Work Text:
“hindi ka pa uuwi, jho?” colet asks for the fifth time this afternoon.
“alam na may council duties ‘yung tao, aya ka nang aya ng uwi.” jhoanna says impatiently. “mauna ka na kung gusto mo.”
“antayin na kita.”
“marami pang upuan na aayusin dito, col.”
“tulungan ko na nga kayo.”
colet stops spinning her blue bench & bath towel around her index finger and puts her bag down to start helping around the gym with arranging the chairs. kakatapos lang ng isang event sa school nila ngayon kaya naman busy mag-asikaso at magligpit ng upuan ang mga student council sa gym.
while colet and jhoanna are minding their own businesses, aiah enters the room with the biggest smile on her face, infecting everyone in the room with a good mood despite the tiring work. the students exchange greetings with the former, their work already feeling lighter because of her presence alone.
“ate aiah saan mo nabili salamin mo? ang cute! may ribbon pa talaga ng hello kitty sa taas.” stacey asks.
“sa tapat ng campus, staks. 25 pesos lang ‘to wala kasing bubog.”
colet, too busy lining up the chairs, ignores the chattering behind her.
“focus sa goal para makauwi na.” bulong nito sa sarili.
aiah, on the other hand, noticed colet as soon as she entered the room. ikaw ba naman may blue na face towel na nakapatong sa ulo, naka white shirt at bukas ang blouse, at naka slides na slippers sa loob ng campus, ewan ko nalang din kung hindi ka mapansin.
normally, aiah would scold anyone that doesn't follow the dress code but she lets colet pass this time since she's helping around, anyway. she's also surprised someone outside the student body's willing to help. (ang hindi alam ni aiah, gusto lang talaga ni colet makauwi na.) aiah lets the girl do her job and offers everyone a helping hand with arranging and stacking up the monoblocs.
satisfied with her work, colet walks over to where jhoanna is at nag-aaya na ulit umuwi.
“tapos na, diba? tara na.” the older says while scrolling through her phone.
“sino na naman textmate mo?”
“wala ah si maloi lang nagpapa-pasa load.”
jhoanna was just about to pick up her bag when aiah claps her hands very loudly.
“guys! tipon muna tayo for a quick meeting about intams next week! mabilis lang, pramis.”
agad na kumunot ang noo ni colet sa narinig pero ‘di inalis ang atensyon sa hawak niyang phone. ayaw paawat si ate? she lets out a disapproving sigh before telling jhoanna she'll be waiting for her outside instead.
she walks out of the school gymnasium, still on her phone, and hangs by the entrance. the short meeting took 13 minutes too long for colet's liking, so when jhoanna is finally walking out the doors of the gymnasium, colet wastes no time and leads jhoanna home before she wanders anywhere else.
-
“col may council duties ulit ako ngayon, mauna ka na umuwi.”
“ipaglalakad mo ako pauwi tanghaling tapat?”
“oa, kinaibigan mo lang talaga ako dahil sa e-bike ko e.”
“buti pala alam mo.”
“kairita.”
“joke lang, uwi na'ko. mag-message ka ‘pag nakauwi ka na.”
colet holds one strap of her bag over her right shoulder and repositions the hat on her head, wearing it backwards. kung kailan paalis na sana si colet, bigla namang dumaan si aiah sa tabi nila. hindi napigilan ni colet na sundan ng tingin si aiah at talagang napalingon pa.
“sino ‘yun, jho? amoy strawberry bench na pabango.”
“paanong ‘di mo kilala e si presi ‘yan.”
hindi nakasagot si colet pero hindi rin naalis ang tingin niya kay aiah.
“puro ka kasi cutting.” natatawang sabi ni jhoanna. “akala ko ba uuwi ka na?”
“tulungan ko nalang kayo gumawa ng banderitas, jho. kawawa naman kayo.”
jhoanna couldn't believe what the older just suggested but let her stay, anyway. they could really use the help at para din matapos agad, hindi naman strict si aiah sa volunteers.
“ate aiah, tutulong daw po si colet!”
“gaga ka talaga, bakit mo naman pinagsigawan?!”
