The Saga Begins
***Disclaimer: I reserve the right to use tagalog whenever i feel like it. Just pretend it's dubbed. :)
EPISODES 1 & 2 - MEET THE FCUKers
highlights & summary only
Colin arrives at work early, as usual. While waiting for everyone else to get in he contemplates while staring at the picture of a smiling double helix that is posted on his cubicle. Marian, who sits across him found it at a convention and got it for him last year. It reminds him of his days studying genetics in London University and what might have been if he hadn’t had to come home right after finishing university to work since his father was ill. It also reminds him of her, and it makes him smile to himself.
Derek: O, Tumatawa tawa ka nanaman diyan magisa.
Colin: (startled) Respeto, hindi kita narining. Ang aga mo, ha.
Derek: Parati naman akong maaga eh. Tsaka galing akong date, so umuwi ako ng maaga ako nagising.
Colin: Hmmm. Sino nanaman yan?
Derek: This girl I met in Sideways.
Colin: The club on Firth street?
Derek: Yeah. Nice girl. Great Legs.
Colin: Anong pangalan niya?
Derek: (long pause) Andrea. Wag ka nang humirit. Naalala ko yung pangalang niya.
Colin: O, sige na! (boots up computer)
Derek: O, si Marian? (points to cubicle across him)
Colin: Wala pa.
Derek: Kelan mo ba kakausapin yan?
Colin: Eh, there’s no point! She and Ainsley have been together for two years. What am I supposed to do? Im not a relationship wrecker.
Derek: Masyado kang madrama. Wala ka naman gagwin. Aaminin mo lang sa kanya na gusto mo siya. Eh, kung may mangyari eh di meron. Kung wala, at least nasabi mo na.
Colin: May mangyari! I don’t want to break them up.
Derek: Bro, nagprepresume ka na gusto ka din niya. Paano kung hindi?
Colin: Ouch.
Derek: You have to face facts. What’s important is masabi mo na. Get it off your chest, man.
Colin: You sound like James.
Derek: Siyempre. Pareho kami ng iniisip nun.
Colin: Where is James? Don’t you usually come in together?
Derek: He stayed at Rachel’s mother’s house last night and he’s dropping her off this morning at the airport so he’s probably going to be late this morning.
Colin: Oh that’s right, she’s going back to New York. How sad.
Derek: Okay lang yon.
Colin: What about Aoki?
Derek: Still staying with Rachel’s mom. James sees her almost everyday naman so okay lang. Besides we can’t put a baby in our apartment, saan magkakasya yon? Tapos sino pang magbabantay? Buti pa yung mom ni Rachel hindi nagtratrabaho, ok lang.
Colin: True, true.
Derek: Pinapalitan mo lang yung subject. O, pano na si Marian?
Marian (enters from the side): What about me?
Colin (flustered): uh…uh…
Derek: (smoothly) We were just wondering if you could join us this weekend, we’re thinking of driving down to Manchester.
Marian: Oh. Sayang. I can’t, Ainsley and I are spending the weekend at his parent’s house in Blackpool.
Derek: That’s too bad. Maybe next time.
Marian: Definitely.
In some other corner of the office, Tatiana the Sales Manager Supreme of Derek & Marian’s team is looking over figures and starting her day with a scream.
Freddie: Chief! Eto na yung mail niyo for the day. Bale, pinapapirmahan to kay bossing tapos ipapabalik sa head office sa London.
Victor: Chief! Kumusta na? Tagal kang nawala a.
Freddie: Wala kasi, nagleave ako. Yung banda kasi namin nag start mag record ng idependent album.
Victor: Ohws? Saan? Tapos na ba? Can I listen to your cd?
Freddie: Hindi pa tapos eh. Pero we’ll be playing at Sideways next week, punta ka na lang.
Victor: Sure.
Freddie: Papayagan ka ba ng misis mo.
Victor: Isasama ko pa!
Freddie: Yan naman!
Disembodied voice from inside the room: Victor! Stop chatting with Freddie and get to work! We have a lot of things to do today and we have a new client coming in next week!!!
Victor: Yes Ma’m Tatiana.
Freddie: Sorry po, Ma’m Tatiana.
Somewhere across town, Julia is drinking her coffee and with a kunot in her nuo, reading the morning paper. Key turns and the door opens and in walks Amanda.
Amanda: (cheerily) Good Morning, Julia!
Julia: (grunts) Good Morning.
Amanda: O, anong nangyari sa yo? You’re usually civilized once you’ve got your coffee.
Julia: We’re out of sugar.
Amanda: Well, why don’t we go ask the neighbors?
Julia: (gives sleepy look) Too lazy this early in the morning.
Amanda: I’ll go. Let me just get changed.
Julia: Where'd you go last night?
Amanda: Sideways.
Julia: What is it about that bar? Everyone that goes there seems to end up… sideways.
Amanda: hahahaha. Its great. The music is cool, too. Last night was RnB night. I even saw Derek, that guy from Marian’s office chatting up this girl who I used to work with.
Julia: Don’t you have to go to work?
Amanda: I have to be in by ten but otherwise I’m fine. We’re getting ready for this event on Friday and all the suppliers I have to talk to don’t open their offices till ten, so…
Julia: Makes sense.
Amanda: How was work?
Julia: Some guy had the nerve to return one of the steaks saying it was overdone. Overdone!
Amanda: Uhoh.
Julia: I almost went right back outside to tell him that it was a (insert french name here) and that is supposed to be cooked that way!
Amanda: What happened?
Julia: The head waiter stopped me. He said Gregory, the manager would be a bit upset if I did that. He had a point.
Amanda: (laughs) So what did you do?
