Bus
Nagsisi siyang sinubukan pa niyang tignan ang katabi nya sa kanan dahil naging takot ang kaninang inis lang na naramdaman niya. Agad tuloy niyang pinalitan ang maasim niyang mukha, na dapat ay magpapakita ng pagka-irita nya, ng mas “friendly” na ekspresyon na ginantihan naman ng katabing lalaki ng may sinusuhestiyon na ngiti. Lalo pa siyang naging balisa nang maramdaman niyang lalong isiniksik ng katabi ang sarili sa upuan papalapit sa kanya. Bakit kasi dinala siya sa ganitong sitwasyon ni Chris?
Mabilis ang pagdating at pag-alis ng mga bus, pero mas mabilis na napuno ang mahaba pero tila hindi sapat na waiting shed sa harap ng Megamall ng mga taong walang payong, ayaw gumamit ng payong o yung mga walang pakialam kung matusok o mabasa nila ang katabi ng payong na sinasarado nila. Isa si Chris sa mga walang payong at si Mary naman ay isa sa mga tinatamad magbukas ng payong (bakit ba? nasa backpack na pink na naka suot sa likuran nya kaya mahirap kunin ang payong, liban pa na bitbit nya sa kanyang kanang kamay ang wallet/bag niyang may lamang pera habang hawak ang cellphone sa kaliwa). At dahil nga sa estado nila ng kawalan ng payong (o nakalabas na payong) ay napilitan silang sumilong at makipagsiksikan sa ilalim ng bubungan imbes na pumila dun sa unahan kung saan unang tumitigil ang bus. Pagdating tuloy sa kanila ng iilang mga Ortigas ibabaw at Cubao Fastlane ay punong puno na ang mga ito… maliban dun sa huli na tila may mga bakante pa pero hindi nila nasakyan dahil hindi pinansin ni Chris na biglang naging busy-ng busy sa pagte-text. Lalo silang tumatagal ay lalong nagiging siksikan at lalo ring lumalakas ang ulan. Natutulak na sila paharap at nawiwisikan na ng tubig.
“Sakay na tayo dito,” yaya ni Chris ng may bus na itinigil ang pinto nito sa tapat na tapat ng lalaki.
“Pero Ortigas ilalim yan,” protesta ni Mary na hindi na narinig ng sumampa na niyang kausap. Wala na siyang nagawa. Ipinatong nya ang mga kamay sa taas ng ulo niya bilang substitute na payong at umakyat na rin sa bus.
Binati siya ng lumang amoy ng aircon, lumalabas na mga foam at mukhang masisikip na mga upuan, pati ng maduming pintura ng mga pader at nangingitim sa alikabok na mga kurtina. Kakantyawan sana niya si Chris na pangit ang napili nitong bus kaya lang ay nahiya sya sa mukhang miserableng driver sa harap nya. Ukupado na ang lahat ng upuan sa harapan pero ng paisa-isa o padalawa-dalawang tao lang. Naglakad pa si Chris papunta sa likuran saka nagdesisyong umupo sa una bakanteng tatluhang upuan. Sinundan ito ni Mary.
“Ang ganda ng napili mong bus,” sarcastic na sinabi ni Mary habang tinatanggal ang backpack sa kanyang likuran.
“Sanay ka nga pala sa ordinary ano?” ganti naman ni Chris na inilalapag ang laptop bag nya na tila sasabog na sa dami ng lamang damit. Friday casual wear si Chris: rubber shoes, skinny jeans at fit na puting long sleeves.
“Oo nga e, ganito pala ang itsura ng aircon, ang pangit.” Umupo na siya at inilapag ang bag nya sa itaas ng kayang violet dress na regalo nya sa sarili para sa 1st year anniversary nya sa pinagta-trabahuan.
“Akala ko ba maganda, teh?” Sabi ni Chris, gamit yung parang kambing-slash-palengke nyang accent.
Tuloy-tuloy lang ang asaran nila hanggang sa umabot sila sa hintuan sa may Ortigas Ilalim, na naging topic ng sisihan nila dahil sa pagtigil doon ng bus imbes na umakyat sa ibabaw. May umupo sa tabi ni Mary. Masikip talaga ang upuan at nagmalasakit siyang siksikin si Chris para bigyan ng lugar ang tumabi sa kanyang may edad na na lalaki.
