18-month warranty halloween special

6.oo woke up to the usual setup of the house. mother's gone to the other part of the village for some living to do. am still in bed. brother's out of sanity again. father. father who? ah. that which snores at the other room. i think.

6.30 still deciding to get out of bed or not.

7.00 managed to move into the living room. the dining's an inch away from the sala. catching the rays of the sun as they burrow down my skin peeping through our windows. the feel of the cool wood is a precursor to cold water. still deciding to get into the bathroom.

8.00 after an hour. ETD. estimated time of departure from the cr. so much has happened. from inside, i had already thought of how my day would go about.

8.30 realized that time flies quickly. and later remembered i had to meet vic in less than an hour.

9.00 panic at this time was ineffable. well, quite. grace under pressure's an understatement. but i know vic always waits. so i took my time.

9.45 just before i got out of the vehicle, i already spotted him. no doubt about it. his nose was all that mattered. t'was his signature. (i hope he gets to read this before he throws himself to jail due to infraction of the law and rule of conduct) i need not explain my side. i just smiled. t'was all that mattered. he forgave me.

10.00 we went inside the university. he was familiar alright because he was once with the league. a year ago. before he ditched his scholarshi*. he didn't owe me any explanation. i understood. we exchanged darting looks. i knew. the things that bothered him we kept out of distance. including those who were so-called "people".

10.05 we saw joel at the finance. about to make payments for his entry. falling in line by seating in a row of chairs under the comfort of a big tent. that's the kind of bureaucracy we have in this university. are we so proud or what? lovin' it. lucky me, i don't get to pay. or should it be rather, poor me? saw a classmate i wanted to avoid but heck had to say hi for reasons of coexistence and eventuality.

10.15 had to validate my ID. same type of falling in line. the difference? the venue. and we're not supposed to feel any inconvenience or else we have to take it against the administration for plundering our, er.. their money.

10.20 vic and i went to the near cybercafe for printing. got the prototype. i remembered this was what i had seven months ago. crossed my fingers. i hoped this time, it would work.

10.30 we went to the building. i was having second thoughts already because i was never used to this. much more to our dismay, vic can't no longer be in it.

11.05 i was almost finished doing the papers when vic finally gathered his courage to ask about some technicalities in the requirements. the guard just handed the form for him to fill out. we were hopefuls once again.

11.25 i urged vic to do it fast cos i didn't want to be caught in between the lunch period. because. that meant waiting. time wasted. not to mention, we had no money for us to take ourselves out to lunch. yet the guards called in we had to be back at 1pm cos it was already cut off time. can't take us up or else they'd be the ones to answer to the superiors. and so we left our case. uhm. yeah. left. cos we had to get back at 1pm, right?

11.40 we left the station. we wanted to get a ride but we couldn't afford it. so we walked the hot streets to get inside a big freezer.

11.55 we arrived and made ourselves at ease by cooling down our body temperatures with the airconditioning blown by the numerous big boxed fans. but we're still hungry short from our morning doings. i did have money but it has been appropriated for payments long overdue. but what do we do? we couldn't be back with empty stomachs because that would lead to empty heads. we know what food does for the body, right? and consequently, we know what it doesn't do.

12.00 shelled out my money with certain conditions i made with vic. so we got ourselves a deal. he has got to pay when he's received his dole out from abroad. it was sweet. we had fun except for the queer idea we were stalking a couple because wherever we went, they were there too. weird. and this is how you spell it, moron.

12.35 finished with our sumptuous lunch that's out of my pocket. we had our share of spills and vic almost turned blue for lack of oxygen when he was out of air from laughing too much. i wiggled and jiggled my feet for minutes because i couldn't help being hysterical when he had his "moments". the definition of such being quoted is subject to the readers point of view if and if only the reader has a POV to begin with! if none, you lose a turn.

12.55 we reached our destination and by this time, we managed to pay our fare because we rather ride the jeep than pay the price of having skin cancer soon. besides, we were up for an interview. saw a familiar face. and she has a name too. what's a cum laude doing here? shouldn't she be washing someone else's arse at some point in the universe? peace. i'm being harsh.

