Camille Syanna

I roamed my eyes around the small two-story excuse of a house. The door could barely accommodate his height. He'd have to bow walking in. He raised his arm, and he could reach the ceiling without tiptoeing. Peeling wallpapers and old boards were thin and veined. Smells of dust and age.

"You really named your dog Pongo, so I supposed you're Roger?"

He walked back inside after feeding his dog and locking him back in his doghouse. He didn't look at me, stalking towards the small kitchen. "We can cast you for Cruella,"

"No, thank you." Everything in his house contradicts how huge of a human he is. Small living room, close to miniature sofa and center table. Empty center table. How could someone not have a tabletop display and magazines under their center table? Then there's a television, a thirty-two-inch-old-model Sharp, the one with a cathode ray or vacuum tube. I wonder if it still works. That poor thing, I'm giving away LED flat screens to our helpers every Christmas. "Why is your place not centralized?"

He looked back at me from checking his counter-depth refrigerator. "Don't ask me as if every household is supposed to be centralized. Residents here depend on fresh air for ventilation."

"Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes, now looking at the frame of artistically collaged photos hanging on the wall. An older adult smiling brightly in every photo, then there's a boy with blonde hair and green eyes. The grim expression on his face never changed in all those photos, even the knot on his forehead. "Wow, bata ka pa lang demonyito ka na. You looked like the Green Grinch of Whoville."

When I looked at him, he didn't answer, his back facing me and cooking in front of the stove. I walked towards the kitchen, which is, by the way, smaller than my walk-in closet.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Cooking. Stupid." He muttered.

"Wtf? Did you just call me stupid?!" I snapped, moving towards him. "How dare you?!"

"How dare I?" Nilingon niya ako ng naghahamong tingin. "I'd hardly call what I said dare. It's more of a valid statement with vast amounts of truth. You're asking me what I'm doing. Does it look like I'm washing the dishes or doing laundry for you?"

"Asshole! What I mean is, what are you cooking!" I hate that he's a smart mouth.

Bumalik ang tingin niya sa kaniyang niluluto bago sumagot. "Tuyo."

"What's that?" I asked again, trying to peek from his shoulder. Agad akong napatakip sa aking ilong. "Eew, it's mabaho!"

"Hindi mo alam 'yung tuyo?" Muli niya akong nilingon ng hindi makapaniwalang tingin. Umiling ako, cause hindi ko naman alam what's that. "Dried fish. You haven't tried it?"

"Duh!" I rolled my eyes, now he's the stupid one. "Kaya nga I'm asking 'di ba? I'm not familiar to it, so malamang hindi pa ko nakakakain nyan. Stupid!"

"Arte mo," he went back to cooking.

"Did you check maybe expired na 'yan? Cause, really, the smell is disturbing." I moved away, ang eew kasi talaga ng amoy. I stalked his fridge, looking for anything edible except for that 'fish,' but to my dismay, nada. "Oh, my God! ZA, you know the refrigerator is essential for food storage. The lower temperature lowers the reproduction rate of bacteria, so the refrigerator reduces the rate of spoilage. I'm just saying, in case you didn't know, it's not for display. You might wanna stock food in it."

It seems like a hopeless case. I pulled a chair behind the dining table and took a seat, watching ZA do his thing. In all fairness, his house is small but tidy. I tapped my long, pink-painted nails on the glass table.

"Is that the only food you have here?" I was really hungry. My last meal was lunch, and that was over twelve hours ago. "That eew fish?"

"Dried fish." Mariin niyang sabi. "And yes, ito lang. Ngayon lang ako nakauwi dito sa loob ng halos dalawang buwan."

"It doesn't look like a fish to me," I shrugged. "Pwede ba 'yan kainin talaga? Like it won't harm my health? Because really, I've been to many restaurants in my life and I haven't seen one of those. Then it's mabaho pa."

I heard him sigh before he turned off the burner and transferred the tuyo to a plate. He put it on the table and faced me. It looks like his patience was ticking a hundred. Anong magagawa ko? E, hindi naman talaga ako kumakain 'nun. I was ready to argue when he heaved another long sigh.

"Look, Camille. I'm tired. I'm sure you are, too. I'm hungry. And I know you are, too. This is the only human food I have here. Can you at least give it a try? Just for now. Tomorrow, I'll cook something else, okay? But for now, let's settle for this so we can rest. I'm sorry." He said sincerely.

I may be a tough bitch to handle, but I value people's apologies. It's not easy to admit your mistakes and say sorry. I smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, plate and utensils, please?"

His lips slowly curved into a smile, the kind of smile I'd never seen in him. Not cocky, boastful, and annoying. It's genuine and pure, and it reached his eyes. "Thank you."

We both eat in silence. It doesn't taste that bad naman pala. It's really mabaho lang talaga. ZA used his bare hands to eat, I don't know how to do that, so I depended on a fork and spoon. After we ate, ZA stood up and cleaned the table, putting the dishes in the sink. I don't see any dishwasher. He should buy one, that's important.

"ZA, the tuyo is good, but I wanna go home na later," I said, watching his back.

"Not yet,"

"Why? I eat na nga the tuyo, e."

"Well, it's not about the tuyo." He emphasized tuyo.

"Okay, I'm sorry for wasting your money. Alright, I admit. I went a little overboard-"

"A little?" He looked back and exaggeratedly widens his eyes. "You think you went a little overboard wasting money for all labeled shit?"

I squinted my eyes at him. Here we go again, bickering. I made a face. "Okay, alright. I went overboard. I shouldn't have done that. But you and your guts pushed me into it. I'm admitting my mistake now. I'll return your money, then we call it quits. Just take me back home today."

He turned off the faucet and faced me, his arms akimbo. He stared at me for a few seconds before he raised his brows. "You'll return the four million I bid, too?"

