MEMORIES
Cast: Pablo, Stell, Josh, Ken, Justin
Chapter: 1/?
Rating: G for now
Warning: un-betaed, taglish, incorrect grammar
Pairing: none for now
Summary: 10 years after they graduated from high school, schoolmates Pablo, Stell, Josh, Ken and Justin had an unexpected mini reunion in the Suka Bar owned by Pablo. (This is before K12 that's why their current age is around 25/26.)
Pablo walks back and forth in the mini stage of his bar, one hand holding a phone and the other, a piece of paper where a number was written in haste. He was contemplating to call Stell, his best friend from High School, and ask for his help. His band’s main vocalist, Mavz suddenly quit and he doesn’t have a replacement yet. He can sing but he’d rather play guitar instead. He is not used to the limelight. Mahiyain talaga siya kahit noon pa.
Meanwhile Stell used to be their band’s main vocalist in High School. They formed a band and became their school’s representative whenever there were inter-school competitions or just play during programs in the school. Sadly, after their High School graduation, they parted ways and did not have a communication until recently. He knew Stell was not a techie guy so he didn’t expect to find him in Facebook. Imagine his surprise when he received a message from him the other day via Messenger. They shared their contact numbers, called and talked to each other for almost an hour. He couldn’t contain his excitement when Stell mentioned that he was back in the city and now working as a chef in one of the Ramen restaurants near his bar recently opened bar.
“Hello?” said the other line. Surprised was all over Pablo’s face when he realized he already dialed Stell’s number.
“Ahm, hi Stell. Ahm, Pablo here. Are you busy now?” he asked in stuttered voice.
“I’m good ‘pre. Wazzup?” Pablo can hear the background noise in Stell’s line. Someone shouted more Bawang pa, Yung chives sino naghihiwa? Who’s taking care of the noodles? There were commotions happening and Stell is obviously busy.
“Ah, sge ‘pre, pasensiya na. Tawag na lang ako mamaya.” He didn’t wait for Stell to respond and just turn off his phone. No, he was not in the position to ask Stell for a favor, not when they just reconnected only yesterday. He sighs knowing that he will need to take the main vocalist part tonight when he opened his bar. Damn you Mavz.
Aside from the main vocalist suddenly go MIA, Pablo’s bar will be understaffed. His precious baby, the SUKA Bar was only 2 months old and right now he was being assisted by his family specially his siblings, acting as waiters/cashiers but then school is about to start so they need to go back to their place next week. He had two staff right now, Ash and Pong who is their main cook and main server so he needed another one. With a heavy heart, Pablo shut off the spotlight and walked towards his small office. He needed to check how many items are still on hand so he can place his order to his suppliers. Last thing he didn't want to happen was to lose customer because his supplies were all out of stock.
Josh Cullen or known as JC to the sales and marketing world whistles to the tune of Go Up as he made his way to the CEO's office. He didn’t know why he was called but he got a feeling that some good news will be in his favor today. That’s what Tarot, the card reader said to his zodiac sign, Libra. Brace yourself ‘cos something good is going to happen to you this week.
The secretary knocked three times and then he was ushered inside. He’d been there before, maybe two or three times already when their CEO congratulated him for closing a contract with some of the best and leading companies in South East Asia.
He set his curiosity aside and greeted the old man who was wearing casual clothes behind his desk. Mr. Efren De Dios was a man in his 60s. He looks strict but had the gentlest smile he had ever seen and mind you, Josh met a lot of people because of his work; he can easily identify who are genuine and who are faking it. And Mr. De Dios belong to those few genuine people he encountered. He was like a father whenever they had a chance to do casual talks.
“Good morning, Sir.” He greeted politely.
“Good morning, Josh. Please sit down.” Mr. De Dios was one of the few people who called him by his first name. Since he started his career in Sales and Marketing, he established his name as JC, so everyone knows and calls him JC. Not Josh, not Cullen. Not Josh Cullen. Only JC.
“Thank you, Sir.” There was already a cup of coffee placed on the table and Mr. de Dios motioned for him to take a sip in which he did.
“Are you curious why I called you here today?” Mr. De Dios asked, obviously this is not a business-related meeting. If it is, then Mr. De Dios will directly talk about it. No pretentions, no casual talks. It is always direct to the point.
“Ahm, a little Sir.” He answered truthfully.
“Well, I trust you Josh that’s why I called you here. I need to ask you for a personal favor.”
Josh looked dumbfounded. He didn’t expect to hear the word personal favor from the owner of De Dios Group of Co.
“If you will agree, I’ll tell you everything but if not, then please feel free to leave. Don’t worry, I will not take it against you if you will decline.”
“Let me hear it first, sir.”
Mr. De Dios pause for a few moments before he started. “This is still confidential and ikaw pa lang ang nakakaalam nito but in five months, I will be leaving the company. I am already old and I want to enjoy my retirement. Unfortunately, none of my sons have any interest in taking my position.” Josh knew there were three of them. The oldest has his own business, an established one and it’s doing good and currently expanding across Asia. The second is a doctor, a well known surgeon who has been living in the state for quite some time now, practicing his profession. Now the youngest, he heard was a bit of a rebellious kid.
