Ludic Selcouth #1: Cracked Beat

Hit #33

"Lucien! You shouldʼve atleast woke me up!" ungot ko habang naghahapunan kami ng araw na 'yon.

He shook his head while a grin is forming on his lips. "I know you're exhausted the other night. Sisimulan ko na dapat ang meeting kahit wala ka, but your ex didnʼt want to." napa-ubo ako at binitawan ang mga kubyertos. Kita kong kumunot ang noo ni mama at nang-aakusa akong tiningnan.

"Ex? Sino? Si Tase?" nakagat ko ang labi at sinamaan ng tingin si Lucien na tumawa lang.

I cleared ny throat. "Business partners sila ni Lucien, ma," sabi ko at nagpatuloy sa pagkain. She fell silent. Wala na siyang sinabi kaya nanahimik na rin ako. We just ate in silence. Alam ni mama ang dahilan kung bakit ko 'yon ginawa. Wala siyang sinabi tungkol sa desisyon ko, but I know, she was opposing it. Kahit na ang sabi niyaʼy susuportahan niya ako sa kung ano mang gusto kong gawin.

"Do you want to visit your unit? The cleaning is almost done," ani ni Lucien pagkatapos ng mahabang katahimikan.

"Weʼll see, architect. Iʼll give myself until next week," sagot ko at uminom na ng tubig.

Pagkatapos maghapunan ay agad na rin akong umakyat sa kuwarto para magpahinga. I was on LUCCUS the whole day. I worked on some important papers regarding the project. Speaking of project, naalala ko 'yung sinabi ni Tase kanina sa elevator. He said, he hates people who break their promises... Was that for me? I broke a lot of promises... But I didn't mean to do that. I mean I did! But I donʼt have a choice, I have! But I still chose to leave him... I shook my head. No need to think about that. The damage has been done, thereʼs no point to keep on reminiscing.

I made sure that I slept early that night. I canʼt be late! Baka kung ano na namang masabi ni Tase. Kinabukasan ay 6 am pa lang ay nag-aayos na ako. Ipapakita ko sa kaniya ang sinasabi niyang "you should be professional with your time management."

I wore a skinny black pants and a black fitted shirt. Itinuck-in ko iyon at nagsuot ng sneakers. Iʼm going to inspect a site, I canʼt wear heels. Itinali ko ang maikling buhok kaya may nalaglag sa may gilid pero ayos na 'yon. Lucien is nowhere, baka nasa LUCCUS na. Nakapag-breakfast ako ngayon dahil maaga ako. After that, I bid my goodbye to mama.

I made it to the site at exactly 7:30 am. Iʼm 30 minutes early! Magulo pa at madaming mang-gagawa ang kasalukuyang nagtatrabaho. Kumuha ako ng PPE bago medyo lumapit sa mga labors. Magsisimula na ako.

I started asking them some questions about the construction, I can see that thereʼs a big progress here. Mortell engineering firm is good at handling their people. As expected. Ilang minuto na rin akong palibot-libot para mag-inspect nang may lumapit sa 'kin na lalaki. He is also wearing a safety hat.

"Engineer Devlin, you're early," aniya. Sinuri ko ang mukha niya at napagtantong nasa meeting siya kahapon. Must be one of the engineers.

"Iʼm Engineer Azero." tumango ako at ngumiti sa kaniya.

"Good to see you. I want to inspect immediately. I need to go back to LUCCUS after this," sabi ko at nagpatuloy sa pag-suri sa mga materyales.

"You shouldʼve called us. Or well..." napatigil siya at tumingin sa likuran ko.

"No, itʼs fine. I saw that your team is kinda busy a while ago," sabi ko at ibinaling ang tingin sa kaniya. Heʼs still looking behind me.

"Engineer Mortell," biglang bati nito. I frozed.

"Engineer Azero. You can leave us, Iʼll tour her," he said on a serious voice. Hindi pa rin ako lumilingon at nagpatuloy na lang sa pagsuri sa mga materyales.

"Sure. Maiwan ko na kayo Engineer Devlin," sagot niya kaya pilit ko siyang nginitian. Donʼt leave us! Halos manlumo ako nang magsimula na siyang maglakad paalis. Mas lalo akong tinambol ng kaba. Sobrang lakas na naman ng tibok ng leche kong puso.