Chronicle No. 20: The Botched Homecoming(Days of Panic, Part Three)

At the dawn of April 21st, I was woken up by an announcement over the speakers that the Trans Asia ship I was on would arrive at the port of Cebu City at seven in the morning. It being 5:30 am, I did not get off my bunk and tried to go back to sleep. I was later reawakened by the sound of passengers trying to make their way to the windows at the gallery to look at the sunrise. Tourists, I thought with disdain.
Sea-gazing before sunrise on a ship bound for Cebu is a mark of a tourist. I have long given up the practice.

The people you usually see on the deck at dawn are those people who have never gone to or rarely go to Cebu. From experience, what is usually in their minds are Shopping!Shopping!Shopping and Malls!Malls!Malls! Later in the day, they could be seen having their pictures taken near the escalators of SM or Ayala.

It was hunger that finally drove me up the ship's lobby where the canteen was located. I realized that it had been fourteen hours since I last ate and I needed extra energy for disembarking the ship and for racing to take a taxi.

After I returned my sheets and pillow, I heard my name being squealed by a girl. It was Ayza, a classmate of mine and a fellow resident of the hostel I was staying in Diliman during the BAR exams. We agreed to meet at the canteen after we get our things up to the lobby from our respective accomodations.

As Ayza and I awaited for our turn for our orders to be taken, there was an announcement that the ship would arrive at the port at around 8:20 am. I hurriedly sent an SMS to Queenie, in whose house I would be staying, informing her of my very late arrival." But, I will have to be out of the house by eight" she replied.

Queenie, was going to attend a review class from 8am to 5pm that day and she has been religiously attending the class since it started. Since she would lock up the house whenever she leaves, it meant that I would have to find another place to stay until she comes home. There was also no way that I would lug my bags and box to the review center somewhere in Carbon just to get the keys. I place too much value in posterity.

"What's wrong?" Ayza asked upon seeing my pale face.

" I think I have to barge into somebody's room or house for the day" I replied while scanning my brain for potential hosts. A name popped into my head and I immediately picked up my phone, which was still charging.

"Hello..." a very sleepy voice answered.

" Hi, Edson!It's me!" I said cheerily and immediately launched into an explanation of my housing issue. My seven-day call center experience proved to be very useful.

"Well..." Edson slurred "it would have been okay but I'm in UP-Diliman right now. I arrived yesterday."

My blood froze.

I thanked Edson and apologized for waking him up. Ayza was sympathetic." I could let you stay with me but I don't know if it's okay with my sister and my cousin. I'm also taking a girl from our town with me there and I don't think there's enough space." Just then, it was announced that the ship was doing docking maneuvers. I had to think fast. Another name popped into my head.

I cleared my throat and dialled a number."Helleeeewwww..." I enthused into the phone with my sweetest voice, the one I use when I desperately need a favor.

"Why are you calling?" O'rin(Aureen) answered. I am notoriously a devout user of the unlimited texting feature of my mobile phone network. This is the reason why I am not very close with the people I know who are subscribers of other networks. I only send them SMS when it is extremely urgent and very important to do so. This is also their philosophy in sending me SMS. Since my well-being was in jeopardy, I had no choice but to call and use up my precious pre-paid credits.

Again, I launched into my desperate plea for help. O'rin, God bless her soul, was possessed by the spirit of the Mother of Mercy and she told me to hurry because she was going to work in a few minutes. I assured her that the boat was about to dock. I then beamed at Ayza and told her the good news.

I relaxed and took small bites of my over-priced slice of ham-n-cheese pizza while chatting with Ayza. We exchanged stories on how we felt and how our families reacted when the BAR results came out. We had a lot to talk about since we last saw each other the day after typhoon Milenyo ravaged Metro Manila. Also, Ayza is a subscriber of another network.

When the ship finally docked, Ayza and her companion went on ahead because they were expected to be somewhere within the hour. I waited for the crowd of passengers, who were eager to get off the boat, to thin out because I had no inclination to jostle with their humongous bags, noisy children, fighting cocks and bulky boxes.

After dragging my trolley bag over the pavement and out of the pier, and outsmarting the other passengers in nabbing a taxi, I was stuck in the middle of the Cebu morning traffic. It was comforting to see many cars and trucks waiting for the light to change and the pedestrians scurrying across the streets - a sign of civilization. But, I couldn't help but gawk at the newly-erected buildings and newly-opened establishments. I've been gone for eight months and there was already a lot of change.

O'rin had left her roommate ,Nina, in-charge over me and headed off to work. Nina, fed me instant pancit canton while we watched a cooking show on QTV. When afternoon came, the room was oppressively hot and we decided to flee to SM and meet O'rin there. I also felt obliged to pay my respects to one of the temples of commercialism.

When I entered the air-conditioned environment of the mall, I felt at ease amidst the throng of shoppers. It was like returning home and saying hello to familiar faces. Hello, National Bookstore. Hello, American Boulevard. Hello, Sbarro. Hello, Starbucks. Hello, GoNuts Donuts. Their logos shone and beckoned me to sample their wares but I was mindful of my meager and borrowed funds. KFC, offered 50-peso budget meals and into its restaurant Nina and I eagerly went.

O'rin and Gai, my constant textmate, joined us there and I proceeded to deliver a monologue of my travails for the past three days over chicken sandwiches, fries and sodas. I was glad to have an audience for my hysterics. Afterwards, we wandered around the mall and stared at the merchandise we could barely afford. We then decided to have dinner in Casa Verde in Ramos Street.

O'rin and Nina, craved for and ordered baby back ribs. I had it the last time I ate there and got a large serving - a large serving of bone with meat clinging to it. To be safe, I ordered grilled pork belly. While waiting for our food, I asked Queenie if I could go to her house after dinner. She was dining out with her mom and her sister and she would just tell me when they'd get home.

It was past 10pm when Queenie gave me the go signal. O'rin, possessed by the spirit of the Mother of Perpetual Help, stowed my trolley bag and box into the taxi's trunk. A guy, hanging out with his friends on the street commented "He's such a big guy and he let a girl carry his bag".(to be continued)