Camille Syanna

"Camille! Bilisan mo!" Narinig kong sigaw ni ZA mula sa ibaba. I don't know why lagi na lang siyang naka-shout. As if naman I can't hear him, eh, I'm not deaf naman!

"Ito na!" I yelled back in irritation.

As usual, maaga na naman niya akong ginising dahil may mahalaga daw kaming gagawin. I really hate that he's bossing me around!

But I have no choice! Gusto ko nang umuwi sa amin, and have my glamorous life back!

Nang makababa ako ay natanaw ko siya mula sa malaking bintana na may dala-dalang dalawang timba ng tubig.

I can't help but stare at his corded biceps. He is toned in all the right places. And that's not a surprise considering he's a soldier. ZA's got the body for it, I give him that.

God, he's hot!

"Hoy! Huwag mo akong panuorin, lumabas ka 'dyan." Muling tawag niya sa aking atensyon.

And he's rude! Wake up, Camille! A guy like Zanti would never talk to you the way this man did!

Umiirap at napipilitan akong bumaba. "Ano bang gagawin kasi?!"

"Maglalaba," sagot niya while transferring the water from the pail to a huge basin.

"Maglalaba is laundry, right?" I ask to make sure.

And when ZA nods, I laugh. He's being funny! So funny!

"My nails aren't made for laba, duh?" I even showed her my fingers with fine nail extensions in pastel colors. "Are you OK with a K?"

"Yes with a Y," he mimics my tone.

"You're out of your mind. I'm not gonna do that," I shake my head profusely.

"Oh, yes you will," he smirks and starts sorting the clothes, separating the whites.

"No! I've never did my own laundry before,"

"There's always a first time for everything, baby," he winks. Okay, charming, but still annoying!

"No, my hands are too moisturized for that kind of task!" Muli kong iling.

"But these are your clothes," sabi niya bago ako balingan ng seryosong tingin. "Don't you want to go home?"

"Need you ask? I do! I super do!"

"Then be a good girl, obey," he turns his back on me and starts leaving.

"Oh, for the love of God!" I cry in frustration. "Don't you have like washing machine I can load these in?"

"Nada,"

"Oh, you're not just trying to be poor. You're trying to live back in the 18th century!"

That night, I cried. And I mean real tears, not the ones I made up to make paawa that almost never worked with ZA. My hands were tired and injured. I didn't lie when I said it was my first time doing my own laundry. It was! I always had someone do those kind of stuff for me.

"Camille, hindi pa tayo tapos." Si ZA iyon, wala pa akong ten minutes na nakaka-upo ay tinatawag niya na naman ako. Can't he see I'm tired?! I'm not cut for this, but I'm trying naman! Sana lang he stops pressuring me by nagging. "Tutulungan mo pa akong linisin iyong isang kwarto para iyon na ang gamitin ko dahil medyo malikot kang matulog."

I count to five and ZA is already standing in front of me with a broom in his hand.

"I don't like na," I sigh and shake my head. "I'm tired!"

"Tired ka 'dyan, tayo!" Masungit niyang sabi bago iabot sa akin ang walis na labag sa loob ko na namang tinanggap.

Nagpatiuna na naman siyang maglakad pabalik sa itaas. I can feel the corner of my eyes watering. No, you're not going to cry out of inis for that guy! Do not let him win!

Upstairs I catch him putting some displayed frames in a storage box. He doesn't lift his gaze on me, just points at the corner of the room.

"Doon ka sa sulok magsimula magwalis, papalabas."

"I can't walis," I tell him. "I don't know how."

Hindi niya naman siguro inaasahang alam ko ang bagay na ito, noh?

"It's not rocket science, Camille." He answers, still not looking up. "You just swipe the dust away and into the dustpan."

God, I hope he has a vacuum cleaner man lang. Not that I know how to use vacuums that are not robots. But it's easier if I just press a button rather than dusting manually.

