#Yatiz is a story focusing on the lives of young people in a small seaside municipality called Carmen in the southern part of the Philippines. The name is based on a cuss word here, "Yati/Yatis" that has no English equivalent but is closest to WTF.
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
APRIL 11, 2023・TUESDAY・9:31
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
JR is looking at his group mates sharing small pecks on each other's lips from across the table. He adjusts his throat, trying to get their attention but they're still preoccupied, flirting with each other. JR rolls his eyes. "So...erm...kato, inyoha namang nabasa ang docu no?"
"SO...ERM...DID–DID YOU GUYS ALREADY READ THE DOCU?"
They don't reply.
"Patrick."
The guy looks at him. "Oo, sorry." He laughs. He points to his girl friend. "Samokan kaayo ni akong katapad."
"YEAH. SORRY."
"THIS ONE'S DISTRACTING ME."
She rests her head on his shoulder.
"Unsa to imong pangutana?"
"WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTION AGAIN?"
"Nabasa na ba nimo ang docu?"
"HAVE YOU ALREADY READ THE DOCUMENT?"
He nods. "Oo." He gives JR a thumbs up. "Hawud ka bai."
"YES."
"YOU'RE SO GOOD, MAN."
"Ikaw Hannah?" JR asks.
"AND YOU HANNAH?"
"Yes, ako na siya nabasa." Her and Patrick exchange looks. She purses her lips, trying not to laugh.
"YEAH, I ALREADY READ IT."
"Kasabot na man kaha mong duha? Naa mo'y mga pangutana?"
"AND DO YOU TWO UNDERSTAND IT? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?"
They don't respond, continuing where they left off.
JR clenches his jaw, biting back the hurtful words that have already built up in his head over the last few minutes. He redirects his attention to the scattered sheets of paper, research drafts, on the table. He starts sorting and arranging them.
The rusty sliding door suddenly makes a long drawn out noise as somebody makes their way in. It catches JR's attention, and he turns around to see who it is.
He realizes that it's Maya, walking towards the librarian's station.
She notices him staring and looks back at him.
Immediately, in his panic, he freezes. He nervously swallows and forces out a smile to her.
For a moment, she pauses, looking like she's considering saying something to him. But eventually, she stops herself. Her eyes drop and she continues to where she was going to earlier.
JR turns away, disheartened. He looks at his group mates again.
Now they're whispering things to each other and giggling.
JR adjusts his throat. "Okay na ta," he says.
"I THINK WE'RE GOOD NOW."
"Nice ka bai!" Patrick says as he gets up from his chair. He takes Hannah's hand and pulls her up.
"NICE!"
"Salamat Lao! Hawud kaayo ka ba," Hannah says as she puts her arm around Patrick's waist. "Swerte kaayo mi sa imo."
"THANKS LAO! YOU'RE SO SMART."
"WE'RE SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS OUR GROUP MATE."
All of sudden, JR can feel his phone vibrate from his pocket. He checks it and sees it's a message notification from Hazel.
Patrick nods in agreement. "Kaayo bai." He pats JR's shoulder. "Lakaw na mi ha?" he says.
"TRUE."
"SO WE'RE HEADING OUT, OKAY?"
JR fakes a smile and nods, a bit distracted. He taps the message open.
"Goods naman kaha ta?" Patrick asks.
"ARE WE GOOD?"
JR nods again as he begins to read the message.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
HAZEL: HI BABY FACE? WHY NO FOLLOW BACK? :) YOU LOOKED SO HANDSOME YESTERDAY. REALLY HELPED WITH MY REPORTING.
"Okay, lakaw na mi."
"OKAY, WE'RE GOING."
"Sige," JR responds, a bit too late, as the two have already started to walk away. He continues to stare at the message, contemplating whether to reply to it or not. He takes a deep breath and locks his phone. He turns to look at Maya again, but she's already gone.
"OKAY."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
