The Dreamers

IV

"Valerie?"

A girl, about my age, stands in front of me while smiling. She held her hand out, "Hello! I'm Pau Alcaraz from the Chief of Staff team. Jess asked me to give you CoS briefing. Tara."

I stand up and follow her. "So how shall I call you?" Tanong ni Pau while we're walking.

"You can call me, Val." I answer. 

I've already met the Communications and Information Team earlier today and Rom has briefed me of the role I will play as support. It's a small team, composed of Rom as team lead, Jack from IT, Tess from Logistics, and me as support. They work hand in hand with the Chief of Staff office for planning and executing projects. Which is why I'll also be spending a lot of time with the CoS office.

Pau led me to enter a small working area. Two heads swivel to our direction, eyes looking at me intently.

Pau starts, "So welcome to the Chief of Staff office. We have here Edison Chang and Aimee Lagman." Pau motioned to the two people in the room. Isang babae, isang lalaki. 

The girl, who I assume is Aimee, looks almost the same age as myself and Pau. Long-haired, morena. She wears eyeglasses like me, and is about a foot smaller than I was. 

The guy, who I think is Edison, kasingtangkad ko. Gwapo, maputi, neat-looking.

"We're all working under Jess' team and—"

She was interrupted when both Edison and Aimee shoved her back. I step back a little as both of their intense stares start to make me nervous.

"Hoy, para kayong mga sira! Tinatakot nyo si Val!" Pau slaps Edison's back.

"So, ikaw pala si Val." Edison crosses his arms and starts to walk around me. "Val, Val, Val."

Nagulat ako nang bigla nya kong inikot sa harap nya. "Si Val na walang malay!"

Aimee laughs and takes Edison's hands off me. "Para kang tanga! Hi, Val, I'm Aimee. It's nice to meet you." She shakes my hand.

"Likewise," I say, a bit cautiously since Edison is still shooting daggers at me with his stare.

Pau laughs, "Huwag mo na pansinin yang si Edison. He's just curious to meet the new addition to the team na inendorse ni Atty. Christian."

"Inendorse?" Edison scoffs. "More like pinagtanggol! I overheard the legal juguettes na pinagtsitsismisan kung paano binenta ni Atty. Christian si Val kay Daddy Javi!" He glares at me again. "Aminin mo nga, anong meron sa inyo ni Atty. Pogi?!"

Nanlaki ang mata ko and I start shaking my head, "Naku, wala-wala! I'm just a temp!"

Aimee and Pau laughed. "Don't worry, OA lang yang si Eds. Crush kasi nya si Attorney." Aimee says. 

"But we're actually surprised. Sa kanilang apat, si Atty. Christian ang may pinakamataas na standards. Kaya to hear him endorse soemone, medyo nakakagulat."

Edison grabs both of my hands, "Sis, iendorse mo naman ako kay Attorney Christian."

I look at both Pau and Aimee, and then at Eds. "Pwede naman, pero ang binibigay ko kasi sa kanya madalas ay mga administrative cases. Gusto mo?"

Tumawa nang malakas ang dalawang babae sabay bitaw ni Eds sa kamay ko, "Ginawa pa kong kriminal ng bruha." Tumayo siya at tiningnan ako. "Okay na din na hindi ka masyadong maganda, at least hindi ako masasapawan." He holds his hand out and says, "I'm Eds. Welcome to the exciting world of SVMO!"

I shake his hands and smile at the four of them.

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"Come in."

I open the door and see Atty. Santos and his usual busy self, hunched in front of his table.

"Hi, Attorney."

Christian looks up and smiles at me. "Val! Have a seat. Napabisita yata sakin ang newest member ng SVMO. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

I smile back at him. He's always been one of the people in SVMO that I like and respect. He was like a big brother to me, and acts like a mentor. Kaya magaan din ang loob ko sa kanya, and I wanted to win his trust and respect, too. It wasn't easy: he did give me a hard time. But I always met his assignments. Kaya siguro din nya ako gusto.

"Attorney, I just wanted to say thank you. Alam ko ikaw ang dahilan why I was considered and hired for the role." I say to him.

"Come on, Val. It was you. I merely decsribed the truth to them." He said. "You are a smart worker so I know hindi ako nagkamali when I referred you."

"I will not let you down, Attorney." I say with a smile.

"Don't worry, I know they'd like you. Jess is a playful guy, but he's one of the best there is in this field. Rom is the quietest, but he's smart so you'll learn a lot from him, too." He pauses, "And there's Javi, too. I thought it might take a while, but I think Javi has seen what I saw in you, too."

I scrunch my eyebrows and Atty. Santos didn't miss that slight movement.

He smiled before starting, "Javi is very particular of who he lets in his team, especially since this new role will require interface with several teams. He wasn't fond of someone with no experience, kaya I had to convince him of how I was betting on you, but he's a tough cookie. I was sure he'd give you a hard time during the interview. He did, didn't he?"

I nod, "A little bit."

Tumawa si Christian, "I was ready to give more evidence after your interview, but then he just said he's okay with you. Guess it went well after all!"

I recall his last words during the interview. "Dreaming of a better world. Let's make it come true."

"Javi's a great guy. You'd learn a lot from him, Val." Atty. Santos smiles. "And maybe, he'll learn a lot from you, too."

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