Maya-maya pa'y natatawa siyang bumaling sa akin at nagtanong. "Why are you shaking the broom?"

"You're laughing now, eh, I told you naman that I don't know how to use this." I roll my eyes, still dusting.

He walks up to me and demonstrates how to properly use the broom. "Now, you do it,"

"You're so galing galing naman mag-broom e, sana ikaw na mag-finish!"

Napasinghap ako nang may maramdaman akong gumapang sa aking mga paa. Mabilis akong napatili nang matanto kung ano iyon.

"Oh, my God! There's a roach on my feet!" I use the broom to shove it off. "Yuck! Yuck! Yucky!"

"Camille, hindi ka kayang patayin ng ipis." ZA watches me cry my lungs out.

"I NEED TO SEE MY SKIN DOCTOR!" I demand. "The germs might stick to my skin! Oh, my God!"

"Hoy, para kang tanga. Maghugas ka ng paa mo doon. Hindi ka mamamatay dahil lang nagapanggan ka ng ipis."

"Cockroaches are the dirtiest! And you have them in your house! How can you be so calm?!" I scream at him because I need to.

"You are the most overacting person I ever met," sense ko ang pagtitimpi sa tone niya.

"Fair enough," I meet his gaze. "You are the filthiest person I know."

Our eyes locked, challenging each other.

"Tao ka ba?"

"Tao ka ba?"

Magkapanabay pa naming tanong sa isa't isa.

"Hmp!" Naiinis ko siyang tinalikuran so I could go the bathroom and wash my feet. Nakakadiri talaga!

After all the cleaning, we both had dinner. And after dinner, I went straight to the bathroom and soak myself in the shower. I felt filthy and tired. Then I changed into a pair of clean clothes.

Lahat ng pagod na-feel ko when I lie down. My eyes darted on the bare ceiling of ZA's room. It was blank that made me think of images of my parents just so I could put something to it.

I suddenly missed them. It has been a six days since I last saw him, and I didn't have any contact from the outside world.

I was starting to miss my friends too. Nisha, Chiara, and even the people at Floribunda. I couldn't help but worry about the flowers I left.

I missed Zanti, too.

I closed my eyes and silently prayed for ZA to see that I was really doing my best to cut short my stay here. Sumusunod naman ako sa mga sinasabi niya, okay, I kept complaining, but still, ginagawa ko naman 'yung mga gusto niya ipagawa.

When I took and used his credit card, I never thought that this would happen. Had I known, I would've swiped my own card. And I hated how ZA was starting to make sense now. My having everything disables me to survive without anything.

I hate it when he's right!

And before I knew it, I was silently crying. I let the tears roll down my cheeks like they were meant to do so.

"Are you crying?" It was ZA's voice that made me wipe away my tears.

I didn't know how he kept doing that, moving without making any sound. This man could kill me, and I wouldn't even know it.

"No!" I denied. "Why would I cry? There's nothing nakakaiyak naman,"

"Malay ko sa'yo," he chuckled lightly. "Baka iniisip mo pa rin 'yung ipis kanina."

"Funny," I fake a laugh bago paikutin ang aking mga mata. "What are you still doing here? Don't you have a room na?"

"This is still my room," he said and started walking in. ZA removed his shirt and tossed it on the floor before he dropped on the bed in his stomach. "Napapagod ako, Camille. Masahe nga 'dyan!"

"Ah, wow! Ganda naman ng masseuse mo!" Inirapan ko siya, umusog din ako ng slight cause ang close niya sa akin masyado.

"Sige na," he yawned and closed his eyes. ZA looked really beaten. "Massage or extend your stay?"

"You can't always use that one me! Pareho tayong tired!"

"It's not up to you,"

"Besides, how long pa ba ako mag-stay here? Ayaw ko na!"

"I already told you, hanggang sa hindi mo na hilinging iwan ang lugar na 'to." Muli ay makahulugan niyanh sabi.

Ah, so forever me here! Argh!