Kung alam lang nya kung gaano ka-pervert ng katabi nya, edi sana ay humiga na lang sya sa upuan o ipinatong ang paa nya dito para hindi mabigyan ng espasyo ang katabi. Sa kasalukuyan nga ay gusto nya itong itulak pahulog sa upuan e. Mangiyak-ngiyak na talaga sya sa inis lalo pa’t ipinu-sisyon ng matanda ang mga braso nito malapit na sa harap ng kanyang dibdib. Itinuwid nya ang kanyang likod at dinala ang kanyang katawan paharap para makawala sa pagkakakulong nya sa pagitan ng braso hanggang sa maisandal nya ang kanyang ulo sa harap na upuan. Naramdaman nyang humahapdi ang likod nya sa hindi komportableng posisyon. Nakatingin sya kay Chris, na kasalukuyang abala na naman sa pagti-text, na lalong ikina-inis ni Mary. Si Chris ang may kasalanan kung bakit nasa pangit at mabahong bus sila, kung bakit ang bagal bagal ng biyahe nila at kung bakit naha-harass sya ngayon ng matanda nyang katabi. Hindi nya napigilang paluin ang paa nito.
Inilikas ni Chris ang mga mata nya mula sa Iphone at nanlaking tumingin kay Mary, nagtatanong kung anong problema?
Pinilit nyang lalo pang pangilidin ang mga luha nya at saka walang tunog na ibinulong “Katabi ko, nangma-maniac,” sabay labas ng nguso nya na parang isang batang nagmamaktol.
Ibinaling ni Chris ang mata nito sa katabi ni Mary. Sa totoo lang, hindi alam ni Mary ang magiging reaksyon ni Chris. Naisip nyang aasarin sya lalo at pagtatawanan dahil sa pagdurusa nya. Pero imbes na pilyong ngiti ang ibinalik sa kanya, nanigas ang mukha ng kaibigan patungo sa isang galit na ekspresyon, saka naramdaman ni Mary na ipinatong na ni Chris ang kamay, payakap sa kanya, patungo sa kanyang balikat. Hindi lang dun natapos ang pagkabigla niya dahil naramdaman nyang biglang hinihila na sya ni Chris palapit sa huli, at bago pa makapag-isip si Mary ay nakasandal na sya sa katawan ni Chris. Panandaliang nilisan ng kamay ni Chris ang kanyang balikat para itulak ang ulo ni Mary, na nagsimula nang manlambot at walang kalaban laban, pababa sa balikat ng lalaki.
“Anong nangyayari?” Tanong ni Mary sa sarili. Tumingala sya patungo sa mukha ni Chris, pero hindi ito nakatingin sa kanya. Sa halip, nakabaling si Chris sa maniac na lalaki, suot pa rin ang matigas na expresyon nyang nagsasabing “wag mong paki-alaman ito pare, akin ito”. May tila mainit at nakakatuwang hanging lumutang mula sa tiyan ni Mary patungo sa kanyang dibdib hanggang sa kanyang lalamunan kung saan ito nakasalubong ng nalalangahap niyang pabango ni Chris.
Nawala ang kanyang mga pag-aalinlangan. Masyado siyang naging kumportable sa kanilang disposisyon na walang malay niyang nailatag ang kanyang palad sa bandang tiyan ng sinasandalan. Naramdaman niyang tila nabigla at nanigas si Chris, at sa isang saglit, naalintana ang panandaliang kapayapaan sa pagitan nila. Biglang naging bukas ang malay niya sa kuryentong nagsasayaw sa dulo ng mga daliri niyang nakapatong sa tiyan ni Chris, pati na rin sa init sa gitna nila, na hindi niya alam kung nanggagaling ba sa kanyang nakasandal na braso o sa katawan mismo ng katabi. Hindi niya alam kung imahinasyon lang, pero parang bumilis at lumakas ang tibok ng puso ng lalaki na kanina-kanina naman ay hindi niya naririnig. Agad niyang hinila ang mga palad niya paalis, pero walang nagawa ang aksyon niya para bawasan ang kuryente dito.
