Book Two - It Should Have Been Us

Chapter Eight Page Three

{Paulo's POV}

Fine. Len didn’t bother hiding how pissed he was. So, where to?

La Union first. Then we’ll take it from there.

Sinabi mo na kay Nadine yung sa short film mo?

Yeah. Natanong ko na rin sya if she’d be willing to help.

And…? She’s okay with it? Really?

Not entirely.

You didn’t tell her what it was about did you? Tsk tsk. Medyo obvious na iniiwasan mo pag-usapan kanina sa breakfast.

I just think it’s too soon.

Pero aminin mo, ang ganda ng material ni Angel and Nadine fits the bill to a T. If she ever agrees to do it, no, scratch that. If she and James do it – this could turn into a bigger project. Not just a short film for school. Baka maka-box office ka pa.

I don’t care about all of that.

I know. I’m just saying…

Look, I see the potential okay? Hindi naman ako bulag. Pero Len, hindi rin ako insensitive. Nadine knows about the project, just not about the specifics.

By specifics you mean the script? Like how realistic it would be for her? On what she went through with her marriage? With James? Tsaka sa baby?

It hits too close to home. Can we not talk about this anymore? She said she’ll think about it. And that’s more than I can ask.

I’m sure pag nabasa nya yung script, she’d say no.

Then let her say no. That’s her prerogative.

Nakakahinayang lang kasi kung hindi mo gagawin. Ang ganda ganda nong script ni Gel. And it’s not like mahihirapan si Nadine sa role. Lalo kung si James ang partner nya.

Gagawin ko pa rin naman. Wala lang assurance na sya yung artista ko. And si James. I can’t think about the two of them working so closely right now.

I think it’s the least she can do for you, stringing you along like this…

Tama na Len. It’s not Nadine’s fault. Please. Just. Stop. Let’s talk about the ocular. Ano’ng kailangang location nila Direk Cathy?

He sighed. We need a kubo and a farm. And a cliff. He rummaged through his bag. Pulling out his clipboard, he added. Oh! And we need farm animals too. Very specific yung description dito ng mga numbers na need nila Direk.

Well, we can find all that in Sagada. Or we can go straight to Tarlac afterwards pag wala tayong makitang magandang location.

We set off; my eyes focused on the road but my head’s completely filled with thoughts of Nadine. Even if Len didn’t bring it up, it has been bugging me. I trust her. I completely do. It’s James I don’t know if I can trust. My gut tells me something’s changed.