February 14, 2017, Manila

Nakabusangot akong lumabas ng office habang dala-dala yung bulaklak, teddy bear, at chocolates na pinadala sa akin ni Sir Mark. As much as I would like to leave it in the office or to throw it away, hindi ko rin naman magawa. May konsensya pa rin naman ako kahit na papaano. Ang hindi ko lang talaga kasi maintindihan is bakit kailangang ako pa ang magdala nito? He knew where Althea lived. E di sana, siya na lang ang nagdala nitong mga 'to. Nagmukha pa tuloy akong umasa dahil sa mga 'to.

As I waited for the car that I booked through Grab, which was super duper expensive at this time, I couldn't help but look back at the times when Jenny said na may gusto sa akin si Sir Mark. Well, it's been going on for a few weeks or maybe months now. Lagi namin siyang napapansin na nakatingin sa akin or nagpapaikot-ikot malapit sa department namin. Was it all just because of this? Para lang ba talaga utusan akong magdala ng mga regalo in the guise na sa akin siya may gusto? Grabe naman yung determination niya kung ganoon.

"Thea!" I heard someone call my name and so I faced towards that direction. To my surprise, it was Sir Dexter with no other than Sir Mark. Sir Dexter is our department head. I knew he was friends with Sir Mark since they were in the same college barkada but I didn't know they would still be together by this time. Wala ba silang mga date or something?

"Yes po, Sir?"

"May lakad ka ba today? Come join us. We should celebrate Single Awareness Day," he said which got me confused. Single Awareness Day? E di ba something 'tong si Sir Mark si Althea kaya nga pinadala niya pa sa akin 'tong mga regalo?

"Uhh, hindi na po. I still have to deliver these po. Saka parating na rin po yung sundo ko," sagot ko sa kanya. Hindi ko alam kung bakit sinabi kong may sundo ako kahit na ang totoo, si Kuya Grab lang naman ang hinihintay ko. Well, based sa picture, maitsura naman kasi yung driver. I guess I have to go and lie to them to save me from further humiliation, right?

Bago pa dumating si Kuya Grab, I sent him a message asking if he could open the door for me and act like he's apologetic dahil sa late siya. I knew I was asking too much pero kailangan ko namang i-redeem ang sarili ko pagkatapos ng nangyari kanina. When I looked at Sir Mark, it's as if he wasn't too pleased with whatever's happening. Pero ewan ko. Siya nga 'tong unang naging paasa, e! Not that I was really expecting him to suddenly give these gifts to me. Hay, ewan!

"Oh, boyfriend mo ba yung susundo sa 'yo? Sorry, akala ko single ka rin. Mark was--"

"Dex," Sir Mark sternly said as if warning Sir Dexter. It was as if may sasabihin dapat si Sir Dexter about Sir Mark and it was too obvious na ayaw niyang ipaalam 'yon sa akin.

Before I could even answer Sir Dexter's question, dumating na si Kuya Grab. He got off the car and apologized for being late like what I asked him to do. He then got the flowers, chocolate, and teddy bear from me and placed them at the back seat.

"Let's go?" Kuya Grab asked. He was doing a damn good job so far. I might give him a tip na lang later because of this.

"Sige po, Sir, una na po ako," I told them then I gave them a small smile.

"Sige, ingat, Thea. See you tomorrow!" Sir Dexter said then he waved. Sir Mark, on the other hand, was poker faced. I just shrugged all my thoughts away and walked towards the passenger seat. Kuya Grab opened the door for me like I asked and when I went in, he immediately closed and door and went straight to the driver's seat.

Whew. One problem down. Another one to go.

***

By the time that I reached our house, tahimik lang kaming dalawa ni Kuya Grab. Alam kong kating-kati na siya to ask what on earth happened at why I asked him for such favors pero buti na lang hindi siya nagtanong. I just apologized for the absurd requests and gave him a tip just like what I had in mind pero hindi 'yon tinanggap ni Kuya. Sabi niya regalo niya na lang daw sa akin since Valentine's Day naman daw. Since hindi talaga ako mapalagay na ginawa niya 'yon for free, I gave him one of the chocolate bars na binigay sa akin ni Jenny kanina.

"Kuya, kahit ito na lang ang tanggapin mo, please? Pa-thank you ko na rin sa ginawa mo kanina," pakiusap ko, still feeling apologetic dahul sa nangyari sa amin kanina.

"Sige na nga po, Ma'am." I smiled at Kuya Grab then got off after giving him the chocolate. Pagpasok ko ng bahay, nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kuya Reeve pagkakita niya sa mga dala ko.

"Hoy, Thea! Umamin ka nga! May boyfriend ka na ba, ha?" naghi-hysterical na tanong niya sa akin. Nung hindi ako sumagot, lumapit siya sa akin tapos tiningnan niya agad yung nasa card. Lalo lang siyang nagwala pagkabasa niya roon.

"Langya. Sino ba 'yang lalaking 'yan, ha? Yung naghatid ba sa 'yo, ha? Bakit hindi mo pinapasok dito? Pabalikin mo 'yan dito nang makatikim 'yan sa akin!" dere-deretsong sabi ni Kuya. Napailing na lang ako dahil sa pagka-OA niya.

