FALSE GOD Series: Phillip Warren (COMPLETE) Series #1

Chapter Two

Thankfully, I was able to free my schedule this weekend!! I took a leave of absence for two days which is really not a leave of absence coz I still have work to do even when I'm on leave. My manager only agreed under this condition. He said I have to send him my new article before the week ends so... I hope I can make it.

Oo nga pala, kalimutan muna natin yun saglit dahil finally, nakarating na kami sa vacation house ng parents ni Tiffany and dude, hindi ako makapaniwala kung gaano kaganda ang lugar na toh. The pictures didn't even do it justice. Like wow. The ocean is so blue and so clean I could see under it. The sand are white. There are a couple of vacation houses around the area but the place is peaceful. Even their vacation house looks like a mansion. One day, I will save enough money to buy my own land in this area, I'll ask my parents to quit their jobs and live the rest of their lives in this paradise. That's my new goal now. I have a lot of goals but I'll do everything to achieve them all.

"Shantal!!!"

Napatingin ako sa dalawang mag-asawang nakatayo da harapan ng pinto habang naglalakad kami palapit sa kanila.

"You guys are finally here!" Excited na wika ng ginang.

Isa-isa namin silang binati na dalawa. Mahigpit akong niyakap ng ginang. Natawa ako nang masilayan ang pag-ikot ng mga mata ni Tiff.

"That's enough, mom. Balak niyo yatang sakalin si Shantal. Geez. Saka ako po ang anak niyo." Biro nito.

Tita laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm just really excited. And Shantal treats me like a mother more than you. Despite her busy schedule, she always answers my call. Samantalang ikaw, ni hindi mo kami mabisita ng daddy mo. Tsk."

"I'm busy too, mom. And since we're already in the topic. Please, stop disturbing my friends. Like what you said, busy po sila. Shantal's very considerate kaya sinasagot niya ang mga tawag niyo kahit wala siyang time para sa mga chika niyo. She doesn't want to disappoint you. So please, for once, maging considerate din po sana kayo."

Mahina akong natawa. "It's okey for me. I enjoy tita's stories."

Tita Carmen looked at Tiffany like she's telling her, 'see? She said it's alright.'

Malakas na tumikhim si Tito Raymund para makuha ang atensyon namin. "Mamaya na kayo mag-talo na dalawa. Pumasok na muna tayo. I'm sure everyone's hungry. Malayo-layo rin ang binyahe niyo."

"To be honest, medyo na nga po ako. Pwede po bang mauna na ako sa loob?" Anang si Joey.

"Of course. The food's ready. We should go inside."

Pumasok na kami sa loob. Nagsimula na magkwento sina tito at tita sa mga experiences nila dito sa bago nilang vacation house. Everyone looks hungry so they're barely listening. Instead, they're racing towards the dining room. Komportable na kaming lahat kina tito at tita. I think we all agree that we see both of them as our second parents. They are super nice and super comfortable to be with. Kahit noong unang beses ko silang nakilala, komportable na ako sa kanila. Tiffany might look grumpy and she might not be as friendly and as lively as her parents but she's just as nice and kind as them.

Pagdating namin sa dining room, pansin ko ang pagtigil ng mga kaibigan ko. They look surprise? I'm not sure. Curious, I took a peek inside the room and I saw someone standing in front of the dining table. Mukhang tinutulungan nito ang mga katulong na maghanda.

I can tell he's not a housekeeper or an employee of tita and tito. He isn't one of Tiff's siblings, for sure. I have met all of them before. I have never seen him before, to be honest. I wonder who he is? Pinsan ni Tiff, maybe? He does look like he belongs to their world. She's only wearing a shirt and a short pants but... Alam niyo yung feeling na may kaharap kayong artista? You know they're just human like you pero sa mga mata mo para silang nagniningning? Like you know for sure, this person isn't ordinary. They're just oozing with so much s*x appeal and charm and I don't know... Maybe magic. That's how I see this person. It's like he's used to being in front of a crowd so he knows fully well how to present himself. He's good-looking but with that kind of aura, he becomes god-like.

