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24. INT. ITALIANNI’S – COMFORT ROOM – EVENING

In the privacy of the bathroom, Luis takes stock of the past few weeks’ events.

As it turned out, there was to be no recurrence of Luis’ fainting spells nor his inexplicable fatigue. Getting as much rest as he could during the “Habagat in the hospital” scenes, he was rested and eager for action in two days’ time.

Thus, the criptonatz poisoning storyline was tweaked somewhat, in that though Habagat was only bed-ridden for a grand total of two episodes—in the same episode the no-longer dying Habagat flew out of Makati Med, he already battled Tiko the Terrible Tikbalang and his gang of buck-toothed giants,[1] another Luis-suggested storyline—the identity of the poisoner was left unrevealed, and it would be a subplot that was planned to recur throughout the months to come.

Meanwhile, the president of one of the biggest sponsors of Habagat, a devout (and very vocal) Catholic, not-too-subtly suggested a Book of Revelations-based storyline, an idea which appealed to the writing team of Prieto and Junji (whose CSI: Manila pitch was seriously being considered by Bruckheimer, and to which Luis was already signed, should it get the green light).[2]

The writing tandem had then come up with some of their best scripts to date, in a story which had led up to the episode they had finished shooting yesterday, and had just completed today, to be aired in two days’ time.

Luis was particularly proud of the past few days’ work; he’d gotten to see the final cut at the post-prod house and had been suitably impressed. The CGI for Zcerneboch was better-than-usual, the Filipino subtitles for Zcerneboch’s all-English dialogue classy, and Jaime Fabregas’ modulated voice terribly intimidating. (And the final fate of Mang Tonio was a minor plot element which nonetheless touched a chord in Luis, reminding him of eight long, tortured weeks; four years ago, yet seemingly a lifetime away now.)

Additionally, the show’s flying scenes were getting much better, and outer space actually looked convincing.

Watching that last shot, of the battered and unconscious Habagat floating in space, even Luis had to admit, he was dying to see what would happen next.[3]

So work was going great, topped by calls from Pepsi and Bench. Luis had also already agreed to a cover/fashion spread/interview package for Manual.[4]

Yes, work was great.

On other fronts, Lilith had been initially distant for a few days, then began to behave somewhat erratically, displaying mood swings that had been, up to that point in time, invisible, before settling down to her normal, sweet self. (Luis knew it was sexist, but he was chalking up that whole period of time to “that time of month.”)

Smiling at himself in the mirror as he washes his hands, Luis adjusts his thinking: Life is great. Fantastic. Spectacular.

Using the dryer on his hands, Luis is about to step out of the bathroom when the opening bars of “Yellow” come from his pants pocket.

Luis extracts his cell phone and picks up.

“Hello?”

“Nasaan ka?”

“`Hi’ din sa `yo, Jo.”

“Tama na yung pa-cute. Saan ka?”

“Italianni’s Greenbelt. Galing ng timing mo. Kakatapos ko lang ju-mingle.”

Silence.

“Jo?”

“Sinong kasama mo?”

“What makes you think may kasama ako?”

“Nagsalita si Mr. Kuripot. Ang yaman-yaman mo na, pero McDo/Jollibee boy ka pa rin, puwera lang kung may ka-date ka.”

Luis sighs. Joanna knows him only too well.

“Si Ma, kasama ko. Manonood kami ng sine mamaya.”

“O, sya, sige. Bukas na lang tayo mag-usap. Pero confirmed ka na sa Asiatica Mall opening sa December. I just got our invitations.”

“Sige. Pag-usapan natin ‘yon tomorrow. `Bye.”

“Ingat.”

Luis disconnects, then breathes a huge sigh of relief.

----- * 0 * -----

1 Characters that did not go down too well with the more progressive-thinking portion of Habagat’s non-human audience, who felt Tiko and the giants were “racial stereotypes that set back relations with humans a good decade or so.” (The same sentiments they felt for “pandering trash” like the Pirana franchise.) [back]

2 Following the fast food franchise template, where the basic core identity of the brand name is maintained while throwing in particular elements that make it more at home in that specific country and culture, the other proposal being given serious consideration is India’s CSI: New Delhi.

With generous Bollywood flourishes, each episode features at least two lavish production numbers, where cast members break out into choreography and song while going through the usual mundane CSI rigmarole, like investigating the crime scene, or doing busywork in the lab, thus making otherwise boring sequences livelier and more exuberant. [back]

3 Even though he knew exactly what would happen next, since they’d already finished shooting the scenes of the hero’s blazing re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, his subsequent crash into the South China Sea, and his being washed ashore on a lonely Mindoro beach, stricken with temporary amnesia, no one able to properly identify him at first since his costume was completely burned away during re-entry. [back]

4 The cover would be a great shot of Luis tearing open an Ermenegildo Zegna suit and shirt, to reveal Habagat’s costume underneath.

As depicted on the fantaserye, all Habagat wears beneath his civilian disguise is the yellow and black body suit. All the red items of his heroic ensemble—his cape, boots, bracers, and the icon on his chest—appear magickally on his person once Habagat has stripped away his civilian clothes.

For the purposes of this particular image, the icon on Habagat’s chest is already forming even as the shirt is being pulled open, making for an excellent, awe-inspiring visual. [back]

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