"Why? Same issue?"
"Three people left for lunch, and nobody told me? Even earlier, before I had lunch by myself? What the fuck is going on?"
"Don't mind them. Mahirap yun gawin, but that's what you have to do."
As I began to upload photos, Neobie came up to me and tapped my shoulder.
"Tawag ka ni..."
I grudgingly stood up, with an unexplainably angry face, and walked towards the reception area. I didn't understand the name she dropped, but all doubt was lost when I got there.
Valerie may have left us, but she just moved to an office that's on the same block as ours. Nothing really changed.
"How are you?"
"Halos magwala na ako sa YM."
I was just slumped against the wall, feeling bad and feeling confused at the same time. The conversation went on for five minutes or so. She'll drop by when she can, she says, which is more probable considering she has a "semestral break" that's longer than what the three of us had in college. If we had any.
Without a wave, I walked back to my desk, still with two hands on my back pocket. Neobie was in front of me.
"Shit. False alarm. But still. They didn't call me. The resigned ex-co-worker dropped by. And nobody told me."
"Alam mo naman na ganyan na sila dati pa. Why expect?"
"It took five minutes, and Neobie coming here to tell me... I don't know. The past month was better. Tapos biglang hindi pala."
"She doesn't like you. Period. Don't expect na magiging okay diyan with them around."
"Workplace relationships, Jenn. Workplace relationships."
"They don't like you. Obvious naman dati pa, di ba?"
"I should have kept that in mind."
"Finish your probie period and lumipat ka na."
"I hope I have somewhere to go. I still haven't."
"Pero you tried applying na?"
"I can't find anything that applies to me. As in wala. Puro hindi naman bagay sakin."
"Try mo ding mag-NPC."
"NPC?"
"National Press Club. Like Jackie."
"Haven't encountered any. But I don't think dun siya, eh. I asked Ariane. Hindi daw dun. Around the area lang daw. I don't know."
"Last time I talked to her, dun daw."
"Well. I'll ask."
"Mahirap mag-work sa ganyang environment. It's not healthy."
"Matagal na akong naghahanap."
"Basta apply ka lang ng apply."
"Maghahanap na po. I sense your exasperation."
12/10/2008
‒ Anna Esguerra
‒ Ariane Astorga
‒ Claudine Rodriguez
‒ Hilary Isaac
‒ Isa Rodriguez
‒ Issa Marcelang
‒ Jackie Uy
‒ Jeany Lee
‒ John Mari Marcelo
‒ Katia Manila
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Niko Batallones writes The Upper Blog.
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Some photographs have been edited using post-production curves from Shalla Yu.
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