1.00 so the guards gave us the signal. we logged in and deposited our things. no cellphones. i said damn. if there were robbers around the area and someone tipped them off that everyone's phones were being kept under the drawers, then the bad guys would have celebrated an earlier retreat cos it'd be an easier task, a collaborative effort at that. but they still hadn't entered the building yet. think about that. and this would be because apparently the company's so tight with security.

1.05 after a flight of stairs since the elevators were for superior employees only, which i would later understand why as i run through the minutes of this history, both of us were seated and were preparing for the big event.

1.10 we were aghast, at the same time excited but nervous. well, that was just me. vic's a pro at this kind of sh*t. yeah. that. so, the ripper finally called me in first and i was about to die.

1.40 what happened there was between me and the ripper, the pregnant soft-hearted soft-spoken ripper.

1.45 i was waiting for vic outside. i thought how come his meeting was longer. was i lucky for having the pregnant soft-hearted soft-spoken ripper or was it the other way around? but then, what happened back there was all that mattered, including what she had to say. and here's the big catch: most of the sups were aged-old pregnant women in their early or mid 30s. talk about special treatment! i'm talking bout the elevator arrangements.

1.47 saw a familiar face again but this time it was real family. t'was ate sandy. and i had a lot of questions that need to be addressed by her. plus, the one which had church bells in it.

2.00 so vic finally came through it. i introduced them with each other, said bye and we went our way down the building. claimed my bag and cellphone at the counter and it was then when vic narrated his incident. turned out, his ripper was disappointed for wasting vic's time because honesty is still best for babies up to two years. and he was twenty. called him crazy for throwing away a winning ticket. said he was too sissy to cash it in. it was a fuckin insult that i got in and he dint. he was my mentor doug!

2.10 so we went our way to the hot streets again and into the big freezer where we were supposed to make another shot at life. well, vic did. i was just accompanying him, making sure he won't do anything stupid like jumping off from a building nose flat on the ground, (i hope he really gets to read this) and doing my job description as a friend, through thick and thin my arse.

2.15 then we got in big freezer's branch cybercafe. t'was the same as the one we have just outside the university's gates. unfortunately, they didn't offer the service we needed as that which the one just outside the university's gates did.

2.25 so we were off to that cybercafe just outside the university's gates for some boob job. and regretfully as they sounded, they had ran out of 4R photo paper. what they got is a 30 million pesos 16 piece package that's worth the trouble. but i said save the trouble, we know no trouble. so we just got ourselves logged in cos vic's got an idea and i got the means baby. thanks to some skill in cropping pictures using AP, it's the same for paint i think.

2.35 paid the rent and we were headed to kodak just across the building's facade from where we were.

2.40 so there. with some adjustments done by the lady free of charge that i's so sure she's my cousin's sister-in-law in the future but i rather not discuss about it since it's too personal i guess i rather keep my mouth shut. i made vic ask the lady if i could change because the white blouse that i wore was just a front, a ploy, an act. it wasn't me. yeah. like duh. it was me alright. just had to change because my extra shirt would spoil if i didn't use it. cos it has an expiration date that needed to be taken cared of.

2.50 we were at the the last tip of the triangle that's in the heart of the city and if you guess this right then you're probably a true blue demonyo, er dabawenyo. clue: pasalubong depot. well, that's a give away!

3.00 we were deciding what was next cos our money's short and we didn't have anymore options. well, he didn't. he thought of going at elland's place but i shrugged the idea cos we can't afford to be there if she wasn't there. and besides, i ran out of load so there's no way we could check if she was there. so vic made some calls which i took part in making one. we were to go at raffy's house. i haven't met raffy but i knew him from the stories vic told me about. it was still so hot and i was dehydrated cos i haven't been able to drink any fluid since we took our lunch at the big freezer. to countercheck, scroll up to 12.00 nn.