"May bisita po yata kayo?" Puna ni Tiffany. Sa reaksyon niya ngayon halatang wala din siyang ideya kung sino ang lalaking toh.

"Oh... Right. He's Mr. Warren. He helped us prepare all the food. He is really nice. He lives next door." Anang si tita.

Sabay kaming tumango-tangong lahat. Lumapit si Joey sa akin. Napakunot ang noo ko nang pasekreto niyang pinapalo-palo ang braso ko.

"What?" Nagtataka kong tanong.

"Oh my god, don't you know him?" Hindi niya makapaniwalang tanong.

Bumaling ako muli sa lalaking nasa harapan namin. "Do you know him?" I asked him back.

He looked at me like I just gave him an absurd answer. "Are you serious? You work in an entertainment industry and you don't know him?"

Na-curious ako sa tanong niya. Is this guy an actor?

Mas lalo ko pang tinitigan ang lalaking ngayon ay nasa amin na ang pansin. He does look familiar. Pero hindi ko maalala kung saan ko siya nakita dati. Saan nga ba?

"Who is he?" Hindi ko mapigilang tanong kay Joey. I made sure no one's hearing us though. Lalo na at nasa harapan na namin siya ngayon. Ngayon ko lang napansin na halos di gumagalaw ang iba kong kaibigan na tila ba natameme sa presensya ng bisita nina tito at tita.

"Mr. Warren, this is my daughter, Tiffany and these are her friends, Rina, Lana, Joey, Torre and Shantal. They've been friends since highschool. Sa totoo lang parang anak na rin ang tingin ko sa mga batang toh." Pakilala ni tita sa amin.

Narinig ko ang sabay sabay na pagsinghap ng mga kaibigan ko nang ngumiti ang pinakilala ni tita na si Mr. Warren.

"It's nice to finally meet all of you. I'm Mr. And Mrs. Castro's next door neighbor. My name's Phillip Warren. You can call me Phillip." Anito. Kahit yung pananalita niya napaka-elegante. He's really f*****g charming. Like, if this guy starts a cult, kahit wala siyang sabihin, malamang ay kayang kaya niyang mag-recruit ng libo-libong members. Like, all he needs to do is stand there and smile. He has so much charisma.

Ah! Naaalala ko na! Naalala ko na kung saan ko siya nakita. I didn't just see him. I met him once in an online community event! He's a famous vlogger. Pero mas kilala siya ng mga tao as a car racer. How can I forget? I tried to get an interview with him after the event but I wasn't able to. Ni hindi ko nga siya nagawang makausap. Lagi akong hinaharangan ng manager at assistant niya. Wow. What a small world, right? Paano ko nakalimutana ang mukhang yan? Lahat yata ng mga kakilala kong babae at bakla adik na adik sa kanya. I can't blame though. He's just in a different level when it comes to status and appearance. Do you think this is my chance to get an exclusive interview with him?

"Ba't di mo kami sabayang kumain? Napakalaki ng naitulong mo sa amin nitong mga nakaraang araw. I am really thankful you're our next door neighbor."

"It's okey, tita. I'm always glad to help new neighbors settle in."

They continued talking hanggang sa makaupo na kami sa harapan ng mesa. Nasa kanya lang ang tingin ng lahat. Like, forget the beach and the view. He stole mother nature's spotlight, my friends.

"Have I told you about my daughter? She's a fashion designer. Her brand is well-known. I'm sure you have heard about it before." Narinig kong wika ni tita.

Phillip looked at Tiffany curiously. "Really? I have worked with a lot of fashion designers for years. What is your brand?"

Tiffany looked at tita na para bang pinapahiya na naman siya nito bago siya bumaling ulit kay Phillip. "I can't say my brand's there yet but... It's called Epiffany."