Julia: I put some sauce on the thing and pretended I cooked it again and sent it out. He thought it was a different steak and he ate it. He even thought it was excellent, the waiter told me later. Asshole. Wouldn’t know fine dining if it bit him on the head. (Amanda laughs) So how is Latrell?
Amanda: Oh, he wasn’t able to go last night. (heads up stairs) He’s only staying for another ten days then he’s going back to New York.
Julia: Where do you find these guys? I mean you would’ve thought they’d go to Manchester or London or something. But no, they’re in Leeds!
Amanda: Alam mo naman, regional center tayo so you know people come here.
Julia: true, true.
Amanda: O, I’ll go na next door and get the sugar. (doorbell rings, Amanda answers door)
Amanda: What a coincidence. I was about to go next door to borrow sugar
Danny: Well, I’m here to borrow cream. We’re out of milk and the milkman isn’t due till tomorrow.
Amanda: Cool. Well, you can get some milk here and I’ll go over with you and get some sugar.
Danny: I wouldve sent Mike out to the store to get some but he didn’t come home last night..
Amanda: How can you tell?Danny: His bed is still rumpled the same way. You know he never makes it.
Amanda: Tama Nga.
Julia: Amanda…did you ever date Mike?
Amanda: Well, yeah. When we first moved in. But it was a small thing. We’re still friends.
Danny: You are friends with everyone! Although in fairness, you and my brother are better friends then you are with all the other guys you make kumusta when we run into them on Portobello Road.
Amanda: Alam mo, tama ka nga. Why do we always run into them on Portobello. In London. Bakit sila nagkukumpol-kumpol dun kaya? Do they have some sort of innate radar? Amanda’s coming today, let’s all walk down the road and make things awkward?
Danny: (laughs) and this only happens when you’re with me.
Amanda: So true!J
ulia: Wait, wait! So you slept with Mike. But he’s not…your usual type.
Danny: Oh you mean foreign? Technially, mum’s from Trinidad and Tobago so we’re sort of half. Actually ¼, mum’s mum is native and mum’s dad is from here. But they’re from Trinidad so we’re kind of mixed.
Julia: Makes sense. (pause) What does Mike do again?
Danny: I don’t know. Basta he always has money.
Julia: And are you older?
Danny: By barely a year. My parents were like rabbits in the start. But they stopped after him. (smiles) They still live in Trinidad. Mike & I are supposed to go visit sometime this year.
Amanda: I have never been there.
Danny: Y’all can come along if you want, it should be fun. Don’t know when we’re going, though. Will have to see when we both feel like it.
Amanda: Sounds like a great idea. By the way, we might hold a party to celebrate Julia’s third month of moving with in with us!
Danny: You’re just looking for an excuse to get smashed!
Amanda: So?
Danny: …Good point. We’re in.
Julia: Uhm, I hate to interrupt but… the sugar?
Back at work, Marian & Derek have gone out on a sales call leaving Colin alone in their set of cubicles. James has skipped lunch as he came in late, leaving Colin to his own devices. As he heads off to the cafeteria he bumps into…
Keith: Oy, bro! Kumusta ka na?
Colin: Keith! Long time no see. Anong ginagawa mo dito?
Keith: I just finished an interview for Sales Manager. Ikaw? Matagal ka na ba dito?
Colin: Yeah, mga mag 3 years na.
Keith: So what do you do? Sales ka din ba? I always thought you’d be a doctor or something. Ang galing mo sa science nung secondary school.
Colin: I’m a Senior Analyst. Im basically assigned to different teams once they finish particular projects. I analyze their productivity, whether they hit targets, etc.
Keith: Okay ka ha. So, ano mag lunch ka na? Sabay na tayo.
Keith and Colin head downstairs. At Keith’s instigation they head to a nearby café where they talk about the english premier league, movie actresses and people they used to know in high school.
Keith: Whatever happened to… Sally?
Colin: Sally? Sally Richmond?
Keith: Oo.Diba liniligawan mo yon dati nung high school?Colin: Of course not. I had a crush on her pero di ko siya linigawan.
Keith: Naalala ko pa, crush na crush mo yon dati. Ba’t di mo nga linigawan? (no answer) Torpe ka pa rin ba, hanggang ngayon?
Colin: No Comment.
Keith: Bakit? May bago ka na bang chicks?Colin: Not a chick. Just a girl I like.
Keith: So? Sino siya?Colin: (sighs) Her name’s Marian. She works in the office as a Sales Rep. She’s a very good friend of mine.
Keith: But?
Colin: Well, she’s got a boyfriend right now. Long term. Mga 2 years na sila, more than. There’s nothing I can do.
Keith: Sayang. Pero kung wala siyang boyfriend, liligawan mo ba?
Colin: I…don’t know. But I really, really like her.
Keith: (pats him on the back) Torpe ka pa rin hanggang ngayon, pare! (both laugh)
In the meantime, Marian & Derek have just finished their Sales Call out of town and are driving back. They stop by a roadside row of restaurants to have lunch. Amanda calls Marian on her phone to chat and to get better reception, Marian steps outside the restaurant. As they are chatting she sees the back of a familiar figure about to turn the corner with his arm around the girl. Frowning, Marian follows. They turn the corner and head to a charming BnB type inn that is located behind the row of restaurants. She tells Amanda she’ll call her back and starts dialing Ainsley, only to get his voice mail. She trails behind, walking hurridly as the couple in front of her gain distance. From afar she sees the man turn to kiss the girl he is with. The profile looks a lot like Ainsley’s but its too far to tell exactly and they enter the inn before she can see anymore. Bothered, Marian starts walking back to the restaurant. As she turns the corner she sees Ainsley’s beloved red convertible parked right in front. She stops, stunned.
To Be Continued.
posted by wandergurl at 6:01 PM
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