3.05 then i saw a girl holding ice candies that's the sight of an oasis in a desert. i wanted to ask her where she bought those but i was too weak to even open my mouth, feared that when i open it, the more my body fluids would transpire. so i told vic what i saw. so it was proven inevitable that i had to open my mouth after 5 seconds of thinkng i shouldn't open it. vic made his way into the store and i din't know how he made it since there was no sign posted they were selling refreshments. it was inconspicuous from the sidewalk. later, vic was scolded lightly for not closing the door after him. i followed him through the store and we sat for a few minutes while enjoying the feel of cold flavored ice in our mouths. but then we decided to get back at track and left our posts at the store. we made another call at the nearby telephone booth to ask for directions. vic originally had somewhere else to go. he had to look for a job as an information personnel of some sorts. what was funny about this job of his was that he just saw its ad posted somewhere in St. Peter's square.

3.20 it wasn't hard locating the landmark the receptionist i was talking on the phone gave me. since the jeepney driver directly drove us to it. what was hard was deciphering what she said in between her first and last words. i could only make out the words behind the market and in front of whatever marketing that was. but in the end, we still found ourselves at the office slash apartment door of the alleged hiring agency. we both exchanged disgusted looks and we couldn't believe what we were seeing and engaging. well, it was just vic who was actually engaging himself to a scam. i warned him what he was trying to get himself in. i really felt it was one of those pyramiding or networking scams i had seen on tv where police had stings to nail the scoundrels. then they jail 'em.

3.25 less than five minutes, and we were out of sight. i couldn't stand the sight, much more the smell of that place. it was pitiful! now, i'm exaggerating. anyhow, we got out of the dungeon after vic handed his resume. the nerve when one the lady behind the table asked for his application letter! the added as fast as a machine gun he was to be back on i-din't-get-what-she-said-because-the-air-waves-were-still-traveling-into-my-ears-when-my-brain-completely-gave-up. and so, we continued walking. made our way into the crowd. rode the tricycle. and poof! no. we didn't became koko crunch but i could tell my stomach needed crunching and munching. and wrenching? yeah. more like it.

3.45 i think that was the time. i'm just estimating by the way. we reached our destination. the place was familiar. but i had never been there. we walked a couple meters. from the main road, we turned right and then went left into an alley and a little bend on the small trail and we were actually there. we were at raffy's place. did i mention who raffy was? well, he was gladys and elland's classmate in college. gladys was vic's girlfriend. and elland is gladys' friend who's also a friend of vic's. both were my classmates back in high school so that makes us friends too right? and so who's raffy again? after their first ever meeting in school where the three were studying, believe it or not, vic spent the night at raffy's. he stayed there for one night, followed by another, then a couple of weeks turned months. i din't know what charm vic had on them. everyone just loved him. i can sense he was always welcomed to stay. he had a special place in that sweet home of theirs. i was just delighted to be there. raffy offered snacks which we didn't refuse. i drank five glasses of iced tea. think about that!

5.30 we stayed for over an hour. but we eventually had to go to our next stop. we got what we went there for. we got what we needed. we rode the jeep that led us to the POblacion. we headed off to elland's.

6.10 she called herself Lady Princess Elland Silverman Silverstone Lee Rich, aka BP as in Booba Princess. but for me, she was more than what she could ever place in her last names. i coined her the Lady of Midnight Boulevard. she deserved it. we went there for yet another reason driven by ulterior motives. we couldn't help it. after seven long years, i was going to the house of the one-who-must-be-named. we passed a Secret of Garden themed pathway. i couldn't believe it, not with my own eyes. i was standing in front of lady princess elland's humble abode.

6.15 it took a while to disturb the princess from her preoccupation. apparently, she was fixing pipes, painting walls and carpentering old cabinets. so we got down to business. vic was the spokesperson. i was merely an extra outfit.