Tumangu-tango ito. "I did hear about your brand. It's famous among millenials and Gen Z. My sister wears your brand a lot."

Tiffany suddenly looked excited. "Really? That's... cool to know." Aniyang tila pinipigilang ipakita dito ang tuwa."

Everyone's busy talking when my phone suddenly ring! Natahimik ang lahat. I looked at them embarassingly saka mabilis kong hinablot ang phone mula sa bulsa ko. "I'm sorry." Wika ko saka mabilis na dinecline ang tawag. It was too late when I realize it's my manager. f**k.

"Uhm, excuse me for a minute." Paalam ko sa kanila.

Dumapo ang tingin ko kay Phillip habang patayo ako. Pansin ko ang seryoso nitong pagtitig sa akin. Ni hindi siya nag-iwas ng tingin nang magtagpo ang mga mata namin. Hindi ko alam kung na-insulto siya sa biglaang pag-ring ng phone ko. They were in the middle of a conversation, after all. Though, it doesn't look like it. I don't know and I don't care. This isn't the right time to analyze his stares. I have to call my manager back or I'm dead.

Lumabas ako ng dining room at nagtungo sa labas. Tinawagan ko ang manager namin. Isang ring pa lang ay sinagot na niya ang tawag ko. Halos mabingi ako sa pagsigaw niya.

"How dare you ignore my call??? Hindi dahil pinayagan kitang mag-leave kahit sobrang busy dito sa opisina ay may karapatan ka ng babaan ako ng tawag!!--"

Kung anu-ano pa ang sinabi niya but to be honest, halos wala akong narinig dahil parang sasabog ang eardrum ko kung ididikit ko pa ang phone sa tenga ko kahit isang segundo lang. I'll wait for a minute until he calms down.

Nang masigurado kong kalmado na siya ay saka lang ako muli nakinig sa mga sinasabi niya.

"I sent you an e-mail. Check it. Marami tayong pag-uusapan pagkabalik na pagkabalik mo. I am having a lot of problem because of the last article you posted on our site. I told you to check it a millionth times!!! You got the victim's name wrong, Shantal! We weren't meant to use their real name for safety and privacy reasons. You even forgot to censor the victim's face! I don't know what to do with you anymore! The police authorities are so mad. The victim's family's lawyer just called and they threatened to sue unless we take the article down our site! You made a lot of mess!!! God! Ni hindi ko alam kung ba't ka pa andito. I should have fired you already!"

Hindi ako nakapagsalita. There is no way! Ilang beses kong chineck yung article. I made sure to censor the victim's identity. I know I did! I sent it to someone else after that. I wasn't even responsible for posting it. I know this isn't my mistake.

"Uhm... I... I sent the article to Ezikiel. He posted it for me. Can... Can you check--"

"I already checked it, Shantal! How can you be so careless? He's just an intern! You should have been more responsible!!! You gave him the wrong file! You sent him the unedited version! He uploaded it without checking the file and now we're doomed!"

Napasuklay ako sa sarili kong buhok. I can't believe this just happened. Oh god. I'm so irresponsible!

"I'll... I'll come there right now. I'm sor--"

"No." Rinig ko ang malalim nitong pagbuntong hininga. "Tingin ko mas lalo lang gugulo ang lahat kung pupunta ka pa rito. We'll handle the situation. But don't relax yet. You're still responsible for this and I want you to ponder over that. I'll give you one more chance, Shantal. One chance. Give me an exclusive. Something that will cover up this mess. Kung wala kang maibigay sa akin next week, forget about next month's competition. Forget about coming back here. You'll be automatically fired."

Bago pa man ako makapagsalita ay binaba na nito ang tawag. Ilang beses akong napamura sa isip ko. I wanted to scream and throw my phone but I decided not to. If I lost my job, I wouldn't be able to afford buying a new phone. God! How do I even find a good story to present next week??! This is frustrating!!

Whoever deity is listening to me right now... Please, for once, help me. JUST ONCE!!