V. It's The End Of Us

“So, how’s ‘the thing’ huh?!”  kinikilig na tanong ng ka-officemate ni Trisha, even quoting with her hands when she mentioned ‘the thing’.  Nasa cafeteria silang dalawa situated at the ground floor.   It’s been a week since the incident at hindi pa sila nagkikita ni Drake dahil nasa Conference ito.  He didn’t even contacted her nor she did to him.  It just like both of them were avoiding the issue. 

Natigilan siya kahit alam niyang itatanong ito ni Abby sa kanya.  “Ano bang pinagsasabi mo?”  Pilit siyang ngumiti para hindi nito mahalata that there’s something wrong.

“Ano ka ba! It’s your Third Anniversary, don’t tell me nothing happened?”  pangungulit nito.

Actually, something happened.  “I’m not ready yet!” pagsisinunghaling niya dito.

“Hay naku!  Alam mo ba kung gaano kagwapo ‘yang boyfriend mong ‘yan? Everyone wants to do him, except me of course, and that’s because you’re my friend.  Here I am respecting your relationship and here you are denying me the pleasure of knowing how really good he is in bed!”  panunukso nito not realizing the agony she’s feeling right now hidden behind the smiles she kept plastered in her face. 

Yeah, everyone wants to do him especially my cousin.  Nakaramdam siya ng inis, “Why don’t you ask them, maybe they knew.”

“Seryoso ka ba?” gulat nitong tanong.

Nang marealized ang sinabi agad siyang ngumiti, “just kidding!”  She bit her lower lip to control her emotions.  She can’t blame Abby for asking questions.  Before, she actually liked it when she asked about things with Drake.  She talked and asked bold questions that would really embarrassed you and those who can hear would be scarred for life.  Self-appointed president ito ng fan club nilang dalawa.  Yeah!  Medyo sikat silang dalawa as couple amongst all employees here in the Central Office.  Drake is the ideal boyfriend material, handsome with a happy go lucky smile yet having an intelligent aura because obviously he is an attorney.  He also played basketball like a pro since his college days.

“Hey Trish, are you okay?”  pag-aalalang turan nito.  “I’ve been meaning to ask you these past days, you don’t look well, may problema ka ba?”

Nginitian niya ito to assure her that everything is all right.  “Opps!  Minamadali nga pala ni madam ‘yong report na hinihingi niya sa akin.  I’m done and I need to go. Seeyah!”  Nagmamadali siyang lumabas ng cafeteria at lumulan ng elevator kasabay ng mga empleyadong tapos na rin mag-snack.

Dumaan muna siya ng powder room in the 8^th Floor where the Financial Offices are located.   She keep on telling herself not to think about it too much yet she can’t control herself everytime someone asked her about Drake.  Thankfully, no one saw what happened at the airport.  Just thinking how she would handle things when she and Drake finally met after the unofficial break-up is unthinkable.  After composing herself she went out at muntikan ng may makabangga, mabuti na lamang at mabilis siyang napatigil to avoid the collision.

“Sorry!”  Aalis na sana siya to avoid the woman.

“Hello Trisha!  I’ve been wondering lately where you were, I haven’t seen you for a while.” Nakangiti ito so sweetly that Trisha wanted to rip the woman’s teeth.

Humarap siya dito with a fake smile of her own.  “Jade, it’s nice to see you, mauna na ako.”  She doesn’t have the strength to talk to Jade, who was a close friend of Chelsea.

Nagpatuloy pa rin ito, still having that annoying smile.  “I heard some news, a very good one by the way, that you and Drake broke-up.”

Hindi siya makapagsalita. Chelsea must have told her friend or friends what happened on Sunday.  She felt humiliated by the insulting look Jade was giving her, they must be pitying her.  She can’t think of a come back and just stand there letting Jade see the pain that must be showing in her face. 

“Poor girl, it must be hard realizing your boyfriend’s betrayal.  Well, I guess he deserves someone better…in bed!”  At patuloy na itong pumasok ng powder room.

Nanghihina siyang umupo sa kanyang cubicle and massage her aching temple.  She doesn’t have the luxury to be weak especially when words come out regarding their break-up.  She needed Chloe right now but she’s still out of town with her boss in a Conference.  Suddenly, the memory of the guy named Marsden came to her and the picture of their kiss surprised Trisha.  Namumula ang mga pisnging naitakip niya ang mga palad sa mukha.  She doesn’t expected how clear the scene was.  Like it totally astounded her how thinking about a stranger calmed her nerves and lightened her emotions.  Siguro dahil sa friendly aura nito or the fact that he took good care of her when she badly needed someone to cry on.  Albeit his an arrogant beast.

Huminga siya ng malalim and optimistically started working, “I owe that guy big time!”

★★★

“Thank you for finishing these reports so soon Trisha.  You’re a God sent to make my life easier,” turan ng Senior Accountant nila na si Mrs. Lauricio nang ibigay niya ang reports dito.

“Wait!”  pigil nito nang akto na siyang aalis.  “LUCIANlympics is on the weekend and the Red Lions’ Volleyball Team is counting on you.”

“Ma’am, our Volleyball Team has excellent players, surely we will be number one again,” she humbly replied.

“Yup, we have a lot of players whose abilities are amazing but your positivity and sportsmanship hold the players together plus you’re one of our best.  You always cheer them up so keep it up dear,” ngumiti ito with a motherly love.  It seemed like even Mrs. Lauricio detected the troubles and pains she’s enduring right now.

