJ?"

"Yung lagi mong kasama sa photo club."

"Ah...yeah sya yun."

"So?"

Umiling ako. RJ and I broke up last May. He cheated on me with someone he just knew in his work.

"Sorry."

"Nahh. It's okay. That was already 7 months ago, kaya okay lang." Sabi ko. 5 months after we broke up, we became friends again, niyaya kasi ako sa isang raket and that time Mejo gipit ako so mas nanaig yung kagipitan ko sa heartache ko kay RJ, he even asked me na kung pwede kami mag ka balikan but I said no, I don't want to lose my buddy again, he respected my decision naman.

"Anyways, nakapag breakfast k na ba?"

Umiling ako. "Nag kape lang."

"Okay," then inabot nito ang phone nito sakin. "Put your number, Lalabas ako, I'll grab something for us, txt kita para sa option mo sa foods."

And that's the start of our friendship.

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