Nang tila naka-recover na si Chris ay pumindot pindot na naman ito sa telepono, at pagkatapos ng sandaling paghahanap, ay tumigil ito sa Stupid Test, saka ini-abot ang telepono kay Mary para laruin.
“Upgraded na yan. Bumili ako ng full version. Tignan natin kung na-upgrade na rin ang utak mo,” asar ng lalaki.
Tumingala si Mary para ipakitang pinaiikot nya ang itim na bilog ng kanyang mga mata, saka kinuha ang Iphone sa dalawa nyang kamay. “Kahit ano pang upgrade nyan, di maaabot ang level ng genius ko.”
Sandali pa ulit, at bumalik na sila sa natural na hagikhikan at asaran nila… maya’t maya nga lang ay sumisikip ang yakap sa kanya ni Chris kapag lumilisan ang kanang kamay nito sa balikat ni Mary kapag ginagamit ito para tumulong sa isang level ng laro na hindi niya ma-solve.
Bumaba na ang matandang katabi ni Mary sa Greenhills pero hindi sila lumisan sa posisyon nila hanggang umabot na sila sa mga terminal ng provincial buses sa Cubao.
Friday, November 04, 2011
M/C series chapter 1
Mouse
The burning in her cheeks, which she tried to flush away with splashes of water just moments before in the girl’s room, immediately returned when she sat down and saw her computer mouse. Inside the cubicle beside hers, she could hear her boss discussing stock market prices on the telephone. The digital clock on her desktop proclaimed that it was six minutes before 7:00 pm, and empty seats showed that there was nobody else in this wing of the office aside from the two of them, and well, the presence of a boy, or rather, his lingering scent.
Mary tried to brush off the feeling and relax. Intending to bring her thoughts to the task on hand, she decided to momentarily close her eyes and lean her back on her chair. Instead of refocusing her mind, she only found her senses intensified, leading her to realize that not only did his musky fragrance stayed, but so did his warmth, locked inside the threads of the cushion of the back of her seat. “Kainis ang IDM,” she whispered as she opened her eyes. She does not have time to wait for her stirred feelings to subside. The earlier she finishes her presentation, the faster she will be out of and away from the room.
She grabbed her mouse, and to her dismay, she could feel his palm on it. She pushed the thought away. It was silly for her to imagine that the momentary laying of his hand on her mouse could leave any trace. He held the mouse for only a few seconds, only out of frustration because she could not get the instructions he was dictating over the telephone from his seat on how to activate the Internet Download Manager permanently.
He came back late from a meeting. The audit section was already void of people. He had paused on her cubicle when he first came in, surprising her with a tickle on her waist as a greeting. Her usual shriek came and a delighted laughter was his response. He then resorted to his standard teasing of her only engaging in YM conversations during overtime hours, and their natural exchange of insults followed. Enrico cut short their fun when he came out of his cubicle to inquire about an irrelevant detail on the outline she handed him. Chris silently walked over to his own cubicle, recognizing the cue that the boss wanted Mary to go back to work.
After Enrico finished talking with her, she looked behind her and saw that instead of packing, Chris sat on his chair, looking like he was downloading something. That is when she remembered that she had been frustratingly and unsuccessfully installing the IDM software. She was already about to grab her telephone when it started ringing. “Hindi ka pa bauuwi?” the caller, in his sweet voice, implying a plea that they go home already, asked. She explained she could not, due to a presentation scheduled tomorrow. She then jumped to inquiring about the download manager, inserting slurs and accusations regarding the utility of Chris’s recommended software. He attributed her difficulty in installing the program to her stupidity before proceeding to give her instructions, which she could not follow, only because she could not see the buttons he was telling her. With a final emphasis on her lack of comEnrico sense, he put his telephone down and walked towards her cubicle.
