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Sigh. Another chat from Pelaez.
Fuck the Pelaez family, oh my god.
Why do I have to perform for their dirty politics?
“Oh, Paulita. Mag-ayos ka na diyan, ha. Alam mo na gagawin—”
My tita entered the room after hearing the news about the banquet, smiling ear to ear. Another day, another PR stunt. How do I escape this hell?
“Yes, tita. I know.” I said, annoyed. I didn't want to do all this. Everything is against my will. I'm only a 12th grader, yet I'm already expected to entertain and feed into people's delusions. For what? For exposure. For politics. I don't want to smile and nod around Juanito Pelaez. Not him.
I stared at the mirror, doing my makeup. It has to be perfect, I have to look perfect.
“Ngumiti ka.”
“Later na, Tita. Trust me, I know what to do. ”
“Edi ipakita mo na ngayon.”
I forced a smile on my face. It looked fake.
“Mukhang pilit. Ayusin mo.”
I rolled my eyes as I plastered a “real” smile. My tita became joyous instantly.
“Ayan! Ganyan mamaya, ha!”
I ignored her comments and continued doing my makeup. I didn't know much about España or any place that surrounds it, all I know is that it is very hot there. I didn't want to look exhausted at the banquet. If I have to suffer, at least be pretty during the process.
I grabbed my La Salle ID, my makeup kit to retouch, my wallet, and, of course, my handheld fan to place it inside of my purse.
“Andiyan na si Kuya. Susunod nalang kami, ha?” I nodded as I prepared to leave. I didn't say goodbye or anything, I just left the house with kuya driver.
“Kuya, can you drive me to the nearby Starbucks?” I lazily said while scrolling on my Instagram. Then, my attention seeking tita texted me to act with Juanito as scandalously as I can.
“Alin, madam? Yung sa stop and shop ba o—”
I was already getting annoyed of my tita. I didn't want to talk to anybody at this point. “Kahit saan, kuya. Basta it's nearby.”
“Sige po, madam.”
I was already content with the riches my family has. But of course, they aren't content yet. They wanted to get wealthier and wealthier, using politics as a business.
“Madam, wala pong mapagpaparkingan sa Starbucks doon sa Stop and Shop. Puwede pong dito muna tayo para makapagpark din po ako ng kotse niyo.”
I tried to look inside the complex through the car window, but all I saw was a guard house.
“Kuya, are you sure there's something inside… there?”
“Ah opo, meron. May cafe po jan sa loob. Medyo tago nga lang po.”
The remaining patience I had was running out, so I sighed and let kuya drive inside the complex. Sure enough, there were cars parked in the area.
I left the car and oh dear was it hot. I quickly grabbed my handheld fan and walked towards the direction of the signage “To Bricks n Brews.”
As I entered the cafe, the heat from outside was soon replaced by the low temperature of the air conditionings. I turned off my handheld fan and placed it back inside my purse. The atmosphere inside was very beautiful and calming. The downside being that almost all of the seats are taken despite it being a weekend and PUPCET season. This must be the haven of PUPians.
Out of all the maroon lanyards, one stood out.
She was sitting beside the air-conditioning near the window, wearing an ID from a different school, far away from this place. I'm guessing she's here for the PUPCET. She was sweating while catching her breath. Is it that hot in PUP?
Waiting for a table to be vacant will just lead to nothing, so does leaving this place. I wouldn't be in this position anyway if that stupid banquet wasn't planned.
I looked at the girl near the window, the seat in front of her vacant. I saw her standing up from her seat and approaching the counter. I just want to get this over with.
I stood next to her in line. She was gentle with how she spoke. I didn't even realize it was my turn.
“One Caramel Macchiato please. Oh, and a red velvet cupcake too.”
“Name niyo po?”
“Pau.”
“Okay po. We'll just call you pag okay na po order niyo.”
Looking around, still no seats were vacant but the one in front of the girl. I decided to approach her, trying not to scare her off.
“Hi, is this seat taken?”
“Ah, no po.”
“Is it fine if I sit here? There's no vacant seats around but I already ordered my drink.”
“Sige lang po,” she said, nervously laughing. Was I too intimidating?
“Order for Juli!” She stood up and smiled at me as she left the table to get her order. She looks very pretty while smiling.
Juli. I'll take note of that.
She comes back with her drink on a tray. By its color, it looks like a matcha drink.
“Thank you for letting me sit here, Juli.”
“Paano mo—ahh… Walang anuman po! Marami ngang nakaupo, walang bakante.”
“Order for Pau!” I stood to get my order and smiled at her as I approached our table.
I tried to spark a conversation. I didn't want it to be awkward with my seatmate. “PUPCET?”
“Hm?”
“Are you here for the PUPCET?”
“Yes, katatapos lang din. Ang init nga po sa loob eh, kaya nakatapat ako dito,” she said while pointing at the air-conditioning behind her. “Kayo po?”
“Hindi na ako nagtake ng college entrance exams, I decided to stay in La Salle,” I tried mixing some Filipino words in my sentence, but oh my god the La Sallian accent was so obvious.
She nodded as she sipped on her drink, “Ano pong program balak niyong kunin?”
“Maybe ‘Communication Arts.’ But my tita is forcing me to take ‘Legal Management’ or anything along that program. I hate that program, it's not fit for me.”
“Bagay sayo yung Communication Arts, sana yun po kunin niyo.”
I giggled at her comment and asked her, “How so?”
She laughed back, saying my accent is very strong and really hailed from La Salle.
“How about you, what program do you want to take?”
“Hindi ko pa talaga sigurado, lalo na ubusan ng slot sa PUP. Pero baka po ‘Hospitality Management’, yun po ang pinakabagay sakin eh.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Yes po. Working student din po kasi ako. Alam niyo naman, kailangan pong tulungan ang pamilya.”
“Oh really? That's very admirable. I'm glad you're able to balance school, work, and your personal life.”
“Ah… Thank you po.”
“Do you want something from the menu? I can treat you, a gift of gratitude for letting me sit here.”
“Hindi na, okay lang po ako.”
“I insist. Consider this a treat for going through the PUPCET too.”
She shyly told me what she wanted from the menu while I took note of it. After a while, I came back to the table holding her order.
“Thanks, really. I thought I'll sit in this cafe alone while watching the time pass by.”
“Ayan din po akala ko. Thank you rin.”
Oh my god, Pelaez texted me again. Why does he have to always ruin the fun?
“Juli, I…I have to go, sorry. I have to run some errands now. I hope you enjoyed this spontaneous meeting.”
“Okay lang po. Natuwa ako kahit sandali lang.”
“If you don't mind, can I get your Instagram? I find you very pretty too.”
She blushed as she heard those words. Is it that flattering to hear those words from me?
“K-kayo rin po! @notyxna.dd po pala IG ko.”
“Thanks. Mine is @paugmz. Already requested to follow you,” I said while standing up from my seat. “See you when I see you, Juli.”
“Yana nalang po.”
“Okay. See you when I see you then, my iska, Yana.”
“See you rin po, Pau.”
I left the cafe, sat inside my car going to España, and attended the banquet, yet my heart was still there in Sta. Mesa.
During the banquet, I was blushing and felt the kilig without knowing the source. It definitely was not Pelaez. Not that guy.
“Bakit anlaki ng ngiti natin ngayon?” Juanito asked me, with a big cheesy smile on his face.
“Nothing. You know we have to play pretend.”
“Sus, you don't smile like this. You didn't smile like this, ever.”
I rolled my eyes at him, ignoring his implications. “Whatever.”