“But I need someone to fill up my position. So, I decided to appoint my youngest son. He doesn’t know it yet and I’m definitely sure Justin will not like this idea. He doesn’t care about businesses, he only cares about painting, photography, artworks.” Josh can see the struggle in Mr. de Dios face. It’s as if he doesn’t want to put Justin in this position but he doesn’t have any choice. “Jah does not have any office related experience, Josh. He was already 25 and yet he hasn’t even step foot in any of our offices.”
Josh tried to stay still although there are a lot of questions already formulated in his mind. The old man must have sensed his curiosity and the next thing he heard will change the course of his role in the coming months inside the office. “Justin will have his internship here and you will be his mentor. You will help him adjust, teach him the ways, and introduce him to this type of environment. Five months. I’m giving him five months to familiarize his self and to adjust here. After that, I will make a final decision.”
“But sir..” there was a slight concern in his tone.
“Don’t worry Josh, I will not take it against you if Justin will not be able to adjust. I know you will do your best. After five months, we’ll evaluate him and that’s where you will end your mentorship with him. If things go well, and in my favor, Justin will be your next CEO, if not, then I still have my Plan B.” Mr. De Dios reassurance sealed his decision.
“Ah and don’t worry, you will be well-compensated. You don’t need to meet any quotas for the next five months cos what you brought to the company were already enough for this year.”
It was a tempting offer. Aside from the additional monetary benefits, there will be no pressure for him to go out, find clients, make sales and seal contracts for five months. It was a break he wanted for a long time. Sa totoo lang, nabuburn out na din siya sa taas ng expectation sa kanya ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya. Besides, he already mentored a lot specially the newbies. They were all under him before they were given a specific client to manage. And Justin De Dios will not be different from them.
Josh stares hard at the picture hanging in the wall of the CEO’s office. It was a portrait of his family.
Nodding his head and without breaking eye contact with someone in the portrait he knew too well, he said “I’ll take the offer, sir. I’ll take Justin under my wings for five months.”
“Oh and I know you were schoolmates back in high school. Josh, I don’t want you to go easy on him, do you understand? Make Justin work, okay?”. Mr. De Dios last request suit well with Josh. Oh he will definitely make Justin works his ass off.
Ken knew he needed another job if he wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible. He applied to Canada but he knew he needed monies to at least support him when he gets there and may not be able to find a stable job yet. He needs at least three months worth of savings to survive there. He looked at his notes and calculated the monies in his savings account. Not yet enough.
Ken works as a kindergarten teacher in a private school near his place. He has been with them for less than a year now and although the salary was good and he was able to save most of his salary, it will still take him almost a year or two to meet the expected savings amount he needed to live in Canada for the first three months. He knew when he gets there, he might not find a high paying job yet and the monies he saves will be paid for his house rent, bills, food, and transportation until he fully adjusted.
Going back to his laptop, he opened LinkedIn and check some of the job openings posted. Since his schedule in school was from 8 to 4, he checked some BPO companies but they are requiring him to work full time and schedules may vary. There will be shifting in the schedule which might put him in a very uncompromising situation that might affect his day job. He doesn’t want to look like a zombie in front of his students. No, not in front of his 4 to 6 years old students. Ang bibibo pa naman ng mga estudyante niya. He chuckled at the thought. He only needs a part time job so he still have time to rest and teach his students the following day looking fresh.
As tempting as the salary looks, Ken decided BPO jobs was not for him. He closed his laptop and scoop Kuro Chan, his precious cat and pet it, thinking of ways how he can earn monies; side hustles that will add up to his savings but no matter how hard he thinks, he couldn’t think of one. After a few more minutes, Ken knew he needs to clear his mind to plan his next step so he decided to take a walk outside.
Bringing Kuro with him, Ken walked out of his rented place and stroll around. He was inside a subdivision and there were not a lot of people outside so the streets are pretty much empty. Although he can hear dogs barking at them because well, Kuro was not in his best behavior, hissing at those dogs. Pasalamat ka Kuro at nakalock mga gates nila, kung hindi, tanggal angas mo d’yan. Ken whispered to Kuro. Kuro meowed back, as if agreeing to his amo and continue to hiss loudly. At nang-asar pa talaga.
He patted the back of Kuro and Ken decided to go outside the subdivision. The other side was the business area. There were restaurants, groceries, gyms, offices. There was also a new ramen restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. He would love to eat there one day since he heard from his co-teachers that the ramen was good. Plus, the fact that they were prepared by good-looking chefs. Oh well, Ken didn’t know if they swooned over the ramen or over those “good-looking” chefs.
He stopped to check the Ramen house and see what was all the fuzz about. Peeking from outside, he saw that it was an open kitchen so the customers can see the chefs working on those orders. They were all busy. They have sections for noodle making, fried station, and the ramen station. He scans the faces of the chefs and thought he saw a familiar looking man but then Kuro wiggled from his arms, jumped and ran away from him. Ken panicked and followed the path Kuro took. His heart was beating fast, OhmyGod, he cannot lose Kuro. Andaming tao ngayon dahil uwian ng mga nag-oopisina pati ng mga students.
He saw Kuro stopped in front of an establishment where a man was pulling the cover metal up. The man noticed Kuro, say something to him and then he scooped him in his arms.
Ken run towards the man and said, “Ahm excuse me. Alaga ko ‘yan.”
The man looked at him and both of them were shocked when they recognized each other.
“Pablo?!”
“Ken?!”
Tbc