His movements were swift, not giving her time to react, and before she knew it, he was already placing his hands on top of her own on her mouse. Instinct told her to pull away but another awareness that such abrupt movement would cause unnecessary implications of malice prevented her from moving. They are friends, touching of flesh should not bring about any discomfort, she convinced herself. Chris was comfortable, she thought, stealing a sideways glance at him. That was the mistake. She realized he was leaning over her, his face merely inches away. She immediately brought her eyes forward, to the screen, where the mouse pointer was quickly moving and windows started appearing. But the damage was done. Suddenly she was conscious of his body heat, she could feel it permeating the back of her seat, the cloth of her dress and piercing her skin.His scent filled her nose and she knew she would remember that smell forever. He was muttering instructions to her too, his soft breath grazing her face, landing on her cheeks which began to burn. She was able to mumble some sounds of agreement, pretending to understand what he was saying. But in truth, his words were a blur and the part of her mind not busy relishing his closeness, was struggling to gently pull her hand away from the mouse for she was afraid that he might feel the warmth currently spreading through her own body. The installation probably went accordingly, she was not really sure, her head feeling light and dizzy. His pulling away from her brought her back to reality. In a while, he was silently straightening himself behind her. Her lack of responses definitely brought on the awkwardness, and she could not even bring herself to look at him. She said her thank you, with all the glee she could muster, but she knew it still came out shy and maybe weird to his ears.
She was then drawn to evaluating the degree of her embarrassment (normal? slight? too obvious?) and blocking off sounds of his movements, not wanting to be attentive to what he was doing, only wanting him to disappear. He finally called out his goodbye and she pretended to look back at him, but still avoided his eyes. She felt relief! But she knew she was fooling herself. His departure made her aware of a part of her, which she did not know she had until now, leaving her.
She placed her palms on her face and found that her cheeks were abnormally hot. That is when she stood up and went to the girl’s room.
Looking at herself on the mirror after drying her face with tissue, she could not help but think, “Kasalanan ito ni Ann at Marie. Hmfp!”
The burning in her cheeks, which she tried to flush away with splashes of water just moments before in the girl’s room, immediately returned when she sat down and saw her computer mouse. Inside the cubicle beside hers, she could hear her boss discussing stock market prices on the telephone. The digital clock on her desktop proclaimed that it was six minutes before 7:00 pm, and empty seats showed that there was nobody else in this wing of the office aside from the two of them, and well, the presence of a boy, or rather, his lingering scent.
Mary tried to brush off the feeling and relax. Intending to bring her thoughts to the task on hand, she decided to momentarily close her eyes and lean her back on her chair. Instead of refocusing her mind, she only found her senses intensified, leading her to realize that not only did his musky fragrance stayed, but so did his warmth, locked inside the threads of the cushion of the back of her seat. “Kainis ang IDM,” she whispered as she opened her eyes. She does not have time to wait for her stirred feelings to subside. The earlier she finishes her presentation, the faster she will be out of and away from the room.
She grabbed her mouse, and to her dismay, she could feel his palm on it. She pushed the thought away. It was silly for her to imagine that the momentary laying of his hand on her mouse could leave any trace. He held the mouse for only a few seconds, only out of frustration because she could not get the instructions he was dictating over the telephone from his seat on how to activate the Internet Download Manager permanently.
He came back late from a meeting. The audit section was already void of people. He had paused on her cubicle when he first came in, surprising her with a tickle on her waist as a greeting. Her usual shriek came and a delighted laughter was his response. He then resorted to his standard teasing of her only engaging in YM conversations during overtime hours, and their natural exchange of insults followed. Enrico cut short their fun when he came out of his cubicle to inquire about an irrelevant detail on the outline she handed him. Chris silently walked over to his own cubicle, recognizing the cue that the boss wanted Mary to go back to work.
After Enrico finished talking with her, she looked behind her and saw that instead of packing, Chris sat on his chair, looking like he was downloading something. That is when she remembered that she had been frustratingly and unsuccessfully installing the IDM software. She was already about to grab her telephone when it started ringing. “Hindi ka pa bauuwi?” the caller, in his sweet voice, implying a plea that they go home already, asked. She explained she could not, due to a presentation scheduled tomorrow. She then jumped to inquiring about the download manager, inserting slurs and accusations regarding the utility of Chris’s recommended software. He attributed her difficulty in installing the program to her stupidity before proceeding to give her instructions, which she could not follow, only because she could not see the buttons he was telling her. With a final emphasis on her lack of comEnrico sense, he put his telephone down and walked towards her cubicle.
