All Is Fare In Love: 4 Maikling Kwento ng Kilig at Landi Sa Byahe
#1
I really prefer GrabShare for my commute. Not only do I get to save more, I also get to have a good chat with strangers just to kill time. I’m a talkative guy, you see. Sometimes the other passengers jump in the convo. But I guess, this time, you were one of the shy types. So here I am cracking jokes with the driver during rush hour traffic.
I heard you chuckle at the back. I wouldn’t miss the sound of a giggle. I quickly glanced behind and saw you shift into a poker face. Come on, the tensed nose, protruding cheeks and pouted lips are signs you’re holding back the laughs. The driver was also waiting for your reaction in the rear-view mirror. Tension. I slowly grinned and maybe stared a little longer.
“Mauutot ka nyan. Nasa car tayo ah.”
You bursted laughing! Good thing there’s heavy traffic. You’re in for a treat, miss. I’m just on my first set.
#2
This is Season’s Hottest Monster RX 93.1…
Looks like the UV Express driver is a fan of this radio station too. Cool. It would’ve been the perfect set-up if only this UV Express was a van and not this L300. I don’t know, I just feel awkward when there’s someone in front…oh.
It’s a girl.
A cute girl.
A cute UST girl, based on her uniform.
She was too focused on her phone. She swiped a look at me and then I quickly bowed my head, rested it on my arm as I held the handrail. I pretended to sleep and avoided facing her for a full ten minutes.
Hello to all the Monster tuned in! Let’s read some Tweets from our listeners. We have @katarinathegreat who said, “to the guy in black polo in front of me on my way home, you cute.” Oooh ang landi ng listener natin.
While staring down, I realized I am wearing a black polo, too. Could it be?! I jolted my head and looked at her. But she was asleep with her head slightly rested on the window.
Remember her Twitter handle daw, guy in black polo. Katarina the great. Now’s your chance!
I was facing in the direction of the radio waiting for more details! I then looked at her again. Her eyes were still closed…but she’s now smiling!
#3
I booked a Grab ride but it was late when I realized I don’t have smaller bills. Fare is PHP 70 but the driver said he has no change for PHP 1000! WTF, man, shouldn’t they be ready for this?! He’s probably around my age; he should know this stuff! Ugh.
Okay, I have bente on my wallet. Oh here, another bente on my pocket! I am scrambling through my gym bag to find some spare change.
By the time I reached my destination, the money I collected was one peso short! I appealed to him, “Kuya, sorry but I have no barya. Okay lang ba if 69 na lang?”
He looked around and then replied, “Dito ba sa car, bro?”
#4
I entered the LRT with two grocery paper bags on my arms. Why squeeze myself in the LRT when there’s risk that the bags would rip? Obviously, I didn’t think this through.
People did make way. I looked so tired and now I regret not taking the cab. You stood and offered the seat. I sat down and felt a sigh of relief.
After a couple of stations of stealing glances with one another, you’re preparing to alight. You gave me that look, you were staring down at me with your eyebrows raised. Still not talking? My mouth was freakin’ dry. I wanted to say something but no words came out. You smiled, tongue in cheek. You got something from your wallet and dropped it on my grocery bag. It was a calling card.
Modern Filipina, I tell you. Modern. Freakin’. Filipina.
Andrew Beso is a Manila-based content creator who is exploring different ways of sharing art — whether it be written, spoken, and visualized. Aside from being in Medium, his work can also be seen on Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok. All his creative expressions use varying styles, lenses, and mediums of storytelling.
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