400 Days After Fina

Day 426

400 Days After Fina by JellOfAllTrades
Chapter 10

I honk my horn in front of Angel's place before I realized she's already outside, just seated at a small bench beside a half-dead plant. She waves at me and signals for me to wait. As I get out of the car, Angel has already gotten out of the gate, wearing a light pink blouse and a gray pencil skirt. And for the first time since I've met her, she's wearing a pair of black closed-toe heels, albeit shorter than I'm used to seeing.

"Nagsusuot ka rin pala ng heels?" I snicker at her while opening the passenger door of my car for her.

"Oo naman. Pero syempre kapag kailangan lang." She smiles at me and I notice she's wearing light make up too.

I close the door behind her and get on the driver's side. "Nagreview ka ba for your interview?"

"I'm meeting with the principal, Mrs. Ibañez, for the open position of kinder teacher for their private preschool, Twinkle Thoughts." Angel replies with confidence.

"And?"

"I can teach any subject but my best subjects are English and Filipino."

"That's good. Di na kita irereview, just prepare yourself for her other possible questions."

"Yes, ma'am."

After almost thirty minutes, we arrive in front of the preschool. Angel took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

"You look fine and I'm sure you'll do great."

"Sana."

I give her a smile. "Good luck inside. I'll stay nearby para masundo kita mamaya."

Angel smiles at me nervously. "Maraming salamat talaga."

"Don't worry about it. Basta makahanap ka ng trabaho ah?" I tell her and pointed across the road. "Dun lang ako sa fast-food sa tapat."

She nods and opens the door.

I watch her approach the gate and talk to the security guard who checked her bag and then gave her directions on where to go. She doesn't turn around.

"That could have been me." I heard Fina's voice inside my head and I cringe in the sudden headache. "Kung hindi dahil sa sakit ko dapat magkasama kami ni Angel na naghahanap ng trabaho dito sa Manila."

I close my eyes and stop the sudden urge to vomit.

"You could have done more than just that," I reply to her in my head. Fina doesn't respond and the pain disappeared as quickly as it came.

I park my car in front of the fast-food chain just across the school. Knowing that I'll have to wait for her to finish her interview, I brought my laptop with me. I already informed Kate I might not be able to come to the office but I can work off-site.

After ordering something for breakfast, I choose the seat near the window and fired up my laptop. As I sip on the coffee, I read through my emails. After a few minutes of reading, a new email comes in labeled urgent. I read its contents and immediately felt dread as this would require my physical supervision. I grab my phone and send Kate a text that I'll be in the office as soon as possible.

I look out at the school and wonder what time Angel would finish with her interview. It's only been half an hour. Depending on how good it will go, she could take all morning.

Maybe I should get Angel a replacement phone for the one she lost so that I can contact her without coming to see her. I think I still have a couple of my old phones at home. I should check if at least one of them is still functioning. I'm pretty sure Angel wouldn't mind having an old model, it's better than nothing.