Page 26 of Chasing Mr. Prefect
“I’m glad you’re talking to me though.”
“Me too,” I replied. “Thanks for being cool.”
“Ano ‘yun? Pakiulit?” he teased.
I pushed his shoulder in response.
“Are you free tomorrow?”Cholo asked just as he turned towards our village’s main gate.
“Yeah. I’m done with my deliverables. Did you need help with anything else?”
“No. Just thought I’d invite you, it’s my niece’s fourth birthday party tomorrow. The team’s coming.”
“Huh? Is everyone that close?”
“More like I double-booked it. Seth and the other heads suggested a status meeting weeks ago and this date was the only clear one in my calendar, so I said game, completely forgetting that I kept that clear for a reason. Anyway, Kuya said I could bring friends, and my niece’s guests go home at 4 p.m. anyway, so we have the evening to ourselves. The team said okay so we’re doing that.”
“Yikes. Tomorrow is one of my only Summer-free days. I’d rather not.”
“She’s not invited,” Cholo said.
“The other chairperson’s not invited but you’re invitingme? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, why not? You’ve worked hard with the rest of us. The team specifically said they want you there, too.”
“Are you sure it’s not just you who wants me there?”
“I do want you there. Why do you think I’m bringing it up?” he replied, and I got a little flustered as I expected him to throw that back in my face. “I’ll introduce you and the guys to my family as well.”
“Oh,” I said, nervous now. Damn it, I should have said I was not free. I looked up to see the car pulling into my street.
“No pressure, syempre,” he added, sensing my discomfort as he stopped the car in front of my house. “You remember where my house is, right?”
“Yup. Conde Nast Street. Do I need to bring anything?”
“No, it’s all taken care of,” he replied but I was already thinking of what to get the kid from the toy shop. “And as you know, our meetings end up becoming more of a hangout than a formal one, so don’t bring your laptop.”
“Okay then. Thanks for the ride,” I said, taking off my seat belt. “See you tomorrow.”
CHATBOX
Ephemere - Pub/Marketing
Kristine Andal
HOY where are you? We’re here na!
Pwedeng wait lang?
Seth Agoncillo
Tagal!
I was stressing enough already and my teammates were making it worse.
I spent the night googling suitable gifts for a four-year-old so I ended up sleeping at daybreak. I only woke up past noon, panicking and running off to the nearby mall when I realized what time it was. Fortunately, I was able to find and a cute Barbie-themed art and sketchbook set in the bookstore so I wasable to get home by 4 p.m., but I was still wearing yesterday’s jeans with unwashed hair.
Gross.