His movements were swift, not giving her time to react, and before she knew it, he was already placing his hands on top of her own on her mouse. Instinct told her to pull away but another awareness that such abrupt movement would cause unnecessary implications of malice prevented her from moving. They are friends, touching of flesh should not bring about any discomfort, she convinced herself. Chris was comfortable, she thought, stealing a sideways glance at him. That was the mistake. She realized he was leaning over her, his face merely inches away. She immediately brought her eyes forward, to the screen, where the mouse pointer was quickly moving and windows started appearing. But the damage was done. Suddenly she was conscious of his body heat, she could feel it permeating the back of her seat, the cloth of her dress and piercing her skin.His scent filled her nose and she knew she would remember that smell forever. He was muttering instructions to her too, his soft breath grazing her face, landing on her cheeks which began to burn. She was able to mumble some sounds of agreement, pretending to understand what he was saying. But in truth, his words were a blur and the part of her mind not busy relishing his closeness, was struggling to gently pull her hand away from the mouse for she was afraid that he might feel the warmth currently spreading through her own body. The installation probably went accordingly, she was not really sure, her head feeling light and dizzy. His pulling away from her brought her back to reality. In a while, he was silently straightening himself behind her. Her lack of responses definitely brought on the awkwardness, and she could not even bring herself to look at him. She said her thank you, with all the glee she could muster, but she knew it still came out shy and maybe weird to his ears.
She was then drawn to evaluating the degree of her embarrassment (normal? slight? too obvious?) and blocking off sounds of his movements, not wanting to be attentive to what he was doing, only wanting him to disappear. He finally called out his goodbye and she pretended to look back at him, but still avoided his eyes. She felt relief! But she knew she was fooling herself. His departure made her aware of a part of her, which she did not know she had until now, leaving her.
She placed her palms on her face and found that her cheeks were abnormally hot. That is when she stood up and went to the girl’s room.
Looking at herself on the mirror after drying her face with tissue, she could not help but think, “Kasalanan ito ni Ann at Marie. Hmfp!”
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
M/C fanfic
Tweaking of the stuffs from the other blog. still not good though. rearranged the songs for a more coherent timeline...
Mary and Chris Fanfic Challenge
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle. Write a fic related to each song that plays.
You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. Do this for five songs.
Obsessed - Allen
He could not control himself. He could not help looking at her, could not stop passing by her cubicle, could not stop starting nonsensical conversations, could not help teasing her just to get that enticing glint of annoyance in her eyes. He is doing everything he can, but to what end? He still could not comprehend. He does not like her. Every rational cell in his brain tells him that she is not the one for him. He is convinced that he does not want to be with her. Yet, his body does not follow his mind and still keeps trying to get closer to her. He still comes, and he could not get enough. He is obsessed.
Jet City Woman - Queensryche
She had done everything to push him away. True enough, she used to play along, when there was nothing at stake yet and she thought that she would never want him. She continued to blindly play along without realizing that she was already in the verge of falling. That was when she started to avoid him. But the more she ignored him, the more he seemed intent to capture her attention. He was suddenly always passing by, always calling her, always suggesting movies, opening conversations, even being a gentleman. Of course, he constantly teases her. And when she pays him no attention, his jokes become annoying, even hurtful. Still she held her ground, not only against him, but also against herself that wanted to be close to him. But just as she thought she succeeded in ignoring him and putting a space between them, she would catch a passing ache in his face, and all her defenses crumble and in a split second, she was back, playing cat and mouse with him.
Forever - Kiss
He was standing outside of her condominium building, looking silly with two large paper bags containing gifts accumulated the whole December that he was only taking home now. Earlier, he rushed out of the office with bags in tow, excited and certain that the Christmas break would do him good. Being away from her would bring victory to his mind that had been at war with his emotions. If only the hurt look in her face was not there when he continued to ignore even when she offered a smile as she caught him sneaking out. But knowing that he had hurt her flipped all his reasonings backwards. Now, his mind was in unison with his heart in admitting that that he will feel self-reproach every second during this vacation, not only because he had hurt her, but more so because he had ruined any chance he had with her. His stomach knotted thinking of her going back to the arms of her high school sweetheart. He can't let that happen. He can't let her keep on thinking that he doesn't care about her, when the truth is completely otherwise. No more inhibitions, he is ready to face all his fears. She is worth it.
