Marven’s First Novel, chapter #06

“Noontime Surprised Him Wandering Along San Fernando”

A kalesa stopped in front of a neoclassical building along Muelle dela Industria. One male passenger got off its left bench and made his to its back door. When he alighted and stepped on the street, he turned out to be Aldo. The kalesa drove on away westwards and left behind a still-standing Aldo basking in the early morning sun with the mossy walls of Fort Santiago on his background. It was half past six.
Aldo moved forward and approached the stylish building where he is to spend from now on the most part of his conscious existence; that is, if he is going to last in his new employment. As he entered the corner door, he greeted the guard who, days before, have been treating him coldly as a visitor but was now warmly greeting him back as a resident. He approached the reception counter, grabbed the pen stringed to the man’s log book, wrote an entry in its rows and columns, and then climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Once there, he made his way to the office of the man who interviewed him. He timidly turned the knob and gently opened the door and saw the man alone. He greeted him good morning, and the latter asked him to come in and sit down. The man asked him good-naturedly about his life and preparedness for the job. Aldo answered sincerely and gaily. This lasted for a few minutes. Finally, the man told him to proceed to the office next door and ask a man named Sir Eugene for instructions.
Aldo did as told. As he gently opened the door, what greeted his view was a brilliant room whose raised curtains admitted daylight in addition to the white light from the ceiling. Downwards, it had a shiny red floor which also gave it a vibe of a classroom or teachers’ lounge especially because of the arrangement of the tables and chairs. He did a quick count of them and noticed that they were only about seven, perhaps including the one he is about to occupy. Then a soft and gentle but firm voice from the inside broke his reverie:
“Hey, sir. Good morning,” it said.
He looked where it came from and saw a man, light-skinned, well built and proportioned, and probably in his mid-thirties, fetching water from a dispenser.
“Are you Aldo?”
“Uh, yes, sir,” Aldo replied instinctively, realizing that this must be Sir Eugene.
“Welcome. Come in.”
The man made his way to the northeastern corner of the room as Aldo stepped inside and followed. On his way, he saw and passed two other employees who, by then, he realized already present and seated at their desks and remained unmindful of his approach.
Sir Eugene pointed to an empty table in front of him. “That’s where you are. Go ahead. Get settled.”
Aldo did as told and sat down.
“At seven, I’ll orient you,” the man said. “In the meantime, relax.” Then he introduced Aldo to the two already present.
Shortly afterwards, three more employees, one of whom, a female, swung the door, entered, and greeted everybody good morning. One of them broke away and made his way to the desk next to Aldo’s, at the left. When this young man has settled, Sir Eugene introduced Aldo to him quietly.
The young man whose name turned out to be Clyde turned to Aldo and said, “What’s up?”
Then Sir Eugene introduced Aldo, shouting, to two others who, in response, said hi in unison.
Come seven o’clock, work started. The seven inhabitants of that room worked at different functions. Some have desk phones. Others don’t, like Clyde and Aldo. Sir Eugene passed and handed Aldo a stack of foldered files and then guided him how to deal with those. He juggled his time between doing his own work and teaching Aldo how to do his. From time to time, he would check on Aldo’s progress.
Sometimes, prompted by what he had accomplished on paper, Sir Eugene would go outside in the streets and talk to different people. Sometimes, he would send Clyde to do those things or other outside work which the latter is expected to handle in his own capacity. And thus, the first four hours of work ensued and ended. When eleven struck, everybody stopped, stretched, cracked bones, and stood up. Aldo who was having a hard time mastering his newfound tasks couldn’t stand up if he wanted to since he was totally immersed until he shuddered at hearing Sir Eugene’s voice behind him, saying that it’s already lunch break. Aldo looked around and found only Sir Eugene still buried in his work and everybody else already gone. Aldo therefore stood up.
“What about you, sir?”
“Don’t worry about me. Go take your lunch.”
Aldo did as told. In his confusion, he forgot to ask Sir Eugene where he could eat. Therefore, he decided to just go outside where, for sure, places to eat abound. Downstairs, he surveyed the ground floor for some sort of canteen or snack bar, but there wasn’t any. Therefore, he just made his way outside; and there, he felt the most-welcome warmth after freezing for four hours inside. He didn’t know this area yet, and so he walked aimlessly as he allowed himself be burnt by the sun. After finding himself wandering along a seemingly-endless road and still not finding what he was looking for, he decided to return to the building to already ask help because he was already feeling the pangs of hunger in his stomach. Fortunately, he found Sir Eugene standing on the sidewalk talking to a delivery driver inside a van. Aldo timidly called him out, but the latter didn’t hear him because his voice wasn’t audible. Aldo just waited until he and the driver finished talking. When the van drove away eastwards, Sir Eugene finally saw him when the former stepped down the gutter.
“Oh, it’s you. What’s the matter?”
Aldo answered truthfully.
“What? Where have you been? I thought you followed them.”
“I didn’t know where they went, sir. They were long gone.”
“All right. Come with me. My goodness.”
Sir Eugene crossed the main road and entered Madrid street. Aldo followed him like a choo-choo train. Once there, Sir Eugene pointed Aldo in one of the short modern buildings from afar.
“There’s our warehouse. Mark the place. One of these days, I’ll introduce you to the people there. Pay the place a visit in your spare time. I’ll also introduce you to our frontliners in the port area.”