"Of course not!" I hissed. "Why would I do that? I didn't ask you to bid. It's actually better if you didn't. You stole the chance I had with Zanti, tapos you think I'll pay you back for that? Are you crazy?"

"Oh, e 'di walang uuwi." Muli niya akong tinalikuran para tapusin ang paghuhugas ng mga plato.

"ZA, you can't keep me here. I can't live here! This place is a shoebox!" I raised my voice, standing up. "I have a business to run. What will happen to it if you'll jail me here for stealing your money? I'm willing to pay na nga 'di ba? Pero, not the four M. Never the four M. Be reasonable. I don't wanna be stuck in here."

He didn't reply until he finished what he was doing. He reached for a clean paper towel and wiped his hands on it. Then he faced me. He looked ten times tired now. "Camille, don't ask people to be reasonable if you don't know how to do it yourself. Not everyone is born rich like you, I wasn't. I need to work hard to make ends meet. The three million you run to my credit card? I'm paying it through my hard-earned money, so as the bid I made, which is okay since it's going to help less fortunate people like I once was."

"I know, believe me, I get it now." A little. But okay, ZA is doing great, making me feel guilty for what I did. "But you keeping me here won't change the fact that it already happened and is already done. I'm sorry, okay. I admit my offense."

"Good, now take the punishment."

•••

As per Donatella Versace, fashion is a weapon you can use when needed. I'm sorry to inform you, D, fashion can't do anything to take me out of this miserable place right now.

I unzipped my duffle bag. Yes, it looked familiar because, apparently, it's mine. ZA planned this revenge perfectly. He asked one of our helpers to pack my things and even talked to my employees at Floribunda to inform them that I'd be gone for days. Screw him.

The door of the room opened, and ZA walked in, holding two clean bath towels. He placed one on the bed. "Nasa labas 'yung cr kung gusto mong maligo."

"ZA, you're really making things hard for me. At night, I soaked my body in an Evian bath. I'm sure that's not your water here. Then I put basil to it-"

"Basil?" He said incredulously. "You put basil in your bath? What are you? A vegan pizza in need of spice?"

I rolled my eyes. Oh, what does he know? "It's an anti-inflammatory ingredient to fight stress and muscle pain!"

"Oh, Camille. You are the stress." Natatawang sabi niya.

"Whatever! Madonna does that!" I exclaimed, mas lalo siyang natawa at binalewala na ang sinabi ko.

"Dalawa lang ang kwarto dito. When my grandmother passed, I turned half of her room into a man cave. The other half is for storage." He said.

I roamed my eyes around his room. It wasn't big, just enough to fit a full-sized bed and a nightstand, with two built-in cabinets and a double-hung window. The four walls are painted in smooth azure. "Can you at least give me some slippers? I'm tired of walking around barefoot."

He opened his cabinet, and from the bottom drawer, he took a pair of clean white bedroom slippers. "That was Nana's."

I nodded and muttered thanks before slipping into it. "So, where are you gonna sleep then?"

"Here,"

Figured. "How about me?"

"Here,"

Figured that too. I'm tired of arguing with ZA. I'm exhausted, and I want to sleep. I took a pair of clean underwear from my bag and cursed, looking at three pairs of chemise in different colors packed for me. My clothes are limited, that's so sad. Because right now, what I need are pajamas and an oversized shirt. I couldn't find any. Either that, or I'll be wearing a suede dress in my sleep. I don't even have a short or jeans there. "I don't know what I'm gonna wear."

"The black looks good," he said suggestively while looking at the black negligee hanging on the mouth of the bag.

"Then take it and wear it." I sneered. I can't be wearing that with a man inside the room. No. "Do you have a shirt I can borrow?"

The only thing I'm thankful for right now is that my shower gel, bath soap and cream, shampoo and conditioner, comb, toothbrush, and body lotion are in the bag. It's not complete, but at least I have some to help me survive.

"You can wear this one," he said, handing me a black and yellow hockey jersey. "Malaki 'yan, it can cover you well."

I took it and displayed it in front of me. It is vast, especially for my size. "Shame, you're not New York Rangers."

"Have you seen Sidney Crosby play?" He said though I could sense he was a bit surprised about my hockey interest. I've watched NHL Live a few times with Dad. "That man is God on ice."

The team captain, Crosby himself, signs the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. "He still poops shit, not gold."

He laughed and started leaving the room. "I'll just check something from the other room. The toilet is clean, the pipes are working, and there shouldn't be any problem."

•••

I just had the worst bath ever. And now I'm dealing with the worst post-bath. I don't have a blower and am not too fond of air-drying my hair. ZA's room doesn't have an air conditioner, just a standard electric fan. Like I have a choice?

He walked in while I was drying my hair in front of the fan. So this is how it feels to be poor, huh? It's tough. How can people manage to deal with this kind of life every day?

I put my dirty laundry in the bin behind the door. I believe that's what it's for. ZA removed his shirt and threw it in the trunk. Now I know I'm right. He took my duffle bag and asked me if I would still need anything. When I said no, he put it inside the cabinet. Then took clothes from it and went out of the room again. A few minutes later, I heard the shower turn on. God, the walls in this house are too thin. You can listen to everything!

After I finished, I quickly put lotion on my body. I don't want ZA catching me doing that. Then I climbed over the bed and covered myself with the blanket. There's another blanket neatly folded on his side of the bed. I lie down on the bed, facing the opposite direction from the door.

Then I heard the shower turn off. See, I really hear everything! I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. When the door opened, okay, I still couldn't hear things. I was wrong because I couldn't hear ZA's movement. How does he do that? The devil knows.

I felt the vacant space of the bed being taken when ZA lay next to me. I froze but still didn't move.

I'm being punished.