Miss You in a Heartbeat - Def Leppard
He walked out without saying goodbye. How could he do that? She understood the awkwardness at first, she understood that what occurred between them was hard to talk about. It was okay to pretend that nothing happened. But he's acting like she does not exist, like he does not care about her, about what she feels. She could feel his apathy pierce through her heart and her pride because she cares... too much... because for nights she worried about him, about not seeing him for the whole Christmas break... because she hoped that he will miss her back.
Nothing ever dies - Kamelot
She is angry. No, him standing in front of her gate won't change that fact. Her anger won't just die simply because he is wearing a doleful look on his face, not after him treating her like crap these past few miserable weeks. The tears that dried won't come undone just because his puppy dog eyes drowns her in his stare, her pain won't disappear just because his soft fingers entwines with hers, her frail body from sleepless nights won't be invigorated by the warmth of his breath. No, she wont forgive him. Not even as he reaches for her chin and leans down and she lets him take her lips...
Mary and Chris Fanfic Challenge
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle. Write a fic related to each song that plays.
You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. Do this for five songs.
Obsessed - Allen
He could not control himself. He could not help looking at her, could not stop passing by her cubicle, could not stop starting nonsensical conversations, could not help teasing her just to get that enticing glint of annoyance in her eyes. He is doing everything he can, but to what end? He still could not comprehend. He does not like her. Every rational cell in his brain tells him that she is not the one for him. He is convinced that he does not want to be with her. Yet, his body does not follow his mind and still keeps trying to get closer to her. He still comes, and he could not get enough. He is obsessed.
Jet City Woman - Queensryche
She had done everything to push him away. True enough, she used to play along, when there was nothing at stake yet and she thought that she would never want him. She continued to blindly play along without realizing that she was already in the verge of falling. That was when she started to avoid him. But the more she ignored him, the more he seemed intent to capture her attention. He was suddenly always passing by, always calling her, always suggesting movies, opening conversations, even being a gentleman. Of course, he constantly teases her. And when she pays him no attention, his jokes become annoying, even hurtful. Still she held her ground, not only against him, but also against herself that wanted to be close to him. But just as she thought she succeeded in ignoring him and putting a space between them, she would catch a passing ache in his face, and all her defenses crumble and in a split second, she was back, playing cat and mouse with him.
Forever - Kiss
He was standing outside of her condominium building, looking silly with two large paper bags containing gifts accumulated the whole December that he was only taking home now. Earlier, he rushed out of the office with bags in tow, excited and certain that the Christmas break would do him good. Being away from her would bring victory to his mind that had been at war with his emotions. If only the hurt look in her face was not there when he continued to ignore even when she offered a smile as she caught him sneaking out. But knowing that he had hurt her flipped all his reasonings backwards. Now, his mind was in unison with his heart in admitting that that he will feel self-reproach every second during this vacation, not only because he had hurt her, but more so because he had ruined any chance he had with her. His stomach knotted thinking of her going back to the arms of her high school sweetheart. He can't let that happen. He can't let her keep on thinking that he doesn't care about her, when the truth is completely otherwise. No more inhibitions, he is ready to face all his fears. She is worth it.
Miss You in a Heartbeat - Def Leppard
He walked out without saying goodbye. How could he do that? She understood the awkwardness at first, she understood that what occurred between them was hard to talk about. It was okay to pretend that nothing happened. But he's acting like she does not exist, like he does not care about her, about what she feels. She could feel his apathy pierce through her heart and her pride because she cares... too much... because for nights she worried about him, about not seeing him for the whole Christmas break... because she hoped that he will miss her back.
Nothing ever dies - Kamelot
She is angry. No, him standing in front of her gate won't change that fact. Her anger won't just die simply because he is wearing a doleful look on his face, not after him treating her like crap these past few miserable weeks. The tears that dried won't come undone just because his puppy dog eyes drowns her in his stare, her pain won't disappear just because his soft fingers entwines with hers, her frail body from sleepless nights won't be invigorated by the warmth of his breath. No, she wont forgive him. Not even as he reaches for her chin and leans down and she lets him take her lips...
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