Shortly afterwards, they arrived at an ancestral house repurposed into a cafeteria. Sir Eugene led Aldo in its interior and stopped at a table where Clyde and others are seated, eating.
“Hmm... Boys, you’ve been a little bit mean. You didn’t you let Aldo come with you. The poor lad almost got lost earlier looking for food.”
Clyde answered, bashfully. “Oh, sir. Sorry. We forgot. It totally slipped my mind.”
“Sorry, Aldo,” the rest answered, also sincerely, in unison, including the only female in the group.
“Now, starting tomorrow, you take Aldo here along with you. Aldo, starting tomorrow, you always eat with them here. Always. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s go here. Are you all finished there?”
“Yes, sir,” Clyde answered. “But we’ll save the seat for Aldo.”
Sir Eugene turned and approached the counter just opposite the table occupied by Clyde and the group. “Hi. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Sir Eugene.”
“I’d like to introduce you to our new staff member here. This is Aldo. Aldo, this is Margaret.”
“Hello,” the girl greeted.
“It’s his first day.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll leave you two to it. Okay? I’ll go back now. Boys, let’s go. Take care of my boy here, will you?”
“Yes, Sir Eugene.”
Clyde and the rest arose and joined Sir Eugene who walked ahead.
Aldo watched them exit the place, turn right struck by the sun, and disappear from view, all the while chattering.
Aldo again turned to the counter. “I’m sorry, miss. I got lost for a second.
“It’s okay.”
“Margaret, isn’t it?”
“Yes. What do you want?”
“Hmm...” Aldo looked down and, after five seconds, picked his choice.
“I’ll bring it you. Sit down before your table gets taken.”
“Thank you.”
Aldo did as told after paying. The table was already cleared when he got there. As he settled, he looked around and made a quick observation.
The place was well-decorated and had a nice ambience. Aldo was pleased to see that this place was indeed perfect for working stiffs. Sir Eugene was right. However, it’s not exclusive for employees, of course. He also saw other types of eaters, like high school and university students.
After a short while, Margaret arrived carrying the tray of goods. Since Aldo was in observant mode, he also noticed that Margaret looked pretty, especially when grimacing and looking down, and alluring. He was surprised when she talked to him.
“How was your first day?” she asked as she laid down the tray and arranged the plates, saucers, and glass.
“Fine, I guess. Exciting. It’s the best so far.”
“Are you new here in this area?”
“In San Nicolas? Yeah. I suppose so.”
“Welcome.”
Aldo was even more surprised when, instead of leaving right away, Margaret actually sat opposite him, rested her chin on her clasped palms, and gazed at him.
“I heard what you were talking about earlier. Don’t feel bad. I’m sure they didn’t mean that.”
“What? ... Ah. Yes, I know. No doubt. I’m not mad. I guess it’s just normal. I’m new, and it’s my first day.”
“Okay.” Margaret stood up and left.
“Thank you, Margaret.”
Again to his surprise, Margaret disappeared and, in her place at the counter, stood another girl. Aldo was pleased when he looked at the food. Finally, his stomach will have a normal function. When he finished, he stood up and went the same way his workmates went. He in turn was seen stepping outside, turning right burnt by the sun, and disappearing from view.
At twelve o’clock, work, or, in Aldo’s case, training, ensued. Sir Eugene guided him lesser and lesser with each passing hour as he saw some improvement in him. At four, everybody stopped and readied themselves to go home. One of them, to Aldo’s surprise, took up the broom and swept the entire floor briskly like a Monday cleaner. This was done in less than a minute since the area was small. Indeed, Aldo felt that a school day has just ended because of a compound of factors. One could be the red polished floor; another, the windows to his left whose raised curtains allowed the sunlight to seep through the transparent glass and form a block of illumination on the southeastern corner of the room. This got Aldo curious. He instinctively stood up and approached the windows. From there, he saw the Pasig River, a few promenaders and bikers on its banks, the stylish Del Pan Bridge on the right with its two elegant staircases spread towards the riverwalk, and the sun still high up on the horizon behind it. When he turned back, none of his workmates made their way to the door yet but kept on chatting. As the newbie, he thought it just proper and alright to be the first to say goodbye; and he did so, and his workmates cordially sent him off.
Once outside in the halls, he thought, with the instinct of a newbie, of saying goodbye too to the man who interviewed him. But at this point, he now grew intimidated to even bother him. So he just went on and descended the stairs. Down at the reception, he again greeted the guard like the newbie that he was and wrote another entry in the latter’s log book. Finally, he went out of the building. He crossed the street, burnt by the sunlight, into the edge of the street and waited for a kalesa. One came in with a few passengers in it. He hailed it; it stopped; and he got in through the back door. This one goes the Quiapo route eastwards. The kalesa stopped in front of the Quiapo church, its real facade, and joined other kalesas waiting for passengers headed westwards. From there, he went to the other side of Quezon boulevard and stopped at a waiting shade in front of the Quezon side of the basilica. There he stood with others waiting for tall jeepneys due to different places. He hailed one that is headed towards the downtown of the city adjacent to home. He got in and went through its straight and full trip. It took less than two hours. Once in his destination, he rode another vehicle that finally took him home in their community.
This has become his daily life as a commuter. And he loves being a commuter; or at least, he has no choice but be. Hate him if you will, but he thinks that being in such a situation is helpful for everybody.

tentatively titled, “Noontime Surprised Him Wandering Along San Fernando”
from The Simple Adventures of a Simple Simpleton
by: Marven T. Baldo