"Kuya, stop over reacting. Pinapa-deliver lang sa akin 'to nung officemate ko. Samahan mo na nga lang ako sa bahay ni Althea," sagot ko sa kanya tapos kinuha ko na ulit yung mga dala ko. With Kuya by my side, I felt more pathetic than ever. Leche naman kasi. Why did I have to go and be a messenger for crying out loud?

Since walang sumasagot sa bahay ni Althea, iniwan ko na lang sa labas ng pinto yung flowers, chocolates, and teddy bear. Wala rin naman kasing instructions si Sir Mark na dapat personal kong maabot 'tong mga regalo niya kay Althea. 

Nung hindi na ako nagsalita, Kuya Reeve decided to stay silent too. He did not even bother to ask me who the hell asked me to do such a stupid thing. Knowing him, he would normally go ballistic for something like this but he chose to keep silent na lang. I was actually thankful for that. Wala na rin kasi akong energy na ikwento pa yung kahihiyan na naramdaman ko kanina sa opisina.

Now, I shall go and stop caring about Valentine's Day. From this day on, it will just be an ordinary day, magka-boyfriend man ako o hindi.

***

February 15, 2017, Manila

I was staring at the office building for a few minutes already when Sir Dexter suddenly showed up beside me. Sa totoo lang, I wanted to call in sick para hindi ko na sana muna haharapin sina Sir Mark at Sir Dexter after what happened last night kaso being the little good employee that I am, pumasok pa rin ako. And now, I'm kind of regretting it right now.

"Thea, you don't look so well. Okay ka lang ba?" nag-aalalang tanong sa akin ni Sir Dexter. He was literally checking every side of my face na para bang nakikita niyang may mali sa akin.

"P-po? Okay lang po ako. Baka hangover lang po. I had a few drinks with my brother po kasi last night." I didn't know why I had to go and explain things to him. But to my surprise, Sir Dexter tapped me on the shoulder and dragged me towards the coffee shop in our office building.

"Go and choose your drink. You would be needing it for today. Don't worry, it's my treat," Sir Dexter said then I did what I was told. I ordered an iced americano and immediately sipped on it pagkabigay sa akin ng barista. Pagkainom na pagkainom ko sa inumin ko, naramdaman ko agad yung tapang ng kape ko.

"Thank you, Sir, for the coffee," nahihiya kong sabi. It's not unusual naman na manlibre si Sir Dexter lalo na sa amin na under niya, pero ang dyahe lang din kasi ng situation namin dahil nga sa nangyari kagabi.

"Don't mention it. By the way, akala ko ba boyfriend mo yung kasama mo kagabi? E bakit ka nakipag-inuman sa kapatid mo? Nag-away ba kayo?" Nasamid ako bigla dahil sa tanong ni Sir Dexter.

"Uy, okay ka lang?" Tumango na lang ako kay Sir Dexter as an answer. I didn't bother to explain things to him anymore. Akala ko magiging tahimik na yung umaga ko that day but Jenny had to go and mess things up again.

"Good morning, Thea! Good morning, Sir Dexter!" Jenny greeted us while smiling like a fool. She didn't know what happened between me and Sir Mark yet so maybe that's the reason why she's so giddy right now. Kung alam lang niya ang nangyari kagabi, siguro galit na galit na siya sa lalaking nirereto niya sa akin ngayon.

"How was your date yesterday?" tanong niya sa akin at napapikit ako dahil doon. Ayaw ko mang aminin 'to sa harapan ni Sir Dexter but I guess I have to.

"I went straight home yesterday. Wala naman akong date and I had to deliver the stuff that Sir Mark asked me to bring to my neighbor's house. Nag-inuman lang kami ni Kuya Reeve kagabi since out of the country pa si Ate Karla," I answered nonchalantly and walked straight towards the elevator. I heard Jenny shrieking and asking what on earth happened but I didn't bother to answer her anymore. I didn't feel like explaining things lalo na't kasama pa rin namin si Sir Dexter. It was getting uncomfortable for me already. Who knows? He might be spying on us right now para makapag-report siya kay Sir Mark.

Ha. Asa naman ako, 'di ba?

Buong umaga akong pinepeste ni Jenny dahil sa nangyari. Up until now, hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala na hindi ako niyayang mag-date ni Sir Mark at para pala sa ibang babae yung bulaklak, tsokolate, at teddy bear na iniwan niya sa lamesa ko. As much as she wanted to go to Sir Mark's office and beat the crap out of him, I stopped her from doing so. We really didn't have any evidence that he liked me naman talaga. It was purely based on assumptions and look where it got us? Wala naman, 'di ba?

When lunch time came, I didn't feel like going out of the office. Jenny was out dahil may client meeting siya, so I was left alone to eat. Magpapa-deliver na lang sana ako ng kung ano when I heard someone clear his throat. To my surprise, it was Sir Mark.

"Yes po, Sir?" I shyly asked, silently praying na umalis na rin agad siya sa harap ko.

"I just wanted to thank you for yesterday."

"It's okay po," sagot ko sa kanya tapos umiwas na agad ako ng tingin. The situation was too awkward and I didn't know how to act around him anymore. Replay nang replay yung nangyari sa amin kahapon dito sa office. Paulit-ulit din tuloy akong nahihiya dahil doon. Ang kaso, luck was never on my side.

"I'm really sorry for the trouble. Let me make it up to you. Let's go out for lunch. I won't take no as an answer," he said at napapikit na lang ako, mentally cursing myself dahil sa kamalasang inaabot ko. Kainis talaga!