previous : next

34. EXT. TONDO – BASKETBALL COURT – MORNING

Taking a well-deserved break from the activities of Channel 8’s monthly Outreach, Luis, in basketball jersey, shorts, and the latest complimentary Nikes, leans back in the court bleachers, stretching, kneading his calf muscles, waiting for Jake to take five from the basketball clinic he’s supervising.

Drinking deeply from a plastic bottle of mineral water, Luis assesses the events of the past week.

Doing his best to forget the ugly revelations he’d discovered at Joanna’s house, Luis had thrown himself into work, demanding Direk Ian shoot as much as he could on any single day, putting in grueling hours (having to do twice the amount of usual work, due to the new storyline: he was, after all, playing both hero and villain), but feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride which counterbalanced the fatigue.

As such, Luis had managed to avoid having to spend too much time with Joanna, and Lilith as well, as the storyline Luis had kick-started had the Lillian character partially sidelined.

It was also causing ratings to go through the proverbial roof.

The Tagabah storyline [1] was a huge success. Apparently, it seemed two Luis Conrados were better than one, a significant portion of the audience curious to see Luis as a “bad boy.” (For which Luis was exceedingly grateful, concerned-- as any actor would be-- about the dangers of being typecast.)

And though Luis had nearly vetoed the “Habagat is temporarily blinded” scene, Junji and Prieto had defended their position well, insisting this was a Statement on the willful blindness the Philippines sometimes had to the societal sickness around it.

In the end, Direk Ian had managed to shoot the scene in a way that was not graphic at all, despite the lurid descriptions in the script.

The violence of the Habagat/Tagabah duel was also a concern of Luis, but again, Direk had come to the rescue, much of the action suggested more than seen, through skilled editing and the judicious use of sound effects.

They’d ended Friday’s episode with Tagabah taking the unconscious champion off to the lair of the sinister Dr. Hugo (a character from the early weeks of the show).

Habagat’s captivated audience were, much like their hero, in agony.

And, barring a sudden coup or assassination or global nuclear catastrophe, Monday’s episode was ensured historical ratings success.

The welcome fringe benefit of Luis’ manic work ethic for the past week, was of course, his being able to avoid consideration of Lilith, and what she was, and what he felt about her.

But Luis had never really been big on denial. He’d always preferred taking things head-on, identifying strongly with that character note of Habagat, so he is waiting for Jake now, so he can hear his friend’s take on things.

As fate would have it though, Ace arrives at the bleachers first.

“Hey,” Luis calls out in greeting. “Ang galing mo with the kids, Ace.”

Ace smiles. (Tiredly? Luis thinks. Sadly?)

“Thanks,” he says, as he sits down beside Luis. “May baby brother ako before, e.”

Luis frowns. “`Before’?”

Ace is silent for a moment. “Nagka-dengue siya when he was nine. Hindi na-agapan.”

“Oh, man, I’m sorry. Ang sakit `non.”

“My parents took it hard, but we did our best to move on.”

“Sorry talaga. Sorry I brought it up.”

“Hey,” Ace says reassuringly, “no problem. It was years ago.”

There is silence for a moment, then Ace says, “Last night’s episode rocked, pare! Astig ng action scenes! Fi-null nelson pa ni Tagabah si Habagat!

“Akala ko pa naman yung Hong Kong episodes natin magaling na, pero last night,” putting both thumbs up, “the best!”

“Thanks.”

“Tapos idea mo siya ulit.”

“I got the inspiration from a kid I met in Italianni’s, actually.”

“Ah, yung ka-story credit mo.”

“Yup,” Luis grins.

Just then, two children, no more than ten, either of them, pass by, clad in brand new give-away Habagat t-shirts, with the hero pointing at the viewer, his emphatic words SAY NO TO DRUGS! in a large comic book word balloon.

The boys look bug-eyed at Luis and Ace, and one of them says, “Uy, o. Si Habagat at Suspiria, friends na.”

Ace scowls suddenly. “Anong `friends’?!” Ace proceeds to assault Luis with a barrage of mock punches, Luis reeling in exaggerated slow-motion under each blow. “Lino-loko ko lang siya, para magawa ko `to!”

Then Ace is strangling Luis, a full half-inch of space between his hands and Luis’ neck, and Luis sticks his tongue out, making “Gaaak”-ing noises.

“Uy!” one of the boys calls out. “You let Habagat go!” he says in his best TV English.

Ace stops strangling Luis, who slumps down on the bench. “Or what?” he says, delivering his line in a hammed-up parody of his own Suspiria voice.

The boy blinks, scratches his head. “Umm… I will beat you up?” he says hopefully.

Ace stands, rushes the delightedly screaming children, takes each by the waist, and spins them around.

Luis sits up, smiling. He watches as the boys, released from their play captivity, rush off, Ace in tow.

“O, teka, teka,” Ace says, “mag-bye-bye muna kayo kay Habagat.”

Over their shoulders, without missing a step, the boys holler in tandem, “’Bye, Habagat!”

“Sige,” Luis shouts. “Ingat kayo!”

Ace turns to look back at Luis, grins lopsidedly, and does his best to shrug.

Luis raises a hand, nods.

Then, as if on cue, Jake comes jogging towards the bleachers, towel in hand. Luis takes a deep breath, preparing himself to talk about Lilith.

Jake gets to the bench, and, as he towels his face off, he punches Luis in the shoulder, and opens up, eerily enough, with, “So, how’s Lillian?”

Luis sighs. “Lilith.”

“Whatever. The tabloids are having a field day with you guys. `Have they secretly gotten married?’ `Is she secretly pregnant?’ `Is he secretly pregnant? And if not, what was up with all that fainting?’”

Jake shakes his head. “The muckrakers here are in a league all their own.”

Luis frowns, then says, “Actually…” and proceeds to tell Jake everything, making certain no one can overhear their conversation.

And when Luis is finished, Jake looks stunned.

Finally, he says, “That is weird. Kind’a like that energy vampire chick that drained Habagat once. Serena?”

“Selina,” Luis corrects.

“That chick was hot, bro!” Jake enthuses. “Wilma Doesnt is the bomb!”

Luis looks his friend dead in the eye. “Jake. Focus.”

“Right,” the basketball player says, scratching his head sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Luis sighs. “I just… right now, I’m having difficulty imagining how I’m going to face her the next time we see each other.” (Tomorrow, Luis thinks, on the Sunday Spectacular of RSVP, Channel 8’s daily noontime variety show.)

Jake snaps his fingers. “Okay. What if you suddenly walked in on Lilith taking a dump--“

“What?!” Luis is aghast (a reaction Luis finds he often has with Jake). “What does that have--“

Jake holds out an authoritative open hand, traffic cop imperiously calling movement to a halt, silencing Luis.

“Look, from what I understand, her eating… I don’t know, souls, life force… that’s normal for her, like a human’s biological processes. Eating, burping, farting, pissing, crapping.

“Now you know everyone does this; heck, you do it too. But the thought doesn’t turn you off of people, right?”

Luis nods, cautiously. “I guess.”

“So, given that you know that’s what she does behind closed doors, does that turn you off?”

Luis is silent, scared of the answer to his friend’s question.

“Well then,” Jake says, slapping Luis’ back, “that, dude, is amore.”

And that, thinks Luis, is exactly what I was afraid of.

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

1 The pertinent episodes display a story credit for both Luis and Timothy Abueva. Luis had ensured the writer’s fee had gone to opening a kiddie bank account for Timmy, Luis promising Cecilia he would take the time to train the little boy in the responsibility of having purchasing power at such an early age, certainly not a matter to be taken lightly. [back]

previous : next