Mag-iisang taon na ang pandemic pero hindi pa rin bumabalik sa normal ang lahat. Niki was already about to lose her mind trying to find a job that she would want to do and that would pay well. Not doing anything routinary had diminished the skills she had that were required for work. She has not opened an excel file in months. Even her interview skills became rusty. Her confidence suffered too.

Normally, she would mend her misery with online shopping. Andy kindly reminded her that she was burning limited money and it would burn faster if she would not curb her shopping addiction.

Niki didn't know how her trail of thought led her to installing the dating app Andy suggested before. But she was so bored out of her wits, she decided to finally create an account just to see what the hype was about.

The problem was she didn't know what to write on her profile. She wanted to be funny or witty, but every time she tried, something always felt off. She needed Andy's expertise. So she kicked his bedroom door open. "Andy! I need you!"

Nakadapa ito sa kama nito, tulog. Diagonal ang higa at nakasubsob ang kalahati ng mukha sa unan. Ponkan was napping on his back. Parehong napapitlag ang dalawa nang tumaklab ang pinto.

Umungot si Andy at itinaas ang ulo. He was squinting at her. "Wharrafuck Niki," he muttered. Hinila nito ang unan na hinihigaan at saka itinaklob sa ulo nito.

"Sorry. Akala ko gising ka." Niki rubbed her arms. His room was cold. Nakatodo ang aircon. She told him that he can only use the air conditioning unit at night, but Andy insisted that she allow him to use it whenever he wanted. He offered to shoulder the electricity bill in return. "Hindi ka nilalamig? Pang karne yung aircon dito. Grabe."

No wonder Ponkan used Andy for body heat.

"What do you want?" tanong ni Andy. Ponkan got off of him and stretched when he moved again. The kitten yelped when he pulled it back to him. Hindi na yata allergic si Andy sa pusa. Or he had already built up his immunity, seeing that Ponkan's presence doesn't bother him as it used to before.

Niki sat on the bed and showed him the online dating app. "I need your help."

–

"How about this one?" Niki showed Andy a selfie. Mukhang wala itong makeup. She had her head against the window of the unit, probably inside her bedroom. The sunlight was illuminating her face. He recognized the shirt she was wearing in the photo. So it was just taken recently. She swiped to show the other uploaded pictures. Naka-draft pa lang iyon. Hindi pa nito ina-upload.

"Keep this," he said, pointing to the selfie in the sunlight. "Remove this. And this. And this."

"But why?" Niki pouted. "Pangit ba 'ko dun?"

"Puro selfie yung picture mo. You were wearing the same shirt in three of them. Guys would think that you don't have a life. Wala kang picture na hindi selfie? Na kinuha sa labas? Something adventurous? What about that trip we had in Bangkok? Marami kang magandang picture dun. I would know because I took those pictures. As opposed to those you've taken–"

"Yeah. I get it. You take good pictures and I don't," she retorted. "But that was years ago. Maiksi pa yung buhok ko dun."

She had a bob cut back then. Brown with highlights. Mahaba na ang buhok nito, halos aabot na sa bewang. Itim na ang kulay sa tuktok. She would have her hair in a bun all day. Inilulugay nito iyon bago matulog. Kapag nagkikita sila sa sala bago ito matulog, makikita niyang medyo kulot ang buhok nito.

Niki recently tried doing CGM or curly girl method. She brought too many hair products. Most of them were just sitting in one of the cupboards, collecting dust. Niki stopped doing too much to her hair, but her natural wavy hair was slowly showing.

He remembered liking her natural hair so much when they were in high school. Buhaghag iyon na kulot, the short tendrils framed her face beautifully. Nagsimulang magpa-rebond si Niki noong college. A guy she used to like commented that her hair was frizzy and all over the place. Niki took it to heart. Tapos nakasanayan na nito dahil gusto nito ng low maintenance na buhok.

"Let me pick the pictures to upload," he offered.

Niki was hesitant to give him her phone, but she later agreed. In the end, she liked all the pictures he chose. "I told you I know you better," pagyayabang niya.

–

"No. No. No. No."

Niki rolled her eyes. She had been swiping no from profile to profile because Andy didn't think they were good enough to date. One look at the guys' profiles and he would immediately shake his head.

"He was using his dog to get women to like him. But he likes his dog so much," kumento nito sa lalaking kasama palagi yung aso nito sa picture.

"He's lying about his height," sabi nito sa profile ng lalaki na naka-half body shot pero 6'1" ang nakalagay na height.