“beast mode ka naman agad diyan teh, mabait naman si ate aiah.”
jhoanna and colet continue to bicker but the latter immediately stops when aiah starts approaching them. colet quickly hides behind jhoanna before aiah could come any closer.
“walang kwentang bading talaga ‘to si col.” bulong ni jho.
“hi colet! ikaw rin ‘yung tumulong sa amin sa gym nung isang araw diba?” tanong ni aiah. “thanks pala dun, na-appreciate ko.” dugtong niya at nginitian si colet.
hinila ni jhoanna paalis sa likod niya si colet habang nahihiyang tumutungo ito at umiiwas ng tingin kay aiah. hindi rin niya mapigilan ang ngiti sa kanyang labi.
“ikaw na bahala mag-utos diyan, ate aiah. dun na'ko kay staks.”
nang makaalis na si jhoanna, sa sahig parin nakatingin si colet. natawa naman dito si aiah.
“tara, tulungan mo nalang ako mag stapler ng banderitas.”
colet follows without a word. they stop by a table first to collect the needed materials like staplers, staples, and the already cut out banderitas. aiah positions herself in front of the already laid out plastic twines and starts stapling the plastic cut outs onto it. colet follows her lead, positioning herself in front of aiah so they're face to face and she starts doing her job.
colet and aiah start their work quietly, working in an unsaid rhythm of stapling and passing each other cut outs. it isn’t until colet notices the slight change in aiah's pace. just a mere second ago they were face to face but now aiah seems to be a few steps ahead from her. colet picks up her pace and catches up to aiah, but the latter seems to have other plans and doesn’t let the former take over. the two are now in this quiet competition of who can finish faster.
despite being in a hurry, aiah's work is still neat and presentable looking, meanwhile colet's are missing a staple or two as she tries to match the former's pace. the unspoken competition between the two is obvious now as they try to overtake each other. a smile creeps on aiah's face which soon turns into a giggle infecting colet until the two of them are laughing uncontrollably.
“huy, colet, ayusin mo naman!” saway ni aiah at sinabayan ng paghampas kay colet. tinigil din nila saglit ang pagkakabit ng banderitas nang mapansin ni aiah ang gawa ni colet.
“tignan mo lutaytay ‘yung kalahati ng banderitas mo, ganda nung akin ‘di mo kaya.”
“ayan na nga ang mga perfect.” biro ni colet. palibhasa kamukha mo si mama mary. “tsaka hindi na mapapansin ‘yan, hindi naman siguro nakatingala lahat ng tao sa intrams, diba?” dagdag pa niya.
natawa nalang si aiah sa sinabi ni colet at pumunta sa tabi niya.
“hindi nila pansin ‘yan pero pansin na pansin ko! kaya ulitin natin, halika.” aiah grabs colet by her wrist and leads her to where the mess started.
aiah is mostly doing the work with colet just standing there on the side. she feels awkward not doing anything but aiah doesn't seem to mind the silence between them. colet, being observant as ever, notices the sweat trickling on the side of aiah's face and neck. she quickly reverts her gaze before aiah feels her looking at her neck.
“teka, break muna, dun ka muna sa lilim. tirik na tirik ang araw oh.” aiah wants to protest to get the job done as early as possible but colet doesn’t let her.
colet excuses herself and quickly looks for jhoanna.
“jho, saan payong mo?” colet demandingly asks.
“sa pwet ko, nagkakape.”
“bwisit ka, saan nga?!”
“saan pa ba, edi nasa bag!”
colet hastily searches jhoanna's bag and retrieves a small umbrella. just as she was about to close it and leave, she spots a small pack of tissues and grabs it.
she makes her way back to where aiah is, showing her the umbrella and tissue she's holding. colet offers her the stolen tissues from jhoanna's bag.
“uy, thanks! nalimutan ko pa naman magdala ng panyo.” aiah takes off her hello kitty lensless glasses and wipes the sweat off her face. “kung gusto mo pala ng water nandun ‘yung tumbler ko.” aiah offers and points to the table where the supplies are. colet could feel her face heat up at the idea of sharing a tumbler with aiah.
shux hindi pa po ako ready sa indirect kiss na ‘yan!
