Destiny's Game

58

"Are you Nic?"

"Yes"

"And you're also Maine?"

"Yes. My full name is Nicomaine."

"I see. How long have you known Rj?"

"We've worked together for the past year. But we've been friends since before..."

"Hmm..."

"...he's been my boyfriend for the past 10 months..."

"...and you live together?"

"Yes. We didn't know we were housemates in the beginning..."

"Oh?"

"I moved out of my dormitory because I wanted to be more independent. The share house agent made it clear to me, though, that my housemate could either be a boy or a girl. I was surprised to see the unit spic and span when I first arrived so I thought that I had a female housemate..."

"You didn't rent at the same time?"

"Not exactly; He moved in on a Friday, and I moved in the Monday after. The apartment was pretty empty, just the basic furniture in the living room and dining room. The agent pointed to the 2nd bedroom and the bathroom and then she took me to my room. The fridge was empty except for two containers of yogurt and a bottle of water. Since I was informed that my housemate also worked at the hospital and just moved in on the weekend, I thought that maybe he or she didn't have time to shop yet. I, myself, was still working on the third shift at that time."

"I see. So how did you communicate with each other? Aren't share houses supposed to be places where the residents gather in the more common areas?"

"Yes. In our complex, there are several houses with other residents sharing rooms in different units and we have a common courtyard where we gather on some evenings. The gatherings are usually set up by the Ms. Ana, our landlady, or by the other residents as well."

"Ah, so it's like you live in a compound of houses..."

"You can say that. There's one main low building that's dormitory-styled and several other houses that have two  to three people in one bedroom. It's just that J and I are one of the 'luckier' ones because we live in a house with two separate bedrooms in one house."

"...and your 'landlord'?"

"Mrs. Ana lives in Makati. She visits every now and then. There have been times when she cooks and the residents have a party. She said that her husband actually built the house J and I stay at for them but Ms. Ana decided to rent it out as well for added income."

"I see. How did you get to know Rj?"