LUCIANlympics ang yearly gathering ng mga employees in all branches of the LUCIAN Group of Companies nationwide in celebration of their Foundation Anniverary.  It was sub-divided into six clusters because of its locations.  The Cluster 1 where the main office and all branches within central Luzon belong will be held at Manila Grand Recreational Center on the weekend and everyone is looking forward to it.

Si Trisha ang captain ng Red Lion’s Volleyball Team.  Sila ang champion last year kaya kailangan nilang panatilihin ang kampeonato.  She wanted to be cheerfull and be excited about the Sportfest but it seemed so hard to do.  Gotta put my head on the game and shove my heart into my pocket! Trisha keeps on reminding herself.

★★★

Wearing her team’s red T-shirt with a Lion print, nakatayo si Trisha in front of the stage together with her teammates and the other three competing teams.  There are atleast 50 employees in one team.  Everyone’s wearing an excited smile in their faces but Trisha annoyingly felt like she had eaten dozens of butterflies that keep on flying inside her stomach.  She keeps on remembering her encounter with Drake a while ago outside the Center before the program starts.

On the way to the entrance when she arrived, nakita niya si Drake na papalabas din ng Center talking to someone in the phone.  Pareho silang natigilan, mabuti na lamang at maaga pa at maliit pa ang tao na nasa labas.

“I’ll call you back,” ibinaba ni Drake ang phone at itinuon ang atensyon sa kanya.

“Can we talk?”  Lumapit ito sa kanya.

Trisha can’t look at him in the eyes so she kept on looking beyond Drake.  “Ano pa bang dapat nating pag-usapan?”

Aalis na sana siya nang hawakan nito ang  kanyang braso to stop her.  When she looked back and met his pleading eyes, she almost lost it.  She still wanted to see him, talk to him despite what happened.

“Let’s talk.”  Hinila siya nito papunta sa likuran ng Center where a lot of trees scattered and could gave them privacy.

Trisha didn’t know if someone noticed them, she can’t even see the people around, just focusing on what she’s feeling right now.

Nang nasa ilalim na sila ng mga puno behind twin trees which hide them from onlookers, binitawan siya ni Drake.  “Akala mo ba nakalimutan ko na ang ginawa mo at the airport?”  panunumbat nito.  His face contoured into anger.

Nagulat siya sa tinuran nito.  “Ikaw ang may ginawa Drake.  Ang kapal naman ng mukha mo kung umasta ka parang ikaw ang niloko,” galit din niyang sumbat dito.

Napalitan ng guilt ang galit nito and hesitantly touched Trisha’s shoulders.  “That guy you kissed, he’s just a random guy right?”

Natigilan siya sa sinabi nito.  Will she be honest and admit it or continue the lie to spite him?

  “Kilala kita, you’re not that kind of woman and I love you for that.”  With pleading eyes and hope in his voice, mas dumiin ang mga kamay nitong nakawak sa mga balikat niya.

“Stop it!  You betrayed me Drake and I so desperately wanted you to feel the same.  So yeah, I acted on impulse and kissed him, pretended that you’ve been cheated too.”  Trisha hated admitting it but she’s not good at lying.  She’s too honest for her own good.

Drake smirked and his face lightened like he was relieved at aktong yayakapin sana siya nang itulak niya ito and distanced herself. She hated the arrogance in his face as if he haven’t done anything wrong.  With finality in her voice she composed herself.  “It’s over Drake.  This is the end of us, go back to your lover and don’t you dare act again like you’re the one being cheated,” at tuluyan ng umalis si Trisha finally having the closure she deserves.

Ilang beses rin niyang naramdaman ang mga pasulyap na tinging ipinupukol sa kanya ni Drake but she never once looked at him.  She acted normal pero naiilang siya sa mga tinging itinutuon sa kanila ng mga ka-officemate.  Tiyak na nagtataka ang mga ito dahil ni minsan hindi sila nakitang nag-usap o kahit nagtinginan man lang.  Supportive si Drake sa kanya last year when she played and she vigorously cheered him on.

Nang magtanghalian na ang kada-grupo sa mga dishes sponsored by the company hindi niya maiwasang mahiya sa mga panunukso ng mga katrabaho.

“Oi may lover’s quarrel, ang sweet naman,” panunukso ng mga ito.

“Kiss and make up na yan,” dinig naman niyang panunukso ng mga kasamahan kay Drake, unlucky enough, katabi nila ang Team Station ng Black Mamba.  Nakita niyang pangiti-ngiti lamang ito na para bang lover’s quarrel nga lamang ang pinagdadaanan nila.  Bakit kaya hindi pa rin nito inaamin na wala na sila?  Siguro kagaya rin ng nararamdaman niya kahit siya mismo ang nagsabi na it’s the end of their relationship, naandiyan pa rin ang paghihinayang sa tatlong taong masaya nilang pinagsamahan.  Maybe the friendship they’ve created was still there and deep inside Trisha wanted to preserve it no matter who made mistakes.

As the hours stretched on Trisha realized she was enjoying the sportfest for real.  She’d forgotten the pain for the moment and focused on winning the game and contributing to the best of her abilities for them to be victorious again. 

Natapos ang Sportfest peacefully maliban na lamang sa maliit na pikonan ng Black Mamba at Blue Dragon Basketball Teams. She admitted na mainitin din ang ulo ng ex-boyfriend kapag pressure sa laro and tended to show his superiority sometimes, one reason why she did everything just to avoid getting him angry.  Awarding and acquaintance will be on Friday Night.  It is the most awaited event where everyone is given the previledge to enjoy socialization, with wines, beers and everything that a five star hotel can offer.  One way of the company to ensure loyalty and commitment from their employees is to give them the feeling of importance.  Lucian Group of Companies believe that…what you give, is what you get.