6.20 we walked the streets. i was just humbled by the experience. here i was, walking with the prince of thebes and the princess of genovia de pravia. after crossing an intersection, down the beaten path of cement, i saw the junction where we had to go in. i thought for some time, everything's just going well, not as planned or expected, but as spontaneous as it could be when suddenly someone grabbed me by the arm. i wanted to scream but i managed to control my shriek because there was something weird with the way the hand gripped me. it didn't feel like i was being snatched or something. it was though as if the hand wanted to catch my attention. and it did! i just realized that the hand belonged to an old classmate. both elland and i screamed his name at the same time. it was oscar. it was so ancient since i last saw him. vic was quite displaced when the three of us started talking about the past and the current things, situations and people. we learned from oscar how one classmate turned NPA became insurgent. it was unlikely of him. i never heard any of his political inklings. we learned why one classmate in the name of joel died due to bad health conditions. i never knew about it till now. he was in good physical shape. we learned, but did we really? or did we just hear it and considered it part of history? it was a happy encounter but painted a dreary image in my heart. sad to know how unfortunate and unfavorable for some life went. that second year in high school was one of the best years of my life. it taught me one simple rule: existence precedes meaning. we exchanged numbers and left.

6.35 before we could even reached the doorstep, vic had already asked where rey was. the lady told us he was at the cemetery cleaning the old folks' niches. i din't really know if it was rey's mother or aunt. i couldn't make my mind. i wasn't really big on details. yeah right. said we'd be back.

6.40 reached the place where we were treated like celebrities, given movie offers and asked for autotographs. for the amount of? about 30 pesos each worth of pork barbecue, soup, unlimited rice and a pitcher of cold water. and what was so good about it? elland was paying. i didn't shell out a single dime. neither did vic. what was so outstanding about this moment was that we were so privileged to be witnessing a real live sole survivor of the ozone disco tragedy back in the mid 90s. the verdict? we couldn't afford the dole out. we got up from our chairs, left and headed back to rey's.

6.45 rey was there alright but had to take a bath first. after 10 years of waiting, he still wasn't ready. i got up and went near the cr. since i heard some splashing inside, i shouted something silly at rey not knowing that it was her lola doing her thing. i was kinda embarrased but i assured myself she din't hear a word i said. remember the five glasses or more iced tea from raffy's? and the additional pitcher of cold water from dinner? what did i get? right. a urinary bladder ready to burst anytime! so i took a leak and felt rejuvinated for the longest time in a day.

7.10 we were seated at the entrance of rey's family's eatery. we had soda to keep the talk from running dry. we talked about many things from vic's nose to his new found love interest. everything in between's for us to know. you need a password to get in.

9.00 elland had to leave. the princess would turn into a pumpkin-eating frog if she wasn't in time for the airing of the lotto sweepstakes. besides, all of her clan texted like crazy to remind her of the curfew. so she still didn't get away with the curse. she was still under her granny's spell. too bad.

10.00 had to leave. i just felt i had to. i don't know if it was the rain that made my muscles cramped in the cold or i remembered i still had a home to report to. i choose the latter.

10.05 so the two boys went with me as i waited for my ride. vic got on first the moment he spotted the long jeepney because the routes in their place were few and rare. it was already late,i opted for a front seat in a small vehicle so no one could disturb me. i was quite particular with my ride.

10.10 i just saw njl. a young architect by profession. two years ago, he passed the board and got his licensure. he was a classmate in sociology during my freshie days. i saw him first. then he saw me. he got on the jeepney i was riding. to my surprise, he sat behind the front seat where i was. we talked. about me having no boyfriend and me asking where was his girlfriend. he smelled of alcohol. and i ignored it. but he was bold to say he was out drinking since two in the afternoon and was sobering up for hours before finally deciding to come home. he asked for my number and i easily succumbed to his request. he miscalled me as if to say save it.

10.35 he got off the jeep and i watched him as he walked. he looked at me, half smiling, the other half's just lost in space. i knew it was the alcohol working.

10.40 the jeep continued to move. everything was just too good to be true to be happening. i felt a tinge of happiness surround me.