For Antigone III

I boarded the jeep, with my eyes pointing to nowhere. Around Mountain View, a couple and their friend boarded the jeepney, and they are talking about restaurants. Oh, I remember my Restaurant City again. Haha.

The uncoupled man showed his wallet and paid the fare, and I know for sure, that he paid with the woman looking. The man even informed the couple that he already paid for them. This woman, after three minutes, pulled out his purse and her money, and tried to pay. The man stopped him, for he already paid, and the woman, without a word, just pocketed her purse again. I was surprised by how the woman acted. She still wanted to express that she has the capability to pay the fare even though generosity was already showed to her. Oh people will really do anything to make their social status higher than it seems.

Now, they are talking cheap. They saw a newly opened restaurant that offers a P100 promo – “Eat All You Can”. “Uhm, mukhang masarap! (Ummm, looks like it’s delicious)” the woman said. The man who paid the fare said, “Oo nga ‘no, at mura pa, one hundred pesos lang o?! Kain tayo minsan diyan? (I agree, moreover, it is very cheap. Only one hundred pesos?! Let’s eat there sometimes.)”. I kinda laughed when the husband of the woman said, “Sige, pero mas mura pa rin sa Ikabud, P99 lang. (Sure! But still, Ikabud’s charge is cheaper, P99 only)”. Wow, a difference of one peso makes the change, ay? We are really easily fooled by numbers, we regard P149 as much much cheaper than what is P150. Haha!

Time for me to say “Para!” The jeepney stopped and I unboarded it. I tried to take a peek first if there is anyone who is on the steel benches, but there is no one. Together with my annoying plastic bags, I approached the gate and saw a new guard. I entered the chromed gates and asked the guard. It is lucky for me that the guard is considerate, and does not push me outside because of my attire.

I asked, “is there anyone who entered here with a semi-bald hair, high school, with lots of things with him?”

“No one,” he said.

“Or didn’t anyone enter the school?” I just asked.

“There are a group of students who tried to entered the campus but I did not allow them because they do not have a permission slip.”

“How many are they?”

“About eight.”

“Uhm.. Or has anyone left the campus?”

“Except for the teachers, the boy scouts have already went out.”

“All boy scouts?”

“Yes.”

“About what time did they go out?”

“10:15.”

“Thank you. ;D “

Though Chica is not present, I got a valuable information, Alvin is already home! Woot! But what if he is asleep, err, maybe I’ll just say to his parents to just inform him when he wakes up that I went there. With that, at least, there’ll be evidence that I exerted effort.

I rode the jeep on a route that is unusual to me, Angeles-Mabalacat. I do not know exactly how much the fare is so I just paid P20 and waited for the driver to give me the change. The driver asked me on where am I going and I just said Camachiles, Alvin’s home barangay, for I do not know on which general area does Camachiles belong to.

In front of me, there is a man with a watch, and I easily saw the time, 12:15! :D wtf. Am I really that late. Maybe Chica will scold me and sungalngal me because their costume is in me, and they could not start the shoot without me.

Fast forward, for I am not yet getting in the middle part of this blog and yet this has taken already six pages in Microsoft Word at a font size of 12.

I unboarded at the tricycle terminal at Camachiles and walked on the path that I remember that leads to Alvin’s house. I turned right at Dona Anastacia Subdivision and there, towering among other houses, I saw their giant pinkish house.

I stood in front of the metal red gate and pressed the doorbell. I saw an unfamiliar face on their porch, and I just called and said, “tao po!” Hiding behind the pillar stood his mother, being pedicured by that unfamiliar face I saw. I asked for Alvin, and he asked if I was Kenneth. I wonder why he know my name? Am I that famous? Haha! :D

She screamed “Alviiiiiiiiiin!” and said to me, “Ah, he’s maybe asleep, he is very tired from the camping.” I was trying to say that I’ll just leave and I’ll just leave a message for him, but she continued calling and she asked me to go inside. Oh, Filipino hospitality! But is Alvin awake?

watch out for "For Antigone IV" ;)