Chapter Two: The Town Plaza
Those workers do seem pretty much annoyed, justified, if I could say it. I was, after all, still in my uniform and supposed to be sweeping the floor and not shoving them away. As I gave a small glance back, I made eye contact with the Chief, who gave me a nod of approval to leave. Adriatico, meanwhile, let’s just say he wasn’t happy with working until seven. I then grabbed my rickety bicycle and dashed through the mud road. I passed through the main road with small shops scattered between houses, through the sparse town market, finally arriving at the plaza.
The plaza itself is paved with bricks originally masoned centuries back. At its center is the iron bust of Miguel Malong, commemorating his most famous skirmish in the mountains surrounding the town’s
Poblacion[1]. Facing the iron monument was the three hundred year old chapel, constructed by Ecclesiastical missionaries on top of the shaman’s shrine when they violently took over. Its structure is mostly unchanged, standing the test of time. The coral-stone church still looks as elegant as ever and it is one of the few things I like about this town. On the back of the statue was the municipal hall, established by the same missionaries with the help of the then Datu Wagdu-an; whose descendants joined Malong’s revolt. The municipal hall, however, was initially a baroque structure that underwent renovation a few years ago. Now, it is a small blob of concrete painted with tacky murals and slogans, failing to hide the large crevices that creep from the ground up. Along the left side were a playground, covered by thorny vines and jungle brush that have been my childhood's bane; and a basketball court where endless curses come from kids, teens, and adults alike along with the sound of skidding flip-flops that never cease echo through the plaza. On the other side is a granite fountain that was a vanity project of the previous mayor and only turned on when the governor visited; and a
tricycle shed, the only public transportation one could get to go around this town.
I chained my bike onto a streetlamp as I headed towards the rows of benches by the mossy granite fountain. This has been the hang-out spot of our group since fourth grade and will be until we all eventually move out to Lungsod. There [insert female name] has been sitting alone, probably for an hour or so, staring at the imposing mountains that would be barren within the next few days. I don’t know how she’ll take the news on the governor’s plan, let alone the fact that it’s now about to start. I walked slowly towards her, softly whispering out her name. She stood up and looked at me, a bit surprised.
“Tibs? Why-why are you here already?”
Wait, she rarely uses that nickname to call me; that’s either great or bad “I thought you had overtime at the station?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.
I did text her about that earlier this morning “Don’t say that you got away from work again just for me.” Now she unfurled her hair and crossed her arms at me.
Oh she was just being playful as usual. Why did I even worry about it? “Yeah, uhh, about that.” I scratched my head thinking for a response. “After fixing the jefe’s computer, he told me something. I then excused myself and he seemed cool with it I guess. Plus, I got Adriatico to cover for me just in case. So, yeah, there’s something important to tell you” I sat down on the bench while [insert female name] remained standing, seemingly annoyed.
Was it something I said?“You know he can’t do too much work, remember he’s got asthma and his salbutamol ran out last week.”
Oh of course, I had to bring up her ex. “But what was that something the Chief told you that it’s so important? Are we going to finally have a decent road here?” She continued sarcastically while I silently breathed a sigh of relief as I won’t have to continue to talk about her ex.
“Ok well, remember the petition we filed against the governor’s plan to build Kanan Dam?” Her attitude changed from mocking to being curious at what I was saying. “Well, that shit is worthless now because that bitch of a governor will have Mount Kagulog cleared.” I pointed at the mountains she was staring at a moment ago. “That’s why I was supposed to be working overtime as laborers, I assume, are flooding the train station.”
“What? That’s where my family’s vanilla orchard is, that’s where your cocoa orchard is.” [insert female name] was taken aback by the rumor I told her. “Are you sure about this?” I gave an assured nod. “Should we call the squad about this?”
“Sure, let’s have a meeting about this,” I answered. “But I need to head back home first, you know with my Lolo and all.” I kissed my girlfriend on her cheek. “I’ll be back here in an hour. I love you.”
“Ok, I love you too” She replied back.