“ah, hindi na, hindi pa naman ako nauuhaw.” lies. “tara na ulit?”
they walk back to where the banderitas are with colet holding an umbrella over them. she also offered to hold the extra boxes of staples and cut outs on aiah's hand so she can work easily. the two go back to working quietly but colet prays that aiah doesn’t hear the violent heartbeat on her chest whenever their fingers would accidentally brush as she hands aiah some cut outs or staples.
maya-maya pa ay sumilip si jhonna at stacey kina aiah at colet. natawa naman si jhoanna nang makita niyang halos kalahati ng katawan ni colet ay hindi napapayungan dahil sadyang maliit talaga ang payong para lang hindi mainitan si aiah.
“ulupong talaga ‘to si colet, tignan mo bukas kalahati ng katawan niyan sunog ng araw.”
soon enough, jhoanna and stacey join them so they can finish faster. in between the three hours that colet and aiah are working together, they get to know each other a little, with aiah oversharing a bit and colet listening intently.
-
nang makatapos na sila sa trabaho ngayong araw, tumambay muna si colet sa isang tabi para antayin si jhoanna habang magkakasamang nag-uusap ang council para sa mga plano bukas. nakakita siya ng gitara sa isang tabi at kinuha ito, umupo sa taas ng lamesa at akmang tutugtog nang nakaramdam siya ng sakit sa balikat. inunat-unat ni colet ang masakit na balikat, hindi niya alam nakita ito ni aiah.
“ngalay? sorry, pinaghawak pa kita ng payong buong hapon.” saad ni aiah mula sa likod ni colet na kinagulat naman niya.
“‘de ayos lang, katinko lang ‘yan.” biro ni colet.
“naka-inom ka na ng tubig?”
“‘di pa, inubusan ako ni jho.”
aiah offers colet her tumbler once more. “my way of saying thank you. iyo na.”
colet hesitates but accepts it, anyway. mamamatay na talaga siya sa uhaw, hindi na niya maisip ‘yang indirect kiss na ‘yan.
“marunong ka pala magplay ng guitar?” tanong ni aiah at tinabihan si colet. bago pa makasagot si colet, agad namang sumingit si jhoanna.
“puro yabang lang ‘yan si col! intro lang naman ng magbalik alam niyan.”
“epal ka talaga sa buhay ko kahit kelan sa buong mundo.”
umirap si jhoanna sa sinabi ni colet at tumawa habang si aiah nasa tabi parin ni colet at tahimik na nakikitawa sa kanilang dalawa.
“sample nalang ng magbalik, colet. parinig ako.”
hindi naman siya makatanggi kaya inunat niya ang kanyang braso for the last time at inayos ang paghawak sa gitara. sinimulan ni colet ang pagtugtog sa intro ng magbalik. everything is going smoothly, colet knows this song by heart. kahit agaw-buhay at nakapikit siya kayang-kaya niya ‘to tugtugin so playing it in front of aiah shouldn't be a problem at all. except it is a problem because she's playing and singing it for aiah who's listening so earnestly colet could melt with the way the older is staring at her.
she makes it through the first verse with no problems at all, aiah is completely mesmerized with colet’s voice. when they make eye contact, aiah holds it and smiles at colet. this smile doesn’t feel like the usual smile she sends to everyone, it feels more reserved, like it’s meant for this moment only. the latter fumbles and misses a chord causing colet to stutter and fumbling with the song overall. before embarrassment could take over colet, aiah is already engulfing her in a hug, telling her she did great.
“colet, ang galing!” aiah pulls away from their embrace. colet stays unmoving. “turuan mo’ko next time, gusto ko aralin ‘yung paligoy-ligoy.”
pumayag nalang si colet at hindi na nakapagsalita.
“thank you ulit ngayon ah, una na ako. ingat kayo ni jho pauwi!” aiah bids them goodbye but before she leaves, she says one last thing. “bukas ulit, cols, paunahan tayo magkabit ng banderitas.”
as soon as aiah is out of earshot, jhoanna teases the older.
“halatang kabado sa bading.”
colet’s ears turn visibly pink. she smacks jhoanna on her forehead.
“umuwi na nga tayo at maaga pa’ko papasok bukas.”