"He's a gym rat. Puro gym pics. Not a good sign," kumento naman nito sa lalaki na puro sa gym ang pictures.

"What if he just likes taking care of his body?"

"Trust me. I know guys better than you do," he told her. She didn't argue anymore.

Have you ever said, 'Fuck the police?' Well, now's your chance. Niki laughed at the bio. It was a selfie of a guy wearing a police uniform.

"You don't like guys in uniform," Andy pointed out.

"I know. But you have to admit that was funny."

I know how to handle a pussy in bed. And it was a guy cuddling his cat. As a cat parent, Niki appreciated the joke. Andy, however, looked constipated.

Niki rolled her eyes and gave him the phone. "Fine. Since you claim you know guys better, why don't you pick a guy for me?"

"Okay," he said with a shrug and took the phone from her. Lumayo ito sa kanya para maka-concentrate sa ginagawa. He said he didn't need her input. Niki wondered if Andy really knew what she would like. They are best friends, sure, but she doesn't know what she wants exactly. How would he know if she doesn't know?

Andy spent about 10 minutes of aggressive swiping at the kitchen counter. "Done," sabi nito maya-maya.

"Agad?"

"Yeah." Iniabot nito ang phone sa kanya. "Check it out."

Andrew, 29

I always keep a loaded gun on my nightstand in the event of an intrusion, so I can shoot myself to avoid meeting new people.

Andrew was holding his cat like a shotgun. The black cat had deer-in-the-headlights eyes and an open mouth. In the second picture, he was hugging an older woman Niki assumed was his mom. Sa pangatlo naman was a printed out picture of him holding a cake and the background was edited to look like the "heaven", a common jest among friends.

Michael, 30

If we ever date, tell no one that we met on the internet. Our story is, we met when I saved your cat from a burning building.

Michael is a firefighter. He was also holding a cat in one of the pictures. Saved from a burning building.

"I thought you said I didn't like men in uniform?" taas-kilay niyang tanong.

"You don't like men in uniform but you can like a man who happens to be in uniform. There's a difference." She didn't understand what he meant pero hindi na rin siya nagtanong. She liked the guy's bio and it was Andy approved so...

Jake, 26

My perfect date night: I pick you up in my car. You get in. There are candles in the car. You go, "Isn't that dangerous?" and I go, "Yes, but I like danger."

We go to your favorite restaurant and we have a fantastic meal. We come outside and we see my car's on fire.

You go, "Jake, your car's on fire. Aren't you upset?" I pull out a bag of marshmallows and I go, "No. I knew this was gonna happen."

And then I kiss you, in front of my burning car.

"He's 26," Niki told Andy.

"Yeah, and funny," he replied. "You should not restrict yourself in a certain age range, you know. Younger guys are fun."

"And unstable."

"Relax, Niks. It's just one date... for now."

Sabagay. Niki couldn't help but think about her future, but Andy was right. For now, she should just think about the first date first.

–

"We matched!" Niki announced a few minutes later.

He looked away from the TV. "Kanino?"

"Kay Jake. He said hi. Mag-reply ako agad?"

"Patingin." Andy read the message. Ibinalik niya kay Niki ang phone nito. "You want my help with the reply?"

Niki nodded. She looked excited and nervous. Niki has never been on a date with anyone she met online, because she hasn't met anyone online before. May ilang nanligaw dito dati pero kakilala nila pareho. Lahat ng naging boyfriends nito, kilala niya in person. This was new to Niki, and he wanted to make sure that she would have a fun experience.

For the following days, he helped Niki reply to Jake. She matched with the other guys as well pero boring daw kausap ang mga ito. Niki had taken a liking to Jake. Andy understood. He chose Jake because they have the same sense of humor, so he knew Niki would find him funny.

It was Wednesday afternoon when Niki knocked on his bedroom door. He was currently zoning out from work and was about to get his third cup of coffee.

"Hm?"

"He just asked me out on a date. This Friday." She was almost out of breath when she said that, as if she had just spent a few minutes running around the unit. Judging by her flushed face, she might have had. "Should I say yes?"

"Well, what exactly did you think would happen when you matched? Online lang?" he teased. "Of course you should say yes."

"But I'm out of practice. What if I make the wrong impression?"

Andy rolled his eyes. "It's just a date, Niki. He's probably more nervous than you are."

"I was good at replying because you have been helping me. Pero paano kapag kami na lang?"

"Then charm him. I'm sure he'll appreciate your... dry humor."

Sumimango ito. Andy shook his head and let out a laugh.

"Gusto mo ng trial run?"

"What? Like a test date?"