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Chapter 17
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The Reunion Chapter 18
“Hey, old sport,” Jacob greets in a distinct Leo DiCaprio voice.Megan can only sigh in response.“Tired already??”“You know how exhausting all the greetings can be.” She lets out another long exhale from the mano session after mano session with all the other parents just a few seconds ago. “And that’s not even going to be the end of it just yet.” They’re both aware that lots of other titas and titos will come later. Filipino time, as they say. You have to be at least thirty minutes late after the designated time for the event (in this case, the big reunion) to start. A concept that is beyond any person that has a sane mind in this country.“Look on the bright side: you have me,” Jacob offers humorously.Megan rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at him playfully. “I must say, you clean up really nicely, Mr. Ocampo.”“Why, thank you, Ms. Villavieja. I clean myself.”She furrows her eyebrows at him for a bit, feeling confused at his statement. And as their eyes me
The Reunion Epilogue
It takes a few weeks for Megan to transition into moving from her family home to Jacob’s apartment. Rather emotional too. She’s never been one to deal with moving well. Even though as a kid, she and her family moved thrice in Ras Tanura. In the same neighborhood, to be fair. The point is she never liked change. At least at first, she didn’t. Deep down, she knows it’s a way for her to grow as a person. After exchanging goodbyes and see you laters with her family in the main lobby, Megan heads up to the thirty-third floor of the condominium. She turns the lock on the all too familiar door she’s seen about ten times, maybe even more. Lo and behold, her newly furnished home welcomes her. She spots a couple of stuff that aren’t hers in the living room and kitchen.Now that she thinks about it, she hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting her new roommate during her tedious move. Either he would come and leave his things a couple of days after her or even a few hours. If she was paranoi
The Reunion Footnotes
1 “What’s up?”, “What’s happening?”, “What gives?” in Filipino. Depends on the situation. In this case, it’s the first question.2 Child3 Favorite pronounced the “Filipino” way. Not really the direct translation of the mentioned word.4 One of the most well-loved dishes in the Philippines.5 A nickname for Saudi Arabia for some of the kids who grew up there6 Filipino for “big sister”. Used as a sign of respect for a woman older than you. Or when a girl is older than you, but not old enough to be your aunt hahaha. Depends on the situation and the way you were raised.7 Acronym for Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Our main airport in the Philippines and Manila.8 Well-known character from Hey Arnold! Only 90s kids can relate jk9 Short for airport10 A way of saying “Hey”, but in a more boisterous, and annoying/condescending way11 “Big brother”. Like Ate, it is used as a sign of respect and when a guy is way older than you, but not old enough to be your uncle.12 Get cau
The Reunion Prologue
Summer, 2006It was a scene like any other Wednesday. When they'd all gather in the playground that was their own definition of a jungle. Youth, especially early youth, had a way of making even the most ordinary places or objects come to life with a distinct feeling of importance. There's a reason why it's distinct, above all things. A distinct yet unexplainable feeling.The sky was dark, but twinkling in delight. Much like the children below. Dark, in a sense of not knowing what's to come ahead for them. But twinkling, for it was this exact ignorance and naivety that made them shine so bright unlike anyone else.Megan, who remained seated on the same bench for several minutes nearby, could only watch everything before her like a bittersweet television show. Her friends, lost in cloud after cloud of unrelenting joy. It almost felt surreal and far-off to her. But then, the mildly cool and salty breeze coming from the ocean just a few feet away swept her wavy hair natu
The Reunion Chapter 1
Summer, 2016Megan exhales dejectedly before quietly muttering, “It’s not always going to be like this, right?” Her entire face stoic, some would describe it better as lifeless. The scene surrounding her is completely different from the youthful and vibrant playground she used to enjoy. All she hears are the blaring horns of random cars and the occasional ambulance siren. Not even a whisper of air to comfort her during this trying time. What’s she to expect? She’s in the middle of Makati on a blazing hot time of day. Not that a couple of hours would make any difference anyway. The Philippines’ weather could literally be the center of a boiling volcano.Zoe follows and stands next to the familiar slouching figure, fanning herself with what looked like important folded documents for work. “Well, it shouldn’t be,” she replies to the younger one’s question, even if it was rhetorical.Another day at their crappy job meant another dilemma to top off their existing—albeit
The Reunion Chapter 2
“It could’ve been a high school reunion,” Zoe starts in a soft tone before suddenly taking it up a notch, “It could’ve been a COLLEGE reunion –”“Too early for that, hun,” Felicity quickly retorts, adjusting her thinly rimmed black glasses with much gusto.“It could’ve been ANY fucking reunion…” Zoe continues in a warning tone, now glaring at the youngest girl in the group, “And we would’ve been actually mentally and emotionally prepared. But no. It HAD to be this one.”Though she seemed calm about it last night, it only took a bit of time before Zoe had fully realized what the reunion meant. Reuniting with people from their past. All of them. Not handpicked ones according to their whim. There were awesome people from their childhood, but also condescending ones, who they had a bit of a fallout with. Sure, she isn’t one to back down from any confrontation. However, causing a scene at the reunion doesn’t sound very pleasant. She’d rather not go altogether than attend and pret
The Reunion Chapter 3
“Told you Megan wouldn’t be down with it,” Logan mumbles under his breath as he pointedly looks at Danica sitting right next to him.Being the very culprit of the reunion in Batangas, she isn’t in the least fazed by his actions. It’s not like she’s been planning it for years. But when Naia mentioned that her mom was planning a big RT reunion a few months ago, it got her thinking. She’s always wanted the people involved in the 2010 incident to reconcile in some sort of way. Granted that she sides more with Megan and the others, she still doesn’t want any bad blood within the group. The RT community is quite small, much less the Filipino RT community. There’s no way they weren’t going to at least bump into each other at some point in time. Prime example would be the Dela Vegas and Villaviejas. Both are close family friends, since Mr. Dela Vega is Megan’s godfather.“I never said it was going to be easy,” Danica claims, raising an eyebrow his way, “Besides, she has every right
The Reunion Chapter 4
Blindingly bright fluorescent lights, full-on blasted air conditioner, and complete silence.This always seems to be the case during her job interviews. If the HR didn’t want to see her right away, they would make her wait awhile before officially coming in and finally interview her. She had no idea whether this was some sort of mind game they played with potential employees, but nonetheless she went with it. But of course, it still doesn’t erase the fact that she’s completely terrified and wishes it would end soon. It doesn’t matter whether she’s gone to one or a hundred job interviews, they still continue to torment her. What, with some of the unexpected questions they ask according to the type of company they run.“Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”Megan snaps out of her breakdown of a trance and looks up at the unfamiliar face before her. “It’s fine.” Different from the pleasant woman from HR minutes ago, a slim and somewhat attractive man stands
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